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“Yes. He’ll have both pieces ready by the time I get back. He’d already heard Miami was back in our lives, so he’d pulled the sketches out and ordered the stones.”
“Has he talked to Ian?” Ian McGregor had his hand in so many pies Essex lost count a long time ago, but his work with specialty kink pieces put him on the map with every serious Dom in the country.
“Yes. They are collaborating on ways to incorporate the technology into our design. Once they install the components, we’ll not only know where Miami is located, we’ll also know if she’s in distress.” Essex and Giles had worked together on the design, but the micro-electronics would come from Ian’s camp. One of the most valuable elements of the technology was the panic alarm. If Miami pressed the small alarm, monitoring stations all over the world would be alerted. The control centers would forward the submissive’s information, including their name, physical description, and location, to the nearest law enforcement agencies and Special Forces teams like Prairie Winds.
The two men fell into an easy silence as they watched Miami drive Tobi from one end of the compound to the other. Seeing the two women laughing as Miami tried to parallel park between two trees made Essex wish he wasn’t leaving first thing in the morning. Personally, he wondered what finally made the powerful Senate Majority Leader decide it was time to pull his son out of the Eastern European country where he’d been living for several years. Every branch of the military had known the young man was over his head. His position on several tech boards was laughable. Whatever was coming down the pike was bad enough, the crooked senator wanted his first-born stateside—pronto.
“The intel Kyle received from his contact at the local jail indicates Alonzo Cruz is struggling since his daddy’s assets have been frozen. Seems its more difficult to buy protection without all those dirty dollars.” Essex didn’t doubt for a minute the man was getting his ass handed to him in jail—and the situation wouldn’t improve when he was finally moved to a larger facility.
“After everything he’s done, he deserves whatever karma comes his way.” Giles wasn’t considered a New Age groupie, but there were certain universal truths no one could deny. “Saraya is competing in Minneapolis next week. A couple of reporters have been asking questions. I swear they can smell a story.”
“And they’ll create one out of thin air if they can’t find something legitimate.” Essex knew Giles had a deep distrust of anything and anyone media related. They’d hounded the wealthy Iseman family for years. Giles’s family was as formal as Essex’s was fun-loving, but he’d never felt they deserved the constant media scrutiny they received.
“Dean and Del are flying Saraya up north a few days early, so she has time to practice on the course. Lilly is going, and Brooks will be along forsecurity.” Giles emphasized the last word in such a dramatic fashion, Essex was surprised the other man hadn’t used air quotes.
Before he could comment, Tobi jumped from the car, wild enthusiasm lighting her eyes.
“Woo hoo! You did it!” Tobi’s excited voice bounced over the cobblestone driveway. She’d jumped out of the car to dance a jig around one of the orange cones they’d used to practice parking. “I know a lot of the parking in Galveston is parallel, so this will help you more than you know. I usually rent a bike when we’re there because my husbands make me drive a tank. Have you ever tried to park a tank? It’s crazy. Now that the kids are almost old enough to drive and I’m not their personal chauffeur, I’m going to lobby for a smaller car.”
“She fails to mention the small sports car she filled with dough.” Kyle joined them, a rare smile spreading across his face. “It’s a great story, and in her defense, she was trying to do a good deed for the kids’ school. It seems small cars, pop-open biscuit tubes, and Texas heat don’t mix well. There are probably pictures floating around the internet. We sweep for them every few months, but they always seem to crop up again.”
Essex blinked several times, trying to process the man’s amusement.
Kyle turned fully to Essex, his expression turning serious. “I’m sorry about the timing of this job. I know it’s not great for your plans, but it can’t be helped. We have teams scattered from here to kingdom come, so I didn’t have any choice but to pull you in sooner than planned. Setting up a satellite office in Galveston means we need to step up our hiring efforts.”
Essex nodded, “The military is losing so many of the best and brightest over a damned shot, so your timing is good. I can’t believe they are kicking people out because they don’t want to take an experimental vaccine. But there’s a bright side, it will be easier to hire younger men and women you know are already trained.”
“And they can think for themselves. We’ve never wanted to hire people who were blindly compliant. Everything we do requires good decision-making skills. We’ll help people develop those skills, but we’ll leave health care decisions up to the individuals.”
Essex appreciated Kent and Kyle’s position, and their common-sense approach was part of what sealed the deal on him joining the Prairie Winds team.
The three of them watched as Kent stepped out of one of the nearby Forum Shops, carrying a large pink bag.
“I swear he buys her expensive lingerie just so he can shred it. I’ve seen third-world nations with smaller budgets.” Kyle’s grumbling didn’t fool anyone. He worshipped the ground Tobi walked on, and everyone knew it.
Essex shook his head and started toward the armory. It was time to pack the weapons and ammunition they’d be loading before dawn. The sooner he pulled Mr. Fancy Pants back under his daddy’s protective wing, the sooner they’d be able to make Miami theirs forever.
