Page 95 of Mensa's Match

He chuckled and muttered, “Vehicle.”

“That is what modes of transportation are called.”

“Is there any way to do this before lunch?”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes, they were filled with patience. “I appreciate that you’re concerned, honey. But it’s a routine errand.”

He fought against his rising temper. “Like the trip to the mall should have been a routine outing with Riley?”

She pursed her lips together and nodded. “You’ve got me there, Mensa. But what’s the likelihood of him needing to go to a shipping store? And it being the same one Aunt Nadia uses?” She shook her head. “I don’t think so. You mentioned their clubhouse is in Ocean Springs.”

Her argument held logic, but he couldn’t ignore his gut. “It’s not like Ocean Springs is another state away. It’s maybe fifteen minutes from here.”

She turned her head an inch. “I’m carrying a gun, Mensa.”

He sighed. “That’s true, but it doesn’t mean I want you to use it. Pretty sure your FBI privileges were revoked when you resigned.”

“Am I taking a prospect with me to the UPS store? I’m guessing that will go over better than the mall.”

He’d received a text from Har earlier that said the only prospect able to help that afternoon would be Scrap because he had a half-day at school, with graduation happening the following week. He trusted Scrap and was all for him earning his patch, but he didn’t want to put him in the position of having to defend Whitney.

Finally he said, “Possibly. Let’s get these boxes sorted and start on other orders while we can. I’ll see what Cynic has happening at the bar and go from there.”

Two hours later, Mensa assembled another box for Whitney just as Nadia wandered into the back area. He caught Nadia’s gaze. “If I’d have known how many orders you processed in a weekend alone, I’d have told the brothers to start our own screen-printing business, four years ago. The hours would be better than working the bar, that’s for certain.”

Nadia shot him a saucy grin. “I get so many orders over a weekend because I’ve been doin’ this a long time, Mensa. Did you think about that?”

Whitney leaned to the side toward Nadia. “It’s also because eight years ago, your niece hooked you up with someone to build out a great website for you.”

Nadia gave Whitney a conciliatory nod. “And that’s why I know you’re the best person to take over for me. You care more than you let on.”

“How many more orders need to be processed? Or is this it?” Mensa asked.

Nadia met his gaze. “I have two embroidery pieces going out, but since Whitney hasn’t mastered the sewing machine just yet, it’ll take me another two hours at least.”

Mensa sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “You know, if you do so much business with UPS, why can’t you open a business account and have them come to you? They pick up from all sorts of businesses before five.”

Nadia opened the small refrigerator and pulled out a soda. “You’re right, but most of the time that sort of service comes with a corporate account. I can’t afford that, and I prefer working with the people at the store.”

Whitney moved to stand in front of him and put her hands on his biceps. “It will be fine, Mensa. I love that you care so much, but I can take care of myself.”

“Will there be a brother following her?” Nadia asked.

Mensa did a slow nod. “If I can’t stick around, a prospect will, yes.”

Nadia shook her head. “I didn’t ask if aprospectwould follow her.”

“Most of the brothers have day jobs now, Nadia.”

“Well, la-dee-dah,” she muttered.

His phone rang and he pulled it from his back pocket, Cynic’s name on the display.

“Hey, ‘Nic. Everything coo—”

“No, everything isn’t cool. Fucking Corrupt Chrome set a dumpster on fire and pushed it up next to the goddamn building.”

He opened his mouth, closed it, and pulled his thoughts together. “Did the building catch fire?”

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