Page 26 of Betrayal & New Beginnings

“I did what you said and told him she no longer worked here,” she said in a somber voice. “Atfirst,Iwasn’t sure he believed me, but whenIadded a few details to try to make it more believable, he seemed to get angry.”

That wasn’t a good sign that he was that quick to anger when he didn’t get what he wanted, though if it really wasEllie’sex, that wouldn’t surprise me.

“You sure it’s the same guy?”Iasked.

“If it’s the same one that called the other day whenIpicked up, then yes, it’s the same voice,” she confirmed. “Ithappened about seven minutes ago, andIknowVincewas by earlier to install some fancy stuff on the phone here to track him, soIjust wanted to let you know.”

She was right.AfterItalked with the guys last night,Vincecame over to the pub this morning to install callerIDand a few other thingsTammydidn’t need to know about.

“Do you want me to call her and find out where she is?Makesure she’s safe?” she asked, andIappreciated her concern forEllie.

“She’s with me,”Isaid simply.Therewas a pause before she spoke again, full-fledged amusement in her voice.

“Innnnnnnnteresting,”Tammyteased.

“I just brought her to my parents’ for lunch to keep an eye on her, so don’t start,”Itried to explain, but it was no use with her.

“The weekly family lunch that you never seem to find time to go to, but now you magically make time in order to takeEllieto?Veeeeeeeeeryinteresting,” she added, leaning into it even more.

“I’m hanging up now.Callme if anything else happens,”Itold her asIhung up the phone.ThenIshot a quick text off toVinceto let him know about the call.Nosooner hadIput the phone back in my pocket, both my sisters came right up next to me.

“Who pooped in your cornflakes?”Whitneyasked me. “Yourface looks like you want to murder someone.” my sister added jokingly.Ifonly she knew.

“The correct phrase is who pissed in yourCheerios,”Iinformed her.

She waved her hands, practically dismissing me.

“Whatever,” she said and then leaned in conspiratorially in a loud whisper. “So, who are we murdering today?”

“No one,”Itold them.

“Does it have something to do with the pretty blonde you brought to the family gathering today, which youneverdo,”Willasaid, looking at me with an accusatory face but also a full smile.

“She’s a co-worker andJack’slittle sister,”Idefended.

“I may not be good at getting phrases or memes correct, butI’mnot stupid,”Whitneysaid. “AndWillais right.Youhaven’t stopped staring at her for more than ten seconds since you’ve been here.”

“I don’t spend that much time staring atmyco-workers,”Willasaid.

That was becauseIcouldn’t stop thinking about the kiss every timeIlooked at her.Ineeded to steer them away from this topic of conversation.

“That’s because you’re married,”Iinterjected. “Speakingof co-workers, got anybody you could recommend for me for our security business?”

“I’m only allowing you to deflect the conversation for now, because, yes,Ido in fact have some recommendations,”Willaanswered. “GuynamedDaneEnderson.Heinterviewed for our security position, but he is actually overqualified for what we need for this entry-level job.I’llsend you his info in an email.Ialso have another guy you should reach out to.Ireally shouldn’t be recommending him because he currently works for us, and he’s great.”

That had my attention.Whywould she try to pass off someone who was supposedly good at their current job, unless there was something wrong?

“What’s the catch?”Iasked.

“His name isAxelSkarsgård, and he is great at his job, truly, but he looks miserable sitting at a desk all day,” she explained. “Hewas in theSwedishmilitary before coming to theU.S. and taking this job.Dudelooks like aVikingand barely fits in his cubicle.Anytime we do projects off-site or even outdoors, he looks like he just won the lottery.Ijust think he might be a better fit for you than us.”

She turned to me and pointed her finger in my face. “Butif you tell anyoneIgave his information to youIwill kill you.”

That made me smile.Mysister couldn’t hurt a fly if she tried, let alone a human, butIwould humor her.

“Your warning is crystal clear, sis.Andthanks, for both recommendations.”

She nodded like she was proud of herself for helping solve world peace.

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