“And before that you were a US Marshal, right? After you got out of the Marines.” She kept up with him when she could—mostly through talking to old friends from high school.
“That’s correct. New York district. Witness protection, mostly.”
She turned that over. Witness protection.
She’d played a character in a movie once who was in witness protection, and she’d had to do some research for the role. The specific skills required for that job—reading threat levels, relocating people, understanding how danger followed someone regardless of geography—were impressive.
“What made you leave?” she asked.
His gaze clouded for a moment. “It’s . . . well, it’s a long story. But I saw the system fail someone it shouldn’t have failed. And . . . I knew I was done.”
Rowan looked at him. “So you took matters into your own hands and started your own company.”
“I tried to take matters into my own hands.” The corner of his mouth twitched. “I’m still trying.”
“Just one more thing to love about you.” As soon as the words left her lips, her cheeks reddened. She hadn’t meant to say that.
Which meant she needed a subject change—and quickly.
“Do you like Baltimore?”
“It’s not Virginia, but it’s central. I travel a lot for my job. It’s really just my home base.”
“How many people do you have working for you.”
“Fifty.”
Her eyes widened. “Fifty? I had no idea.”
“It’s grown faster than I ever anticipated.”
“And what do you do when you’re not working?” she asked.
“Besides hanging out with Remi?”
She grinned. “Yes, besides hanging out with your dog.”
He shrugged. “I work out. I play frisbee golf.”
“Frisbee golf?”
“It’s actually entirely more fun than real golf.”
She laughed. “You always hated golf. I remember your dad would always take you out.”
“Everyone thinks I should like it. I don’t.”
She looked back out the window at the mountains. This place felt like home entirely more than Hollywood ever had. She just hadn’t realized it until now.
However, she had no idea what to do with that realization, and she certainly couldn’t figure that out now. She had far more pressing problems.
“Can I ask you something?” Wes glanced at her.
“Sure.”
He kept his eyes on the road. “Hollywood . . . was it what you thought it would be?”
She thought about how to answer. “Parts of it.”
