Page 8 of PenPal Hero

As he exited his truck, he could hear the muffled sound of gunfire in the distance. Interesting. He hadn’t been able to hear the sound while he was at Anderson Ranch, making him suspect there was an indoor range somewhere on the premises.

The moment he entered the building, the sound of gunfire grew louder. Yep. Definitely an indoor firing range, and it was located in the building he was standing in.

He found himself in a sparsely furnished reception area, facing an unmanned booth. A security camera on the wall behind the booth was trained on the front door, so his entrance had undoubtedly been noted.

“Hi, Holt!” A man with tousled brown hair strode around the corner. He crossed the room with his hand outstretched. “I’m Foster. I don’t believe we’ve met before.” He was dressed in solid black. His short-sleeved t-shirt was tucked into cargo pants, which were tucked into combat boots. A tactical belt filled with gear and weapons was clasped around his waist.

“We haven’t.” Holt clasped his hand, wondering what their meeting was about.

“How about we take this conversation into my office?” Without waiting for Holt to answer, Foster turned around and started walking in the same direction he’d come from.

More curious than ever, Holt followed the security firm owner into an office that was as sparsely furnished as the waiting area had been. A plain chrome desk anchored the room. No rug or frills. A black swivel chair rested behind it, and a semi-circle of black vinyl chairs was arrayed in front of it.

Foster waved him toward the black vinyl chairs. “Take a load off. I have something I want to run past you.” He moved behind his desk to take a seat and reached for a solid black folder — the only item on his desk other than his computer. He held the folder out to Holt. “I’m going to keep this simple. I’d like you to come to work for us.”

Holt nearly dropped the folder. “Come again?” Of all the things he’d imagined Foster might say to him, a job offer didn’t even make the list.

Foster leaned back in his chair. “K&G Security has grown quite a bit since my brother’s death.” His gaze darkened with pain as he explained. “This was his baby before his war injuries took him prematurely from this world.”

Whew! That was tough. Holt’s insides twisted with sympathy. “I’m sorry for your loss, man.”

“Thanks.” Foster grimaced. “No disrespect intended, but the place was kind of a wreck when I took over.” He waved a hand vaguely. “My brother had a hodgepodge of fellow soldiers on staff. Mostly Marines. Most of them messed up in the head from PTSD and other stuff. His business partner, Lyon Garrett, and I made a bunch of changes right off the bat, and now we manage security contracts all over Texas.”

“Nice.” Holt was impressed.

“Not bad for a jailbird, eh?” Foster gave him a sharp look.

Holt narrowed his gaze on the guy. “You or Lyon?”

“Me.” Foster’s voice was flat. “Figured you deserved to know that before we get any further in our discussion.”

Holt wasn’t sure what response Foster was expecting to that, so he motioned for him to continue. “I don’t have a background in security.” It bore mentioning in case Foster didn’t know that.

“Yet you helped bring down one of the biggest criminal rings to ever darken this corner of Texas.” Foster’s voice was admiring. “You’re honest and resourceful. You can think on your feet, and everybody I’ve spoken to about you says the same thing.” His voice rose to a falsetto, as if jumping into the role of one of the people he’d spoken to about Holt. “He’s the nicest guy.”

Holt shrugged. “Customer service 101. I’m a car detail man.”

“Nah, it’s more than that.” Foster shook his head, eyeing him shrewdly. “You’ve got what it takes, bro.”

“To become a security guard?” The job didn’t sound very appealing to Holt. “No thanks. Whoever told you I’m fearless is dead wrong. After that group of thugs abducted me, I’ve been way off my normal game. Don’t sleep much at night. Can’t breathe in small, enclosed spaces.” He wasn’t sure why he was spilling his guts to a perfect stranger, but there was just something about Foster that made him easy to talk to.

“Eh, maybe what I said was a poor choice of words.” Foster didn’t look the least bit deterred from his mission to recruit Holt. “Nobody with a lick of intelligence is fearless, but you are brave. Even you can’t deny that.”

Brave? Holt’s eyebrows rose. “Did you miss the part about how much trouble I have breathing in small, enclosed spaces?” He had to drive his truck with the windows rolled down, for pity’s sake.

“Nope.” A faint smile tugged at Foster’s mouth. “All I’m saying is that your fear didn’t keep you from putting it all on the line to clear your stepfather’s name. You had to know you were taking some pretty big risks, but you did it anyway.”

“For somebody I care about.” Holt couldn’t imagine doing that for a security contract — not for any amount of money. “That’s different from what y’all do here.” Way different!

“Is it?” Foster leaned his forearms on the edge of his desk. “I know most of the citizens in this town, and I care deeply about their welfare. Once you’ve lived here long enough, the folks here will start feeling like family. Trust me.”

“Maybe.” Holt opened the folder. Time would tell. “What exactly are you asking me to do for your company?” He grew still at the paperwork resting inside the folder. The top page read, K&G Covert Ops.

“As you can see by the job proposal, we’re more than a security firm these days, Holt. We’ve been doing private investigating on the side for the local police department, as well as the police departments in several surrounding towns. Enough for it to make sense for us to open a new department for covert operations.”

Holt shook his head, picturing special forces soldiers low crawling through the jungles of South America. “I’m sorry,” he closed the folder, “but you’ve got the wrong guy. I really am just a mechanic. No military experience. No jail time. Nothing that in any way qualifies me as tough.”

“I disagree,” Foster protested. “You’re mentally tough, Holt. Learning the weapons side of things is the easy part.”

---