Page 26 of Silos and Sabotage

Jillian waved at the receptionist’s booth. “Feel free to drop your stuff off there for now. I’m about to assign you a storage locker. Everyone here gets one, so you can stow things there, as well.”

Gage moved across the room to plop Ella’s bags on the countertop. He angled his head at her to follow him so he could inform her in an undertone, “Johnny is running late.” He was going to scorch his ears about it when he finally showed up. “So, I can either join you on your tour, or I can make myself scarce if you’re ready to get me out of your hair.”

“Ha! I huntedyoudown, not the other way around,” she reminded, stabbing a finger against his chest.

“Found it!” Cassie rose from the pile of papers and folders, waving one of the folders in triumph. Catching sight of their by-play, she inquired, “Are you two together?”

Ella smiled so mischievously at her that he braced himself. “In his own words,” she informed the occupants of the room sweetly, “he’s my non-biological older brother.”

As Cassie burst out laughing, he felt his ears turn red. When the others weren’t looking, he shook his head in warning at Ella. Rock had taught him just how evil paybacks could be. The two of them had honed their skills on each other over the years.

She spread her hands innocently, like she was only telling it like it was.

He bent to speak in her ear as they began their tour of the pet cages, washing stations, and supply room. “Do you really feel like my sister?”

“Not even a little.” A breathy chuckle escaped her.

His heart thumped in response. “Then I take back what I said about it. Every word.”

“Finally!” She chuckled again, making him long to seal his mouth over hers and show her just how unbrotherly he felt about her.

They reached the employee lounge. It held a cafeteria-style table and the wall of lockers Jillian had mentioned. “Here’s yours.” She handed Ella a key with a bright orange keyring bearing the number five on it. “It almost makes you feel like you’re back in high school, doesn’t it?”

“Totally.” Ella glanced around the room with interest. “What did you do? Raid an old school building?”

“Good guess.” Jillian rested her hands on her hips. “My goal was to get this project off the ground with the smallest investment possible. The repurposed silos were donated by the Bolanders, and most of our furniture is from the high school on the south side of town that got destroyed by tornadoes.”

The Bolanders?Gage’s brain latched on to that detail and refused to move beyond it. He all but tuned out the rest of Jillian’s description of the employee lounge.

At the first break in the conversation, he inquired in a bland voice, “I imagine the Bolanders used this as a tax write-off.” He was standing close enough to one of the outer walls to knock on the corrugated silver metal with his knuckles.

“Probably.” Jillian shrugged. “That’s what I’d do if I donated something this big to charity.” Little Bo chose that moment to run into the room with his arms outstretched, wailing in distress at the top of his lungs.

Giving Gage an apologetic look, Jillian bent to scoop him up. While she soothed his tears and tried to figure out the source of his trouble, she moved to the sink. Opening the overhead cabinet, she withdrew a cookie from a canister and handed it to him.

He quickly muted his wailing to munch on it while she dried his tears.

“So, this is where the party is!” Johnny Cuba swaggered into the employee lounge like a rodeo champion stepping into the winner’s circle to accept a trophy. His dark gaze settled appreciatively on Ella. “Did you miss me?”

She snickered. “No offense, but I’ve been way too busy annoying my not-a-landlord here with all of my getting settled in stuff.” She patted Gage’s arm affectionately.

The disappointment flooding Johnny’s gaze almost made Gage feel sorry for him. So did the fact that Ella didn’t seem in too big of a hurry to let go of his arm.

He met her laughing gaze. “I’ve gotta scoot, but I’ll be back to take you to your appointment.”

“I can take her,” Johnny offered, shooting an irritated look at Gage. “It’s not like I have other plans since I’m, you know,on dutyhere.”

Ella ignored him. “It’s a doctor’s appointment.” There was a note of apology in her voice as she caught Jillian’s eye. “I probably should’ve mentioned it before now. If it’s okay with you, I’ll make it my lunch break.”

“No, it’s not okay.” Jillian sounded so put out that Ella’s lips parted in surprise. Jillian shook her finger warningly at Gage. “Make sure she eats lunch before you bring her back, you hear?”

He gave her a mock salute. “Aye, aye, cap’n.” He didn’t mind being ordered to take Ella on a lunch date.

He didn’t mind right up to the point that she cheerfully invited Johnny to tag along. After his first stab of disappointment, though, he decided it wouldn’t hurt to have two armed guards flanking her. She needed all the protection she could get right now.

* * *

Gage likedthe feeling he always got when he drove up to Lonestar Security’s headquarters —like he was part of something bigger than himself. The two-story brown brick building had once been a post office and was still chock full of olden time charm. A sandstone outset roof covered the double glass entrance doors. Another rim of white stone circled the building a few inches below the straight line of eaves. Six concrete stairs led to a long, narrow entrance porch where the townsfolk used to gather and “jaw” as Gil liked to put it. Concrete ramps with black iron railings led up to both sides of it. The only non-original feature was the attached two-story parking garage in the back. Technically, the garage had a third story, but it was underground.

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