Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

Easton

I watched Kati walk into my office and had to force myself to stay seated. Owen was already on the move, and unless I wanted to give my friends a reason to gossip, I had to stay put and not look like the eager teenager Kati was turning me into.

"I see your girl decided to show. You owe me fifty bucks." Hendrix's comment struck a nerve, but my friend had already pushed through the door behind Owen before I could comment.

After our weird encounter at the diner, I was so sure Kati wouldn't come within a hundred feet of this building, or the business. It turned out I was wrong. Something I didn't mind being in this case. I would gladly hand over the money if it meant getting to see the beautiful woman again.

"So I take it that's her?" Nolen rolled over in his desk chair from across the aisle.

"Who told you?" I didn't take my eyes off Kati or the way she looked at Owen as he talked to her.

How pathetic was it that I wanted to punch one of my best friends because I knew he was just being himself? Owen Baker was the nicest guy out of our group. He could put anyone at ease, but he also had a smile that women loved, and right now, I would bet another fifty bucks Kati was on the receiving end of it.

"Hendrix, of course. He can't keep his mouth shut."

"He'll fit into this town perfectly," I grumbled.

Nolen chuckled. "Is it knowing Hendrix blabbed, or the fact that your girl is smiling at Owen, that has your hackles up?"

I looked at my teammate and friend. We were all friends. We’d served together for more than twenty years most of us, but that didn't mean I couldn't contemplate punching one or more of them occasionally.

"She's not my girl. Kati is just another client."

"Denial." Nolen tipped his lips down and nodded his head once. "I can work with that."

I didn't get the opportunity to respond. Owen, Hendrix, and Kati were walking our way, and because of the way the glass was constructed, I knew she had yet to see that I was able to watch her. She would know soon enough.

It was clear the moment Kati realized I was in the building. Her entire posture changed. Gone was the ease Owen had managed to bring out. The thought further pissed me off and made me want to throat-punch the man, even though I knew it wasn't his fault, and could see that he was equally confused about what was going on. Owen didn't purposely flirt with a woman. His kindness wasn't a ruse to get women to like him. It was genuine, and that only made things worse.

"Just the man we were looking for! I was just bringing Kati here back so we could discuss the security plan we came up with."

Despite knowing Owen meant nothing by it, I still had to bite back on my molars and keep myself from a nasty retort. I wasn't normally this on edge. Especially when it came to clients, but there was something different about Kati.

I just wasn't sure what it was or how to handle it, but manners did have me standing up to greet her.

"Good to see you again. Why don't you have a seat so we can review the plan and discuss any changes you want to make?" I waved to the table that Nolen and I already occupied.

I hated to see the indecision on her face. If I were a better man, I would remove myself from the situation so she felt more comfortable.

But I wasn't Owen or Nolen. I wasn't a better man.

Eventually, Kati cleared her throat and took the offered seat. If I thought there was any chance Hendrix or Owen would leave, I was sadly mistaken. Both pulled out chairs at the table and got comfortable. But it was Hendrix's knowing smirk that pushed me over the edge.

"Don't you have something else to do?" I snapped.

"Nope." My friend leaned back and laced his fingers together over his abs. "This is our most important assignment at the moment."

Fucker. Hendrix thrived on drama, and this was right up his alley.

Doing my best to ignore everyone else, I focused solely on Kati. "First thing. We would like to set you up with our state-of-the-art surveillance package. It would include cameras, motion detectors, and a security panel inside the house. It would also allow the team to monitor you around the clock. You would be put into our company server so that we would be alerted for everything."

"Everything?" Kati's swallow was visible. "You'll be able to see every person that enters or leaves my property?"

I had to keep the jealousy at bay. Who would be coming over that she didn't want me to see?

"It wouldn't be like that," Owen quickly reassured. "The motion sensors would be set at night or when you weren't home so we could be notified of trespassing. While the cameras would be taping continuously, we would only need to look at them if something happened. No one here will be watching your everyday moves."

Kati looked relieved at the explanation and again it made me wonder what she didn't want us seeing.

"That sounds doable, then."

"We also plan to look into who’s behind the destruction. We’ll work with the local authorities but it's important to know who is trying to bring back Los Cangris. I know you mentioned some wannabes but sometimes they’re more dangerous than the actual gang members themselves. They’ll do anything to prove themselves."

I watched Kati for any signs of distress at Owen's explanation. There didn't appear to be any.

"I can't see them being from Willow Creek,” she explained. “The town was venomously against Alejandro trying to move into the area fifteen years ago. No one is going to willingly bring Los Cangris here now. And maybe this sounds arrogant, but people in this town look out for one another. I'm a loved member and so is my son. There might be some who think he’ll turn out like his damn sperm donor, but none of those people are going to force it."

Who the hell had the nerve to think Lucien would turn out like his father just because they shared the same DNA? I was going to get those damn names and knock some fucking sense into them. DNA didn't mean shit.

Hendrix was quick to respond. "Chances are they aren't local, but somehow discovered Lucien's biology and moved to the area. I doubt they’re staying close. A friend of ours lives a few towns over. He owns a similar company. We can ask him to keep a lookout as well, but that town is even smaller than this one. A couple of thugs would easily stick out." Hendrix rubbed the tips of his thumb and pointer finger in circles. It was his tell that the man was being serious and deep in thought.

"This friend didn't want to work with all of you?" Kati looked around the table, even though all of us weren't present. Mav and Aaron were busy with the sheriff, and Lex had yet to get into town.

"Mav got the idea from Wes," Nolen explained. "Besides, Wes is the kind of man who needs to be in charge. He doesn't always play well with others."

"And you are?"

Shit. My manners were clearly lacking today. "This is Nolen. I'm guessing Owen and Hendrix introduced themselves out front."

"Owen did. I figured out Hendrix's name because Owen said it after the man told him not to be a dick."

Interesting. It was normally the other way around. Not that Owen would ever call any of them a dick, but usually when referring to someone being a dick, everyone's first guess would be Hendrix.

"That means you've officially been introduced to half of the team. Our boss, Maverick, and Aaron are out right now but you should meet them soon. I can't say when you'll meet Lex, the last man on our team, as he hasn't moved into town yet."

Kati looked around at all of them. "You're referring to Aaron Hill, right? Hometown hero who came back and brought the rest of you with?"

I lifted my eyebrow at her but didn't say anything.

"Small town, remember? Everyone likes to talk. As soon as Aaron told his mother he was coming back for good, she spread the word pretty quickly."

Of course, she did. There was going to be no way of keeping a low profile in this place. I wondered if Mav thought about that before deciding to let Aaron convince him this would be a good place to set up shop.

"Good ole Mrs. Hill. She always did spoil us when we were deployed. Her care packages always contained fresh-baked cookies. I wonder if she will spoil us now that we're here in person?"

Leave it to Hendrix to think with his stomach. My friend was completely inappropriate ninety-five percent of the time.

"I'm sure she will," Kati answered. "She pretty much spoils everyone since Aaron is an only child and hasn't given her grandkids yet."

"Sweet." Hendrix rubbed his hands together. "I know where my new favorite spot is."

The rest of us just shook our heads. There was no point in saying anything. Hendrix was who he was at this point. It would be up to Aaron to keep their friend in line.

"Can we get back to the reason Kati is here?" I attempted to wrap things up. As much as I enjoyed being in Kati's presence, I didn't want her around my friends any longer than necessary. Certainly not Owen and his damn dimple smile.

"I'm good with your suggestions. How long would it take to get the security system here and then installed?"

I was glad Mav insisted we kept all security systems in stock. "We already have it. How does this evening sound to get it installed?"

Kati chewed on the side of her lip. For a brief moment, I wanted to replace her teeth with mine. I mentally shook off the thought immediately. Nothing about that thought process was proper when it came to a client.

"This evening will be fine."

Her soft answer kept me focused on the topic at hand: keeping Kati and her son safe from whoever wanted to drag her back into a gang's clutches.