Page 30 of Pleasure Island

11

Liam

The first week of my new job had come and gone without any major disaster.

Mila had finally stopped trying to subtly chase me off, which made things easier. Not that there was much about the job, so far, that hadn’t been easy. Nothing happened. She went to work, she went to lunch, she went to the gym, she went home.

This weekend might find things different, but I was off for the next two days and watching Mila fell into the hands of two others at Steadman.

“So how did the first week at work go?”

I sat at a table across from Jake. One of his friends, Kane, was with us. Jake had said he wanted to take me out for a beer to celebrate my first week in the city. Since I didn’t have much else to do, I’d agreed.

I hadn’t expected the third party but didn’t mind. Kane was a big, quiet guy who only seemed to speak up if he had something important to say. I understood that mindset since I spent most of my time listening and watching others, anyway.

After taking a quick pull of the beer, I said, “It was…fine. Boring, mostly.”

“If bodyguard work gets exciting, something is probably wrong,” Kane said.

I tipped the beer in his direction. That seemed to be my understanding of the job too.

Since I preferred things tonotgo wrong, I wasn’t going to complain about the general tediousness of what I was doing. Besides, I’d said it myself…I was ready for something boring.

I hadn’t planned on Mila though.

At least she had stopped acting like there was a stick up her excellent butt over the entire thing. I knew she’d talked to her father and since I was still reporting out to her address every day, I had to assume she hadn’t been able to dissuade him from what he felt needed to be done.

“You’re really big into sharing shit, Liam,” Jake said, crooking a grin at me. “I just wanted to know if you liked your new job – which I helped get you – and you say…what, five words about it?”

I flipped him off, recognizing the light of humor in his eyes. Sometimes it seemed like the years that had gone without us seeing each other didn’t even exist.

Jake laughed, then leaned in. “So…listen. There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

I braced myself, because usually words like that…we need to talk…there’s something you should know…seemed to come laden with a whole lot of shit.

Jake took a deep breath, then glanced over at Kane. “I’ve got a sister.”

I just stared, waiting for the punchline. But Jake watched me with an unblinking gaze. “Since when did you have a sister?”

“For twenty-one years ago, apparently,” Jake said with a wry grin. He skimmed a hand back over his hair. “Her name’s Raye. We…well,shefound me not long ago.”

He told me the story, including the affair between his father and Raye’s mother, and how Raye had hunted him down in New York once she’d found out.

“She’s cool,” Jake finished. “Even if she does have shitty taste in men.”

“Suck my dick,” Kane suggested.

I looked between the two of them, but Jake filled me in before I could ask. “They’re dating. They’re so cute together, it’s sickening.”

I took another look at Kane and wondered just what kind of woman could manage to make him do anything resemblingcute.

Kane shifted uncomfortably in the seat. “Enough with that shit, King,” he said.

I had to remind myself, again, of Jake’s new name.

“So, when do I meet my new cousin?” I asked.

“Actually…” Jake checked the time on his phone. “In another half hour. They’re meeting us here. I just wanted to get the story about Raye out before she arrived.”

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