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2
Brick checked his navigation system to see how far away they were. Fifteen minutes. Perfect. They’d been on the road for hours, setting out from Denver early. But they’d be right on time. He hated to be late for anything. His ex-wife had been the opposite. She’d been an hour late to their wedding. Perhaps he should have taken that as an omen.
“Earth to Brick, what’s going on with you, man?” Sterling asked in concern.
“He daydreaming again?” Elias asked through the Bluetooth system. He was in the truck behind them.
Both men were his best friends. They’d been in the marines together. And when he’d called and told them the mess Linda had left him in, they’d dropped everything to come help him.
“He’s got that line between his eyebrows which means he’s thinking of—”
“Linda,” Elias ended on a sigh. “Brick, man, you got to get her out of your head. You can’t give her any more of your time.”
His hands tightened around the steering wheel and his teeth ground together. He knew that he had to stop thinking about Linda. And Mike. The bastard.
“I know,” he said. “But it’s hard to let it go when she cost me everything.”
His house. His business. His credit rating. His reputation.
The only reason he’d managed to secure this job was because he was available on short notice. The client, Reuben Jones, needed someone to guard his sister for the indefinite future.
It likely wouldn’t have been a job he’d have touched before he’d lost everything. The client was demanding. But his money was good. And since Brick was down to his last five hundred dollars, well, he was desperate. This job was his lifeline.
His friends were right, he had to get his mind back in the game.
“Sorry, you’re right,” he agreed, taking a right turn. “Have I thanked you guys again for helping me?”
The client wanted at least two bodyguards on site. One guarding his sister, the other patrolling the grounds and watching the cameras and alarms, even though there was an outside company monitoring the cameras and alarms.
Sterling scrolled through his phone. “Have you guys read the list of instructions and rules this guy has sent through for dealing with his sister?”
“He only sent them after I signed the contract, and then I was too busy packing everything up and getting ready,” Brick said. “Why?”
“Did you know JSI put in her current security system?” Sterling commented. “Why didn’t he go to them? They’re monitoring her security anyway.”
“Asked him about that,” Brick admitted. And he’d been sweating bullets the entire time that Jones might turn around and go to JSI. “They didn’t have anyone free, apparently. They’re still monitoring the system, though. He said we can put in our system on top of theirs if we want. He also said something about Kent Jensen being a prick.”
“Really?” Elias asked. “I’ve heard of Kent Jensen. Got a reputation as a fair man. Lots of the guys I was enlisted with talked about getting a job with him when they got out.”
“I wouldn’t put much stock in our client’s opinions,” Brick admitted as he turned into a quiet street. There didn’t seem to be many houses out here. Just a lot of fucking trees. “I did a background check on him. He’s got a reputation for being a shark. Ruthless and cunning.”
“Yeah, but he’s also loaded, I’m guessing,” Elias said, looking around him. “As long as he pays the bills, do you really care?”
Once, he would have. But he couldn’t pick and choose his jobs anymore.
“And demanding,” Sterling said. “Listen to this stuff he sent through. No touching her without permission unless absolutely necessary. No going up to the third floor unless she’s in danger. She doesn’t talk.”
“What?” Brick asked. “How the hell are we going to communicate with her?”
“Wasn’t that something he should have told us first?” Elias asked.
Brick pulled into a driveway in front of a vast wrought-iron gate. A camera turned towards his truck. He knew there was likely another camera in a hidden position. The house wasn’t visible from here. But just the gate held the promise of money.
“He should have,” Brick agreed. Leaning back in the seat, he closed his eyes for a moment. He already had a headache.
“There’s more,” Sterling said as Elias pulled up behind them. “No changing her routine. We cannot talk to her with anything other than respect. When she gets nervous, she might grab hold of our clothing and we should allow her to do that. And if she goes still and cold, she could be having a panic attack. There’s a number of a guy called Xavier to call in case of emergency.”
“Wonder what’s going on,” Elias said. “She sounds—”
