Page 9 of The Magic of Discovery
Mental distraction was the only way Fish was able to stay sane: fidgeting, tapping, bouncing his leg, anything to keep himself from getting overwhelmed. After being a part of his life for so many years, we all were able to effectively keep our mental shields up, but the habit was just a part of him now. Radical Training Academy had been amazing in teaching us how to fortify our shields, and not just for his benefit. In our line of work, it was just safer to keep that shit on lock. You never know who could be watching or listening in.
Cam hummed in agreement with Fischer’s thought process. “Larson was vague about what we’re supposed to be looking for here, but that’s what we do best. If there’s something here, we’ll find it. It’s only a matter of time.”
Cam’s fingers flew over the screen of his phone, and a moment later, all of ours went off. We opened the messages, finding the images of Laura that Khol had shown us. There was something about her causing a niggling in the back of my head, but when I mentioned it to the guys, nobody seemed to get the same sensation I did. I stared at it a bit longer, tilting my head as though there was some magic angle that would reveal the secret to me, but it seemed I was shit out of luck for the moment.Maybe it’ll come to me later.
The others had already moved on, and I focused back on them in time to catch Sloane’s question. “Did you guys get a look at the elderly couples mulling around the town square yesterday? I plan to start there; old people love to gossip. If someone’s shady or hiding something, they’ll be a great source of information. I’m going to be good boy Sloane and schmooze the fuck out of these villagers.” He laughed, his face lighting up at the thought.
“I hope you’ve got some solid acting skills. You have to work harder than the average person to achieve good boy status,” I countered; everyone laughed because it was true.
“I’ll open up my walls when we’re out and about today. If anyone feels off, we can keep an eye on them. Saige will also be an asset for information,” Fischer said as he looked to Cam.
“Agreed. This location is actually perfect for this assignment.” Cam nodded as he went to stand from his chair.
Okay, now is probably the best time, so best to just rip the bandaid off...
“So, you know how we’re going to explore the town today and have a barbeque at the park later?” I asked sheepishly, and instantly, I had three gazes burning through me. Thank the stars none of these feral bastards had the power to shoot freaking laser beams out of their eyes. I’d be one sliced up son of a bitch.
“Yes, Kaito. We all remember the conversation we had about that nine hours ago,” Cam deadpanned.
“Well, I invited Saige,” I blurted out.
Sloane snorted. “Of course you did.”
“Don’t be a dick, Sloane. She’s nice, and we all just agreed that she’ll be useful.” I leveled a stare at him from across the table, the animal inside of me sending pulsing waves of warning to everyone in the room.
“Fine.” Sloane raised his hands in mock surrender, looking to Cam as he said, “But we all know that she can’t become a distraction. I don’t care if you guys want to mess around with her, but we’re not here for sex. We’re supposed to be working.”
“Nobody said anything about screwing her,” Fischer spoke up, running a hand through his curly hair.
“Nobody said anything aboutnotscrewing her, either. She’s sexy as fuck, and you all know I have these urges.” A huge grin spread across my face, and they all rolled their eyes and groaned.
“Don’t get distracted. This town may seem sleepy and boring, but Larson is a thorough bastard, and he wouldn’t have sent us here if there was nothing to be found. It’s not a vacation,” Cam said, taking his coffee mug to the island to get a refill.
“What’s the plan then, lover boy?” Sloane asked me, holding his coffee cup in the air and waving it around until Cam saw him and grumbled about 'the nerve of some people' before bringing the whole pot to the table.
“I texted her last night and asked if she would be willing to meet us here at two to show us around town. Then we’ll head to the park to chill and grill. That gives us a couple of hours to finish unpacking our clothes, make a list of anything we need to grab from the grocery store, and you guys can work out. I already did my yoga this morning.”
With nods and grunts of agreement, they all began shuffling out of the room, preparing for the adventure to come. Meanwhile, I got to work on a list of what we’d need to buy or bring to the park later, determined not to let Sloane’s grumpiness ruin the mood.This is going to be a fun fucking day. I can feel it.
* * *
I was walkingbeside Saige as she talked, pointing out different landmarks and businesses. She had shown up a few minutes after two, her little fox in tow. Her hair was styled into two french braids, and she looked so fucking innocent and sassy that I kept getting distracted every time I looked at her face. I was just glad I was walking beside her and not behind her like the other guys because her ass in those high-waisted shorts was straight fucking sin, and I was no angel.
“Over there is our single grocery store, Dinner Thyme,” she said loud enough for us all to hear, lifting her left arm to point across the street.
“For fuck’s sake, are you people obsessed with terrible puns?” Sloane grumbled.
Saige wisely ignored him. Maven, however, must’ve seen a kindred spirit in Sloane because he trotted alongside the broody ass, staying close to him throughout the tour. They looked like two peas in a pod. But Sloane had already been warned to be on his best behavior, especially since he was going to try to pull off the biggest scam of this decade: be a good boy. The thought alone almost had me shaking in silent laughter. It wasn’t that Sloane was a bad dude, far from it. He loved big. He hated big. He had big feelings, much to his disgust, and often just didn’t know what to do with all of them, so emotional explosions were fairly common with him. We loved him anyway. He was fiercely loyal and would do anything for someone in need. I just wasn’t understanding why he was having such a fun time poking at Saige every damn moment.
I heard a muffled ‘oomph,’ and then I did let out a chuckle because I knew Cam had likely just punched him.Good. Keep him in line.
“Actually, could we run into the grocery store? I need to grab a couple of things for the picnic,” I asked her. Not waiting for an answer, I grabbed her hand and bounded across the street. Her laughter was music to my ears.
“We’ll just stay out here. Make sure you grab some beer, too. It’s been a minute since we got to relax for an afternoon like this,” Cam said to me, but his gaze bounced back and forth between myself and Saige. He smiled when he looked at her before turning to walk over to Sloane and Fish who were sitting on a bench a little ways down.
Oh, I see you, Big Man.
“What all do you have on your list? I know this store like the back of my hand, so let’s see what we’re looking at here.” She grabbed a shopping cart, and I stepped up right beside her, making her scoot over so we could both push it. She smelled like sunshine, coconuts, and straight up sass.
