Chapter 17
The day after Magnus had arrived was relatively uneventful, for which Lexie was grateful.
Midas had dropped her off at Food For All early as usual, and she’d gotten a head start on the day.
Magnus showed up not too much later than she had and went straight to the office to get to work.
After Stephen arrived and unlocked the doors, Theo had appeared, as was his custom.
She’d been worried at first, but he’d taken a seat on the far side of the room while she’d been in the kitchen and hadn’t said anything to her.
He rocked back and forth, and even when she put a piece of toast in front of him, with the crusts cut off, he didn’t look up.
Deciding not to confront him about why he was in the alley across from her building, especially when she wasn’t sure how he’d react to an interrogation, Lexie went back to work. She’d never seen Theo in that alleyway before, so she couldn’t really accuse him of watching her when she had no proof.
Midas called around two and said he had the rest of the day off and was coming to pick her up. Lexie headed to Natalie’s office to let her know.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to let you know that Midas is coming to pick me up now,” Lexie said.
“That’s fine. You’ve been working really long hours lately.”
“Will I get to meet him?” Magnus asked from behind the large desk, where he was sitting and looking at computer files.
“If you want to.”
“Oh, yes. I’ve heard a lot about him. And maybe he can tell me more about my brother.”
Lexie mentally winced. She wasn’t sure this was the time or place to talk about what had happened in Africa, but since Magnus hadn’t accepted her offer of dinner, and Midas couldn’t just take time off work whenever he wanted, she supposed there wouldn’t really be another good time.
“I’ll let you know when he gets here,” she told them.
Natalie nodded, while Magnus just stared at her with that penetrating gaze of his.
Closing the door, Lexie took a deep breath. Man, Magnus had turned out to be very different from what she’d thought, based on his messages and from talking to him on the phone. She assumed he was still in mourning, maybe even a little stressed because of this being his first audit.
Lexie headed back down the hall and visited with the men and women who were in the main room until Midas arrived. Luckily, Theo had left by the time he got there. She had a feeling Midas would’ve wanted to have a “chat” with the poor man.
“Hey,” Midas said, coming straight for her.
“Hi,” Lexie said with a huge smile. It was almost embarrassing how happy she was to see him. Midas never failed to make her feel good.
“How’s your day been?” he asked.
“Good.”
He crooked an eyebrow at her.
“Seriously. Good,” she insisted. “Except… I think Magnus wants to have a talk with you about his brother.”
“I’m okay with that,” Midas said.
“Really? I mean, I just figured it would be awkward.”
“It’s not. But I’m afraid he’s not going to be all that impressed with what I have to say. I was with you, not Dagmar, when the attack on the hospital happened, and even before that the Danish special forces took over his care in the field and on the way to Galkayo.”
“True,” Lexie said.
“Come on. Let’s get this done so we can head out. I have a surprise for you.”
“You do? What is it?”
“It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you what it was,” Midas replied with a grin.
They walked back down the hall toward Natalie’s office, and Lexie knocked once more before sticking her head in. “Midas is here,” she said.
They walked into the office and Midas nodded at Natalie. “Good to see you again,” he told her.
“Same. I hope you’re well?” Natalie said.
“I am, thanks.”
“And this is Magnus. I’ve told you guys a lot about each other,” Lexie said a little nervously.
As Magnus stood, Midas took a step forward and held out his hand. Magnus looked at it for a beat too long before he shook it.
“It’s good to finally meet you. Lexie has told me a lot about you,” Magnus said.
“Same. I’m sorry about your brother,” Midas said.
Magnus nodded his head in acknowledgement of the sympathy.
“I’m going to slip out and check on things,” Natalie said, heading for the door.
The second she was gone, Magnus said, “I would like to hear about Dagmar and what happened.”
It wasn’t a question, and it wasn’t said in the most friendly tone either. Lexie tensed, but Midas put his hand on the small of her back as if to let her know he had this conversation under control.
“I wish I could tell you something you wanted to hear. But my team and I weren’t involved much in his transport or his care once we got back to the hospital.
We were surprised that we were even headed back to Galkayo in the first place.
We didn’t learn of the unexpected stop until we were in the helicopter on the way to the LZ in the desert. ”
Magnus visibly stiffened. “My brother was ill. He needed a doctor. Immediately. The flight to the US ship could’ve killed him.”
Midas nodded in acknowledgement, but didn’t respond.
“So you know nothing?” Magnus asked.
“I’m sorry, no. I was with Lexie when the hospital was attacked. I didn’t learn of your brother’s death until much later, after we were able to meet up with my team. I didn’t even know the Jaeger Corps had left the country.”
Magnus made a snorting noise in his throat and turned back to his chair. He sat and concentrated on the computer screen in front of him. “It was nice meeting you,” he said absently. “I have much work to do in the short amount of time I have here in Hawaii.”
“Right. My deepest condolences for your loss,” Midas said, then pressed on Lexie’s back as he turned her toward the door.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Lexie said over her shoulder. “Maybe we can go out to lunch?”
“That would be nice,” Magnus said.
When the office door shut behind them, Lexie scrunched her nose and looked up at Midas. “Wow. He was kinda rude. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Midas said. “It reflects on him, not you.”
“But I’ve been talking him up for weeks,” she fretted.
“Doesn’t matter. People aren’t always how they seem. You mostly knew him through email, Lex. And a few phone conversations don’t always show someone’s true colors.”
“I know, but still. And I appreciate you not getting into it about whether or not his brother should’ve gone back to Galkayo or straight to the ship.”
“I still believe he was wrong. He used his money and influence and got the government to approve taking Dagmar to the hospital, but it was the wrong decision. I’m not saying he wouldn’t have still died, because from what I understand, he was in bad shape, but I wasn’t about to tell a grieving brother that.
What we know for certain is that if we’d gone straight to the ship, the kidnappers wouldn’t have had a second chance to try to get their hands on either of you. ”
Lexie nodded. Midas’s response just proved what a good man he was. He could’ve defended his actions that day, made it clear that it was Magnus’s insistence on his brother being seen by his doctor that had most likely resulted in his death. But he hadn’t.
“Come on. Enough work talk for both of us. I have plans.”
“What kind of plans?”
“You’ll see.”
“Gah. I’m dying of curiosity,” Lexie complained.
“All will be revealed soon,” Midas said mysteriously.
Lexie said goodbye to Natalie and the other employees who were there, then she and Midas headed out the door. As they walked toward the parking garage, Lexie almost stopped when she saw Theo out of the corner of her eye. He was sitting on a bench across the street from the entrance to Food For All.
“Ignore him,” Midas said mildly.
Lexie nodded. She’d planned to. Theo wasn’t doing anything threatening. He was just sitting there. But she couldn’t help the shiver as she walked with Midas to his car.
Lexie grinned as she watched Midas devour the shrimp taco he’d bought from a truck parked along the side of the road.
She’d already eaten one and was about to dig into her second.
Midas had said that the North Shore had the best food trucks, and nothing beat Giovanni’s.
He was right as far as she was concerned.
He’d already promised they’d stop at the Dole Plantation so she could get a dole whip on the way back to his place, but first he had another surprise for her.
They were at Waimea Bay, one of the most famous and popular surf spots on the North Shore.
At the moment it wasn’t crowded, which Midas said was the only reason they were there.
During competitions, even getting to the North Shore was almost impossible.
Apparently, the traffic was horrendous, bumper to bumper on the two-lane road as people came to watch the athletes take on the huge waves.
Today, the sea was relatively calm and only a few diehard surfers were out in the bay. But that didn’t matter to Lexie. She was thrilled to be there.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a man approaching from their right.
Midas turned to her. “Baker didn’t promise he’d be here, but I hoped he’d be intrigued enough to meet you that he’d show.”
“Holy crap,” she breathed as she stared at the man coming toward them.
He’d just come from the ocean and was wearing a wet suit that didn’t hide any of his muscles.
He was exactly as Elodie had described. Tall.
Black hair—liberally speckled with gray—that fell over his forehead, jade green eyes that seemed to be able to see right through her.
Definitely a silver fox…one with an incredibly dangerous aura around him.
Midas stood and held out his hand as he nodded at the older man. “Baker. Good to see you.”
“Same,” Baker said, then turned toward her. “And you’re Lexie.”
“I am,” she said as she stood. She wiped her hand nervously on her shirt, then held it out. “It’s good to meet you. Elodie has nothing but good things to say about you.”