Page 93 of Beyond Protection
"Morning," he said. Testing the temperature.
"Morning." I should have told them about the messages. Immediately. But Ma was flipping bacon, and Mac looked exhausted, and I couldn't make myself say the words that would shatter the small domestic moment.
Professional distance. That's what I needed. Rebuild the walls and remind both of us that this was a job with an endpoint.
We had six days until Vanessa made her move—six days to keep Mac alive despite my compromised judgment.
"Coffee's on the counter," Ma said without turning.
I poured it black. Added two sugars. Gave my hands something to do.
Claire came through the back door, shaking rain from her jacket. She nodded at me and sat with the tea she must have brought with her.
"Sleep okay?" Mac asked. His voice was carefully neutral.
"Fine."
The word landed flat. I watched him process it—his shoulders tensing under the sweatshirt.
"Basement's cold this time of year," he added.
"It's fine."
Ma slid bacon onto a plate. "Mac, set the table. Eamon, sit."
I sat. Mac set down plates and forks with economical movements. When he reached for the jam, his sleeve rode up. His strength visible in the corded muscle.
The storm door squeaked. Just the wind. But it reminded me—three access points, old locks, vulnerabilities everywhere.
I bit into crisp bacon that I couldn't taste while Mac tried to make conversation about the Mariners. I shut him down with one-word answers.
It was a first step toward having him understand that we needed to stay professional.
Claire set down her tea. "Eamon, you're from Portland originally?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Do you miss it?"
"Sometimes. It's quieter. Fewer variables."
"Variables." She tasted the word. "That's an interesting way to describe a city."
Mac's fork clinked against his plate.
"Tactical thinking," I said. "Occupational hazard."
"Sounds exhausting," Claire said quietly.
"It's necessary."
"Necessary and exhausting aren't mutually exclusive."
Mac looked at his mother like she'd said something in a language he couldn't quite process.
I stood. "I should review yesterday's security footage."
"You checked the perimeter twenty minutes ago," Mac said flatly. "I heard you. Three times around the house."
