Chapter Three
Lara turned away from the window. She couldn’t help but turn around and look at him every so often. There was just something about the man. She could honestly say she’d never felt anything quite like it.
“So, Jenna,” Courtney said. “What are you and your…”
She trailed off, obviously fishing for information. Lara was grateful someone was taking point on gathering information.
“I moved here with my bo—” Jenna stopped quickly and looked a little flustered before going on. “My boyfriend and his relatives.”
Lara frowned a little. There was something that just wasn’t right. She couldn’t place a finger on it, but she was trained to read people, and right now, Jenna wasn’t telling the whole truth. She was a bit out of patience today, and so she decided a direct strategy was the best.
“Are you with the Azilians?” she asked bluntly. That might explain Jenna’s reluctance, and it might provide a potential opening to look into the group.
Jenna sipped her tea. The steam from the cup fogged her glasses a little, blurring her eyes. She shook her head. Her short, loose curls bounced a little as she did.
“No,” she said and set down the cup. “I think they are our neighbors or something. Really, they’re so far away from the uh, living quarters, that we don’t even notice them.”
Living quarters? The phrase played over in Lara’s head. It was an odd way to refer to housing. Something clicked in her mind.
“Are you military?” Lara asked.
She could see Courtney giving her the stink eye but ignored her. What she was asking wasn’t too over the line. It was actually tame by her standards, and if the military was setting up some place without telling anyone, the locals deserved to know.
Jenna gave a bright laugh.
“No. My uncle was.” She grinned. “Guess he’s rubbed off on me.”
It made sense to Lara, but things still didn’t seem quite right as far as she was concerned. Maybe this new group of people had something to do with all the strange trucks that kept coming through. It all started a few weeks before they showed up, and the timing seemed to be more than just coincidence. Even as a small-town reporter, Lara had learned to not ignore supposed coincidences.
“So,” Courtney said, cutting into her thoughts. “Couple nice-looking guys you got out there.”
Jenna gave an almost dreamy smile as she looked back at the hardware store.
“The one driving was my boyfriend,” Jenna said and glanced over to her.
Despite herself, Lara gave a little sigh of relief. Not that she was hoping anything would happen with the man she’d been watching, but it was nice to know she hadn’t been ogling someone who was attached. Or at least that was the story she was sticking with.
“How do you all like living here?” Jenna asked and went back to sipping tea.
Courtney smiled brightly. “Eagle Ridge is great.”
Lara snorted. They both looked over to her, and Courtney frowned.
“Although some people might not agree,” Courtney said and huffed a little.
Lara rolled her eyes.
“Oh, no, it’s the perfect place if you love a town where nothing happens and the pool of idiots just keeps growing,” she said and swiped a finger across her empty plate. The cake hadn’t been enough, especially if they were going to talk about Eagle Ridge.
“Quiet sounds nice to me,” Jenna said and smiled.
Lara sighed.
“It’s a fine place,” she said and gulped down the last few swallows of her now tepid coffee. When she set the mug down, she looked over at the two women. “It’s just not the sort of place where you can really get ahead. Especially in my field. Maybe I’m just being a bit extra bitter today because of that.”
“What’s your field?” Jenna asked.
“Journalism,” she said.
Jenna’s face fell a fraction. If she had been less guarded, Lara guessed that the other woman would have downright frowned. Her warning light flipped on as she watched the person new to town. If Lara being a reporter bothered her that much, that suggested Jenna and her people were up to something. Probably something shady.
“Well, I’m sure there’s stuff to write about here,” Jenna said politely, her eyes a little more wary. Or at least it seemed that way. “It’s a cute town. I’m sure there’s all sorts of stuff that goes on. Town carnivals, festivals…”
She trailed off as if she were trying to think of something else they might do.
“Sure, there’s always stuff like that going on,” Lara said, and Jenna smiled. “But it’s not really the sort of stuff that can bump your career. You need something a bit more important, something with a bit more pizazz, you know?”
Jenna gave a nervous laugh. “Pizazz?”
“Yeah. Public interest.”
“Well,” Courtney cut in. “Not all of us hate it here.” The tiny doe-eyed woman could certainly cut a person with a stare despite her appearance. “And even Lara likes our once a week book club.” She grinned.
Jenna perked up a little. “Book club?”
Lara held up a hand. “Don’t get too excited. It’s mostly talking about who our latest book boyfriend is at Joe’s while we knock back a few. It’s not that deep or anything.”
Jenna frowned a little. “Joe’s?”
Courtney pointed just down the road. “Joe’s is sorta the local bar slash pub. He makes killer wings, and the beer is always cold.”
Without even talking to her friend, Lara could see where this was going. In about five seconds, Courtney would be inviting someone new into the fold. Normally she wouldn’t been okay with something like that, but there was something going on with Jenna, and she was going to find out.
A good reporter didn’t let opportunities escape. And who knew, maybe Jenna would turn out to be all right anyway.
“Want to come?” Courtney asked.
Jenna looked over to her and then across the street.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Courtney said. “We go every Saturday, and it’s always a great time. It’s nothing that rowdy if you’re worrying about what your boyfriend might think.”
Jenna glanced over to Lara as if she were asking her permission as well.
“Who doesn’t love beer, wings and talking about books?” Lara grinned.
Jenna laughed.
“Well, I can’t really say no to that then.”
A little piece of her felt guilty about asking Jenna to go when all she wanted was to find out what they were up to, but she knew something was going on. And if it turned out to be harmless, well, Jenna would still have a good time. No harm, no foul.
The door tinkled as the handsome man who had been driving earlier stepped into the shop.
“Rem,” Jenna said.
He gave a wide grin and nodded to Courtney and Lara.
“Ladies,” he said and then turned to Jenna. “We’re just about ready. Need more time?”
Jenna looked to Courtney and then to Lara.
“I’d love to go to the book club.” She smiled and looked back to Rem. “Saturday?”
He nodded and gave a half-cocked smile that suggested he was glad she had made friends. That pricked a bit at Lara’s suspicion. If they were up to something shady, her boyfriend probably wouldn’t want her mixing it up with locals so soon, but it didn’t prove anything one hundred percent.
“We usually meet here about five,” Courtney said to both Jenna and Rem. “Then we walk to Joe’s. It’s just right down the block. Most times we’re done by ten or so.”
Rem nodded. “I’ll just drop her off and pick her up.”
“I can drive,” Jenna said, irritation creeping into her voice.
Lara raised a brow. Women in Eagle Ridge typically didn’t get into spats with their husbands, especially if their husbands were huge beefcakes like Rem. Of course, most of those women didn’t have the balls to go against their husbands.
Rem stepped up to her and placed a gentle hand on her cheek.
“I know,” he said softly. “But I thought you might want to cut loose with your new friends. I know all this moving around has been stressful.”
Jenna nibbled her lip.
“Okay,” she said softly.
As quickly as the fight started, it had ended.
It was strange to Lara to see a man like that. Most of the men in the area weren’t too keen on their women drinking at all, let alone driving them to and from. She had to give him credit. He seemed to really care.
Her eyes caught movement as the other man loaded supplies into the back of the truck. She could see his stiff muscles as they stretched under his long-sleeved cotton shirt.
Not wanting to get distracted, Lara turned back to Rem and said the first thing that came to mind.
“Rem is an odd name.”
She could hear Courtney gasp behind her.
“Lara!”
She shrugged and kept her attention on the slick man. Although his eyes were behind dark glasses, she could see he was trying to think of how to respond. Even if he seemed easy going, there was something still subtly guarded about him.
“It is,” he said after a moment. “My parents were history buffs and were really into ancient Rome. And yours? Doctor Zhivago?”
Heat flooded her cheeks, and she squirmed a little. It wasn’t often that people even guessed. Most everyone just assumed it was after Laura, and after a while, she just gave up the distinction. Only her closest friends even knew how much it annoyed her.
She nodded at the man, who grinned back at her.
“Great book,” he said. “Far more interesting than some crusty old Roman myth.”
Not really sure what to say, Lara nodded again.
He stared at her for a moment or two longer, as if he were looking for something. Whatever it was, he seemed to find it and nodded to himself. She wasn’t sure if that should worry her or please her.
“Well, I guess we should go,” Jenna said and placed some money on the counter. “Thanks for the conversation, and I look forward to Saturday.”
Courtney smiled brightly. “It’s going to be a blast.”
Lara nodded, still a little stunned. She watched as Rem and Jenna climbed into the truck. The other man slammed the back hatch closed.
She wasn’t sure what she was really hoping, but her heart kicked up again as she watched him. There was just something with that man.
He turned and stared directly at her, and she felt her mouth run dry. Need coursed through her like she’d never known before. She wondered if he felt the pull as well when he took a step her way and then stopped. Whatever he had been feeling, he shook his head and then climbed into the truck without a second glance.
They watched as the three drove out of sight.
“Lord, I hope they have more where they came from,” Courtney said and picked up a menu to fan herself. “I need a stud myself.”
Lara turned in her stool and looked at her flushed friend. She snorted.
“You can’t even handle the two that came. What would you do with more?”
Courtney gave a devilish grin. “I’m sure I could figure something out.”
Lara laughed and shook her head.
“And on that note, I’m back to work.”
Courtney stopped fanning herself. “What are you going to do about the trucks?”
It was a damn good question. She glanced in the direction Jenna and the men had driven. Maybe they were a way to find out. She have to think on it more.
“I’m not sure,” she said as she looked back to Courtney. “But I’m so not letting this go.”
Courtney sighed.
“Just don’t get fired. You can’t buy beer if you don’t have a job.”
Lara grinned. “Understood. Work for beer.” She stepped to the door, then stopped. “Hey, let me know if you see any more of those trucks.”
Courtney nodded. Lara gave a little wave and stepped out onto the windy sidewalk. Big droplets of rain splashed down, and she groaned.
Just a sign that her day at work would be as miserable as it started.
She paused as another truck sped past, the wind whipping around it. It was a huge armored thing. What the heck were they transporting in there? Diamonds?
For the first time, she caught a look at the driver. His arms were full of tattoos, and he had a scowl on his face. She frowned. He seemed a little rougher than the normal Azilians, not that she had seen many over the years. Most seemed to pop in town on their way to the compound, and that was it.
Lara followed the truck as it turned out of sight.
She couldn’t wait. If she was going to figure this out, it had to be tonight.