Page 54 of Glamour and Grit

I turn to Selene to see what she makes of it.

“Well, I guess the Cabin that Time Forgot is better than getting shot by mobsters,” she says with a sigh. “Do you think there are spiders in here?”

“Probably not. Spiders eat bugs, and there’s no bugs in here with that citronella smell.”

“Yeah, that’s overpowering, can we open a window?”

I oblige Selene’s request, and find that the cabin has a heat pump unit. I turn it on to help ventilate the space before checking on Selene.

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’m fine.” She laughs. “No, actually, I’m not alright, but I’m not going to die in the next couple of minutes if there’s something you need to do.”

“I do need to call the office and give them an update. I’ll be right outside if you need me.”

She nods, settling onto the sofa and stifling a yawn. When I openthe door to the back porch, she’s already halfway dozing.

When I call the office, I’m surprised by Bastian’s voice. I’m also surprised by the lazy way he answers.

“Platinum.”

“That’s it? Don’t you have a script or something? How do I even know I just called a private security firm?”

A long pause, and then…

“Thank you for calling Platinum Security, your solution for personal security needs. Sebastian speaking, how may I assist you in finding exactly the best way to drive up your ass?”

“Nice. Is the boss around? I need to talk to him.”

“Nah, he took off early to spend some time with his family. It’s just me and Harlowe holding down the fort. What’s up?”

“I tried to follow up on that lead Harlowe dropped in my lap.”

“And?”

“And, I got in over my head. It turned out that there were a lot more hostiles than I originally accounted for. That and…”

I heave a long sigh.

“That, and what?” Bastian prompts.

“Look, I wanted to talk to Jax so he could assign a new agent to this job. I’m not cut out for it.”

“What? Are you kidding me? It sounds like you’ve been awesome so far.”

“Awesome? I had Petty dead to rights. But then he got in my head. He said I couldn’t take the shot, and I couldn’t. I let myself hesitate, again, and I almost got me and Selene…I mean, the client killed.”

“So, you’re on a first name basis with your client. Careful, man, that can lead to problems.”

I hear Harlowe’s voice say something in the background I can’t quite make out. He laughs.

“I love you too, sweetie. I’m just trying to tell your brother he can’t quit.”

“What? Let me talk to him.”

“She wants to talk to you, man.”

A second later, I hear my sister’s voice.

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