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“Your expectations are unrealistic,” Felicia continued. “In less than two years, everything about your life changed completely. Yet you’ve carried on with the festivals and created a successful family unit. You should be proud of yourself.”
Tears filled Pia’s eyes. “That’s so nice,” she said, sniffing. “Thank you.” She waved her hands in front of her eyes. “Sorry for the breakdown. I’m hormonal.”
Felicia would guess she was also physically and mentally exhausted. “I hope I can do as good a job as you,” she said, wondering if it was possible.
“You’ll do better,” Pia told her. “I suppose the good news is you can set up the next office however you like it.” She reached into her desk drawer and pulled out an envelope. “The address and the key. Seriously, it’s just sitting there. The landlord said to let him know when I was ready and he’d paint the place. I guess I should call.”
“I’ll do it,” Felicia told her. “From now on, you tell me what needs to be done and I’ll take care of it.”
Pia sighed. “Can you do that for me at home, too? It sounds wonderful.”
“I think you’d find me too detail-oriented.”
Pia grinned. “Is that possible? I’m not sure it is.” She glanced at her desk. “Okay, let’s do this. Brace yourself and I’ll begin the info dump.”
She turned and pointed to the dry erase board dominating the largest wall. “That is the master calendar. It’s in computer form, too, but I find this is easier to work with. I can physically see everything happening.”
She went over to the file cabinets. “Starting at this end we have information on previous festivals. Next is vendor info. There’s a whole section on vendor disasters. You’ll want to cross-check that info whenever we have a new application. Permits are in the third cabinet.”
Felicia had been taking notes on her laptop. She glanced up. “Permits are done on paper? By hand?”
Pia winced. “We have a process for filing online, but I never really got into it. We tend to have the same people coming year after year, so I just make a note that the information is the same and let it go. Are you judging me?”
“Of course not,” Felicia said automatically, even as she started a “to do” list. Right under notifying the new landlord was starting a vendor database.
“I want to believe you,” Pia murmured. “Okay, festivals.” She returned to the dry erase board. “We have at least one every month. Most months have two, and December has a million. From mid-November through the Live Nativity, it’s crazy. Fortunately, this office isn’t responsible for the Dance of the Winter King, which is Christmas Eve, so once the animals are back home after the Live Nativity, you’re done for the year.”
Pia grinned. “Of course it starts up again in January with Cabin Fever Days.”
She stood and walked to the small bookcase by the front door. “Notebooks,” she said, pointing at the thick binders. “One for every festival. What it’s about, how long it takes, is it the kind of event that generates heads in beds?”
Felicia looked at her. “Heads in beds? Nights in a hotel?”
“Right. The longer tourists stay in town, the more money they spend. In addition to meeting monthly with the city council, you meet quarterly with the hotel, motel and B&B owners. They’ll want to know any changes to upcoming festivals. They’re also a good source of advertising. The festivals are mentioned in their printed materials and on their websites.”
Pia returned to her seat and began to explain the logistics involved. There were more notebooks and a very large, slightly tattered Rolodex filled with names and phone numbers.
She flipped through it. “You’ll probably want this in a database, huh?”
“It will be easier,” Felicia said.
“We have one. A database. It’s supposed to be great. I never actually learned how to use it.” She sighed. “There are also checklists of what needs to be ordered and how far in advance. Porta-Potties are now on a yearly contract, which is much easier, let me tell you. But there are things like decorating and—” Pia shook her head. “You have to get on the city schedule for things like decorating and the move. Which is another problem. They’re really busy in the summer. I know there’s not that much to move, but still, it could be a while. I’m sorry. I should have thought of that.”
Felicia glanced at the file cabinets and the small desk. “Do I have to use city maintenance? Can I bring in my own moving crew?”
“Do you have one?”
Felicia grinned. “I know a couple of guys capable of heavy lifting.”
“Right. The bodyguards. Sure, use them if they’ll do it. Just don’t tell the city. They’ll be worried about injuries and insurance.”
“The guys will be happy to do it,” she said confidently. Justice and Ford both owed her, and she had a feeling Angel could be easily manipulated into helping. She would only have to suggest that Ford could lift more than him and he would be all in. While men were traditionally viewed as the stronger of the two sexes, they were often emotionally delicate.
* * *
GIDEON RECOGNIZED THE cell immediately. It was maybe ten by twenty. Stone, with a barred window up high and a big wooden door too thick to break down. Not that he could. He was kept chained.
The floor was dirt. The only bathroom was a bucket that was emptied every few days. Gideon sat with his back against the wall, dripping sweat as the temperature climbed to what had to be a hundred and twenty degrees.
“Gideon, please.”
He ignored the words, the plea. Dan had been asking for days. No. Not asking. Begging.
“I can’t hold on,” his friend said, his voice nearly a sob. “They’re threatening my family. I can’t stand it. The torture. All of it. I’m going to break.”
Dan, once a tall, proud soldier, lay curled up against the wall. He was bloodied and nursing a broken arm. Gideon had tried to set it but didn’t think he’d done a good enough job.
After sixteen months and twenty-two days of captivity, Dan was the last one left. The others had either died of their wounds or provoked their captors enough to be killed.
“Maddie,” Dan moaned. “Maddie.”
Maddie was his wife. There weren’t any kids. Dan had said they were going to start trying when they got home. He talked about her all the time, claimed her love sustained him, but Gideon knew he was wrong. Dan’s love kept him anchored in this place. His love made it impossible for him to go so deep in his head that they couldn’t hurt him anymore.
Gideon glanced toward the window and saw the sun was near its zenith. That meant they’d come for him soon.
Later, he felt the blows as he was hit over and over again, felt himself vomit, although there was nothing in his stomach. Gideon wrestled with his captors, but it only made it worse. When they were finally done, they started to drag him down the hall back to his cell. He felt the dirt in his wounds, the dry dust in his mouth mingling with the copper taste of his blood.
Then the door swung open, and he couldn’t look away. Not from the sight of Dan slumped over, the chain restraining him wrapped around his neck.
The guards tossed Gideon aside and raced to Dan, but it was too late. Gideon had refused to kill him, so he’d killed himself. Gideon lay on the dirt, wondering if his friend had been desperately weak or incredibly strong.
And then, as quietly as it had appeared, the cell was gone and he was awake. Awake and drenched in sweat.
He knew the folly of trying to sleep again, so he rose and ripped off his T-shirt, then walked out onto the deck. The night air chilled him, but he didn’t care. Then he sat cross-legged on the deck, closed his eyes and began to breathe.
CHAPTER FIVE
CONSUELO LY STARED at the single-story ranch-style house, half expecting to blink and find it gone. Or maybe see unicorns grazing on the lawn. Because as far as she was concerned, the suburbs and unicorns were equally unrealistic.
She’d heard about both, of course. TV sitcoms enjoyed mocking the suburbs, and she loved Modern Family as much as the next person. But living in them? Not her. She had always assumed she would end her days in a hail of bullets. Or, in her less dramatic, more realistic moments, with her neck broken, her body dumped on the side of some road. But here she was, staring at a ranch-style house. Updated, she thought, taking in the new roof and big windows, but still originally constructed in the 1960s.
She parked in the driveway next to Ford’s god-awful Jeep. It wasn’t the vehicle she objected to as much as the aftermarket two-tone black-and-gold paint job. Jeeps were hardworking machines and deserved more respect. Next to the Jeep was a Harley, which meant Angel was also here.
Sure enough, she’d barely gotten out of her car when the front door opened and the two men stepped out. They were big and tall, both towering over her five feet two inches. Not that they intimidated her in the least. She could take either one in a fair fight, and if they wanted to play dirty, she could geld them in ten seconds. Fortunately for her, they both knew and respected her skill set.
“Ladies,” she said as they approached.
Ford got to her first. “Consuelo!”
He wrapped both arms around her and pulled her against him. It was like hugging a warm, muscled wall. Before she could catch her breath, he passed her over to Angel who did exactly the same thing.
“Chica,” he murmured in her ear. “Still looking good.”
She pushed away from him and rolled her eyes. “You’re both flabby,” she complained. “We’re going to have to start real workouts in the morning.”
Ford’s expression turned wounded. “I’m not,” he said, pulling up his T-shirt to expose a perfect six-pack. “Go on. Hit me.”
“You wish.”
She walked to her trunk and opened it, then pulled out two duffels. The guys hovered, obviously unsure if they should help or not. She liked the slight edge of fear in their eyes. She preferred any situation where she was in charge.
“Here,” she said, handing over her duffels. “How long have you been in the house?”
“Got the keys this morning,” Ford said. “We were thinking of going to the store. For beer and maybe food. We were talking about ordering a pizza for tonight.”
“One of you should start cooking,” she said, leading the way into the house. She held in a snicker, knowing neither of them would have the balls to suggest she should be preparing meals. She might be female, but no one would accuse her of being domesticated.
She walked through the open front door and found herself in a large living room. The furniture was oversize but looked comfortable. Black leather sofa with a couple of chairs and a low coffee table. She could see the dining room beyond and a doorway leading to what she assumed was the kitchen.
She turned the other way, heading down the hallway toward the bedrooms. There was a hall bath, two average-size bedrooms. At the far end, one of a set of double doors stood open.
“The master?” she asked, even as she headed toward it.
“We, ah, weren’t sure who would, ah...” Ford verbally stumbled to a stop.
Consuelo stepped inside. There was a king-size bed, a long dresser and a desk. The attached bath was small but had everything she needed. The closet was more than adequate.
She saw the duffels by the bed and raised her eyebrows.
Ford and Angel exchanged a look and quickly put her luggage on the bed, then carried theirs out. Low conversation carried back to her. She only caught an occasional word—something like “No, you tell her,” and she smiled. It was good to be the meanest, baddest bitch in the house.
Thirty minutes later Consuelo had showered and dressed in jeans and a tank top. She brushed out her thick brown hair, thinking she should never have allowed herself to be talked into a layered cut. Her hair had a natural wave that took over if she didn’t keep her hair well past her shoulders. Now she wrestled the unruly strands into a ponytail. She slipped her feet into sandals and tucked her wallet and cell phone into her jeans pockets. She left the master and headed to the front of the house.
Ford and Angel were in the kitchen. A table stood by a window, and there were bar stools pulled up to the granite counter. Stainless steel appliances gleamed against dark cabinets. The guys each had a beer.
For a second, she felt the separation between them and her. Not just because she was female, but because at the end of the day they were warriors and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t see herself as more than a street kid who’d stumbled into a circumstance where she could excel.
“Want one?” Ford asked, pointing to the refrigerator.
“No, thanks. I’m meeting Felicia soon.”
She pulled a hundred dollars out of her wallet and put it on the counter. “Each of you put in the same, and we’ll get the place stocked with basics. Breakfast and snacks only. We each provide our own lunch and dinner.” She cocked her head. “Unless you two want to have one of your bets. Loser cooks for a week and the other two pay for the food. Fair enough?”
The men nodded.
“I’ll take care of the initial shopping,” she continued. “After that, we’ll take turns doing it. Make sure you pay attention to brands and sizes.” She narrowed her gaze. “You will do your own laundry, and you will not leave clothes in either the washer or dryer. In this house, I don’t work for either of you. Is that clear?”
More nods.
They would have to get a cleaning service in, but they had time on that. She’d roomed with men before and knew everything went more smoothly when she took care of the details up front. Otherwise, she was going to have to knock a few heads together, and that always meant someone getting hurt. Not her, of course, but someone.
She studied the two men watching her warily. “I know both of you. Everything’s a competition. I have no problem with that, but leave it outside.”
With that, she turned and walked out of the house.
* * *
FELICIA WAITED OUTSIDE Brew-haha. Consuelo had sent a text saying she was on her way. She watched anxiously, excited to see her friend.
During her military career and later with the security company, Felicia had mostly worked with men. Women had not been allowed in combat. Ipso facto, she hadn’t had much of a chance to make female friends. Consuelo had been one of the few on the team. She was beautiful but deadly and had often been sent on assignments that required covert contact and distraction.
There had been times when Consuelo had seduced the enemy, gained the information she needed, then killed him before disappearing into the night. A different kind of assassin, Felicia thought. Snipers took lives, but what Consuelo had done was more personal and more dangerous.
Felicia turned and caught sight of her friend crossing the street. Although Consuelo was only five foot two, she was strong. A sexually appealing combination of curves and muscle. Men couldn’t help turning to gape at her. But when they looked into her dark eyes, they usually backed off. Consuelo had perfected what she jokingly called the “don’t eff with me” stare.
Felicia had worked to copy her friend’s deadly glare, but when she tried it people tended to ask if she wasn’t feeling well. It must have been an innate gift.
Now she watched the petite fighter walk along the sidewalk. She wore jeans, a lime-green tank top and sandals. She should have looked like any other tourist, yet she didn’t. From the tip of her long, shiny ponytail to her controlled stride, she radiated confidence and danger.
Consuelo saw her and smiled. They hurried toward each other and embraced.
“Finally,” Felicia said with a smile. “I’ve been waiting what feels like forever for you to get here. Of course it’s only been three months, but missing you makes time seem to move more slowly in the context of our friendship.”
Consuelo laughed. “You are such a freak.”
“I know.”
“It makes you special and me love you more.” Her friend smiled at her. “How are you? I’ve missed you, too.”
They hugged again, then headed into the store and ordered iced coffees. After collecting their drinks, Felicia led the way outside, and they sat down at one of the tables shaded by an umbrella.
“So, tell me everything,” Consuelo said before taking a sip of her drink. “What is this place?”
“Fool’s Gold? It’s such an interesting town. Large enough to have an assortment of amenities, but still small enough for the residents to connect with each other.”
Consuelo wrinkled her nose. “It’s not natural. Have you seen the house Angel and Ford picked? It was built in the ’60s or something.”
“A ranch style. They used space efficiently, separating the living area of the house from the bedrooms. Very traditional.”
“It’s weird and I don’t like it.”
Felicia knew her resistance came from her unfamiliarity with the situation. Consuelo was used to being in the field or living in a city. Small-town America was bound to be unsettling.
Her friend looked at her. “My complaints aside, you look happy.”
“I am,” Felicia said, and realized it was true. “I’ve wanted to find a home, and I believe I have. I have a new job.”
She explained about the festivals and how she would be in charge. “I’m a little concerned about meeting everyone’s expectations.”
