Page 56 of Cast in Shadow
Zeke’s gaze moved to the side, where Aggie had disappeared with the other woman. They were on a schedule. A flexible one, but a schedule, nonetheless. And maybe, just maybe, a tiny part of him worried that Aggie might disappear again if he left despite what she’d said.
“I’ll pass.”
“It wasn’t really a request.”
Zeke returned his full attention to the man, even more alert than he had been. The guy was jacked and fit, as if he lifted four-hundred-pound engine blocks and ran ten miles every morning. There was an intensity in his blue gaze and an easy readiness to his body language that smacked of special ops.
The whole situation was getting weirder and weirder.
“Excuse me?”
“Let me enlighten you, Zeke. When my wife said I should take you down to the pub, what she was really saying was, Vet this guy. I don’t know who your woman is, but Nix obviously does, and she’s very protective of those she cares about.”
Zeke crossed his arms over his chest and remained where he was, bristling.
“Do you always do what your woman tells you to?”
“Do you?” Sean countered. “Seems like you’d rather be in there with her than out here with me, but here we are.”
Fuck. The guy had a point.
“Besides,” Sean continued, “by the look on your face, you have some questions of your own.”
He was right about that too.
“Are you saying you have answers?”
“Maybe.”
Zeke considered his options. He could stand in the parking lot arguing with this guy, or grab a beer and get some information. “Fine.”
“Smart man. Nick!” Sean called out. “I’m heading to the pub. Watch the garage, yeah?”
Another man appeared out of the shadows of the garage, looking like a masculine version of Sean’s wife. Same dark hair. Same freaky pale eyes.
“You got it.”
“Let’s go.”
Sean started walking down the sidewalk. Zeke fell into step beside him. They didn’t speak, which was just fine with him.
A couple of blocks later, they entered Jake’s Irish Pub. It was a nice place. Clean and classy yet welcoming, it reminded him of a place he’d visited outside of Dublin once.
Two men, who bore an obvious resemblance to Sean, looked up at their approach from behind the bar. They were older than Zeke by about a decade, give or take, and had the same intense blue eyes and special ops vibe. The younger of the two held a phone to his ear.
Zeke and Sean took seats at the bar. The bigger of the two poured two drafts, placed one in front of Sean and one in front of Zeke, and then looked to Sean expectantly.
“Zeke, these are my brothers, Jake and Ian. Guys, this is Zeke Ericsson.”
Sean’s tone shifted subtly when he said Zeke’s name. Zeke could have sworn their eyes flashed in recognition, which he neither understood nor liked.
Zeke nodded in acknowledgment and said nothing. He didn’t know these guys from Adam, and he certainly wasn’t accustomed to sharing information.
“Zeke’s woman came to see Nix,” Sean said conversationally. “She’s with her now.”
The younger guy—Ian—slipped his phone into his pocket. “Wouldn’t by any chance have anything to do with a satellite zoom on Parryville, now would it?”
Zeke’s eyes narrowed, and Ian laughed.
