Page 36 of All Twisted Up
“Barbie,” Joshua admonished. “No coffee shaming.”
She grinned at him, poured a cup, and brought it over to me. “Here you go. It’s the hotel coffee, but they’re serving a continental breakfast downstairs.” She sounded so hopeful, all I could do was laugh. I gulped more of the coffee as she gave me the hard sell. “Seriously, there’s sure to be fresh coffee down there, and the kids would love a muffin.”
I focused on the cup in my hand, making sure the blanket was covering the boxers I slept in as I drank more of the less than spectacular instant coffee. “Thanks, Barbie, but we should wait until Candy—Captain Sorensen—gets here.”
“Garbanzo needs a pee,” Pete said, thrusting the puppy at me. “Joshua says you have to take him.”
“Thanks, buddy, but would you hold him just a minute while I get dressed?”
“Okay.” He stepped back as I set the coffee down and yanked the blanket off the bed. I wound it around my hips as I stood, hooking a thumb in the direction of the bathroom. “I’m just gonna go…you know.” I didn’t wait for an answer but bent and grabbed my duffle, heading to the singular bathroom close to the door. I should have been prepared for the explosion of clothing, grooming supplies, and towels strewn all over, but it only brought a smile to my face as I shut the door. It didn’t takelong to shower but when I stepped out, I heard deep voices in the outer room. I dressed quickly and went out into the living area only to find Candy, Mickey, and Patsy sitting on the newly made sofa holding cups of Starbucks.
Mickey grinned at me. “Morning.”
“Hey, guys. Morning,” I replied, much less enthusiastically. I hadn’t gotten much sleep.
“Morning, sunshine,” Patsy drawled brightly. I dragged my gaze over to the Irishman. “In his infinite wisdom, the boss made us stop and get Starbucks for ya, though, I argued against it, I did. I told him not to waste his money on a hero when deep adulation and sufficient fawning usually applies.”
I just smirked at him before turning to the boss. “Thanks, Captain.” I headed for the small dinette in the room, picking up the cup, noticing that someone had put the beds away to make room for everyone. I turned to look at Pete and Meggie who were playing with Garbanzo on the floor in the sunlight pouring in from a window. “I can take Garbanzo out now.”
Pete looked up and smiled showing me his missing teeth. “Too late. He already made a poo on the floor.” He burst into giggles. The sound was contagious and I couldn’t help but grin.
I started chuckling as I ruffled his hair. “I’m sorry, buddy.”
“It’s okay, Nash.” He pointed to Patsy. “Mr. Patsy took him out.”
Candy cleared his throat. “Hampstead, we should probably go over things now.”
“Sure, boss.” I walked over and plopped down in a chair at the table where Barbie and Joshua were taking seats as the boss sat forward.
“Patsy, Mickey, and I went back to the family’s house to collect their belongings this morning. Afterward, we headed over to both of Mr. Calder’s job sites to evaluate the protection capabilities should he continue to work at those places.”
I glanced at Joshua, getting a good look at the younger man for the first time this morning. He was dressed in a long-sleeved T-shirt and jeans with tons of holes in them. Even seated at the table beside me, I could tell they’d hug him in all the right places when he stood up. His tight-lipped expression told me that he probably already knew what was coming and was none too thrilled about it.
“As you have probably already guessed, it’s not going to be possible for one man—even a man as capable as you—to be able to guard Mr. Calder against threats if he continues to work at Tango’s. In our opinion, there are just too many access points to the area and the open concept layout will be way too crowded with civilians at peak times for a single man on protection detail to be effective.”
“That was my take.”
Joshua looked like he wanted to protest.
“There’s a high probability of civilian casualties if another cartel hit squad decides to take another shot at him,” I stated. “Those types of predators don’t give a damn if they inflict collateral damage to get at their target.”
Candy nodded. “Exactly right.” He looked at Joshua who’d slid down in the chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Mr. Calder understands that one person can’t possibly protect him and as you know, Nash, I need the rest of the team to be available for Tac Team assignments, and not on protection detail. I’m sorry, but we just don’t have the budget for it.”
“As I expected,” I agreed. “What about his teaching job?”
“Hello?” Joshua said, shooting me a glare as he pointed to his chest. “Please don’t talk about me in third person. I’m right here.”
“I apologize.” I glanced back at Candy. “How does the classroom set up look?”
“Much better. Mr. Calder teaches a night class at Valley College and as long as you’re with him, it should be okay. I doubt they even know about the secondary job because—as he informs us—he just started teaching this semester. On the slim chance the cartel does have access to tax records; they won’t know about it since no W-2 has been issued yet.”
Joshua twisted in his chair and looked at me. “The classroom is very small. We can hear anyone approaching the door because the corridor outside isn’t carpeted. If worst comes to worst, I can lock the door from inside and call for help. I only have fifteen students, the doors are metal or steel…whatever. We can shelter in place until help arrives.”
I nodded as I considered all the angles, eyeing up the captain. “What do you think?” I dismissed Joshua’s remark about footsteps since it was ludicrous. It wasn’t going to be practical for him to jump up and run to the door every time he heard footsteps outside. Presumably, other night classes would be happening at the same time, which meant they’d be a lot of footsteps in the outer corridor. And in the back of my mind, I couldn’t understand how teaching a night job three times a week for an hour was worth taking the risk. Nevertheless, if Candy was giving the go-ahead, then I would deal with it. “Is it possible to keep Joshua safe, if I’m the only one protecting him?”
He looked thoughtful. “In my opinion, yes, but you know there’s always a risk.” He didn’t wait for my reply beforelooking at Joshua. “Those classes are Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights, correct?”
“Yes. Seven to eight o’clock.”
