Page 25 of Liv Parrish

“Whatever, you know what I mean. Can you do it?”

“Sure, we can do it. I’ll set something up for tomorrow.”

“Great, but you’ll have to give me the friends and family discount though. Not sure I could afford you otherwise,” she mumbles under her breath, like I would consider charging her anything. Hoping to get her to let go of some of her anger, I try to tease her a little.

“And which would you be? Friend or family.”

“Uh …”

“Because I know what I want.”

“Heath …”

“Don’t worry, I’m not pushing you into anything. You know where I stand.” It’s clear to me now that she’s still holding back, not willing to trust my intentions, which I’ll admit is frustrating. If there’s one thing I struggle with, it’s patience when going after what I want, but that’s exactly what I’m going to need to win Liv’s trust. “I’ll let you know tomorrow morning when we can come and do a sweep.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it.” And just like that, our Sunday is blown to hell. We eat the breakfast I made in silence, after one or two uncomfortable attempts at conversation that prove fruitless. I don’t want to leave things like this. I don’t want to leave at all, but once the plates are cleared and Liv is done with the dishes it appears that’s the only option I’m given. She makes some excuse about chores that need to be done before the new week starts and I take that as my not-so-subtle hint to go home. So, I leave.

§§§

Mondays at Fortress are usually frenetic, but I still manage to wrangle Riley into my office first thing in the morning.

“How much do you know about Luke Parrish?”

“Liv’s brother? Not much. She says he’s a Marine stationed at Fort Bragg. They don’t see each other much but talk on the phone semi-regularly. Why?”

“He’s got her apartment bugged. She wants us to remove them.” I still don’t know if I agree with the plan, even though I understand the reason behind it.

“Shit, seriously?”

“Yep.”

“That’s kind of an asshole move.” This surprises me. Riley being our tech wizard, one would think he’d be all for a well-placed bug.

“You think?”

“Don’t you?”

“He’s worried about her, and it turns out he has reason to be so no, I don’t.”

“Look, I get that you’re upset and concerned about what Wyatt told you, but we can handle whatever comes her way. And with the two of you together, that makes her even safer than she was before.”

“Yeah, I hear you, but she’s being stubborn, and I get the impression their relationship is a little strained. Anyway, I need you to coordinate with her to go and do a sweep. And let me know what you find.”

“Sure. Is she going to question me why you’re not doing it?”

“If she does, just tell her it’s your specialty. Which is true. I’ll check in with her later, answer any questions she might have.”

“Okay, it’s your call. I’ll set up an appointment for this morning.”

“Thanks, man.” He turns away but stops when I ask, “Did you know?” I don’t have to say anything else, he knows exactly what I’m referring to.

“No, she never told me.” He walks out without saying anything else.

The day passes in a flurry of progress reports on current business, as well as new enquiries streaming in. It seems everyone and their grandmother needs a security specialist these days. I’m not complaining, it’s what keeps the doors open and the lights on, but it’s not what I’m looking for. There has been no new intel on the Reznikovs or any of the other players in the human trafficking scene and it’s making me itchy, because I know it’s happening. People are in danger and we’re sitting on our hands, waiting for the other shoe to drop. More importantly, Melissa’s life is in the balance.

Lunchtime comes and goes without any sign of Riley. Surely, he must be back by now? I head over to his office and sure enough, he’s hunched over his desk analyzing two listening devices.

“There were two of them?” He looks up from his work, squinting slightly.

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