the time had come to see what the very strange Joe Smith had to say.
He greeted Joe as he entered the kitchen, the man’s sharp gaze raking over his frame.
“How are you feeling today, Mr. Tate?” Joe asked.
“Better. I feel like I could outrun a black bear,” he quipped as Garrett snickered.
“I’m sure that’s quite an amusing tale, but I don’t have a lot of time this evening to swap stories, so I’ll get right to the point. Have you thought any more about my offer?”
Lucas slid into the bench seat, craving rum for the first time since he’d arrived. After taking a deep breath, he said, “Yeah, I have, but I do have some questions.”
Joe smiled. “And what would those be?”
He sat forward and rested his elbows on the table, interlacing his hands. “Well, first, I’d like to know where I’d be stationed.”
“I can’t answer this right now, Mr. Tate, simply because I don’t know yet. I can, however, promise you that it will be somewhere safe, and a place where you would like to be.”
Lucas nodded, figuring as much. “And how do I go about doing this disappearing act you talked about?”
“You leave that to me,” Joe said. “I prefer not to divulge my way of doing things as sometimes it’s not entirely legal. However, I can assure you that you will no longer exist as far as any database or government entity is concerned.”
That sounded good. He liked the idea of being completely dead, yet living on his own terms. That’s what he’d been trying to do while homeless, but obviously, he’d done an awful job. He’d only succeeded in slowly killing himself.
“And I do have one request,” he said.
“I don’t usually take requests, but please, go ahead.” Joe smirked.
“I’d like you to watch over my wife.”
Joe sat back in his chair, his gaze never leaving Lucas. “Thomas, Garrett, can you please give us a moment?”
Thomas removed a pan from the stove, and Garrett slid out of the chair. Neither said anything as they slipped out the back door and firmly shut it.
“Mr. Tate, shouldn’t you refer to the very pretty Gabrielle, Gabby for short, Tate as your ex-wife since you walked out on her, without ever intending to see her again?”
Lucas’s cheeks burned with embarrassment and anger, but what he’d done at the time had seemed like the right thing to do, and he’d done it to protect the woman he loved. He wondered if she’d filed divorce papers and he didn’t know about it, but he reminded himself he couldn’t think about it. She was better off without him.
“Okay, then, my ex-wife. Can you watch over her and make sure the government doesn’t come looking for her?”
“Oh, they already have, Mr. Tate,” Joe said. “They’ve spoken to her a few times.”
His gut clenched. “And what happened?” His throat closed up.
“She told them the truth. If I remember correctly, the exact terminology she used to describe you was, ‘the no-good, rat bastard asshole’ who walked out on her. That’s what the report stated, anyway.”
The words both hurt and caused pride to swell within him. That was Gabby—never at a loss for words. When she became angry, she had the mouth of a well-traveled sailor.
“Has . . . has she filed for divorce?” he asked, bracing for a blow.
“Not that I’m aware of,” Joe answered. “However, I can monitor that for you.”
He nodded and looked out the window. Gabby would love a place like this, nestled in the middle of nature. She’d enjoyed hiking in the forests of North Carolina during the summer and spring, always up for a good snowball fight during the winter. If he accepted this job, he would never see her again. However, that had been his plan to begin with, and Joe would simply be making sure that both he and Gabby were safe.
He didn’t see a way that he could lose on this one.
“Okay, I’m in.”
Joe smiled. “I’m very happy to hear that, Mr. Tate. Of course, I won’t give you your first assignment until you
He greeted Joe as he entered the kitchen, the man’s sharp gaze raking over his frame.
“How are you feeling today, Mr. Tate?” Joe asked.
“Better. I feel like I could outrun a black bear,” he quipped as Garrett snickered.
“I’m sure that’s quite an amusing tale, but I don’t have a lot of time this evening to swap stories, so I’ll get right to the point. Have you thought any more about my offer?”
Lucas slid into the bench seat, craving rum for the first time since he’d arrived. After taking a deep breath, he said, “Yeah, I have, but I do have some questions.”
Joe smiled. “And what would those be?”
He sat forward and rested his elbows on the table, interlacing his hands. “Well, first, I’d like to know where I’d be stationed.”
“I can’t answer this right now, Mr. Tate, simply because I don’t know yet. I can, however, promise you that it will be somewhere safe, and a place where you would like to be.”
Lucas nodded, figuring as much. “And how do I go about doing this disappearing act you talked about?”
“You leave that to me,” Joe said. “I prefer not to divulge my way of doing things as sometimes it’s not entirely legal. However, I can assure you that you will no longer exist as far as any database or government entity is concerned.”
That sounded good. He liked the idea of being completely dead, yet living on his own terms. That’s what he’d been trying to do while homeless, but obviously, he’d done an awful job. He’d only succeeded in slowly killing himself.
“And I do have one request,” he said.
“I don’t usually take requests, but please, go ahead.” Joe smirked.
“I’d like you to watch over my wife.”
Joe sat back in his chair, his gaze never leaving Lucas. “Thomas, Garrett, can you please give us a moment?”
Thomas removed a pan from the stove, and Garrett slid out of the chair. Neither said anything as they slipped out the back door and firmly shut it.
“Mr. Tate, shouldn’t you refer to the very pretty Gabrielle, Gabby for short, Tate as your ex-wife since you walked out on her, without ever intending to see her again?”
Lucas’s cheeks burned with embarrassment and anger, but what he’d done at the time had seemed like the right thing to do, and he’d done it to protect the woman he loved. He wondered if she’d filed divorce papers and he didn’t know about it, but he reminded himself he couldn’t think about it. She was better off without him.
“Okay, then, my ex-wife. Can you watch over her and make sure the government doesn’t come looking for her?”
“Oh, they already have, Mr. Tate,” Joe said. “They’ve spoken to her a few times.”
His gut clenched. “And what happened?” His throat closed up.
“She told them the truth. If I remember correctly, the exact terminology she used to describe you was, ‘the no-good, rat bastard asshole’ who walked out on her. That’s what the report stated, anyway.”
The words both hurt and caused pride to swell within him. That was Gabby—never at a loss for words. When she became angry, she had the mouth of a well-traveled sailor.
“Has . . . has she filed for divorce?” he asked, bracing for a blow.
“Not that I’m aware of,” Joe answered. “However, I can monitor that for you.”
He nodded and looked out the window. Gabby would love a place like this, nestled in the middle of nature. She’d enjoyed hiking in the forests of North Carolina during the summer and spring, always up for a good snowball fight during the winter. If he accepted this job, he would never see her again. However, that had been his plan to begin with, and Joe would simply be making sure that both he and Gabby were safe.
He didn’t see a way that he could lose on this one.
“Okay, I’m in.”
Joe smiled. “I’m very happy to hear that, Mr. Tate. Of course, I won’t give you your first assignment until you
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