AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Stepping into the kitchen, Miami was surprised to see several people standing around the large island. She gladly accepted the bottle of water one of the team members handed her when she found a place to lean against the cool stone surface.
“Several members of the team left with Saraya. Cruz and his fellow thugs know she is alive, which makes her a liability to them.”
Miami understood. She gave Giles a quick smile and nodded so he’d know she agreed.
Giles looked to his left, acknowledging two men she hadn’t been introduced to. The first one stepped forward, his tight smile not reaching his eyes.
“Miami, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Cameron Barnes. I understand we have something in common.” When she didn’t respond, he grinned.
The man was giving her serious cop vibes, and until she knew more about him, she wasn’t taking the bait.
“We’ve both had the unfortunate luck to deal with the Cruz family.”
Miami felt her eyes widen in surprise. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but this had never occurred to her.
“Cam spent a lot of time in South America when he worked for Uncle Sam and is as retired as Central Intelligence allows. He and I have been monitoring things from his office in Houston. When we knew part of the team was leaving, we decided to come over in case these fellows needed a little extra help.” The second man moved to stand beside Mr. Barnes. His smile was more welcoming, and she was puzzled because he looked vaguely familiar. “I’m Kyle West. I believe you’ve met my wife and mother.”
“And your father… or fathers. I’m not sure about the protocol for this situation. To be honest, I didn’t think Tobi and Lilly were serious when they said they had two husbands.” Maimi assumed the women had been drinking enough to say almost anything. Now, she was still trying to wrap her head around the whole thing. Turning back to the first man, she tipped her head to the side, studying him. “Do you share your wife as well, Mr. Barnes?”
“Please, call me Cam. Yes, I share Cecelia, but the three of us enjoy a rather unique relationship. When you meet her, she can explain it to you.” This time, his smile was much more relaxed.
“You’ve worked very hard to erase every hint of Texas from your speech. I assume that was helpful in your former line of work.” Enjoying his look of surprise, she continued, “Do you still have family in the Beaumont area?”
“I’m impressed, Miami. It seems our sources weren’t exaggerating when they told us you were a talented linguist. Yes, I still have cousins in the area, though I don’t get to see them as often as I’d like.” Turning to Kyle, Cam smiled. “She’ll probably be able to give us addresses. You should hire her.”
“I was just thinking the same thing.” Kyle turned to her and raised a brow in question. “Giles and Essex have been scouting locations for a satellite office here in Houston, but I believe there would be advantages if we set up up in Galveston.” When she didn’t respond, he smiled. “I can see you’ll be a skilled negotiator.”
“I believe Kyle just referred to you as atough cookie.” Essex’s voice was laced with a teasing tone that made her smile.
“I didn’t say any such thing, and I swear if you repeat that in front of my mother, she’ll try to adopt Miami.”
“I believe we all know how much more difficult it would be for you to get back into Miami’s good graces with Lilly mothering her, so I think compliance is in your best interest.”
Miami couldn’t hold back her smile at Cam’s nonsense. Working with the Prairie Winds team would be a dream come true if they were setting up another office on the coast.
“Giles and Essex agreed to join our team if they could be based in Houston.”
“We’d be happy to set up shop in Galveston,” Giles interjected quickly. “We chose the coast because we’d hoped this was where you were planning to settle.” Miami felt her face flush. She hadn’t known the two of them had been in touch with her dad.
If they’d convinced my streetwise father they were sincere, I should probably give them a second chance.
Focusing her attention on Kyle West, Miami tried to keep the excitement out of her voice but wasn’t sure she succeeded. “I’ll look forward to talking to you.” Not that she needed the money, but overseeing the charitable foundation her mother created to help inner-city youth attain their dreams wouldn’t be enough to keep her busy. There was plenty of empty space on the bottom floor for offices, but she kept the thought to herself.
One thing she’d learned from her dad’s bandmates was the power of holding your cards close to your chest. Miami smiled to herself as she remembered the life lessons the aging rockers had tried to share without being too obvious. Subtlety wasn’t in their skill set, but they always failed to see how transparent their efforts were. Realizing everyone was staring at her expectantly, Miami felt heat rush to her face and knew she’d been caught daydreaming… again.
“I recognize that look.” Kyle West chuckled. “Tobi gets the same faraway look when she’s lost in thought. She appears plugged into the conversation, but her mind is somewhere else entirely.” Giving her a chance to recenter herself, he paused for several seconds before continuing. “We will continue looking for rental space unless you’re open to leasing a portion of the bottom floor. To be honest, it looks like your dad was several steps ahead of us.”
When she tilted her head to the side in question, Giles grinned.
“Your dad knew we wanted to set up an investigation branch on the Gulf Coast. We’d had conversations with him about our vision, and I swear he built this exactly how we’d described our ideal space.”
Giles was probably right. If her dad liked them, there wouldn’t have been anything he wouldn’t have done for the two men he’d told her deserved a chance to explain.
“We need to table this discussion for now. I’d like to hear what she meant about knowing where her assailant is from.”
Noting Cameron Barnes’ sudden interest in whatever message he’d received, Miami wondered what was going on. “Sorry to interrupt, but we need to move out. We have a small window of opportunity before this end of the island is swarming with law enforcement.” She must have looked confused because his expression softened so briefly, she wasn’t sure the shift had been real. “We pulled some strings and got warrants for Cruz’s beach house, as well as the warehouse. It would be safest for you to be out of the way when the shit hits the fan.”
Miami nodded her understanding.
I want Cruz taken down, but I’m not naïve enough to believe I can do it alone. Stepping aside sounds like a great plan.
