Chapter 2 #2
"You're going to want to start with a tour in the Everglades," she said.
"Everglades Overwatch is the best. When you call, tell them Juniper sent you.
They'll squeeze you in and give you a discount.
After that, head over to Mallor's Landing.
Trent Mallor runs an alligator farm and a wild preserve.
If you can finagle a spot with Tate Alexander, his fishing charter runs out of Mitchell's Marina.
He's booked weeks out for the weekends, but he gets cancellations and he's often got openings during the weekdays.
Worth asking. And if you want to take a boat out yourself, Mitchell's rents.
The national park is right here in town.
There's nothing like a sunset on the water down here if you've never seen one. "
"And to eat?"
"You're already eating."
"Besides here."
She smiled. "Even though it's my competition, I'm going to send you down the road from the Marina to the Crab Shack. Right on the water. Live music some nights. The food is excellent. It's got a bit of a Cajun flair. You'll see some of the same people here as you do there. It's all good."
He took a slow sip of his water. "You ever do any of those excursions?"
"I haven't had the chance."
"Let me ask you something, then." He set the glass down and leaned a forearm on the bar. "Take a night off. Have dinner with me. Or a drink. Or rent a boat with me and watch a man who has no idea what he's doing pretend he does. Whichever's the lowest stakes."
She should've seen it coming, and she walked herself right into it with all the questions, like she'd been interested in him. And she was, but not like that. She only wanted to know who he was, why he was here, and if it could possibly be related to Sterling.
"That's a generous offer, but I'm going to pass."
"Is it because you have a jealous boyfriend?"
"No." The word came out a quarter second faster than she meant it to. "But I do have a date tonight, so there's that."
"Ah." The smile shifted, but it didn't fall. "New guy or an old one?"
Oh boy, this guy was full of it.
"Someone I've known a while," she said.
He raised his water glass. "Well, I'm here for a few days if it doesn't work out."
Manny hit the bell.
"That must be your lunch." Juniper turned and went right for the kitchen. She wasn’t sure what to do with the confidence oozing out of Doyle. It wasn't that she hadn't experienced men like him before, but it had been a rare occurrence.
She pulled the plate from the window and brought it to Doyle. "I hope you enjoy. This was caught fresh this morning."
"Thanks, sweetheart."
She didn't love being called sweetheart by a man she'd just met, but she let it pass—this time. Besides, she'd been called worse.
She turned to draw fresh soda for the road-crew foreman down the bar, and the bell over the front door chimed again.
She glanced up and smiled. "Hey Cullen."
"Hi Juniper," Cullen said. "Is the Aegis Network order ready?"
"Walk with me to the back."
"Sure." He strolled around to the side of the bar, paused, and stared out at the indoor dining area. His lips drew into a tight line.
She wiped her hands and opened the kitchen door.
Cullen turned and stepped inside.
The brown paper bag with AEGIS written across the side in Sharpie sat on the warming rack where Manny always left it. She took two steps.
"I'll get it." Cullen reached for the bag. "Mind if I just go out the kitchen door?"
"Not at all." She lifted the handle to the back door and opened it.
Cullen marched through it, raking his free hand through his hair. "I can't believe that asshole is still here."
"Who?" She followed him outside and sucked in a deep breath. When she'd first moved to Calusa Cove, the humidity stuck in her throat and suffocated her. Now it expanded her lungs and let her breathe easy. Odd how that happened.
"The guy at the window table." Cullen gripped the bag.
"You mean the guy with the way too shiny designer boat shoes and suit that probably costs more than my monthly payments on this place?" she asked.
"Fucking Royce Halloran."
"I don't know who that is. I only know I've never seen him before, but he acts like I should know him."
"Rich prick. Owns Halloran Maritime Group out of Port Manatee.
" Cullen set the bag on the recycling bin and leaned against the wall.
"He showed up at the office this morning just as I was leaving to finish a job.
Jerk didn't have an appointment. He thought because Sterling told him to reach out during business hours that meant he could just ambush him. "
"What does he want?"
"To put Aegis on retainer for security jobs. Run breach checks. Use our IT person out of Orlando to make sure his system is state of the art. Occasional bodyguard work. Some other shit."
"And that's a problem because?" Juniper could name a reason for that trouble, but she couldn't say it out loud. Buddy ran a tight ship. He knew the stakes when it came to Sterling. No one in that office knew who, if anyone, was watching, but they were particular with their client list.
"Because he came with a condition." Cullen blew out a breath. "He offered Aegis a three-year contract as long as we made a change to the team."
That certainly got her attention. "What kind of change?"
"I'm to be removed from any kind of employment.
" Cullen kicked a broken shell. It shattered into four more pieces as it sailed across the lot.
"Sterling told him that our employees were not negotiable.
A client could request who they wanted on a job, but no one got to tell them who sat at one of our desks. "
"I can see Sterling saying exactly that." It was hard not to smile. Sterling was normally the kind of man who chose diplomacy over all else. But push him the wrong way, and he could be razor sharp with his tongue. And she'd seen him toss a nasty right hook before too.
"It was amusing." Cullen pushed off the wall.
"But, I've spent two years getting back to where the court trusts me with my own kid.
Where Tamara isn't calling me every ten minutes when I'm alone with Tyler.
Where I'm not worried I'm gonna start seeing shadows coming for me in the middle of the day and not know how to handle it. "
"You're a good man and a good father."
"I've come a long way," Cullen said. "Only, every time I believe I've put most of my problems behind me, somebody comes along to remind me how easy it'd be for me to lose everything."
She inched closer and laid a hand on his forearm. The people of Calusa Cove had become her friends. It was a truth she struggled with because when the time came, she either had to tell them the truth or disappear. Either way, that would be the day she lost everything, again.
No one had prepared her for that.
"Don't you worry about assholes with shoes that have no business walking on crushed shells," she said. "You belong here, he doesn't, and the Aegis Network would rather have a good operative than an asshole giving them jobs they don't want, either."
"That's what my uncle said, right after he threatened to add those shoes to the pollution in the gulf."
"I hope he meant just the loafers and not what they’re attached to."
Cullen held up his hands and laughed. "No comment." He stood there for a moment, holding her stare. "You didn't follow me out here just because that asshole put me in a mood," he said. "What's going on with you? And don't say nothing, because friends take turns listening."