In A Fix - Mary Calmes Page 0,3
he grumbled, squinting at Nash. “And I got the job because he liked the whole Army Ranger thing, but more importantly, it was your recommendation that sealed it.”
Nash instantly deflated. “Oh yeah?”
The two men were close; it was evident in their warm tone of voice and the glowers they were giving one another, waiting for the other guy to crack.
“Yeah,” came the retort, one dark eyebrow lifting in a dare.
After a moment, Nash grinned wide. “Hey, everybody, this is my old army buddy, Rais Solano, and he’s gonna be workin’ with us.”
Locryn gave him a head tip, Cooper moved in fast and shook Rais’s hand, Shaw was next, quick with the welcome, and then me.
And that’s when the very charming, and frankly beautiful, Rais Solano ruined my day and told me that Jared Colter wanted me to go into his office because there was a file on his desk for me. It was why I was now on a plane headed for Vegas.
I planned to argue with my boss, immediately following the requisite mocking, of course.
“Being a bodyguard in Vegas is the worst,” Locryn assured Rais. “You never leave the Strip. You walk all day, every day, and it’s an endless loop of watching people drink, gamble, vomit, buy crap they will never use, eat, then vomit again because they drank too much, go to shows, and, obviously, hook up with anyone with a pulse.”
“That is so very accurate,” Shaw complimented Locryn.
“Thank you,” Locryn said, smiling at him in a moment of levity.
Rais returned his focus to me. “I’m sorry you have to go, then. I thought it sounded good when he told me.”
Newbie.
I exhaled sharply, already dreading the rest of my week.
“Take extra clothes,” Locryn cautioned me. “Because you never know when someone’s gonna puke on you.”
“And you’ll smell like smoke, goin’ in and out of all the casinos,” Shaw reminded me, trying not to smirk. “Your suits are gonna reek.”
“Thanks,” I said under my breath.
I made my way to Jared’s office, on a cackle of laughter at my back, and called him from the phone on his desk.
“Esca?”
I cleared my throat. “Good morning, Mr. Colter, how are––”
“Spit it out,” he demanded.
“I beg your pardon?”
“I know you want to argue, it’s why you’re calling, so g’head. Don’t beat around the bush, make your case.”
My exhale was sharp. “Sir, don’t you agree that Locryn would be far better suited than I to a bodyguard assignment?” I said quickly, hopefully, praying that he’d have an epiphany right then and there and say, “Holy crap! I never even thought of that! I mean, he looks the part more than the rest of us, and he’d definitely fit in with—”
“The client doesn’t want anyone to suspect he’s hired a bodyguard, so he requested someone less obvious. Not to mention I felt you to be uniquely suited to this assignment, given your background.”
Well, I was definitely the less obvious one. All the Torus agents, including our boss, came off as menacing without trying. I’d been told I looked more like a GQ model. Not that I was slight or lithe or any of those other things. I worked out, I ran, I swam, but whereas the rest of the men at Torus, and Rais as well, carried a lot of heavy muscle on their frames, I was leaner, longer, more runner than linebacker. What he meant about my background, I was sure I’d understand soon enough.
“It’s a short assignment,” Jared explained. “You’ll only be in Vegas from Wednesday to Saturday, home early Sunday morning.”
I didn’t say anything.
“You’re guarding the eldest son of Baker Stanton who, as you know, founded Stanton-Downey, which owns more than sixty different companies, from insurance brokers to restaurant chains to laundry detergent manufacturers. The Stantons are one of the wealthiest families in this country, but the man isn’t a diplomat or a rock star. He’s not someone people would know on sight.”
And there it was, the reason I was well-suited for the job. They needed someone who could blend in with the blue bloods. I remained quiet, because I knew from experience that he wasn’t done explaining.
“You’ll be there because he’s received some threatening emails, as well as physical letters delivered to his loft in Bridgeport. There are also security feeds, at his office and at his loft, that show suspicious cars parked for extended periods of time on the street outside both places.”
“Has he had protection before?”
“Baker’s son, Brigham, Brig, is assigned a detail when traveling abroad, as are