“I am, thank you for having me,” he said, taking it. “Apologies for showing up on a motorcycle. I did not have a ride otherwise.”
“That’s all right,” I said, opening the door and leading him inside. “Motorcycles are a very common element in this part of the States, and you would be working out in the fields.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”
Derek smiled and nodded. So far, so good. I led him to one of our conference rooms, laid out my paperwork, and sat about five feet away from him.
“OK, so, let’s see…you’ve lived in Santa Maria for a while now, huh?”
“Yep, I have been here for about ten years now.”
“OK. Nice. Do you like it here?”
Derek smiled.
“Many people think it’s a bit of a dump. But I like it. It’s a chance for us to live like America was meant to be.”
“I see,” I said.
It was never a great idea to bring politics into an interview, but I was hiring someone to work in the field, not for someone to work upstairs. I couldn’t expect gold when I was hiring someone to be copper.
“Have you been in Sa nta Maria much, Miss Rogers?”
“Oh, aside from this, not too much, no,” I said. “I have a couple of friends who live near here, but they usually come to Albuquerque.”
“Funny story, I was down there about a month ago.”
“Yeah? How’d you like it?”
Derek smiled, almost like a kid who’d been caught red-handed about something.
“It was… different.”
His eyes went wide.
And that, that expression—that’s when I knew where I had seen him before.
He was the Bandit that had stumbled into the bathroom at Reapers before Brock came in and beat the shit out of him.
“How was it different?”
Derek raised his eyebrows. Now, suddenly, expressions that had seemed playful and warm seemed shady, discomforting, and like red flags.
“There are more rules and restrictions in Albuquerque, which I suppose makes sense in a big city. But that’s part of why I stay in Santa Maria. Because I can do whatever I want here.”
It felt like Derek had already made the connection.He knows that I was with Brock and Steele. Or at least friendly enough to be talking with them.
Which means…
I could become a target here.
“Let’s move on to the interview, shall we?” I said with a professional smile.
I tried my best to conduct the interview in as calm and dignified a manner as possible, but there was no way that I was hiring a Bandit that had tried to come after me, my sister, and my best friend. That wasn’t a concern to me, because to me, it was a done deal that Derek would not be hired.
The much bigger issue was that if the Bandits knew that this was where friends of Brock Noelle and Steele Harrison worked, they might try to come after us. I didn’t begrudge Steele or Brock for this, but…
A certain part of me knew that I couldn’t resign myself to accepting the fallout of Brock’s and Steele’s fight. I had to get Brock back on my side. I had to make sure the two of them and everyone else could protect me.
