Page 34 of All The Way Under

“Best. Definitely best. Meeting you guys has been the highlight of my year.”

Catherine’s smile drops. “You were kidnapped off your boat and taken to a deserted base where they held you captive in a cage for a month with Brody McCoy. They stole your boat, and now there’s a media frenzy around your mere existence.

” She shakes her head. “I’m not sure being the highlight is a compliment. The standard bar is in hell, Saylor.”

The laughter that comes next is uncontrollable, mostly because she said it all with a straight face, like Brody would.

“There was a lot of good too. The bar isn’t in hell at all. I think I’m able to compartmentalize the whole thing in Madagascar because being with Brody made it bearable. He said it best when he said he’s comfortable being uncomfortable, and I guess that rubbed off on me.”

I wash my dishes and put them on a dish towel to dry.

“Thanks for embracing me like this. I know Nolan might take some time to come around and warm up to me, but I appreciate you for just taking me at face value.”

“You’re welcome,” Catherine says. “He will come around. You know that, right? He’s a softie. He takes that older by thirty-seven minutes seriously.”

I nudge her with my elbow. “How could I forget? He has that big brother energy.”

“What kind of energy?” Nolan asks, kissing Catherine on the cheek before refilling his coffee cup. “The hungover kind of energy? The taking the dog out early because you slept in kind of energy?”

“Thanks for taking Grimace out,” Brody moans from the kitchen table.

“I popped into the guest house to make sure your, ah, friends knew that the kitchen was stocked for them.”

“Thank you for that,” I reply. His heart is just as big as Brody’s. I think it’s just on his sleeve. “I know they appreciate it more than you know. This property is beautiful. I can see why you guys love it here.”

“Brody rarely comes out here,” Nolan says. “Maybe he will now.”

“Why?” I ask, aiming my question at the hungover man in question.

He looks up but keeps his head in his hands.

“No real reason. I just worked a lot, and I don’t know how to be friends with some of our old friends.

It sounds like a lie, but I promise it’s the truth.

My life is just different, and I can’t talk about a day in the office or coworker gossip.

I don’t have kids yet, or have much in common with most folks.

Making friends is nearly impossible for people like us.

I’ll try again with Liddy and Sam if you want to plan something, McLan. ”

He lays his head on the table and exhales noisily.

“We need to have less fun today. I’m going to make us some ginger and lemon balm tea and then I need to hit the damn gym.” He moans. “Who the hell let me drink that much?”

“You aren’t a baby. We let you self-govern! I have some work to do as well if I don’t want to be buried with emails on Monday,” Catherine says, walking into the open living room off the kitchen.

I look at him, biting back a laugh.

Brody says, “If you’re going to nurse me back to health, at least do it without the smug face.”

I lose the battle and cackle. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, you crank. I’ll work out with you if you want.”

He nods, like a child embarrassed to admit he was wrong.

“Grumpiness at full tilt today,” Nolan declares. “Everyone beware!”

Brody grunts and grabs a gallon of water from the bottom of the pantry floor and begins chugging it.

I go to talk to my security guards in the guest house to confirm that everything was fine last night, only to find out that someone tried to scale the twenty-foot-tall stone walls to break into my parents’ home.

He was taken down by the elite security guards my dad hired the second we got home from Lisbon.

The ones with me are part of that team, but it’s disheartening to know that even though Jennings is locked up, the attempts on my father’s life continue.

One of the guards flips a laptop around to show me the footage of the suspect. He isn’t wearing a mask, and I get a good look at his face.

“I don’t recognize him,” I say, frowning. “That is the weakest side of the property for break-ins. Whoever is orchestrating this knows things. Things that are personal.”

It’s probably Jennings running things from jail. Or his wife. If it’s the wife, Mom will strangle her with a Chanel scarf. More proof we have to be careful with whom we become close with.

I tell them my plans for the day, and they seem to be in good spirits, probably because they are comfortable in a house as beautiful as the main lake house.

The head guard walks me back to the main house and doesn’t leave me until I’m in the door with it locked behind me. Brody meets me at the top of the stairs, face ashen.

“Did you throw up?” I say, trying to hold in the smugness so he doesn’t get moody again.

He’s changed into a pair of black workout shorts.

“I have to talk to you.”

“Talk,” I reply.

“How soon will your new AI GPS be ready? Let me rephrase. How quickly can your AI GPS be ready to sell? The Navy needs it. Rephrase again because I’m fucking flustered. The Navy SEALs need it. We need it.”

I swallow hard and sweat beads on my head. I’ve never worked well under a deadline.

“Why would the US military need my system?” I reply.

“Because it’s the best. You’re the best. I’m confident of that.

Your mind works like an evil genius. We can get this put together and delivered soon.

I know you can. I’ll help you.” He looks flustered, nervous.

“Just like we’re in Madagascar again, except we won’t be designing and installing watering systems or fixing tech on the motorbikes.

It will be something you love. Something you’re good at, and I’m a smart man, but I’m smart enough to know this is your territory, and it’s going to fall on your shoulders. ”

“I’m smart as well, Brody. What is going on? Why do you look like that? All sweaty and unlike your normal cool self?”

“Probably because I have Coors Light leaking from my pores, Saylor.”

I shake my head. “Seriously. Be honest with me.”

He looks up, his blue eyes avoiding mine. “I can’t tell you everything.”

“That’s fine. I’m not asking for everything.”

“There’s a threat in the waters off the north east coast. Our home. We need to get into the water and be undetectable.”

I widen my eyes. “Let me grab a laptop from security. They don’t have a firewall, so I can access my files from work.”

My dad told me that if I got this project complete, and it ends up being viable, it would be mine because no one else helped me. There wasn’t input from any of the other Wyndham teams—I didn’t have to attach it to Wyndham Tech. I could sell the product as a sole proprietor.

I open the door to the garage, and a guard is there. I ask him for a laptop, and he brings me one.

I set up in the living room and open my files.

“You’re telling me the Navy is going to buy this from me?”

“If it works,” Brody chirps. “I told them what you had, and the capabilities, and I can be your liaison to sell it. I want this to get the recognition it deserves, and selfishly, I don’t want to die. We need this.”

“Oh, no pressure, then.” Another bead of sweat rolls down my face. “Crank the AC, would you?”

Nolan and Catherine are out on the water. I could hear them starting the boat when I walked through the kitchen. Brody must have told him we needed the house alone. Little did they know it wasn’t for anything fun.

Brody doesn’t reply. He does as I ask, and I bury my whole brain into this dilemma. I know what I need to do to get it working. It’s just a matter of time and a lot of testing. Instead of being a little side project to distract me, this will have to be more important.

He sets a glass of water down on the coffee table in front of me. “Unless you’d rather have beer. Or tea.”

I shake my head. “Brody,” I say, looking up, meeting his gaze. “I know the Navy already has tech like this. What exactly do you need me to tweak?”

He pauses, searching for words.

“Under the radar,” he says. “We need to be all the way under.”

I know what I’ll call, it at the very least.