Page 116 of Fool Me Once (Blackhawk Security)

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Saturday morning, they stepped off the plane in Helena and found one of the compound’s big Suburbans waiting at the curb. Flynn was driving, and he swiveled around to face them. “Great to see you two,” he said. “How’re you liking Chicago?”

“I love Chicago,” Gideon said. It’s primary attraction was that Alex lived there. “Alex has been busy at work, but we have the evenings together.” He didn’t say anything about his FBI interview. And he wouldn’t, until he’d made a decision about the job. “How’s everyone at the compound?”

“We’re all good,” Flynn said. “Bree is out on a job, and so is Nico. I’m taking off on Monday for an investigation in Seattle. Mel and Dev need to hire more operatives.”

Gideon had no idea if Mel or Dev had mentioned the possibility Gideon might be coming to work for them permanently, so all he said was, “They seem to be pretty good at hiring the right people. I’m sure they’re looking for new operatives.”

“I hope so.” Flynn grimaced. “We’re turning around on jobs too fast. We all need some down time between assignments. Mel said we’d had to turn down a few jobs, and that’s not good.”

“Good that business is booming,” Gideon said with a shrug. “I’m sure Mel and Dev will find more operatives soon.”

“Yeah. Mel and Dev pay us well, so no complaints there.” He turned and shook his head. “Just wish I had time to spend some of that money.”

Gideon tightened his grip on Alex’s hand as the Suburban pulled into traffic. “First you gotta find a woman to spend it on, Flynn.”

“Yeah.” The SUV hummed on the road to the compound. Flynn caught Gideon’s eyes in the rear-view mirror. “You guys look happy,” he said.

“Deliriously,” Alex said with a smile.

Gideon squeezed her hand. “Ditto that.”

They chatted during the drive, but it wasn’t long before they pulled up to the gate. It rolled open, and the guard went through the routine of checking the interior, the rear hatch and the undercarriage. Waved them through.

Flynn handed Gideon a key card. Smiled. “Your old apartment.”

“Thanks, Spence,” Alex said. Gideon reached for her hand, and she curled her fingers around his. “See you at dinner.”

“I’ll be there,” Flynn said.

Thirty minutes later, they sat in the conference room across from Mel and Devlin, who’d been waiting in the room for them. They’d all taken the same chairs they’d had at their last meeting. Gideon knew Alex realized that by the tiny smile lingering on her face.

“Welcome back, both of you,” Mel said. “I hope you had a pleasant trip.”

“It was great,” Gideon said. “Thanks for the first-class tickets.”

“Don’t get used to it,” she said with a smile. “But I’m hoping this is a special occasion.” She leaned toward Gideon. “Dev and I would like to offer you a permanent job with Blackhawk Security, Gideon,” she said. She pushed a paper across the table to him. “This is our formal offer sheet. You and Alex should look it over and take your time deciding what you want to do. Have you talked to the FBI?”

“I have,” Gideon replied. “They offered me a job, too.”

“Then you have options,” Mel said calmly. “Figure out what works best for you and Alex. You don’t have to let me know right now. I know you’ll want to discuss it with Alex first.”

“One thing,” Gideon said. “Any possibility of being permanently stationed in Chicago, the way Nico is in Seattle?”

“Not at this point,” Mel said. “We don’t have enough of a client base in Chicago yet. But with the job you did with Alex, and Cody Parker’s job with Sierra, I suspect we’ll be getting more business from the Midwest. If things change, Dev and I would be open to that kind of arrangement.”

She glanced at her partner, and Dev nodded. “Absolutely.”

Gideon pushed his chair away from the table, but Dev held up his hand. “One more thing,” he said.

He switched his gaze to Alex. “You’re staying with your law firm?” he asked.

“I am,” Alex said. “But I think we’ll be hiring at least one more associate. Possibly two. I love my work there, but I don’t want to work fifteen-hour days anymore, and I suspect Sierra doesn’t, either. So I’m figuring out a path forward.”

Dev leaned closer. “We’d like to offer you a job as the Blackhawk Security attorney. At this point, it would be a part-time job, so you might be able to make it work with your practice in Evanston. We’re not involved in many trials, so the majority of your time working for us would be spent on paperwork.”

Alex stared at Dev, then glanced at Gideon. He saw the surprise in her expression. Looking back at Mel and Dev, she said slowly, “I’m flattered. But I own a business, and that makes everything complicated. I’ll have to think about that. Talk to Gideon and to Sierra.”

“We understand,” Dev said with a smile. “Just wanted both of you to have options.”

“Thank you,” Gideon said, his gaze touching on Mel. Then Dev. “Alex and I have a lot of talking to do.”

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