“Good. Tell him not to open it.”
Holding my phone to my chest, I said to Nathan, “Jamie said not to open the box.”
“Copy that. Do they have a bomb specialist at SSI?” Nathan stepped away from the box he’d set on the edge of Gran’s brick patio. Her tall wooden privacy fence would serve its purpose today. But would it protect our neighbors from an explosion?
“How the hell would I know?” I asked.
“You could ask Jamie.” He pointed at my phone.
“Right. Sorry.” I pulled it up to my ear to hear Jamie ask if I was still here.
“Yeah, sorry, Nathan wants to know if anyone at SSI is a bomb specialist.” I felt like a poser for asking.
“Not really. The closest we have is Jay, but he’s out of town.”
“Okay, I’ll tell him.” When had my life become a fucking action movie?And how the hell do I opt out?
“We’ll be there soon. Don’t touch the box.”
“Yes, sir.” Jamie told me not to call him sir before hanging up.
“What’d he say?” Nathan asked.
“Jay is the closest they have, but he’s out of town.” I quoted Jamie.
Nathan nodded. “Do me a favor and keep your distance. Just because I don’t hear anything ticking doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous.”
“Yes, sir,” I said, laying the sarcasm on thick. It wasn’t like they needed to keep reminding me; I was the one who left it on the porch untouched.
Nathan tapped his phone screen before holding it to his ear. “Hey man, how’s it hanging?”
He listened, never taking his eyes off me.
“Good to hear.”
Pause.
“Good so far, but it’s only been a week.”
Another pause while he listened.
“Sounds good. Listen, any chance you’re free to come to Weatherford? We’ve got a bit of a situation and could use Havoc’s nose.”
Who’s Havoc?And what kind of name was that?
“Thanks, man, we’ll wait.”
He hung up and tapped the screen before putting the phone back to his ear.
“Who was that?”
Nathan held up a finger, indicating I should wait. Normally, I’d be angry at getting shushed, but I recognized his demeanor. He was in full-blown work mode, and it scared me.
“Jamie, I’ve got a friend in the area with a SEAL-trained dog.”
He paused.
“He’s trained to sniff bombs, among other things.”
