Page 57 of Cast in Shadow
“Relax, Zeke,” Jake told him. “You’re among friends here.”
“Is that so?”
“It is, Raguel.”
“How did you—”
“Not important,” Sean said. “What is important is why you need eyes on Parryville.”
* * *
Zeke and Sean returned to the garage. His head was swimming. Though he still didn’t know a lot about the men he’d just spent the last hour with, he did know that they were a hell of a lot more than they appeared.
Before long, Aggie emerged with the other woman. Both were smiling. Zeke’s chest loosened considerably.
“Robin, it’s been great seeing you again,” Nix said. “Good luck!”
“Thanks.”
The two women hugged.
“Think about what I said, okay? Trust your instincts.”
It might have been his imagination, but he could have sworn he saw a blush creep up Aggie’s cheeks when she answered, “I will.”
The dark-haired woman went to her husband’s side.
Aggie came to his. “Ready?”
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
He opened the passenger door and she climbed in, then he made his way around to the driver’s side. He wanted to ask questions, but he wasn’t sure where to start.
“We’ve got to make one more stop before we head to Parryville,” she said as they pulled out of the garage lot and onto the road.
“To Sanctuary, I know. Sean filled me in. Sort of. You’ve got some interesting friends.”
Aggie grinned broadly. “That I do.”
The ride to Sanctuary was a nice one with mountain roads and unspoiled scenic vistas. They drove with the windows down, filling the interior with clean air and the scents of sunshine and pine.
Zeke wasn’t sure what he had expected, but it sure as hell wasn’t a sprawling resort that looked more like an exclusive country club getaway. The Callaghans had said it was a facility for former servicemen and women, run by vets, for vets. It didn’t look like any military facility Zeke had ever seen.
A man was waiting for them when they arrived. He introduced himself as Matt Winston and invited them inside. “Zeke and Robin, I presume?”
Zeke couldn’t help but notice that these people only seemed to know Aggie by her code name, which was telling.
“Right in one,” Aggie said with a smile. “I hope we’re not intruding.”
“Not at all. Ian told us you’d be coming. The satellite’s not quite in place yet. Cage will let us know when it is. It shouldn’t be long.”
“What smells so good?” Aggie asked.
“Kate’s chicken pot pie,” Matt said with a knowing grin. “Best there is. How about we wait in the dining room and you can see for yourself?”
Zeke opened his mouth to decline, but Aggie spoke first. “That would be wonderful, thank you. We haven’t eaten yet, and it’ll save us a stop later.”
The dining room was open and airy, with lots of windows and lots of plants.
