“Great job.” Navarre guided the bar back onto its rack and handed Jackson a bottle of water. He slid the spring clips off the bar and began to rack the plates. “You ready to hit the showers, or do you want to pound the heavy bag first?”
Jackson pushed up to a seated position and used his towel to wipe the sweat off his brow. Beating the heavy bag sounded like a great idea; he could burn through some of his untapped aggression by pretending it was that redneck from the bar. But before he could answer, the door swung open and Austin Flint, their boss and the oldest sibling in the Flint family-owned business, strode in, wearing gray sweats and an Army-green tee, with a bulging backpack slung over one heavily muscled shoulder. He’d recently trimmed his hair back into a crew cut, which made his bushy black beard appear even more unruly.
It was a rare day for an early riser like Austin to be late for a workout. Usually, he was the first one in at the ass crack of nothing. But now that Jackson thought about it, Austin wasn’t even supposed to be here today, and that sparked his curiosity.
“I thought you were going out of town.”
The boss had been talking about it for days: an extended weekend with his wife at a rental house on a private beach with no phones, no internet, and no responsibilities. Considering how many hours they worked both in and out of the office, they deserved the mini-vacation. Whatever had caused the sudden change in plans couldn’t be good.
The door swung shut behind Austin as he stepped farther into the room. “There’s an issue with the Engel account. I’m meeting with the owner at ten.”
“Issue or problem?” Jackson asked.
“Issue with the potential to become a big fucking problem.” Trouble brewed in Austin’s green eyes and tightened the corners of his mouth. “OSS is trying to poach the account.”
Orlando Security Solutions was one of the oldest and largest security companies in the county, and Six Points’ biggest rival. Up until recently, the competition had been friendly. “Didn’t they pull the same shit with Cava the other month?”
“Yeah, but we managed to retain it. From what I gather, they have a few young guns on their marketing team who think it’s easier to steal another company’s clients than find new ones of their own.” Austin shifted the weight of the pack on his shoulder. “After I finish with Engel, I’m driving over to OSS to have a talk with the owner.”
A sense of foreboding swept through Jackson. There were so many ways for that plan to go sideways, especially if the dude from OSS copped an attitude with Austin. All things considered, the boss had a fairly even temper, but every man had his limits. “You think that’s a good idea?”
“It’s worth a shot.” Austin shrugged. “A little competition never hurt anybody, but I don’t want that competition turning into open hostilities. You know how Larissa gets when somebody tries to horn in on our turf.”
An angry Larissa was a sight to behold, and the stuff of legend at Six Points. The only girl in a family of six children, she was smart as a whip, tougher than nails, more territorial than a wolverine, and she had no patience for bullshit. Her computer skills were second to none, and those foolish enough to get on her bad side suffered swift and blinding retribution with a side order of her wicked sense of humor.
“Does she know?” Jackson asked.
“Does who know what?”
Every muscle in Jackson’s body jerked. He’d been so focused on what Austin was saying that he hadn’t noticed Larissa enter the room. She stood behind Austin, an expectant look on her face and her reddish-brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her sleeping infant daughter was nestled in one of those sling things strapped across her chest.
It struck Jackson as funny, how an otherwise fearless Marine veteran who’d served multiple tours of duty in war zones could be intimidated by his baby sister. He had to be at least eight inches taller and outweighed her by a good hundred pounds of solid muscle.
And yet a flicker of panic crossed Austin’s face at the sound of her voice. He covered it just as quickly as he turned to face her. “Nothing for you to worry about, sis.”
She rolled her eyes. “God, you’re such a crappy liar. This is about the Engel account, isn’t it? What, you thought I didn’t know?” she added when his jaw dropped open. “How many times do I have to tell you? If the day ever comes when something happens around here and Idon’tknow about it, worry.”
“Look, I just—don’t do anything, okay? I’m taking care of it this morning.”
“What do you mean, don’t do anything?” She had the audacity to act all innocent and shit. “What do you think I’m going to do?”
“I don’t know. That’s what concerns me. Let me handle it.” Austin cut her off when she opened her mouth to speak. “The last thing we need is this turning into World War III. Got it?”
“Whatever you say, big brother.” Smiling sweetly, she reached up and patted his cheek. “If you need me this morning, I’ll be in the training room with Nina and the new techs.”
Jackson waited to speak until after the door to the ladies’ restroom closed behind her. “We got new techs?”
Austin nodded. “She said we needed two, so I hired three. At the rate we’re growing, we could use the extra help, and if we lose one it won’t be such a big deal. You guys ready to go back on detail?”
After weeks on a mission in the jungles of Central America, working a personal protection detail would feel like the kiddie rides at a carnival. Not that Jackson was complaining. Guarding VIPs wasn’t nearly as exciting as hunting a notorious cartel kingpin, but the pay was good and the chances of catching a slight case of death were a heck of a lot lower. “Sure. Who are we covering?”
“Vicky. She asked for you two.”
That would be Victoria Flint, a.k.a. Vicky Hale, A-list actress, Academy Award nominee, and all-around beautiful human being. It should have been Academy Award winner—she was robbed, but then again, Jackson’s opinion was biased. She was married to Ryan, one of Austin’s younger brothers, and the fact that Ryan felt comfortable with them protecting his wife was a huge compliment and a boost to his ego.
“Is she going out of town?” Navarre asked before he drank from his water bottle.
“Not this month,” Austin replied. “I think she’s got something lined up for the summer, but I haven’t heard any details yet.”
