Page 3 of Mensa's Match

I resisted the urge to smile that almost overwhelmed me.

He narrowed one eye at me. “That tells me my gut is right.”

I turned my head, and noticed Gamble and Har were watching us. My lips tipped up when I looked back to Mensa. “And what is your gut right about?”

He shifted the chair back. “That you’re trouble. Do us all a favor, stay away from Riley.”

Thatrankled.

“She’s my friend. Or isn’t she allowed to make those decisions for herself?”

“That’s low,” Mensa hissed.

I shrugged a shoulder. “You’re part of the same family tree as her; for all I know you’ve got the same controlling ideas that her Daddy did.”

His lip curled. “I don’t operate that way, Blume.”

I nodded once. “That’s a relief – and I mean that.”

“The fact I can’t find out anything about you tells me you’re not from here.”

“Your point?” I asked when he lapsed into silence.

He shook his head. “When are you leaving town?”

I assumed an innocent expression. “What makes you think I’m leaving town?”

“Your brother left. Figured you won’t be too far behind him.”

If I hadn’t resigned, he’d be right – not because I was following Wyatt, but because I’d have been assigned to a new case by now.

The idea that Mensa wanted me gone bothered me.

It shouldn’t, but it did. He wasn’t the first person who didn’t take a shine to me, and seeing as that feeling was mutual it spurred more confusion. Why did I care what he thought of me? He wasn’t the sort of man who interested me. Why did I want him to want me to stick around?

I couldn’t contemplate that with his eyes boring into mine.

I concentrated on putting my phone in my Boho bag before I looked up at him. “This might disappoint you, but I don’t know that I will leave town. Biloxi isn’t such a bad place. The weather’snice, there’s a beach, and Aunt Nadia’s cool as hell. I could see myself sticking around a while.”

He twisted his head to the side and exhaled hard. He turned back, those eyes blazing. “You’re full of shit, and you’re hiding something. I mean it, stay away from me, my brothers, and damn sure my cousin, Riley.”

“Or what?” I asked, unable to stop myself.

He stood and looked down his nose at me. “Or there’s gonna be hell to pay.”

The security system gave a whiny, high-pitched double beep when I opened the door to Hard Pressed. The business was Aunt Nadia’s pride and joy. But seventy was on the horizon and six months ago she’d asked me if I wanted to take over.

At the time, it had been an easy answer: not a chance. I was working interesting and challenging cases with the FBI.

Now, I was ashamed that I’d resigned.

And yet… if I were honest with myself, I’d lost my drive somewhere along the way. My five-year anniversary with the Bureau would have been in two months. Part of me felt the loss of not hitting that milestone, and another part of me recognized it had been past time for me to move on. An agent had to be able to move if there was a greater need on another mission. In the past, I’d been down for all of that, but since hitting thirty-four, it had lost its appeal.

Was it a total waste to turn my back on law enforcement after the last four years? (That year spent in the academy didn’t factor into my tenure with the Bureau.) I didn’t really think so. I had done more good than most people would ever know during that time.

Despite Aunt Nadia’s encouragement to keep after my dream, her offer was still on the table. Dealing with ordinary citizens appealed to me… no, being my own boss appealed to me. Just because something appealed to me, didn’t mean it was the right decision though. Part of me wanted to get that drive back and prove that I still belonged in law enforcement.

“It’s about time you got back,” Aunt Nadia called from the register.

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