Alec grimaces. “I’ll get you some ice at Enzo’s. To keep the swelling down.”
I tear my gaze away from his face to look out the window, watching the blur of darkened trees move past.
Guilt presses down on my chest.
It’s late. Nearly midnight. Well past when I’m sure Alec would be in bed. But instead, he left the comfort of his home to come to the police station to get me, and now he’s giving up morevaluable time taking me to Enzo’s house for this meeting.
“I’m sorry,” I tell him quietly.
Alec glances over at me again. “What for?”
“Calling you so late. Making you come get me at the station. And now?—”
“Hazel.” He gently touches my arm. “Itoldyou to call me. Anytime. That doesn’t come with conditions. Noon, midnight, four AM; it doesn’t matter. If you need my help, I’ll be there. Okay?”
My heart squeezes.
When’s the last time someone offered me unconditional support?
Then again, when’s the last time I actuallyaskedfor help?
I can’t remember, honestly. Not for years. Not since I decided I didn’t deserve it.
The maudlin thought has me changing the topic back to Alec’s original question. “So. GMG. I think I know the basics of it. You help people when the police can’t or won’t. Like Winter. Lark. Rory. Alice from Breakfast Bliss when she had that stalker.”
Alec lets up on the gas as we wind around a sharp curve. As he accelerates out of it, he replies, “That’s a part of it.” He pauses. “Maybe some background will help.”
My interest is piqued. I’ve never heard the story of how Green Mountain Guardians was formed, and I’m curious how five former Special Ops soldierscame together in rural Vermont to create it. “I’d like to hear it. If you don’t mind.”
“Of course not.” Alec casts a quick smile in my direction. “So. Everything that happened with Winter was really the catalyst for Green Mountain Guardians forming. She found herself in trouble with her ex, and things escalated from there. Enzo was protecting her, but he wanted backup. Ronan, Gage, Knox, and I were all living in the general area, and we knew each other from our time in the Army. So Enzo reached out for our help.”
“You all served together?” I ask.
“Sort of. We were all stationed at Fort Campbell together. Me, Enzo, and Knox were Green Berets. So was Ronan, before he transferred over to Delta. Gage was based there too, but as part of a Night Stalker team. Though we weren’t teammates back then, we all knew each other pretty well through trainings and joint missions.”
“And somehow you all ended up living in Vermont.”
“Yeah.” Alec slows as we round another curve. “Enzo came back to Bliss to take over his uncle’s store. Knox bought his house from an old friend. Ronan loves skiing and spent a lot of time in Vermont, so it made sense for him to move here after he left the Army. And Gage liked the solitude of rural Vermont—” Alec smiles. “Though he’s not living quite as quiet of a life anymore.”
Considering Gage and Rory live on the same property that houses Rory’s dog shelter, I can’t imagine it being particularly quiet. Not with at least ten dogs on the premises and potential adopters coming to visit. But judging from Gage’s huge smile whenever I see him with Rory, he’s happy with how things turned out.
“And what about you? Why did you move to Vermont?”
Alec hesitates. His fingers tighten on the steering wheel.
“Nevermind,” I add quickly. “It’s none of my business, anyway.”
His gaze flickers to mine. “No, it’s fine. I grew up in Boston, and when I separated from the Army, my parents wanted me to move back there. But… I wanted a change. I’d always liked the area from visiting, and when I found a floundering home security company up for sale after a bankruptcy, it seemed like the perfect opportunity. I could use my computer skills plus my experience from the Army to build it back up into something successful.”
After a beat, he continues, “Anyway. After everything with Winter settled down, Enzo asked us about forming a team. Offering our services to people like Winter who found themselves in trouble with nowhere to turn. We didn’t want to charge them, but we needed to find a way to cover expenses. So we decided to pick up paid jobs, as well.”
“Like what?”
“Security for events, for one,” he answers. “Like last month, we covered a financial conference in Boston. And sometimes we’ll do security consults—analyzing the current system, making recommendations, training staff—for high-value clients.”
“So you use part of the money to cover the pro-bono cases?”
“Exactly.” As we come up on a driveway on the left, Alec signals to turn into it. “And since we all have other jobs, we don’t really need a salary from GMG. The profits go towards the clients and improving the property. Adding fencing, cameras, radar…”
