He scoffed. “What type is that?”
Did he really need me to answer?
He stared at me, blinking twice as he waited.
Apparently, yes.
“Bossy.”
Calder laughed a quick but loud snort. “She’s got your number, Knox.”
Knox? I let my gaze slide over him from head to toe?
Yeah, it fit.
From the way he closed his mouth, he agreed that bossy fit his description perfectly.
I’d been around enough of Calder’s people to recognize the type. Mainly because they were all of that type.
“Emerson runs the South Carolina Manatee Safety Operation. Her headquarters are also here at the dock.”
“I was here first,” I reminded him, putting my hands back on my hips.
Calder laughed again, ruffling more of my feathers. “Yes, that’s true.”
“You brought me here to watch sea mammals?” Knox asked.
I tilted my head to the side. “You know manatees are mammals?”
He shrugged. “Yeah, doesn’t everyone?”
“No.”
Most people knew nothing about manatees except that they might have been confused for mermaids at one time. And I thinkthey only knew that because of a popular movie or something. I’d never gotten a straight answer from anyone.
“Emerson had a few small run-ins with a couple of my men,” Calder said, completely downplaying the entire situation.
I popped my hip out further. “One of his dumbasses almost hit a manatee as they were bringing in a boat. Then had the balls to tell me I couldn’t use a grenade on his little boat.”
“A grenade?” Knox asked in horror. “Who gave her access to a grenade?”
Calder shrugged, but we both knew he just had it sitting on top of his desk. He was horrible at weapons storage. Another concern for the manatees. What if one of his death bombs rolled out into the water?
“The real concern is when she told off Rex Thorton last week,” Calder said, and I rolled my eyes.
How did he take anyone seriously when their name was Rex Thorton? He acted as if I’d gotten into an argument with Lex Luther.
By the way, Knox’s eyes widened, he knew the guy and agreed with Calder. “I thought he’d gone underground after Peru?”
Calder let out a deep sigh. “So did we, but he showed up here looking to make a deal. Then he ran into Emerson before anyone tracked him.”
“You didn’t make a deal. Did you?” Knox asked.
What kind of deal did Rex want? He hadn’t seemed friendly enough for deal-making that day.
“Fuck no,” Calder said. “Money can’t change all hearts.”
“Damn straight. Glad to see life on the mainland hasn’t changed you. But I’m still not sure why you called me. Emerson seems to be able to handle herself.”
