CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Byron
Over the next few weeks, I started to notice something. Jess was scared to leave the condo. It was making me progressively more worried about her. What if we didn’t locate Skeeter for months? What if he’d left town and we never located him?
Was she just going to live scared her entire life? I was far from okay with that.
I’d decided she needed a day out. An entire day.
I’d recruited Nadine and Reynolds to be part of my plan.
Nadine was very willing. She wanted to take her little sister everywhere, but so far all she’d gotten to do was visit us at the condo.
Jess had agreed to dinner at their house a couple of times, too, but that was about it.
I think she thought I hadn’t noticed her fear. But years of training to be a security agent had taken care of that. There wasn’t much I didn’t notice.
So, I came up with a plan.
I’d take her out for breakfast, then we’d ‘happen’ to run into Nadine and Reynolds.
Nadine would then insist on a spa day with Nora, Jelly, Nia, and some of the other girls.
I’d reassure her that Reynolds and I would be watching the entire time.
Plus, I had a couple of the new recruits Dad had sent to me for the new headquarters we were slowly planning out.
I’d have them guard the spa while Reynolds and I kept watch across the street. I’d make sure she felt totally safe.
I just had to put the plan in motion.
We’d just finished yet another amazing round of sex and were cuddling in bed when I brought it up.
“I’m taking you out to breakfast this morning.”
I was holding her in my arms, her back to my front, and she turned to look at me over her shoulder. “What? Why can’t we just eat here?”
“It’s a beautiful morning. I thought we’d go to a new breakfast café the twins opened up down the street a bit. We can get a table outside. It’ll be so nice.”
She frowned. “The twins?”
“The Salazar twins? Leo and Joaquin?”
“I know who you’re talking about. I guess I just didn’t realize they owned restaurants.”
“They have more than a few around town. Most of them are the nicest, most exclusive places in town. But I’m willing to bet we can get a table at their new place, La Tahona.” I winked at her. “I happen to know Joaquin has a little crush on someone I know.”
“That doesn’t bother you?” She looked surprised. I knew Skeeter had been very jealous, so I knew this was new for her.
I shook my head. “I’m secure. You’re my girlfriend. And it just means he has great taste.”
“Well… as long as you’ll be with me.” She smiled a little nervously.
“Always. And you need to get out. I love being here with you, but you have to be feeling cooped up.”
“Not really.” She shrugged. She looked out the window wistfully. “But it might be nice to be in the sun for a while.”
“Exactly. Let’s get ready and go.”
We took a shower together, which of course ran longer than expected. We didn’t seem able to resist each other, not that I was complaining.
Finally, we left the condo together. I dressed down.
I didn’t want to look as if I was her bodyguard and not her boyfriend.
Instead of a suit, I wore khakis and a polo.
It felt strange, though. I was so used to being on duty almost all the time when I guarded Reynolds, that I rarely was out of my guard attire.
Jess wore a floral sundress and pretty sandals.
She looked absolutely gorgeous. Her thick blonde hair hung almost to her waist, and her big blue eyes were shining with excitement.
I knew it had been a good idea to get her out of the condo.
I held her hand as we walked a few blocks down to La Tahona.
When we walked up, Nadine and Reynolds already had a table outside. “Hey, y’all!” Nadine called.
Jess looked over at them and waved. Then she turned to me and raised her eyebrow. “Funny how they’re sitting at a table for four, isn’t it. It almost seems as if they planned to meet us here.”
Busted.
I just grinned at her. “I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”
“Right.”
I could tell she wasn’t upset with me, though.
I’d been around her for weeks now, and I hadn’t seen her get upset with me even once.
One of my girlfriends had been fairly high maintenance.
It had driven me crazy, and she was always mad at me over some minor transgression I didn’t even know I’d committed.
Jess was nothing like that. She was kind of low maintenance and very even tempered. I knew Nadine had a similar personality, so I figured it ran in their family.
We sat down with Nadine and Reynolds and had a great time over breakfast. Joaquin and Leo had come by a couple of times. Leo had started to pull up a chair, but Joaquin dragged him off.
“Come on, man. They don’t want you right in their faces. Let them eat in peace.”
“I thought everyone wanted me in their faces,” Leo grinned. He waved and left with his brother, though.
It was a fantastic morning. There was a breeze coming in off the bay.
It kept it cool enough to be able to sit outside.
West Bay was along the Southern coast of Georgia, just up from Savannah.
Georgia was known for its brutally hot, humid summers.
But we were saved from some of that discomfort by being an ocean town.
The weather was so nice that we lingered over breakfast, taking time to savor our coffee and enjoy spending time together.
I decided it was probably time to get going for the rest of the day’s activities. I gave Nadine a subtle wink.
“Oh, lean forward,” she told me, waving me towards her. “I think you’ve got an eyelash in your eye.” I did what she said so I wouldn’t bring attention to our not-so-subtle plan. But then she grabbed my face and stretched my eye wide open to the point of pain.
“Nadine,” I protested, trying to pull away from her. She had a surprisingly strong grip.
“Hold on,” she said, and pulled my face incredibly close to hers and stared into my eye. She wouldn’t let me blink, and it was starting to water. “Huh. That’s strange. I don’t see anything in there. Reynolds, give it a look.”
He didn’t answer because he was laughing so hard he couldn’t speak.
“What? What are you laughing at? Jesus, Reynolds! Your friend is in pain, and all you can do is laugh at him. I swear, I don’t understand guys at all. Do you, Jess?”
Jess was hiding her face, also laughing.
“Jess! You’re laughing, too? What the hell is wrong with y’all?”
“Nadine,” I gasped, “please let go. My eye is drying out.”
“Oh.” She let my face go, and I sank thankfully back into my chair, holding my damaged eye. “I’m sorry. I was just trying to help.”
“I know,” I said and tried to smile at her, but I couldn’t uncover my eye yet. It hurt too bad.
“Nadine,” Jess said, “I think Byron was trying to signal to you that whatever plan the two of you have cooked up should get started.”
Reynolds choked on another fit of laughter.
Nadine frowned. “How did you know?”
Jess put a hand on her sister’s. I think Byron was trying to wink at you to let you know it was time to go…”
“Oh God.” She made a face, and her cheeks turned pink. “I just wasn’t thinking. Sorry if I hurt your eye, Byron.” She looked sorrowful.
“It’s no big deal.” It would’ve been more believable if tears weren’t still streaming from that eye.
“Do you want me to go down to the pirate store and get you a patch to put over your eye?”
Reynolds looked hopeful. “Oh my God, please say yes.”
“Um… I kind of do.”
“I’m on it,” Nadine jumped up and was gone before anyone could say anything else to her. She waved as she walked past us. Reynolds frowned as every man on the street turned to get a better look at her.
“I think I should’ve gone with her.”
“She’ll be fine,” Jess laughed. She turned to me. “Is your eye okay?”
Since Nadine was gone, I could be honest. “It really fucking hurts. I’m pretty sure she scratched it with her fingernail.”
Jess winced. “Should we take you to the eye doctor?”
I waved her off. “No, nothing like that. I think the sun is bothering it because it’s so bright. The patch should help.”
Reynolds was texting someone, his fingers whirring over his keyboard.
I had little doubt about what he was doing. “Are you texting…”
“Nico and Paolo to be on the lookout for pictures of you dressed like a pirate? Oh, hell yes.”
I would’ve rolled my eyes, but it would hurt too much.
“So, what are your plans for the day?” Jess asked.
“You and Nadine and some of the girls from Sugar are going to have a spa day. And don’t worry. I know you’re scared. But Reynolds and I are going to be keeping watch, and I’ll have two of my agents stationed near the spa. There’s nothing to be scared of, okay?”
She bit her lip, but she nodded. “Okay. A spa day sounds really nice, to be honest.”
“Good,” I couldn’t hide my wide smile. I loved making her happy.
“So… why is there a pirate store in town?”
“Oh no.” I shook my head. “Now you’ve done it.”
“What?” Jess asked.
Reynolds sat up so fast he almost knocked over his coffee and the small vase of flowers that was sitting on the edge of the table.
“Well, Jess, it’s a fascinating story. Long ago, before even Savannah was founded as a city, there were caves right off the coast of what is now West Bay.
It made it ideal for pirates to smuggle in… ”
Fifteen minutes later, Reynolds finally finished his pirate story.
“… So, you see, the pirate flag hung above West Bay long before the American flag ever did.”
Jess blinked and tried to cover a yawn. “That’s… fascinating.”
“Don’t lie to him. It just encourages him. There’s only one thing Reynolds is nerdy about. West Bay. I’ve never met a person more obsessed with their hometown.”
Jess gave a little nod. “It’s a good thing you’re the mayor, Reynolds.”
“Thank you,” he preened, willfully ignoring Jess’ boredom and my lack of respect for his West Bay lore.
“Here comes Nadine,” Jess said, and we all got up to leave. I motioned for the check, one hand still covering my eye.
Leo came over to tell us he’d comped our meals.
“Dammit, Leo! What the hell? You give away more food than people buy. You can’t comp the meals of everyone you know. You know the whole fucking town!”
We hurried off as Joaquin blasted a very unconcerned-looking Leo.
Nadine opened the bag and put the patch on me. “There. That looks very handsome.” She patted my cheek. “Sorry it took me so long. I ran into some tourists who didn’t know about the history of pirates in West Bay.”
Jess and I exchanged a look. She leaned in close and whispered, “They’re perfect for each other.”
They really were. Even without their pirate obsession.
“Okay,” Nadine said, “let’s go to the spa. I assume Byron told you that’s what we’re really doing, right?”
Jess nodded and gave me a nervous little wave as she and Nadine walked off.
Reynolds and I followed a few paces behind. When I turned to tell him something he put his phone in my face and took a few pictures of me with the eye patch. “Got ‘em!”
I gave him a deadpan look as he hurriedly sent them to our friends. “Are you finished?”
“Finished,” he nodded.
“I want to run into the jewelry store to pick out something nice for Jess. Can you stay out here and keep watch on the spa? I already see the new agents in place, so you should be good. Just be on the lookout for a creepy looking huge guy on a motorcycle.”
“I saw him on the way out of Shitty Wilkins, too, remember?”
“That’s right. It seems like such a long time ago, but I guess it really wasn’t, huh?”
Reynolds shook his head. “Why kind of jewelry are you going to buy?”
“Why?”
“You know, I could help. Madeline helped me buy a bunch of jewelry for Nadine back in the day, so I’m pretty much an expert now.”
“Really.”
“Yep.”
“No, I think I’m just going to pick out something that makes me think of her. If you could just keep watch for Skeeter…”
“Sure, sure. No problem.”
I watched him as he walked down the sidewalk a little waving at someone. I frowned. This might not be the best idea. But then I caught sight of the two new agents, and I took a deep breath. If I was going to be director of the new headquarters, I was going to have to learn to trust my agents.
I might as well start now.