I FELT MY PHONE VIBRATING on my hip as I sat in my room. Derek was in his office, doing whatever the hell he thought he needed to do even though he wasn’t at work. I was staring out the window, watching guys case the perimeter of Derek’s compound. I’d call it a home, but between the electronic security, the personal security, and the sheer amount of land and home this man owned, it was more like a compound.
A decadent prison waiting to be breached.
My phone on my hip started to vibrate, and I scrambled for it. At this hour at night, it could only be one person. My heart thumped hard against my chest as I picked it up, wondering why the hell John was calling me at this time of the evening.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Yep. Just giving you a status report.”
“There’s no shift change happening right now. What’s going on?”
“Do you know if Mr. Steele has professio
nal landscapers?” John asked.
“I’m sure he does with all this land. Why?”
“Figure out what he sprays on his lawn. One of the guys came back from walking the perimeter, and he’s covered from head to toe in hives and shit. Think he’s come into contact with something he’s allergic to.”
“I’ll ask him. Send the guy to a doctor and then home to rest. We got someone who can fill his spot for the night?”
“Already taken care of. I wanted to update you. But, can I ask you something?”
“You just did,” I said.
“Funny. But besides your dry sense of humor, this job’s getting pretty boring, don’t you think?”
“Sorry we haven’t been shot at lately?”
“It’s not that, Sam.”
“Then what is it? Spit it out, John. I hate it when you beat around the bush,” I said.
“I don’t think Jacob’s coming back. He’s run underground. That much is for certain. And I don’t think his plan is to resurface and come after Mr. Steele personally.”
“You got any proof to back that up?”
“You mean besides two weeks of absolute silence? Look, I don’t mind the money. It’s a great paycheck, but I don’t think we should be spending too much time on a low-risk job.”
“This is no more low-risk than when we first took it. You know as well as I do that just because bullets aren’t flying doesn’t mean the risk factor is mitigated.”
“I think we’re getting a bit soft is all,” he said.
Shit.
I knew exactly where this was going.
“How long have you known, John?”
“Put the pieces together when you were shot. You didn’t push Mr. Steele out of the way. You jumped in front of the bullet.”
Fuck. Was that really my tell now?
“We’re staying on this assignment until Jacob is caught. I’ve never lost a client, and I don’t plan on ruining that record simply because you’re getting bored,” I said.
“Or because you let your guard down,” he said.
“I haven’t let my guard down. Jacob took us all by surprise. I didn’t see you rallying to check him out when I kept handing you suspect lists.”