Damage Control

“Excuse me,” I call out.

He faces me, and I ask, “What strange happenings?”

“For tenant privacy reasons, I’m not at liberty to say.”

“I understand. What’s your name?”

“Randy,” he says.

“Randy,” I repeat. “Thank you, again.”

I blink back to the present with the ding of the doors, and whisper, “But there was no Randy that fit that man’s description working that night.” Unless someone was confused, I remind myself. One of my law professors always said to double-, and even triple-check, critical details. I need to find out before I overreact and hand this to Shane and Seth on top of everything else. Exiting the car, I dash for the copy center, drop off the data, and head to the coffee shop, where the owner, Karen, a forty-something redhead with an overwhelming personality, is behind the register.

“You’re a regular now, aren’t you, honey?”

“I am,” I say, and I have this odd sense of being in the eye of this storm that feels ridiculously right, a sense of this being where I am meant to be. “I work for Brandon Senior.” Her eyes light and it takes me fifteen minutes to get past her infatuation with my boss to get my order of pastries, cookies, and coffees, and then I leave with Senior’s hot tea and honey. I’ve just stepped into the lobby when my cell phone rings, the ringtone that signals my brother is calling.

I walk back into the coffee shop, claiming a seat at a wooden table huddled between free-standing product displays, freeing my hands and removing the phone from my waistband. The number is blocked, but it always is the first time I call him from a new phone. I punch the answer button.

“Finally you call me,” I hiss softly. “I’ve needed you.”

“I’ve been juggling a few problems here, in case you didn’t remember. RJ’s been trying to reach Cooper.”

RJ. The one Seth called the best hacker on planet Earth, and high up in the Geminis.

“I took a job Cooper was supposed to do and made it look like he disappeared while he was doing it.”

I inhale and let it out. “Does that mean I can come home now?”

“RJ hasn’t even figured out Cooper is missing yet, so no. You cannot.”

“Does this mean you can send me money now?”

“I’m not back in the country yet. When I return, I’ll arrange it.”

I don’t believe him anymore, and suddenly I embrace the plan to convince him I’m somewhere I’m not. I want to protect myself from my own brother. “I left Denver. I got a job offer in New Mexico. It pays well, which is good news because I need my money.”

“And I need to go.”

“Of course you do.”

“Leave me your new address when you get to New Mexico. Bye, sis.” He hangs up and I grind my teeth, immediately turning my phone off and then turning it over to remove the battery. I stick both pieces in my waistband, my mind replaying the call. He didn’t ask how I’m getting to New Mexico or where I’m going to work. He didn’t ask how my money was holding up or how I’m holding up. He didn’t ask what motivated me to leave or how I got a job in another state. Irritatingly, my eyes prickle, when my brother does not deserve my tears. I shut that down, refusing to mourn a relationship that clearly was lost a long time ago. I consider calling Shane, but I’m pretty sure that hearing his voice will turn the prickling into tears, and neither of us need me to be that weak right now. Besides, I really have nothing to tell him aside from the RJ remarks, and those still aren’t much. Or maybe they are. I don’t know. They certainly aren’t urgent and if I find out details about the security guard, I can tell him everything at once.

Standing, I replace the tea with a fresh one, fielding more questions I don’t want to answer from Karen while my mind is on my brother. I almost think he just wants me to go away. I’ve lost law school and I can’t touch my money. He doesn’t care and the writing is on the wall.

I’ve lost the battle to save my brother. I’ve most likely lost law school, thanks to the Gemini connection I can never escape, but I am not losing my money too. And I’m still working for Brandon Senior’s office where I can do my part to ensure Shane doesn’t lose Brandon Enterprises.

My mission to help Shane renewed, I head to the security booth in the front of the building, remembering the night I’d met Shane as I approach the long glossy desk. I’d lost my phone. He’d interjected and insisted the guard check the lost and found, against evening hour’s policy, promising to watch the desk for him.

The guard rushes away, leaving me stunned at his quick departure while Shane rests an arm on the counter and faces me. “You ran away today.”

My eyes go wide. “That’s the way to get right to the point. And for your information, I had someplace to be.”

“You didn’t even take your coffee with you.”

“I didn’t have time to drink it,” I say quickly, no stranger to thinking on my feet.

“You ran,” he repeats.

“You’re kind of intimidating,” I counter.

Amusement lights his gray eyes. “You aren’t intimidated by me.”

“Are you saying you are intimidating to others?” I challenge.

“To some I am, but not to you.”

“You base this assessment on what, exactly?”

“Anyone intimidated wouldn’t be brave enough to say they are.” He closes the distance between us, the scent of him, autumn leaves and spice, teasing my nostrils. “Are you intimidated now?” he asks, the heat in his eyes blisteringly hot.