“Zee, your property’s size and change of terrain pose some challenges.”River glared at his partner, and Carter put his palms up.
“Hey, I’m just saying.”
“You could wait until you’re inside to say anything.”River cuffed Carter on the neck, and Carter rolled his eyes.
Zee whistled, climbing the steps, staying out of their back and forth, and opened the door, wishing Ella was here to play hostess.
Though this wasn’t a social call.His stomach twisted in knots.
He hated keeping things from her, but he didn’t want to worry her, especially if it was only his imagination tied up with his ego.
“Beer?”Zee offered.
“We’re on the clock, Zee.But if you have a sports drink, we’ll take that, or water’s fine.”River pulled out a stool at the counter and took a seat.Zee straightened, tension ebbing from his stance.
Carter leaned his arms on the counter.
“Nice weather we’ve been having,” Carter drawled, his childhood Montana accent thickening.
“Yeah, Ella can’t wait to get in her garden.”Zee tossed them drinks.
“Did you guys run out of tomato sauce from last year?Let me get you a jar.”Zee crossed the room and rummaged in the pantry.
Having something to do took the edge off his nerves.
“We’re not here for sauce.”River slapped Carter’s hand away as the man reached for the jars.
“You’re always a spoilsport.”Carter stuck his tongue out at River, but Zee didn’t miss how Carter uncapped both sports drinks and waited for River to sip first before taking his own.He grinned when River took the jars and slid them next to his laptop bag.
Zee took a stool across from the men so he could see both of their faces.
“Let’s get down to it.You mentioned phone calls and noticing a vehicle?”River leaned on his thick forearms.Carter took out his laptop and started tapping the keys furiously.
Zee cleared his throat.“I don’t like fanfare.I’ve had more attention than I want lately.”
“Your gig with the university is a big deal, and that award?Yeah that’s fanfare,” River said with a smirk.
“Yeah, I don’t care about awards, but I like that this scholarship is going to help a kid out.Anyway, my phone has been ringing nonstop since my full-time appointment was announced.Ever since the university sent out the first press release mentioning my name, I’ve gotten calls.Some of those calls were from old friends.Most of the calls were congratulating me.Some were requests to speak to the media.Have you ever been on a podcast?”
“I haven’t.At Stone Security, we like to keep a low profile.People don’t know we exist until they need us.”
“Right,” Zee said.He hopped off his stool and grabbed his iPad, bringing it back over to the counter.“And maybe I’m paranoid, but I have had a lot of hangups, and this van has been in Club Bandit’s parking lot more than a few times.At first, I wondered if it was from one of our members.Maybe someone got a new vehicle?Maybe someone asked someone to pick them up?Could it be the new cleaners?But it doesn’t stay and nobody gets out,” Zee pressed play on the security footage.Carter took the iPad, watching it as River’s steely gaze turned to him.
“Anything else, Zee?”River asked.
“A few emails that could be discounted as spam.Saying things like,we’ve been watching you, we know where you live.”
“What else?”River tilted his head to the side slightly.
Zee’s pulse raced, adrenaline spiking to life as suddenly all the little things he’d been brushing off become to hard to ignored by voicing it out loud.
Needing to discharge the adrenaline, he paced the hallway between the kitchen and the great room.If he had listened to Ella and gone with a bed-and-breakfast on their property, would it have been any better?Or what if he had told Ella about the job before he had accepted it?
Technically, he mentioned it to her when the athletic director first floated the idea of him being full-time staff, but that was a lousy excuse.Communication was everything in their relationship, and he knew he wasn’t as upfront with her as he could be.
He didn’t give her a chance to voice her opinion on the job.
Zee wanted it badly enough that he didn’t want to risk hearing her say, “no don’t do this,” so he didn’t tell her.
