bit of dark hair escaped her hat to brush her cheek. Her hair was shorter than it had been the last time he’d seen her. It was still long, just different. There were more freckles across her cheeks. She’d always been quiet and a bit reserved, but easy to laugh. Now she didn’t seem as... light hearted. It was as if there was a weight on her shoulders she couldn’t share with him.
Jo glanced away first. “Don’t ask me to tell you more. Not here. Not yet.”
“This isn’t the time or place for that,” he agreed.
She nodded and darted a glance at him. Her lips curved in the slightest smile.
“How have you been?” she asked.
“Good. Really good.” Sure, the holidays weren’t his favorite time of year, but he liked his life.
“Yeah? You aren’t just saying that to get out of telling me about yourself?”
“Nah. Maybe a year and a half ago that might have been the case, but not now.”
“What changed? What was wrong?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I just knew I wasn’t happy where I was, then Zain Lloyd reached out about coming on board to handle their sales department. I figured, what did I have to lose? More pay, better benefits. Downside was moving, but it turns out I don’t mind Seattle.”
She squinted. “Who do you work for again?”
Elias found it highly doubtful she didn’t know that for some reason, but he humored her anyway. “Aegis Group. We do the run-of-the-mill bodyguard duty, but our specialty is in high conflict asset retrieval.”
“You mean like kidnappings and being held hostage?”
He nodded. “Exactly like that.”
“Wow. Okay, so you guys are like, way cooler than I thought.” She grinned at him and he could have died happy right then and there. Her gaze jumped over his shoulder and her smile died. “We should probably be as vague as possible around Isaac.”
“I’ll follow your lead.”
She stared into his eyes. They seemed to say so much more than her lips in that moment. “Thank you, Elias.”
He wished he understood what she wasn’t saying.
He ducked his head. “Always said I’d have your back.”
“I’m grateful.” She slumped back in her seat and let her eyes close.
Weariness weighted down her shoulders. She let her head fall back and just sat there.
Elias leaned his back against the window and turned slightly so he had both Isaac and the door in view. They sat like that in companionable silence as they crept through the city.
After two stops, he pulled out his phone and winced.
There was already a missed call from Zain.
Figures he’d know something was up already.
Elias opted to ignore the voicemail and tapped out a text.
Army buddy in town. Not sure what’s going on. Fill you in later. Crashing at the airport condo.
He hit send and pocketed his phone.
The condo wasn’t actually at the airport. It was a few miles away. Since they’d moved the office further out of downtown Seattle for better security purposes, Zain had decided to purchase a condo to have a convenient staging location for teams heading out on early or late flights.
Elias glanced up and realized he’d missed a stop.
He patted Jo’s knee. “Next one is us.”
Her head snapped up, and she blinked as if he’d just woken her up.
Damn.
She must be really worn out if she’d passed out so quickly.
Jo straightened her hat and glanced back at Isaac.
Just what was going on here? Why was this guy integral to what Jo was doing? What was she doing? And why didn’t she have back-up? Someone she could trust?
All of those questions would have to wait.
Elias stood as the train pulled into the station and made his way to the door. Jo followed and Isaac brought up the rear.
Elias glanced around, but no one paid them any mind.
He was the first off the train, looking left and right, taking note of people hanging out on the platform. Not a one gave them anything more than a tired glance.
“Come on. Let’s get going,” he said over his shoulder.
His phone vibrated against his thigh, but he didn’t look at it.
After last Christmas, Elias didn’t have any qualms about borrowing company resources. Besides, the guys in the field were wrecking cars and responsible for enough damage. A broken window and staying at the condo weren’t that big of a deal, all things considered.
Once they were out on the street, they walked side by side. It was mostly day oriented businesses and condos, so foot traffic was light.
“So who is this guy?” Isaac gave Elias a head