I pulled out of the preschool parking lot half an hour later; I was right on time.
I pressed the buzzer when I got to the gate and they opened up straight away. Parking in the same place I had last week I reached over for my bag, climbed out my car and started to make my way to the other side of the warehouse. I had to use all my strength to open up the big metal door. That would be workout enough, jeez, why did it have to be so heavy?
Walking in I found the warehouse empty so I made my way to the office and knocked on the closed door.
“Come in,” the deep, gravelly voice said.
I pushed the door open and found Tyson behind his desk. His fingers jabbing at the keyboard, he was practically attacking the thing.
“God damn computer!” he roared and pushed back on his chair, the momentum sent him flying back. He slammed his boots on the floor and the chair came to a stop.
His hands ran over his face and through his hair then he slid his eyes to me.
“Morning,” I whispered unsure.
“Morning.” He looked back at the computer screen, clicked the mouse a couple of times and stood.
“You can put your things in there.” He pointed to a cupboard behind his desk.
I moved forward, slid past him and put my bag in the cupboard. When I turned around he was sitting in the chair I had sat in for my interview.
“Sit,” he said and nodded to the seat he’d just got up from.
“There?” I asked, unsure.
“Yeah, we’re gonna share a desk.”
I sat down in the chair, amazed. It was one of those ones that they have in fancy offices, the ones that had backrests, covered in butter soft leather.
“You’re early.”
“Yes, I wanted to make a good impression.”
He watched me in that way of his but this time I ignored it. Instead, I focused on the pile of things on the edge of the desk. There was a sticky note that had my name on the top.
“They’re for you.”
I stood and reached over to pick up five notepads, each had a label on the front; Meeting, Tyson, Kitty, Luke and Evan. Underneath was a hardback diary, the sort that had a page to each day. Then there were a bunch of printed papers.
“You need to keep track of all our comings and goings. The diary is to be used to book any appointments.” I held up the papers.
“And these?”
“That’s your contact information, a non-disclosure agreement and your job description.”
“Non-disclosure?”
“Yeah, it’s straight forward. You can’t say anything about the cases or what goes on here.”
“Okaaay…”
“You’ll be given access to everything we have access to. Apart from the safe. You’re gonna know things that a lot of people would like to know.” He leaned forward, continuing, “Things that are dangerous.”
“Dangerous?” I squeaked.
“You won’t be in any danger. But you need to know that what we do here is important.” His eyes held mine, a warning shined through.
“And what is it you actually do here?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.” He leaned back in his chair and stretched his long legs out.
I read and signed both contracts and put my job description back on top of the pile. Tyson stood and pulled the book that had ‘Meeting’ on the front from under the papers.
“Ready for your first meeting?” I stood, pen in hand and took the pad from him and clutched it to my chest nodding.
He towered over me, my eyes were level with his chest so I tilted my head back to meet his eyes.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” He smiled then, his teeth glinting in the sunlight that streamed through the skylight.
“Come on.” He flicked his hand toward the door and followed me out.
*~*~*
Kitty and Luke were already at the table when we approached. Kitty smiled wide at me. I smiled back then looked at Luke. His fingers flew across the screen of his phone until Tyson sat down.
He sat at the head of the table so I took the seat next to him, opposite Kitty and Luke.
Tyson pulled off his beanie hat and ran his hands through his hair. Placing the pad on the table, I opened it to the first page and wrote the date at the top.
“Okay, guys, any finished cases first?” Tyson asked them.
I looked around the warehouse, expecting to see Evan. All the computer screens were switched off, the chair pushed neatly under the table.
“I finished up the Knights Case last night.” Kitty pulled a folder off the top of the pile that sat in front of her and held it out to me.
“Just needs to be written up,” she said to me, I took the folder and placed it next to me.
“Okay,” I said in a small voice. Written up?
“Luke? Any luck with the Jakeman case?”
“Na, Boss,” his rough voice said. “Still following leads.”
Tyson nodded, shuffled through the papers that sat in front of him and handed each of us one.
“Charlie asked me to look into this,” he said as way of explanation. I scanned it, not able to make much sense other than it was a man they suspected ran a drug ring. I was about to ask who Charlie was when Tyson carried on talking.
“He caught one of the dealers, they gave up some information.” He pulled something out of the folder, spun in his chair and stuck a photograph on the wall. It was one that they would have taken when he got arrested.
The first thing that jumped out was the man’s eyes, almost black and pure evil. His neck was covered in tattoos climbing up the side of his face. He was the kind of person that would make you feel like you needed to cross the street so you wouldn’t have to walk passed him.
“Phillip Shore.”
“His info any good?” Luke asked.
“That’s what we need to find out.” He looked at all of us in turn. “Charlie suspects it’s one of the cartels.”
“What do we know so far?”
“He says that he can give dates and times of shipments. The first one is happening in two days.” Tyson raised his brows to Luke, some kind of silent conversation taking place.
“What does he need us to do?” Kitty asked.
“Watch the trade take place, then report back.”
“I’ll scope the place and set up surveillance,” Kitty said.
“Yeah, take Luke with you. We work in teams for this one.” They both nodded.
They went on to talk about all of their active cases while I took notes. I found that I was pretty good at writing in shorthand, at least what I considered shorthand. Corey and I had invented a secret code as children, we swapped letters round and made new words.
It was a good way to send secret messages to each other, Corey had said that it was practice for when he was a spy. I used to laugh at that, thinking that we would have no way to use it. But the older we got, the more I found I had use for it.
Secret text messages were sent frequently; he even wrote to me a couple of times a year using it. It always made me laugh because it was never anything important. I found that using the code was much easier than writing every single word they said.
Kitty and Luke went straight out to scope the meeting point and I followed Tyson back into the office. He sat opposite the desk again so I sat in front of the computer and moved the mouse to bring the screen to light.
“You’ve got access to all of the files.” I looked up at him confused.
“What?”
“We all have our own system on the computer, I’m the only one who can access all of them and of course you can now as well.”
“Okay.”
“Every case report needs to have two copies.” He leaned forward in his chair. “One saved to whoever did the case and the other on the main system”
“What if it’s a joint case?” His lips lifted at the corners when I said that.
“We each get a report then.” I nodded. He pushed up out of his seat, moved round the desk and leaned
over me.
What was he doing? His aftershave wafted round me, musk and spice, I couldn’t help but breathe it in. I’d never smelt anything quite like it.
Car grease was all that I usually smelt on a man. Don’t get me wrong, there was something to be said about a man who smelt of car grease, just not when it was mixed with beer and all that came after that.
I flicked my eyes to Tyson, he held a yellow post it note out to me. Reaching up, I took it from him.
“User name and password,” he said.
“Oh, right. Okay.” I typed it in while with Tyson stood at my back. I shivered as his breath fanned across the back of my neck.
“Cold?”
“No.” I shook my head and moved the mouse over the screen, opened a blank file and reached across the desk for my notepad.
I decided that it was better for me to do it how I thought it would be best, rather than try to copy what had already been done. If Tyson didn’t like it then I could do it however he wanted.
“What’s that?”
“Huh?” His large hand gripped the end of the notepad and pulled. His brows furrowed as he read all of the secret code, I smiled to myself knowing that he would never be able to understand it.
“What the hell is this?”
“It’s the notes from the meeting.” I pulled the notepad back. “It’s code.” I shrugged.
He stood there for several minutes as I started to type.
“Corey,” he murmured.
I looked up then, gave him a small smile and went back to typing. I’d have to explore all of the documents after this and look at how the reports are written and then go from there with what Kitty gave me.
“I’ll be back in a couple of hours,” Tyson said from the doorway. I swung my head up, I hadn’t realized that he had crossed the room.
“Okay.”
“You’ll be okay?”
“Yes,” I said.
As soon as he was gone, I leaned back in the chair and blew out a big breath. I scanned the photos on the wall, Tyson and Corey stood with arms around each other as they grinned wide.
I think that would be my new favorite picture.
Chapter Six
Tyson seemed impressed with the way I wrote all of the reports so I’d say my first day was a success. It was such a small thing, but to me it was huge; to have someone be impressed and to feel valued was a big deal to me.
My second day went even better than my first. I took notes at the meeting like I had the day before, using my secret code. My stomach dipped when I noticed Tyson watching me as I wrote with a grin on his face. He always wore a fierce expression but when his lips lifted his whole face changed. I shook my head, looked down and concentrated on the meeting.
Kitty told Tyson what she had found when she checked out the meeting point.
“It’s gonna be a nightmare to watch it. The only viable option is the building there.” She pointed to an area on the map and then placed several photographs on the table.
I leaned forward to get a better look. The first was a photo of the building, it looked like it had once been a factory of some sort but it was now long forgotten.
The second was taken from a window inside the building, you could see almost everything from that point. The problem was, there were so many hiding places that any meeting could be easy to miss.
“It’ll have to do,” Tyson said.
They arranged what time they needed to be in place tomorrow night to watch it, then Luke and Kitty left to set up the rest of the equipment while me and Tyson went back to the office. I knew what I needed to do by now, so I started typing up the meeting as Tyson pulled open the drawer to the filing cabinet.
“What’s it like?” It was out of my mouth before I’d even registered that I’d spoken.
“Hmm?”
“To do what you do?” He shut the drawer and turned to me. Those eyes watched me, the tension around his eyes was unmistakable.
“Dangerous,” is all he said, then walked out.
I looked down, afraid that I had offended him. I really did need to think before I spoke. It was an innocent enough question, but he obviously didn’t like it. I just found it so interesting what they did here. I knew that I hadn’t scratched the surface with what they did and I couldn’t help but be drawn to it.
I spent the next couple of hours typing things up, at one stage I went into the filing cabinet to put something away and decided that I’d re-organize it. First, I made piles for each person and then I put them in alphabetical order.
I just hoped that Tyson didn’t mind me doing that. It was me that was working in the office all day, so it made sense to me that I organized it in a way that made things easier.
I bent down to put the last of the files away when I heard. “Daaaamn, that’s a fine sight.”
I spun around, the files scattering along the floor as my eyes met his. He was leaning against the door with his feet crossed at the ankles and his arms folded over his chest. A wide grin spread on his face as his honey eyes scanned me from head to toe.
“You scared me.” I narrowed my eyes at him when he grinned wider.
I didn’t know what it was about him, maybe the way he watched me with laughter in his eyes or the fact that he hadn’t moved a step toward me but I felt a smile spread on my own face.
He wasn’t as big as Tyson and Luke, his black skinny jeans showed his athletic legs up into a narrow waist. A black t-shirt with a thunderbolt in the middle covered his wide shoulders, built like a swimmer.
“Evan.” He pointed a finger to his chest then turned it on me “Kaylee?”
“Yes.” He lifted a brow at me “Nice to meet you?”
He laughed, a sort of uncontrollable laugh. I didn’t see what was so funny. I huffed, bent down and picked the files up from the floor all the while he carried on laughing.
By the time I sat back down in my chair, I’d had enough, I hated being laughed at.
“What the hell are you laughing at?”
He stopped abruptly, tilting his head and taking me in before moving toward me. Perching on the edge of the desk, he watches me with curious eyes. From this close, I could see the swirls of gold in them and I also got a closer look at his other features. He had a straight nose and thin lips but was good looking in a quirky kind of way.
“Stop staring,” I said through clenched teeth.
He put his elbow on his knee and rested his chin on his hand.
“Seriously. Stop. Staring.”
“You look familiar,” he said.
“Do I?” I move the mouse about though I hadn’t got a clue what I was going to do on the computer.
I’d finished all of the reports and organized the filing cabinet. There wasn’t anything else but to answer the phone and considering it hadn’t rung once since I started yesterday, I somehow knew that I wouldn’t have much to do.
“Yeah. Do I know you?” He tilted his head the other way.
“I don’t think so.” Starting to feel uncomfortable I got up and walked out of the office and into the kitchen.
Coffee. That’s what I needed.
I switched on the machine and reached for a cup.
“You want one?” I said, knowing that he had followed me in. I remembered what Kitty had said that first day we met about at being aware of my surroundings and I was getting better at it.
“Sure.”
Neither of us talked as the coffee brewed, I could feel his eyes on me but I ignored it.
“I don’t think I do know you,” he announced.
I shook my head, picked up the first coffee and handed it to him.
“I think I’d remember you if I did,” he said with a wink as he took the coffee.
“Excuse me?” I choked.
“And you would definitely remember me.” His brows did a dance on his face.
“Ugh.”
“What?”
Damn, did I say that out loud? I really, really needed to learn when to keep my mouth shut
. For years I had watched what I said, not saying anything that was deemed wrong. But two days into a job and I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.
It was going to get me into trouble.
Corey always said that it would, and he was right. Those first few months when I had Eli, and Corey had gone back on tour, were a nightmare. I never knew when to keep my mouth shut.
I thought that I had control over it. Evidently, I didn’t.
“Sorry.” I ducked my head.
“Hey.” Evan came forward, his hand reached up. I tried my best not to flinch, but I couldn’t stop the natural reaction.
His hand stilled in the air, silence spread between us. I shuffled my feet on the spot, not knowing what to do or say.
“Come with me.” He spun around and waved his arm as he walked out of the kitchen. I stared at the empty space he left behind. “Come on!” he shouted through the kitchen door.
My legs shuffled forward and into the main part of the warehouse where Evan was rummaging through a small cupboard I’d never noticed before.
“Aha!” he shouted and lifted something in the air. He made his way to the training mats and stood in the middle.
“Come on.” He rolled his eyes, while pushing whatever he had found onto his hands.
I looked around, but nobody was here. It was just me and Evan. Where was everyone?
I didn’t want to make him mad so I moved toward him.
He held up both of his hands, covered with some sort of pads.
“Hit me,” he said.
“What?” I choked out.
He clapped the pads together and smiled.
“I don’t-”
“Go on.” He taunted “Just do it.”
I shook my head “No, I don’t want to.”
“If you’re gonna work here you’re gonna need to at least be able to throw a punch.”
“That-” He huffed at me and moved closer.
“Make a fist, thumb always on the outside.” I blew out a breath and did as he said, this was the most awkward thing that I had ever done. I’d never hit another person, I never wanted to. I knew what it felt like to be hit and I didn’t want anyone else to feel that pain.
“Now, hit the pads.” I rolled my eyes and hit the pad; just to satisfy him.
“Really? That’s all you got?” He chuckled.
Fractured Lies: Book 1 MAC Security Series Page 5
