Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45785 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 229(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45785 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 229(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
On the other hand, it brought me a little bit of hope. Darius had found the rest of his happily ever after in his forties. The man was a couple years shy of fifty now, so fingers crossed for me.
“How often do you sit back and have a conversation with yourself from, say, ten, twenty years ago?” I asked.
Darius snorted softly and threaded his fingers across his stomach. “That guy’s there every damn day, wondering how this happened.”
I could imagine. My own twenty-year-old self reminded me of his presence all too often; only, he wasn’t happy.
“Are you takin’ on any more contracts?” he asked curiously.
I shook my head. “No, I’m out. Tariq too. We completed our final contract last year.”
I’d semi-retired as a private military contractor almost ten years ago, but Tariq and I had accepted some assignments while we’d built up our business.
“Good.” Darius nodded. “That’s when life begins for us old grunts.”
In my wildest dreams, I had hope that he was right. Work was certainly good. More structured, safer, and still challenging. Private security was the perfect field for me. More New York and London, less Baghdad and Djibouti.
“We got company!” Gray hollered shortly before he emerged with the speaker. “Two big-ass SUVs just pulled up outside.”
That would be the people from work. “Tariq has his own set of keys.” I took a swig of my beer and then opened the bag of chips.
“Advice? Don’t play Wordfeud against him,” Gray said. “Bastard beats me every time.”
I let out a laugh.
Darius chuckled. “Why would you play a word game against someone who’s fluent in nine languages, knucklehead?”
“I need someone who keeps me humble when I mop the Wordfeud floor with Ryan,” Gray replied frankly.
That cracked me up. Oh, Ryan. Sharp as a tack in the field, talented in countless ways—probably one of the best marksmen I’d ever met, but he was a Marine through and through. Zero patience, reckless, a lot of trial and error, more doing than thinking.
“Yo!”
Speaking of…
I tilted my head and spotted Crew coming through the living room.
“How you doin’, kid?” I smiled.
“Wonderful. Fucking gorgeous down hea’, boss.” He came out and slapped his hand to mine, then immediately turned to greet Gray and Darius. “If it ain’t my saviors! How the fuck are ya?”
I smirked. Crew had walked an interesting path. First as a fantastic Marine—who could be described very similarly to Ryan—and then he’d learned how difficult it could be in the private sector. He’d tried his luck as a PMC, promptly found himself in a hostage situation—saved by Darius, Gray, and a few family members…and now, he was with me. Hadn’t even turned thirty yet.
I believed in Crew, though. He made an excellent bodyguard for the more risk-filled assignments. Mostly diplomats and bankers with enemies.
While Gray and Crew chatted, Darius and I focused on Tariq and Ortega as they stepped out. They’d found the beer already, good. Ortega had brought his wife Marisa too, and she spoiled me rotten. Often showing up at the office with casseroles and treats.
Last but not least, Toby and Madison.
“Is it inappropriate for me to say you’re glowin’, hon?” I smiled.
Madison beamed at me. “Never, boss. But it’s partly sweat. I cannot freaking wait to jump in your pool.”
I chuckled. “Have at it, whenever you want.” I bumped fists with Toby, the nervous daddy-to-be. They had an interesting dynamic, those two. At work, Toby was the fearless bodyguard who looked the part too. Madison was the head of our cyber department—soft-spoken, a true code monkey with a Dr Pepper addiction she’d had to kick when they found out she was pregnant. But off the clock, man, Toby was a mess. Happy, of course, but all over the place. The baby wasn’t due for another five months, and he’d already assembled two cribs. After destroying the first one.
Given our age differences, I wasn’t surprised to see a split in our group. The youngsters who were still in their twenties headed for the pool, so that included Crew, Gray, Toby, and Madison.
Marisa went inside to call and check in on the kids, who were apparently spending the weekend with Ortega’s folks in Thousand Oaks. And Ortega and Tariq sat down with Darius and me.
“What a reunion, huh?” Tariq was happy. He’d worked plenty with Darius in the past. “When’s Dante coming?”
Darius checked his watch. “I reckon he’s landed by now.” He glanced up at me. “The Tenleys are flying in too, right?”
I nodded. I’d wanted to bring as many of us together as possible. Private contractors tended to be scattered all over the place, not to mention leading fairly secluded lives when they were stateside. Right up until they retired, that was. Darius was married now, Dante was engaged, Tariq had recently welcomed a second daughter to the world, and then there were the twin brothers River and Reese Tenley. No kids or anything, but I’d sure heard them call their partner Shay little one. They’d been together a few years now, and Shay had even taken River and Reese’s last name.