find a skeleton in his closet to use as leverage.”
“Why go to the family first?”
“It’s the fastest option and the most reliable. Fear keeps them from thinking straight, especially if a child is involved.” Jack rinsed his coffee cup, dried it, and set it in its precise place on the table.
“Very good. Keep me informed.”
Jack recognized the dismissal and left the room, the page firmly in hand.
Chapter Nine
Oz sat at one of the tables outside the dive school, sipping her coffee as she leafed through Finn’s file again. She had a small stack of papers in front of her weighted down with her saucer to keep them from blowing away, ready for Finn to fill out when she arrived. One was an application for a house share. Mrs. Richmond is only three doors down, and she’s mentioned looking for a tenant. That’ll be perfect for Finn. And she’ll be close to me. Close enough to see every day, if I wanted to.
Mrs. Richmond had been a longstanding friend of the family. Her husband was the commander of the naval base before he retired, and both her father and uncle had served under his command. They had all become good friends, and now Oz considered Mrs. Richmond a member of her family.
“Good morning.” Finn dropped into the chair opposite her and smiled broadly. “What’s with the frown?”
Oz felt her tension dissipate at the sound of Finn’s voice. A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. God, that accent’s cute on her. “I was just thinking about something.” She moved the saucer out of the way and pushed the stack of papers over to Finn. When Finn had them in her hand, Oz rummaged around for a pen and tossed it over the table. “Are you ready to get started?”
“Sure.” Finn began filling out the forms. “Thank you for last night. I had a really good time, and I’m sorry if I talked your ear off.” Finn glanced up and Oz’s heart stuttered slightly at the warmth in her eyes.
Oz waved her hand. “Not a problem. When I first met you at the airport, I thought you were going to be really quiet, which would make working on this course with you really difficult. I’m glad I was wrong.”
“Does that happen often?”
“What?”
“You being wrong?”
Oz laughed. “More often than I’ll ever admit to.”
“This one looks like a tenancy application.” Finn indicated the page on top. “Do you know somewhere I might be able to rent?”
“It’s possible. It’s a house share, but there’s only one other person in the house. It’s a big house though, with plenty of space for two people. There are four bedrooms as well as the living areas.”
“It sounds great. Where is it?”
“It’s the other side of Key West. It’s still a drive from here so your car won’t be obsolete or anything, but it’s pretty close.”
“What’s the rent?”
“I need to double-check with the owner, but last time I spoke to her about it she said two hundred a month.”
“What?” Finn’s eyes opened wide.
“Is that too much? Maybe I can get her down a bit. How about one fifty?”
“Are you kidding me? When I was looking online before I came here, everything seemed closer to five or six hundred a month. What’s wrong with this place? Does it have rats or something? Is it falling down? Or is it a crack house?”
Oz stopped laughing long enough to answer. “No, it’s a nice house, in a nice neighborhood. The owner said that she doesn’t really need the money, but she would really like the company.” Which is exactly why I was thinking about inviting her to my house first. Why the hell is that? I’m going to be working with her every day. Do I really want to spend my off time with her too? She looked at Finn as she mulled the thought over. Yeah. I really do. Shit.
“Oh. That still seems really cheap. What are the extras? Phone, utilities, and stuff?”
“Nothing, two hundred a month, everything included but your food. There’s Internet and everything already installed. You get
“Why go to the family first?”
“It’s the fastest option and the most reliable. Fear keeps them from thinking straight, especially if a child is involved.” Jack rinsed his coffee cup, dried it, and set it in its precise place on the table.
“Very good. Keep me informed.”
Jack recognized the dismissal and left the room, the page firmly in hand.
Chapter Nine
Oz sat at one of the tables outside the dive school, sipping her coffee as she leafed through Finn’s file again. She had a small stack of papers in front of her weighted down with her saucer to keep them from blowing away, ready for Finn to fill out when she arrived. One was an application for a house share. Mrs. Richmond is only three doors down, and she’s mentioned looking for a tenant. That’ll be perfect for Finn. And she’ll be close to me. Close enough to see every day, if I wanted to.
Mrs. Richmond had been a longstanding friend of the family. Her husband was the commander of the naval base before he retired, and both her father and uncle had served under his command. They had all become good friends, and now Oz considered Mrs. Richmond a member of her family.
“Good morning.” Finn dropped into the chair opposite her and smiled broadly. “What’s with the frown?”
Oz felt her tension dissipate at the sound of Finn’s voice. A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. God, that accent’s cute on her. “I was just thinking about something.” She moved the saucer out of the way and pushed the stack of papers over to Finn. When Finn had them in her hand, Oz rummaged around for a pen and tossed it over the table. “Are you ready to get started?”
“Sure.” Finn began filling out the forms. “Thank you for last night. I had a really good time, and I’m sorry if I talked your ear off.” Finn glanced up and Oz’s heart stuttered slightly at the warmth in her eyes.
Oz waved her hand. “Not a problem. When I first met you at the airport, I thought you were going to be really quiet, which would make working on this course with you really difficult. I’m glad I was wrong.”
“Does that happen often?”
“What?”
“You being wrong?”
Oz laughed. “More often than I’ll ever admit to.”
“This one looks like a tenancy application.” Finn indicated the page on top. “Do you know somewhere I might be able to rent?”
“It’s possible. It’s a house share, but there’s only one other person in the house. It’s a big house though, with plenty of space for two people. There are four bedrooms as well as the living areas.”
“It sounds great. Where is it?”
“It’s the other side of Key West. It’s still a drive from here so your car won’t be obsolete or anything, but it’s pretty close.”
“What’s the rent?”
“I need to double-check with the owner, but last time I spoke to her about it she said two hundred a month.”
“What?” Finn’s eyes opened wide.
“Is that too much? Maybe I can get her down a bit. How about one fifty?”
“Are you kidding me? When I was looking online before I came here, everything seemed closer to five or six hundred a month. What’s wrong with this place? Does it have rats or something? Is it falling down? Or is it a crack house?”
Oz stopped laughing long enough to answer. “No, it’s a nice house, in a nice neighborhood. The owner said that she doesn’t really need the money, but she would really like the company.” Which is exactly why I was thinking about inviting her to my house first. Why the hell is that? I’m going to be working with her every day. Do I really want to spend my off time with her too? She looked at Finn as she mulled the thought over. Yeah. I really do. Shit.
“Oh. That still seems really cheap. What are the extras? Phone, utilities, and stuff?”
“Nothing, two hundred a month, everything included but your food. There’s Internet and everything already installed. You get
Similar Books
