Page 10 of Keeping Astrid

“Take a seat, Growler. This shouldn’t take long.” Ox pointed to the chair his fingers were digging into.

Even though he’d already told himself that he hadn’t done anything wrong when he walked into the office, the feeling that he was about to be reprimanded crept slowly up his spine. Although if he was being given a dressing down, Penni wouldn’t be part of it.

“What’s going on?” he asked after he sat.

“Penni has a client who needs some protection. She heard, more than witnessed, a murder, and when she was at a recent in-person event, someone was lurking around that didn’t seem like they belonged. She didn’t get a good feeling about him.”

Great, I’m going to be stuck babysitting some diva reality starlet who won’t listen to anything I say. How can I get out of this?

“I can see that look on your face, Growler, and I know what you’re thinking,” Penni admonished him. And she used his nickname—that didn’t bode well. Ever since he’d left the team, she’d called him by his given name.

Clearly, he’d annoyed her somehow. Growler thought he’d kept his expression neutral. No way could she see his mental eye-rolling. Being a former SEAL, he was trained in the art of showing no emotion.

“I’m not sure you can know what I’m thinking,” Growler responded without emotion.

“Astrid Conway is a sweetheart and not at all like any of my past clients.” Penni started before Ox could say anything. Ox sat back, as if handing over control of the meeting to Penni. “Astrid created her own success and is still very down to earth. She’s a celebrity chef, and any leftover food she makes for her show, she will always take down to Skid Row—which is where she saw the incident.”

Wait!

Astrid?

Was Penni talking about Astrid Conway?

The same Astrid Conway that Ox told me about at the bar?

What were the odds that the woman he admired from afar and had suspected that something was going on with her, was the same one who now needed security services—and after Ox had said they’d never done work for her before? He looked over at his boss, and Ox wore a “funny how things work out” look on his face.

“Right. And are the police involved? Are they investigating her claims?” Growler asked, getting his head back in the game.

Skid Row was known for things like arguments over food and clothing leading to someone losing their life or ending up in hospital with serious injuries. Not to mention around the area it was a hotbed for drug deals and young people disappearing off the streets, never to be seen again.

Memories of some of the rescues he’d been a part of—freeing people who’d been trafficked—threatened to overwhelm him, but he forced them down.

Now wasn’t the time to relive the past.

“I’m going to get Cass to put a call into a contact we have when we need some information to see if we can get a copy of the police report,” Ox said. “I know this may seem like an overreaction to you, Growler, but this is what we do. I trust Penni, and she saw how Astrid reacted. The girl was afraid, and according to Astrid, one of the guys saw her. It’s possible these guys, whoever they are, could want to eliminate any witnesses to protect their business by any means possible.”

How could he argue with that?

“When do I start?” he asked, not able to hide the resignation in his voice. It wasn’t as though he could say no.

If he was reacting this way, maybe personal security wasn’t for him.

Dammit, why am I doing this? Mom had destroyed the good things in her life with alcohol. I’m not going to do that.

The thoughts were sobering, and he checked them. This was an opportunity he would not waste. Besides, there was always the possibility that the team would do other things besides acting as bodyguards in the future.

“Penni is going to arrange for Astrid to come here tomorrow, and then we can discuss what our plan of action is. You’ll be video conferencing us again, Penni?” Ox looked at the screen.

“Yep. Just send me an invite, and I’ll be there. Thanks for doing this Growler, I appreciate it. Bye, guys.” Penni waved, and then the screen went blank as she left the meeting.

Growler sat back and blew out a breath, waiting for the dressing down he totally deserved with his disinterest during the meeting.

“You good, Growler?” Ox leaned forward, his stance casual, but his attention was laser-focused.

“Sorry. Yeah, I’m just…still adjusting, I guess. I keep having moments of what the fuck am I doing? hit me. Not to mention you pointed Astrid out the other night, and here we are looking at providing security for her.”

“After all I’ve seen and done the last few years, I don’t question anything now.” Ox lifted a shoulder. “And I get your see-sawing feelings. You’ve only just left the military. It takes time to adjust to civilian life and not doing what you’ve always done. Not having to answer for every moment of your day. I know this job may not be exciting, but it’s a good way to make the transition a little easier. Besides, I’m going to need your skills for other projects coming up.”

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