Page 5 of Sigma
I think about his question. “Maybe? You do, sometimes, occasionally, show a little bit of favoritism. Mainly just because she’s shown an interest in the family business since she was old enough to walk into your office on her own. And Cal has generally been more interested in fun. In being a boy, and then a teenager, whereas Rin has always been…an old soul, I suppose.”
He chuckles. “Remember her ‘office?’” He uses air quotes to emphasize the last word. “She had her little chair, toy computer, toy cell phone, and a notebook and a marker, and she’d sit in my office with me and play businesswoman. She’d have these intense conversations with herself. That, or she’d sit and parrot back every word I said.”
I laugh. “Do you remember when she caught you in a mistake?”
He rolls his eyes. “I thought Rob Howell was skimming. She caught the discrepancy in the books while looking over my shoulder—an error I’d introduced myself.”
“You were so mad at yourself.”
“It was a dumb, rookie mistake, and my eight-year-old daughter caught it.”
“No one is perfect, and she’s smarter than both of us put together.”
He sighs. “And…it’s not that Cal’s not. And I don’t have a favorite.”
I pat his chest. “He just needs some special time with you, that’s all. Make him feel special and included. Part of the team.”
“I will.” He lifts me up, cupping my ass in his hands to support my weight. “Thank you.”
I nuzzle his cheek. “You’re an amazing father.” I kiss him. “Make sure you call Rin. She’ll go through the roof if you don’t say goodbye.”
He snorts. “We’re stopping in Charlotte Amalie to pick up the new hires anyway, so I’ve already made plans with her to meet up for a quick goodbye.”
I frown. “Are you sure it’s a good idea to travel to the mainland with new hires?”
He shrugs. “These guys have been trained by Puck himself. He says they’re some of the most promising recruits he’s ever worked with. Plus, I’ll have Sasha, and I’d take him over any other three people.”
Sasha is one of the core A1S members, hired by Harris when A1S was first formed, and Sasha has been head of our personal security detail for over twenty years. Former Spetznaz, he’s fiercely protective of our family—he has taken bullets for us, and we all trust him with our lives.
“I still wish you could do this from here. Have them meet you down here.”
He sighs. “I do too. But it’s important I make this appearance. Heart First is one of our largest and most financially successful corporations, and this deal is worth billions. It’s not something I can do remotely.”
“I understand.” I cling to him. “I’m just…nervous, I guess. I never like it when you leave me.”
He cradles me to his chest, one arm under me and the other an iron band around me. “I know. But, honey, we settled everything twenty years ago. There’s nothing to be afraid of anymore.”
“Just be careful, okay.” I voice the thing that’s been niggling at me ever since he told me about this trip, two weeks ago. “I just have a bad feeling. I don’t know.”
“I’ll have Harris send some extra men to meet us Stateside.”
“Who do we have here, since you’re taking Sasha?”
“Bishop, Stone Crow, Vincent, Marquez, and Alinov.”
I wiggle down to my feet but don’t let go of him. “Can I get someone I know? I know those guys by face and name, but I don’t…knowthem, you know?”
He whips out his phone. “Hey Harris, how’s things in the Keys?”
Layla and Nick have their personal compound in the Florida Keys, on a small, remote island only a few hours from here by plane. It’s a fully self-contained, off-grid compound, with its own water supply, and solar and wind power. They had fiber optic cable piped in, and the only way in or out is by plane or boat, and obviously all approaches are closely monitored—Harris being Harris, this means military-grade radar, with armed drones on Standby, and a fully fueled and armed fighter jet ready to scramble. Harris doesn’t fuck around. Those same drones and jets can be here, flying at top speed, in a matter of minutes, if need be.
“Yeah, good. I’m just getting ready to go here, but Kyrie is feeling a little nervous. One of those feelings, you know? Is anyone from the inner circle available to get down here, like today?” A pause as he listens. “Awesome, that’d be great…no, on the island itself. Kyrie can get one of the guest rooms ready for them. Thanks, Harris.”
“So who’s coming?” I ask.
“Duke and Temple,” he answers. “Their kids are spending the summer with Temple’s parents in California, so they’re at odd ends.”
Duke Silver and his wife, Temple Kennedy—Temple started as a reality TV star, eventually transitioned into stage and big screen, and is now one of the most celebrated actresses in the world. She just wrapped a major production, last I heard, so if their kids are spending the summer with the grandparents, I can see how she and Duke would be looking for something to do. Duke, as a founding member of Alpha One Security, is the hiring director, in charge of recruiting from the ranks of the Special Forces community around the world—A1S only hires the best of the best. To be hired by A1S after discharging from Special Forces is, within that community, a badge of honor, which means the hiring process is brutally competitive. Plus, the pay, if you can hack it, is best in class.