“Bai—”
She held up a hand to stop him and shook her head. “Before you start, just answer this. How badly am I going to hate what you’re about to tell me?”
He shrugged. “No way to know until you hear me out.”
She looked up at the ceiling and drew a breath deep into her lungs. Releasing it slowly, she sat on the couch Luke kept in his office. She tucked her hands under her thighs and focused her wide eyes up at him.
“Then I guess you better get on with whatever you have to tell me.”
He sat beside her, his knee lightly nudging hers. He leaned forward to brace his forearms on his thighs.
“Have you ever heard of the Legends?”
Her brow furrowed, and she shook her head.
“I told you Gish was former CIA. His codename was Legend because he could slip into situations, resolve them, and slip out before anyone knew he was there. He stopped seeing eye-to-eye with the CIA, so he left and settled in Fire Creek. You already know that he took us in, not by choice though. It sort of happened, and I think he always figured eventually someone would take us off his hands. But no one wanted us, so we stayed. He not once pretended to be our dad, but he taught us all the things a dad would. How to work hard, how to treat other people, how to be someone others could count on.
“Anyway, one day, we overheard Gish and Becky arguing, and she let it slip about his involvement in the CIA and how he hadn’t really left the life behind. He’d never told us anything about it. We even wondered if he was still an operative because there would be times he would leave town to handlebusiness.”He used his fingers to make air quotes as he said the last word. “This was about the time he started buying other property. He started this garage then eventually the hardware store. It wasn’t that hard to believe that he would have other ventures outside ofFire Creek, but after hearing about his connection to the CIA, we started to wonder. We eventually confronted him about it.”
“And was he? Still involved?”
Easton stood and started pacing to have something to do other than listen to himself talk. “No. When he left the CIA, he cut all ties with them, but he made it known in certain circles that if someone needed his help and his unique set of skills, he was available.”
“Certain circles?”
“It’s hard to explain. Gish has connections all over the world, and not all of them are tied with law enforcement or government agencies. He put out the word that he was willing to help those who needed it, and people took him up on it. That’s why he would leave town sometimes. Once he explained it to us, the four of us wanted to do the same. Gish helped us leave our rough home lives, so it seemed logical that we could pay it forward by joining him.
“Gish disagreed. He tried to talk us out of it, so we came up with a plan to show him we were serious about it. After hearing about his experience with the CIA, none of us wanted to join one of the alphabet agencies. We considered the police academy but finally settled on military service. We all enlisted in the Army and learned anything we could that would help us once we were discharged. Computers, weapons, fighting, leading a team. When we came back, Gish finally agreed to train us to be the next generation of Legends.”
“You sound like vigilantes.”
He winced at the censor in her tone. “Vigilantes tend to work outside the law. We don’t exclude law enforcement or try to getin their way. The people we help are the ones who turned to law enforcement first. We only step in when all legal options are exhausted, but the crimes don’t stop.”
“What crimes are we talking about?” she asked.
Easton shared cases of stalkers, drug runners, extortioners, bullies, rapists, shady business owners or landlords, con artists, kidnappers, deadbeat parents, abusers, thieves...He moved from one story to another, telling her just enough to give her insight into the Legends, and though he kept the details basic, he never ran out. She listened to each one, her expression thoughtful.
As long as she listened, he talked. Years of operating as Legends had afforded many opportunities for them to assist people in need, but he wasn’t boasting about the work they did. He wanted and needed Bailee to understand.
He was ready to stop and wanted to ask her what she was thinking and feeling. But Luke interrupted them, his solemn expression putting Easton on edge.
“What’s up?”
“We got a lead. That is, if we’re still working this case.”
Bailee stood. Though Easton stared at her expectantly, she kept her eyes fixed on Luke.
“You are. Where’s Roxy?”
Luke jerked his head to indicate over his shoulder. “With Chum. When he finishes the repair he’s working on, he’s going to take her to the vet and then drop her off at Becky’s. We’ve already called ahead and set it up. We’re heading to Jackson’s. Ben’s meeting us there. I’m going to follow behind you in my truck, just in case trouble finds us on the way.”
Luke didn’t wait for their response before leaving as abruptly as he came in. Anxious to find out the lead in the case, Easton started for the door, but Bailee’s hand on his forearm stopped him.
“I’m still not convinced that staying is the right thing to do, but…well, I haven’t had a whole lot of people in my corner lately, and I’ve spent a lot of time trying to prove myself to people who didn’t deserve my effort. I’ve never had to do that with you or your brothers. So I’m willing to give this a shot, but I reserve the right to change my mind if things get to be too risky.”
He grinned. “I can live with that. I can’t promise I’ll be happy about it, but I can live with it. You ready?”
“Not yet. One more thing first.”
