Page 2 of Landon

With that, the two men walked out of the office and headed toward the dining room.

Pamela’s eagle eye stared at the clothes she had packed and nodded with a sly grin.

“Hey, babe, you ready?”

She looked over her shoulder at the man walking into her bedroom. Roger. Tall, tanned, muscular. His blond hair was just a few weeks beyond needing a haircut, curling slightly over his ears and the back of his neck. His blue eyes never left hers, and his smile quirked upward on one side. He didn’t stop untilhe was directly in front of her, and his arms snaked around her waist. He jerked her sharply to him until her breasts were crushed against his chest. His lips slammed down onto hers, and his tongue thrust deeply.

Roger worked for the condo association. She’d had no problem catching his eye the previous year as she learned to be at the pool on the days he handled the maintenance. The boob job was worth the money.

Of course, their relationship would never become serious, considering he had no money, but she liked the adoring attention he was willing to offer. As their kiss ended, she wondered if she could keep him around once she found her next money honey. Besides Roger, she’d latched onto an older gentleman, Henry, who lived in one of the larger condos. He was stuffy, but she could have the best of both worlds since he willingly spent freely on her.

Henry split his time between his home in Montana and a Jamaican resort, having invited her several times. The last time, she’d flown down with Roger after Henry’s plans fell through, but he’d already arranged for her to have a vacation on the island. It had been glorious… a private resort house, Roger sharing her bed, and not having to pretend to be enthusiastic about sex with Henry.

Taking Roger had been sneaky, but she’d paid the housekeeper extra to make sure she didn’t say anything to Henry.

Looking up at Roger, she said, “The kids will be home from school in a few minutes, and I’ll spring the surprise trip on them.”

“And our plans?”

Her smile faltered, but she straightened her spine. “Don’t worry… once we get there, it will be fine.” She wrapped her hand around his neck and pulled him closer until their lips met.Sucking on his bottom lip, she felt his cock thicken. Her free hand snaked downward, but the front door opening and her children’s voices made her pull back. Seeing Roger’s narrowed eyes, she placed a forefinger on his lips. “No pouting, baby,” she cooed. “Let’s get ready for a vacation.”

Stepping back, she walked out of her bedroom and met Tad and Penny at the bottom of the stairs. She swung her hands wide to the side, her eyes bright with anticipation. “I have a surprise for you. We’re taking a trip for the weekend. Who wants to go where it’s warm and has sandy beaches?”

“Seriously?” Penny asked, eyes wide. “We’re going to the beach?”

Tad tilted his head to the side. “What’s up? You didn’t tell us about this earlier.”

“It’s a surprise,” she huffed. “Can’t a mom surprise her children?”

“We haven’t packed—” Penny began.

“I had the housekeeper do it for you. Your suitcases are being loaded into the car as we speak.”

A dubious expression remained on Tad’s face. “Does Dad?—”

“Who do you think had the idea for this retreat?” Pamela quickly said, her smile still wide.

“What about our homework?” Penny continued.

“Bring all your books with you. You’ll have plenty of time on the airplane. Let’s hurry, and we can start our weekend getaway to Florida!”

Penny and Tad shared a look, then shrugged. They grabbed their backpacks from where they had been tossed onto the floor near the front door and headed to their mom’s car.

Pamela winked at Roger, then inclined her head toward her luggage. “Don’t forget to carry that last one down. After all, we need to keep up the appearance of you coming as our assistant.”With that, she made sure to offer him a close-up view of her ass showcased in her tight skirt as she sashayed out of the room.

2

Landon Sommers sprinted up the hillside, his lungs burning as he pushed his body harder and rounded the corner of the dirt path. His boots crunched over the gravel, sending a few small rocks skittering into a narrow ravine. He shifted his weight to keep from sliding down the slope. Suddenly, a blur of movement shot past him. “Shit, Sadie,” he cursed under his breath.

Sadie Hargrove was a coworker who used her smaller size to round the curves and hug the side of the hill to keep her balance. “Catch up, Landon.” She laughed. “Don’t make me label you an old man.”

Old man.He knew she was joking, but he had to admit that the words stung slightly more than he cared to admit. He sure as hell felt older than his thirty-seven years some days. He had been in the military, then special ops. Then he’d worked as an FBI agent for years, last stationed in California. He was currently employed with a private security company. Some might wonder about the numerous employment changes, but he’d gotten closer to perfection with each career move. Now, he was a Keeper for Lighthouse Security Investigations Montana. If a more perfect job existed for him, he couldn’t imagine it.

He caught up to Sadie, and as they rounded the last curve together, he spied several other Keepers already at the rendezvous point. Within a moment, the others arrived. Their boss, Logan Bishop, handed out water bottles and protein bars as they plopped down on the hard-packed dirt and watched the sun glide over the mountains to the west. He twisted the cap off and took a long, refreshing gulp.

He sat between Sisco Aguilar and Jim Devlin, known as Devil. Both men had served with Logan, joining him in the successful endeavor of LSIMT. Their pilot, Cole Iverson, sat across from him, along with brothers Frazier and Dalton Dolby. Aldo Caspani, known as Casper, was the quiet one of the group, sitting slightly to the side. While light on conversation, he made up for it with stealth. Todd Blake and Cory Brighton sat nearby, their backs against the large boulders and their eyes trained on the sky. Timothy Clemons's gaze was upward, but he appeared to be staring at the light tower on the mountaintop.

The light tower was an old throwback to when airplanes needed to be warned of mountain ranges in the dark to be guided safely over the tops, much like the old lighthouse keepers near the water. Hence, the original name of Lighthouse Security Investigation. Mace Hanover, who started the original LSI in Maine, expanded to the West Coast, where Carson Dyer ran that branch. Now, the latest LSI operation was based in Montana.

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