Page 13 of Until I Found You
Six
Graham – One Month Later
Shuffling through a stack of papers, I search for the one I need. I knew I should’ve hired an assistant when Dean brought up the question, but we didn’t need the extra expense right now.
Getting Compass Security up off the ground after returning home has not been easy, especially when my business partner, Dean, is working seven hours away in Chicago. Having an assistant would really come in handy right now.
I was up late last night with my mom. Her blood sugar dropped, I was worried to leave her unattended. I opted to sleep on my old twin mattress. It was my only option if I had any hope of getting a wink of sleep at all.
Two knocks sound on the door and I glance up to see Maverick, my best friend and associate, standing in front of me.
“Dude, you alright?” he asks.
I watch as he adjusts his position where he stands, leaning against the door frame, eyeing me as I shuffle through the papers strewn all over my desk.
I’m a mess. This office is a mess. Everything is a fucking mess.
“Yeah, if I could only find the fucking paper with the—ah! Here it is,” I sigh, falling back into my seat in relief.
Maverick and I have been friends since we were young. I grew up living in Arbor Creek, which is where I went to high school. When I wasn’t staying at home with my mom, I was likely in Everton staying with my aunt Samantha. Most of our time was spent down at the local skatepark with my cousin, Gage. It’s where I met Dean and Maverick.
“How is your mom doing?” Mav asks, crossing his arms in front of him.
“She didn’t get much sleep last night. I ran home to shower and change this morning, so I stopped by on my way into the office and she had fallen back asleep. I’m going to stop over again on lunch to check on her.”
“Well, if you need anything man, just let me know. You’ve been there for me a lot this past month,” Maverick says. “You tend to focus on everyone else around you, but you know I got your six.”
Maverick has had enough of his own shit to worry about without me burdening him with my problems. Serving his second tour in Afghanistan, he got a call his father had passed. He returned home early to take care of everything. Nothing could’ve prepared him for the shit he was leaving behind him. What they thought was the end of their tour ended with him receiving a call informing him his team had been hit by a roadside bomb. He lost half his platoon.
The two of us combined have lost our fair share of people close to us. It’s a constant reminder to never take life for granted.
The sound of my phone rings and immediately thinking of my mom, I swipe it from where it sits on my desk. When I see the name, I know it’s important too.
“I’m gonna take this,” I say, motioning to Maverick.
Looking up at Maverick, he nods his head as I answer the call.
“G, I got some news for you.”
“What do ya know?”
“I got a call a few minutes ago. Krate was spotted outside of Brodie’s last weekend. I don’t know what it was about, my informant couldn’t say, but I know he was meeting with one of Hendrich’s guys.”
“Fuck!” I grunt. Hendrich is known for his sketchy past. Just last month he was in jail for drug related charges.
“I know, man. It’s only a matter of time though. He’ll fuck up and we’ll catch him.”
“Yeah, but how many other lives are at risk having that son of a bitch out on the streets. He deserves to be locked behind bars and to know he’s fucking around with Hendrich further proves so.”
“I hear ya, man. I’ll stay in touch with my contact and keep you in the loop if I hear anything else.”
Hanging up the phone, I yell for Maverick to come back in my office.
“What was that about?”
“Turns out Krate is back into some bullshit.”
I know Maverick understands the weight of what I’m saying. I was the one who put Gage there that night, but Krate is still responsible for his own actions.
