“I have a big favor to ask. Huge, actually.”
I nod. “Whatever, man. You got it.”
He laughs and shakes his head. “No, really. It’s big. I mean, I can pay you.”
I try not to get offended that he’s offering to pay me for help, but I have to admit it does rub me the wrong way. “I’m not taking your money. Tell me what you need.”
“Someone is messing with my sister. An ex-boyfriend. She’s not telling me the whole story.” He starts to pace again, and I just listen as he continues. I walk over to my desk and start packing up my laptop and everything else I need. “She does that when she doesn’t want me to worry, and she’s especially close-mouthed since I’m about to leave on a mission. But she’s the only family I have left... If something happened to her...” He stops mid stride. “What are you doing?”
I put my headset into my bag. “I’m packing.” I sit down at my desktop computer and open the search window to start searching for a flight. “Los Angeles, right?”
He leans forward and puts his hands on the desk. “You’re going? Just like that? What about Nash?”
I keep typing. “I’ll talk to Nash, but with this mission, I can work from anywhere. It will be fine.”
I find a flight that leaves in two hours. It’s not much time, but in this line of work, I’ve learned to pack fast, and since we’ve already been briefed on the mission, I should have plenty of time. I complete the purchase button. “Done.”
He stands up and crosses his arms over his chest. “Done? Just like that?”
I pull out a notepad. “Yeah, John. Just like that.”
“Most people call me Knuckles...”
I shrug. “I like John better... now tell me about your sister.”
He finally sits down across from me. “Jenna Taylor, she’s twenty-five, she owns Honeybee Coffee in downtown Los Angeles. She lives in an apartment, and it’s not the best part of town. I tried to convince her to move, but she just recently bought the coffee shop, and she doesn’t want the extra expense right now. And before you ask, I’ve tried to give her money, but she won’t take it.”
“Okay, she’s independent,” I say while I write that down. “What do you know about the trouble she’s in? The ex.”
He smacks his hand down on the desk in frustration. “Nothing. His name is Paul. I’ve had a tendency to be a little protective of her, and she doesn’t tell me a lot about any guy she dates.”
I write down the name Paul with a question mark. “Okay, what does she look like?”
I’m looking at the pad in my hand, waiting for the description when my phone pings. I look up, and John is holding up his phone and then pointing at mine on the desk. I open the message app, and instantly my whole world changes. John’s sister is beautiful. She has long brown hair that is fanned out over her shoulders. Her big brown eyes are looking back at me, and I swear it’s like she’s looking into my soul. I feel a jump in my chest, and without thinking, I bring my palm up to my heart, but I still can’t take my eyes off of her. Her body is curvy, and all I want to do is put my hands on her hips and...
“Hey, uh, so Riggs, this is starting to get a little awkward. That’s my sister.”
I bring my gaze up to John and realize what I’m doing. I gulp, and my voice cracks when I tell him, “She’s very pretty.”
He’s watching me closely, but at least he doesn’t look mad. “I think so. Too bad Paul didn’t think so. I swear I could punch him right in the face.”
I lock my phone and lay it down. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know the whole story, but what I’m getting is he didn’t like the way she looks, and she broke up with him. Now, he’s got some kind of issue with her breaking up with him.” He stands up again and starts to pace. “I don’t know, Riggs. This might be all a waste of time. I may be reading more into it then I should be.”
There’s no way I’m not going. He can change his mind, but I’ll still go. Now I need to know she’s all right. “I’m going.” I stand up and finish throwing things in my bag, and I put my phone in my pocket.
John whips his head around, no doubt at the tone in my voice. He’s watching me closely, and I wait for the threat. I wait for him to warn me about keeping it all on the up and up. But he doesn’t. “You’ll like Jenna. Everyone does. And I think she’ll like you too.” He walks to the edge of the desk and stands toe to toe with me. “All I’m saying is keep her safe and don’t hurt her. Can you promise me those two things?”