Page 99 of Shephard

“To a point. Yes. But they are more involved in search and rescue.” I was finished with this hunt and find routine. My brothers were both good at it. But they were making me smile. That wouldn’t have occurred just a week prior.

“She’s something special?” Hunter asked, giving me a little wink.

Why lie? “You have no idea.”

“When do we get to meet her?” Jagger asked. I always believed the man had something up his sleeve.

“Soon. Since you’re right and she’s going to help us play detective.”

“I like where this is going.” Hunter was way too excited.

We strode through the hotel lobby and Hunter seemed to know exactly which bar he wanted to go to. “I suggest for now we just stick to the topic.”

“I think it’s good she’d going to help. Maybe she knows something about the people working here or can find out. Employee records and all,” Jagger said with amusement in his tone.

“She is very talented at her job. You know,” I mused as I thought about what I was going to suggest. “I think I’ll ask my favorite park ranger to help us in dealing with her associate. She deserves to have a little payback fun.”

“The man is getting wild. Watch out.” Hunter could tease with the best of them.

Jagger rolled his eyes. “Well, I’ll get to meet her anyway. I’m curious. Why was the conversation with Pops so cryptic? He doesn’t want anyone arrested for a crime?”

“I don’t think so. He alluded to someone who was down on their luck. That’s where we look.”

“Well, that shouldn’t be too tough to figure out,” Hunter said and headed down a corridor. I knew the bar he was going to. It was quieter and would allow for some privacy.

“Maybe not, but we need to be careful with this. Upsetting the applecart any more than has been done already won’t help us during the middle of tourist season.” The bar wasn’t busy at only four in the afternoon, but as soon as we walked in, there wasn’t a person inside who didn’t turn in our direction. We were still considered an anomaly in town, outsiders who the locals wouldn’t take to or trust for quite some time.

“He’s going to become a businessman yet,” Jagger chided.

I gave him the finger.

Hunter obviously had a favorite table, leading us there without hesitation. I took my time sitting down, observing the bartender, who I’d seen had been with the company for years. Most of the employees had, which made the search that much more unpalatable. Someone in need. Who the shit did my father think he was kidding?

I wasn’t into charity. This was a business. I might be military trained, but just giving up a portion of a company because someone was down on their luck wasn’t something I would ever be interested in.

“Careful?” Jagger repeated. “We need to bring the hammer down. We can’t run a business this way. Down on their luck or not.”

“You need to have and show more compassion.” Hunter had suddenly become the voice of reason? I almost laughed. He’d been the carefree one, the kid with no understanding of how the world worked. Now this.

Kid.

He was no longer a kid even if he was several years younger. None of us were.

“We check to see how many of our employees are having a tough time then meet with all of them.” Jagger’s comment was nearly interrupted by a pretty waitress stopping by our table. “Or that pretty woman of yours does.”

What I found interesting was that she already had three dark amber drinks on her tray, each glass with two ice cubes. Perhapsthe three of us were far too much alike. Same profession. Same drink. Same love of muscle cars and motorcycles.

I’d seen Jagger riding on a Harley this morning and I’d almost gone over to check it out. I shook my head and sat back. Maybe I’d been doing nothing more than fighting with myself over the years.

“Will there be anything else, gentlemen?” she asked, clearly already setting her eye on Hunter. He was the most handsome of all of us. He also had the least number of visible scars.

Although I knew he was hiding the horrors he’d gone through with humor and continuing his playboy-like tendencies. Jagger was similar. Only his rage was increasing.

Like mine.

We were carbon copies of self-destruction. Yeah, it was time for significant changes. That’s why we’d been brought here by Pops or by fate. Great. Now I was becoming philosophical.

“I see both my brothers work fast.” Jagger was grumpier than usual.

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