Page 12 of Saving Serena

I returnedto the Hawk Security offices after grabbing lunch. I’d rationalized that a Whopper, fries, and a shake were a higher priority than explaining to my boss and brother, Lucas, that the client had fired us.

Actually, that was a copout. In reality, Lucas was on the very short list of men who could scare me. I wouldn’t enjoy his dressing down about how protection meant staying in the background and that my leaving the background had led to this.

I stopped by my other brother Jordy’s office with his dozens of screens that made it resemble a NASA control room. “Any word from Brett?”

Jordy didn’t bother looking up. “Not yet.”

Our fourth brother, Brett, had been called back to active duty for an above top-secret mission, and I missed him already.

Winston Evers looked up from his computer when I entered the office space we shared. “Done already? Got your princess tucked safely away at the castle?”

“I’m done,” I confirmed. “You should apologize to Jordy,” I added, changing the subject.

Winston was ex-FBI and a crack investigator. If I gave him a single crumb to run with on Ariana, he’d have figured out what had happened faster than I could recite the alphabet backward.

“Already did,” he confirmed. “I just got a little heated because I didn’t want to screw up the tail.” Naturally, Winston wanted to make a good impression with my brother because he was the other person we’d recently hired when Hanson Security closed down.

“Constance back yet?” I asked, wanting to circle back with my partner. Ariana had been a pain in the ass. I was sure Constance would be relieved to be rid of her as well. We were ready for something other than babysitting a rich, spoiled princess.

“Said she’s on the way, and she promised to take Jordy out to get a cup of coffee.”

I nodded. “Smart move to enlist her to smooth down Jordy’s feathers for ya.”

His smirk confirmed my guess. “My girl Constance has the touch.”

“If you value your balls, I’d be careful about calling her a girl to her face.” It was a lesson I’d learned quickly. Constance was ex Secret Service and tough as nails. You had to be to join the First Lady’s protection detail.

“Noted.” Winston looked back at his screen.

The blinds in Lucas’s office were pulled, which didn’t happen often.

I thumbed over my shoulder. “Who’s the boss got with him?”

Winston shrugged. “Dunno.”

“Singleton and March, maybe?”

Winston shrugged. Again.

I’d referred Jeff Singleton and Zane March when Lucas had said he was looking to add more talent. I’d known both from DEVGRU—known to the public as SEAL Team Six. The guys were still at the top of their game, and would make excellent additions if my brother could stomach bringing in more frogmen.

Lucas was a former Delta operator and Army through and through. He was not shy with his opinion that Delta could run rings around the SEALs all day long.

As a former SEAL, I knew that was total bullshit. Deltas had some limitations—take them out of the desert, throw some water into the equation, and they folded like wet cardboard. There was a reason SEALs had been chosen to take down Bin Laden, and it wasn’t because we were second-rate.

Just then, Lucas’s door opened.

Winston and I looked down the hall and caught sight of a man I knew we both recognized. We’d done work for the Covingtons before. As Bill Covington emerged, I caught a glimpse of a homeless woman still in the office. I liked Bill, and I lived in the same building as he did, one floor down.

The office door closed behind him, and Winston and I both raised a hand in greeting to Mr. Covington.

He waved back and thumbed over his shoulder. “Take care of her.” Then he disappeared down the stairs.

Dumbfounded, I didn’t reply. What would he be doing with a homeless woman? And why would we be taking care of her?

“One of our irregulars?” I asked Winston. We had some people on retainer who made good lookouts as they hung out on the streets unnoticed.

“Don’t think so.” He used a toothpick on his teeth. “Could be an interview to join, I guess.”

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