“Thanks for joining us today, especially Nacho and Ant, since you’ve already put in a full day.”
“I have a feeling regular work hours don’t apply here,” I answer, thrilled when Bram grabs my hand.
Sitting on the chair like he’s about a hundred years old, Charlie nods. “That’s probably accurate, but let’s get right into it so everyone can get on with their evenings.”
We lean in, curious about what he has to say.
“Alright, quick update on the state of things. First, the ranch has been cleaned up, all the bodies dumped, and most of the dogs are on their way to a breed-specific rescue organization. They’ll need a massive amount of retraining, but the organization feels positive it can be done. Probably not as family dogs, but many show potential for K-9 units domestically and in military operations.”
Erik smiles. “I took one to retrain for the search-and-rescue missions, and Hopper took the one following him around. He said his Great Dane, Zoe, needs a friend.”
Charlie face-palms. “Erik. Did you warn Liam?”
Erik laughs and holds up his phone.
Liam:Why did my husband come home with a creepy German Shepherd?
Erik:You’re just lucky he didn’t show up with the whole pack.
Charlie, clearly exhausted, snorts. “True enough. Any questions?”
We all shake our heads.
Justin is the next to speak. “Charlie has an idea about the fencing company that he brought to me and my brother, and I think it’s a good one. Regarding the trailer full of people we helped, a number of them qualify for a trafficking visa, and they’ll need employment. Of those, a few showed interest in the fencing, but they’ll need to be trained.”
Turning to Ant and me, Justin continues, “In order to say yes, I need to make sure you two are comfortable with handling most of that since it will need to be done in Spanish. We’ll adjust your salaries accordingly.”
Ant and I look at each other and shrug.
“Sure,” I say, answering for the two of us. “Just checking…you’re not using them for cheap labor, are you?”
To his credit, Justin doesn’t look offended.
“They’ll be on the same pay grade as everyone else.”
Charlie grabs his hand. “My hubby is too pure to do anything unethical.”
I chuckle to myself, and Ant makes a disgusted sound at the back of his throat while sticking out his tongue.
“Guys,” he moans, bored already. “Can we not talk about howin lovey’all are? Like, focus please.”
Charlie smiles warmly, but there’s hesitation there. “Of course. But then that does bring us to you.”
Ant shifts uncomfortably.
“What about me?” he asks as though he thinks we wouldn’t be discussing his whole sneaking-into-the-mission-and-stabbing-a-guy-in-the-face-until-he-didn’t-have-a-facething.
I’d given him a few opportunities to talk about it while we were working, but he was having none of it. He can slip that maneuver past me, but he won’t be so lucky with the rest of them.
“You followed us to the property even though we made it clear you were not to be a part of the mission,” Charlie says, his voice even and kind. “You endangered the entire team.”
Ant throws his hands up. “I saved Erik’s life.”
“I hear you. But we can’t operate if we can’t trust you to follow the mission parameters. That’s job one. Anybody on a team who’ll go off like that isn’t someone the rest of us can depend on. If you wanted to show us you’re ready for this, you did the exact opposite.”
Scrunching his nose, Ant responds, “Well, I guess I’m just not on your team then, am I?”
“If you’re not on our team, you’re a liability. And I do want you on the team, Ant. In some capacity. Eventually. But until you go to therapy…” Charlie opens his hands, silently asking Ant to see reason.
