“Oh well... good evening.” The one with red hair and blazing red lips to match spoke first. Her eyes were bright and radiating her interest like a blinking neon sign. She put her slim hand over her chest and smiled. “I’m Jordan... like the tennis shoe.”
“Interesting.” Meridian nodded once.
“Jordan is a legendary basketball player, not a tennis shoe,” Ex said dryly, setting his drink down with a hard clank on top of the table.
“I told her to stop saying that a long time ago,” The brunette chimed in from beside her bold friend. “My name is Jen. Jennifer.”
“Thank you for coming over ladies, but we’re about to have an important meeting. If you’ll excuse us,” Meridian said and slid his large body back into the booth.
“Oh sorry.” The redhead’s face turned several shades closer to her hair color as she pulled at her friend’s arm for them to leave.
Ex kept his face as hard as stone but he could feel the smirk he wanted to give them after Meridian showed his disinterest.
“I promise not to keep them long, pretty ladies,” Slade said from behind them with a wide grin on his face. Ex had seen Slade walk up but he never gave the man any indication that they needed a wingman. Could he not tell that they genuinely weren’t interested?
Great.
Meridian slid over and allowed Slade enough room to join them. He’d changed from his all-black suit and crisp white shirt to a pair of starched blue jeans and a navy-blue button-up shirt. “What’s up fellas?”
“First,” Ex said, immediately commanding the conversation. His voice was low but hard like steel. “Don’t ever do that again.”
Slade’s chestnut-colored eyes bored into him for a few seconds—Ex never averting his glare—before he gave a firm nod. “Understood.”
The bartender came over and asked what Slade was drinking. After he ordered a rum and coke, she asked Ex if he wanted a refill.
“Yes,” Ex said.
After they had their drinks, Slade appeared ready to get down to business, which was good because so was he. “Slade, Meridian and I have decided to extend our stay here stateside, and put to rest some important matters. We want to employ your services for the duration. You’d need to be available twenty-four hours. Your continued silence would be instrumental. Anything you see or hear, should be forgotten.”
“I have other drivers that I can also put on the—”
“Negative,” Meridian said.
“Only you,” Ex confirmed.
“We’re talking about a lot of time here, not to mention lodging, and—”
Ex pulled the stacks of bills from his jacket and slid them in front of Slade. He waited for him to process the fact that the thin stacks were all hundred-dollar bills. “Is fifty thousand dollars enough for your time?”
Slade stared at the money.
“Fifty now. Fifty when our job here is done,” Meridian added.
Slade didn’t bother to ask when that would be. He took the money and tucked it into his pocket. He downed the rest of his drink and Ex had to wave off the bartender when she attempted to come back.
“You guys are going to flip this city on its ass, aren’t you?” Slade grumbled.
Neither of them said a word as they met and held Slade’s skeptical gaze. Their driver stood and pressed his big knuckles into the wood table. “I’m in. But, I served this country for thirty-two years. The oath I took to protect it never dies, not until I do. I can’t be a part of a—”
“Your conscience will be intact when this is all over,” Ex said, then dismissed Slade’s concern. “We’re moving to a more secure location in the morning. Bring the Navigator when you return at 0700 sharp.”
On their way back to their rooms, Ex’s mind was again heavy with the weight of what they were doing—going rogue. He never thought he’d see the day, but he also never imagined what it’d feel like if someone harmed his family. He’d planned on watching Evan grow up and do all the things he’d dreamed of. Ex had sacrificed his entire life, his future, so that his brother could have one—and someone had robbed him of it. Now all he had left was his mother... and Meridian.
Ever mindful of their surroundings, a habit ingrained in him for many years, Ex scanned the lobby for threats, though it would be far-fetched for them to have enemies here. All of their enemies—the ones who were bad and corrupt enough to know the names Ex and Meridian—were abroad.
Ex took his hotel card from his back pocket and held it as he paused in front of his room door. Meridian had opened his own door but he’d yet to go inside. Ex stood there battling with right and wrong, then with what was fair. He had to fucking do this for Evan, or he’d never be able to rest. A fresh wave of grief washed over him when he thought of his little brother’s smile, his hug—the ones he’d only gotten every couple of years, and now would never have again. He swallowed past the pain erupting in his chest and gritted his teeth to keep from yelling out his anger.