“You ready to head out, boss?” asked Diesel, propping his feet on Striker’s desk.
Before he could do it himself, Ranger reached over and knocked Diesel’s feet off.
“I’m not your boss,” grumbled Striker, although at times like these, he wished he’d never left the agency. No way in hell would Ghafor have disappeared on his watch.
“What’s Doc told you about the meeting?” asked Ranger.
“Only that we’re meeting tomorrow in Yachats.”
Just saying the name of the small coastal town in Oregon made Striker’s chest hurt.
Why the hell did Doc Butler need them to meet there of all places? K19 Security Solutions’ senior partner had a wide range of options when he called a meeting of the other senior and junior partners—like Striker was. In the past, they’d always met on the Central Coast of California, where all four founding partners owned houses, even if they didn’t live there full-time.
Doc’s choice of the small coastal town in Oregon this time was baffling, particularly since Razor Sharp was the only member of the team who had a permanent residence here. However, Striker had heard that Monk was living here pretty much full-time too.
Regardless, Striker’s main hope was that during the short time he planned to be in town, he could manage to avoid running into Aine McNamara.
—:—
“What did you say?” Aine asked her twin sister, Ava.
“The K19 team is meeting here tomorrow.”
“Here? At the house?” While Aine didn’t live with her sister and brother-in-law, she did live in the house next door, which was close enough.
Ava shook her head. “No, at the Overleaf. I think that’s where everyone’s staying.”
“What do you mean by everyone?”
“I don’t know whether Striker is coming or not.”
Aine would tell her sister that wasn’t what she meant, nor did it matter if he was coming, but there was no point in lying to her twin.
“It’s inevitable that we’ll see each other at some point,” she said instead.
“Maybe.” Ava shrugged. “What did you and Stuart do this weekend?”
“Dinner and a movie.”
Stuart was a great guy. He was handsome, well-educated, ran his own business in town—granted it was a plumbing business—but still, it was his.
Was he the most handsome man she’d ever dated? No. Did he make every nerve ending in her body stand up and take notice? Never. However, he also hadn’t broken her heart, and it was likely he never would. Stuart made no secret that if he thought there was any chance at all she’d say yes, he’d propose to her tomorrow.
“Aine?”
“What?”
“I asked you a question,” said Ava with a hand on her hip.
“Sorry. I didn’t hear you.”
“What movie and where did you go to dinner?”
“Um, some spy movie, and we ate at the brewery. Listen, I’m supposed to meet Mom for a pedicure. I’ll catch up with you later.”
Aine wasn’t supposed to meet their mother until this afternoon, but it was the only thing she could think of to get away from Ava and give herself time to think.
A year ago, she and Griffin Ellis, who most everyone called Striker, were embarking on what she thought was going to be a serious relationship. They’d spent Thanksgiving together, and even though he had been on a mission, he made it home on Christmas Day to be with her.