His job is to protect people, of course he’s like this with all of his clients.
Jaime didn’t want to be anyone’s job, anyway. He could look after himself, and he’d show Finn and his brother that. “Thank you, Finn. I appreciate you and Silas for helping. I’ll do my best to not be more work for you both.” He tried to smile. “And, there was nothing you could have done, then. It didn’t feel like it atthe time, but, all things considered, everything happened fairly quickly. I wasn’t stuck in there for long. You have nothing to be sorry for.”
He was the one who should apologize for the way he’d left things, but that line between Finn’s eyebrows was back, and before he could say anymore, Silas was hollering up the stairs. “Monroe PD is here to break up the crowd, want me to go out and talk to them?”
Finn shot a concerned look outside, and turned away. “No, I’ll do it and bring the truck around when they’re gone.”
He tromped downstairs, Jaime following behind. Just before opening the front door, he turned around to face them, voice stern. “Hopefully this won’t take long. You two hang tight, and stay inside.”
Silas’s grin was cheeky. “Yes, sir.”
Awkward silence descended as Finn left, and the large man turned around to face Jaime, giving him another of those easy smiles that belied his height and stature. Silas seemed more like a gentle giant, than a real monster. Although, given his profession, that ferociousness was probably there, well-hidden under his smiling eyes and the gentle way he moved.
Silas’s complexion was darker than Finn’s, more of a warm bronze that was emphasized by his near-black hair pulled away from his face and dark eyes, and he was even taller than Finn.
Suddenly, the thought of seeing Silas and Sam next to each other popped into his head. With Sam being a few inches shorter than Jaime’s 5’10”, their height difference would be quite something.
However, Sam had never been one to be cowed by someone based on size. Jaime had seen him tear apart larger men with one look and a few well placed words, and had loved every second of it. Hopefully the two wouldn’t clash too much if they ever met. He might be jealous, but he didn’t think Silas was abad guy and wouldn’t wish Sam’s quick wit turned sour upon the man.
Maybe just one good verbal jab would be ok…
He wished things between him and his brother were still that simple. “Can I get you anything to drink? Water, maybe?”
“Water would be nice, thank you.”
He got the sense that Silas accepted more for Jaime’s comfort, as it gave him something to do. They moved into the kitchen, and Jaime poured him a glass of water as they listened to the sounds of the crowd dissipating outside. Finn shouted something over the din of doors slamming shut and gravel crunching under tires.
If only to break the silence, Jaime said, “I’ll need to go to the grocery store.”
Silas nodded. “No problem, Finn can go with you. He’ll probably need to get a few things of his own while he’s staying here.”
“Is that what you all usually do when you're guarding someone? Get your own groceries and just use their kitchen?”
Silas eased back against the small island, relaxing into their conversation rather than looming. It put Jaime more at ease. “Not often. Most of the time we either camp out in the van and eat fast food, or we are working with clients in shifts and don’t eat very much until we are relieved. This is a bit of a unique situation.”
Jaime cocked his head. “Why?”
Silas paused, head tilting like he was still trying to listen to what was happening outside. Jaime couldn’t hear anything anymore, and assumed most of the crowd had cleared off by now.
Instead of answering his question, Silas asked one of his own. “So, you and Finn knew each other before, yes?”
Jaime went still. Had he really been that obvious?
“It’s ok, I’m not trying to catch you out. It’s just good for us to know, to get ahead of anything should people go digging into your past. Finn told me that you were talking on a dating app before all of this happened.”
“It’s all been deleted, so if anyone goes digging around they won’t find much. But yes, we knew each other before. We were talking, but…” he took a slow, deep breath. “It never went anywhere.”
“Because of that night? Or some other reason?”
Is Silas jealous?
He shouldn’t be. Clearly, he was a better match for Finn. Stronger, more capable. But Jaime was saved from explaining to Finn’s current boyfriend that he still carried a torch—or maybe a forest fire—for him, and would have jumped at the chance to date him if not for the whole ‘being hit upside the head and shoved into a closet on the night of their first date’ thing, because the front door opened and Finn came tromping back inside.
Does he clomp around like a Clydesdale everywhere he goes?
Silas walked out of the kitchen ahead of him, and Jaime rounded the corner just in time to catch Finn shoot Silas a dirty look.
Turning toward Jaime, he schooled his features. “The crowd is gone, and barricades have been set up along the road shoulder fifty yards on either side of the driveway. There will still be increased traffic coming by, and we’ll need to be cautious leaving the house, but it’s better than it was this morning.”
