Keeper's Reach (14 page)

“No, but I want to see it.”

“Rock Point,” Buddy said, as if trying to imagine such a place. “Land of the Donovans. Home sweet home, huh, Mike? Don’t you have a big family?”

Mike wasn’t talking about his family, either. He hadn’t dealt with the kind of dynamics that were bubbling in this room in a long time. Not his thing. He kept quiet.

Naomi glanced back from the doorway. “Three younger brothers,” she said. “I met the two youngest Donovans at breakfast this morning. We ate at a place called Hurley’s. I’ll leave you to contemplate that. See you guys later.”

She slipped out of the library. When she was out of sight, Reed turned again to Mike. “She hasn’t changed, either. She’s the same Naomi MacBride I met in Kabul when she announced we had both gone to Vanderbilt and had a bet with a coworker that I was a frat boy, which I was. She’s smart, sarcastic, not sure who she can trust. How do you feel about her being here?”

“Not my call,” Mike said.

“That’s not what I asked, but never mind. Have a seat. Jamie’s bringing coffee. The inn’s regular cook is catering for us. Food’s excellent. You want anything to eat, or did you and Naomi—”

“I’m all set.”

Buddy started for the door. “Why don’t I go find another fire to sit by for a while? You two are a couple of former soldiers who haven’t seen each other in several years. I’ll let you get reacquainted. I’m already in love with this place. Reminds me of
Murder, She Wrote
reruns. Let’s hope Jessica Fletcher doesn’t show up, though. Talk about a sign for bad crap happening.” He was halfway to the door when he gave Mike a little salute. “Really great to see you, Mike.”

He headed out, and Reed gave a small laugh. “Buddy’s a character. See, Mike? You can relax. We’re a friendly group. We’re in Maine. We’re not in a war zone.”

As if Mike needed reminding. “Jamie was in Rock Point the other night.”

“My idea. Thought you might be there. I hope it wasn’t provocative. We pulled this weekend together on the fly. As you can see, I’m running my own outfit now.”

“I’d heard you’d gone out on your own.”

“We’re small but we’re getting off the ground in a big way.” He walked over to the fireplace, next to the love seat Naomi had vacated. “We work with private individuals, corporations, nonprofits and nongovernmental agencies. We put people’s minds at ease about their security so they can get on with their work. We already have a few clients. I did work for another contractor. I have a solid reputation. We’re meeting here to review training and tactics, see where the holes are in staffing. We’ll be here through the weekend. It’s low-key.”

“Funny time of year to pick Maine.”

“You know why we did, Mike. We want to talk to you.”

“Kill two birds with one stone,” he said, keeping any skepticism out of his tone.

“Exactly. I’m a Southerner but we’re fifty-fifty warm weather and cold weather guys. Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you to lead us over hill and dale through the snowy Maine countryside. I’m sure you could—I’m sure there’s none better—but I want you to have a look at my team, let me talk to you about what we do.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re the best and you’re not done yet. You’re bored trekking into the Maine wilderness with rich people with too much time on their hands. I understand you do outfitting, too. That must be rewarding. Filling backpacks with energy bars and poop bags.” Reed cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t what I meant.”

It was, but Mike didn’t take offense. “It’s okay. It’s close enough. I’m not bored, though.”

“The Bold Coast sounds perfect for you. You’re close to family but not too close. Your mother told Jamie you helped plant a hundred tulip bulbs at their inn in the fall.” Reed glanced back from the fire. “Tulips, Mike.”

“You’re not in Maine just to talk to me about coming to work for you.”

“You and I have unfinished business,” Reed said quietly.

Naomi.

Reed sat on the love seat, throwing one leg over the opposite knee. “Jamie and Serena got in on Tuesday. They’re my entire administrative staff. That gives you an idea of how small we are right now. We’re limiting the number of full-time employees. Most of our operators will work on a contract basis. But we can talk about all that. You’ll like this place. It has old photographs of lobstermen on the wall in the bar. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a Donovan or two among them.”

Mike wouldn’t, either. “When did you get here?”

“Last night, late. I was going to stay in Boston but I came on up here.”

“Who else are you expecting?”

“A couple of guys you don’t know will be in on Saturday, but we can get started without them. Buddy will lead us through some tech stuff. We can’t do this work without tech know-how. It’s the world we’re in nowadays. I’d like to hire him full-time, but you remember Buddy. He likes his freedom. He’s doing well financially and knows his way around computers and the internet as well as anyone I’ve ever known, but he thrives on danger and adventure—not the typical profile of someone with his expertise.”

Mike went over to the French doors. The porch would be a good spot in warmer weather. One of the photos on the inn’s website showed the porch with hanging flower baskets and cozy wicker furniture. Now the furniture was covered with tarps, and there were no flowers.

“Have you and Naomi stayed in touch?” he asked, glancing back at Reed.

“Some. I worked for another firm until last fall. She’s always looking for good contractors who have the right fit for her clients. Once we’re fully staffed, I’m sure we’ll do more business together. She’s good, Mike.”

“Always has been.”

“I’m newer at this work than she is. She can be a huge help.” Reed leaned back against the soft cushions. “She’s a reassuring presence at often difficult times. It’s what clients want in a security consultant. She puts clients at ease. I do, too, but in a different way. You’d scare the hell out of them, Mike—until they got into trouble. Then they’d look to you.” He paused, staring at his hands. “Like Naomi did three years ago.”

“She didn’t look to me. I just was the one there. What are her liabilities?”

“Same as always. Trust. That’s why she’s still a one-woman show.”

Mike didn’t think it was that simple. “What about Ted Kavanagh?”

“He’s here somewhere. He says he wants to talk to me about post-FBI work. I don’t know that I believe him, but I invited him to join us. It can’t hurt to have someone to help us navigate law enforcement. I’m a soldier. I ran into Kavanagh in London.” Reed got to his feet, as if he were suddenly restless. “He says he’s on vacation.”

Mike frowned. “You have doubts?”

“It doesn’t matter. There’s no reason for me to be under FBI suspicion. I have nothing to hide. Feel free to ask all the questions you have, Mike. Don’t hold back.” Reed smiled. “Not that you would.”

“What were you doing in London?”

“Naomi was meeting with a group of volunteer medical professionals preparing to head to a hot spot in Africa. She invited me to talk to them about what we do. They’re a good group. Smart, dedicated men and women who should be able to focus on fighting diseases, not on whether they’re going to be hacked to death in their beds.”

“And you can make that happen,” Mike said, not making it a question.

“Yes.”

Reed’s confidence in himself and the people he led had always been unshakable. Mike had never served under him but knew a number of men and women who had, and he respected their faith in Reed.

“You are staying, aren’t you, Mike? You’re not just dropping off Naomi and leaving.”

“I’ll stay but no promises.”

“I wasn’t sure what you’d be up to nowadays. Thought you might be settled down with a wife and little kids. I want a family one day—when the time is right.”

Jamie arrived with coffee and chocolate-chip cookies warm out of the oven. He set the tray on a card table then headed out without comment.

Mike helped himself to one of the cookies. He hadn’t had as much at breakfast as Naomi had. He took a bite of his cookie but wondered what the hell he was doing here. Cookies. A country inn. He poured coffee.

Reed took one of the cookies. “Jamie and Serena’s daughter started at West Point this fall. They only have the one. Empty nest now. They were ready for something new. They’re not fussy about a job description. They’ll pitch in and do what needs to be done.”

“Good people to have,” Mike said.

“I think so. Ask any questions you want to, Mike. That’s why I’m here.”

“You came straight from London. Why not go back to Nashville for a few days?”

“No time. This was more efficient. It’ll be an interesting few days. A change of pace for you.” Reed popped his cookie into his mouth. “I drove Naomi to Heathrow yesterday. One of those endless days with the five-hour time difference. I met her in a small English village. She said she was there for a quick break in the country before her flight.”

“You sound skeptical,” Mike said.

“Maybe.” Reed paused, looking out at the ocean, relatively tranquil under the late-morning sun. “I don’t want to see her hurt. Whenever I hear her name, I hope I’m about to find out she’s quit security work and gone into something else. Opened a bar in Nashville, hit the lecture circuit. Anything but this work.” He sucked in a breath. “She wouldn’t appreciate my protective impulses.”

“Probably not.”

Reed continued to stare out at the water. “When I saw her in action in London, I saw how good she is—how many lives she’s saved doing what she does best. It can be a heavy burden.”

Mike shrugged. “Maybe she likes heavy burdens.”

“That would explain why she fell for you,” Reed said with a laugh, then winced as he pulled his gaze from the view. “That was really bad humor. I’m glad you’re here, Mike. If I’d asked you to visit us in Nashville instead of coming to Maine myself, you’d have told me to go to hell. Am I right?”

“Still might tell you to go to hell.”

“Aren’t you even a little flattered that I want you on my team?”

Mike grinned. “Yeah, Reed. I’m flattered.”

Reed laughed, shaking his head. “Don’t think I forgot what a bastard you can be. I tell myself it’s part of what makes you good.”

“Did you ask Naomi to join you here as a way to get me down here? You could have let her go back to Nashville and had her join them via Skype.”

“I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist once you found out she would be here.” Reed walked back to the table and poured himself coffee. “But it’s not the reason I invited her. We have work to do on her volunteer doctors.”

Mike’s phone vibrated. He checked the screen. Another text from Colin.
Where are you? Call me. I’m counting to ten.

Mike typed a quick response.
Fifteen minutes.

Good. Next up is BOLO.

No doubt in Mike’s mind his brother meant it and would sic every cop in Maine on him if he didn’t get in touch.

“Is someone looking to book a kayak tour come summer?” Reed asked.

“Too early. My brother Colin.”

“The FBI agent.”

“Correct.”

Reed seemed to expect more of an explanation, but he shrugged when he didn’t get one and drank his coffee as he grabbed another cookie. “We tough guys need our cookies, don’t we?”

Naomi joined them, heading straight for the tray of cookies and coffee. “My room is great, Reed. Very pretty. In fact, it’s called the Lady Slipper. It’s a New England orchid.” She chose a cookie, getting melted chocolate on her knuckle. She licked it off. “Tomorrow I eat celery. Maybe for the rest of my life I eat celery.”

“I thought we could go snowshoeing this afternoon,” Reed said.

“Snowshoeing?” She seemed incredulous. “I saw on the inn’s website there’s a health club. Maybe I’ll check it out later. You guys can stay fit as fiddles without stepping foot into the winter cold. I, on the other hand, only chase bad guys on paper and the internet. Sometimes on the phone, but rarely these days.”

“Didn’t they teach you to shoot at the CIA?” Mike asked.

“Culinary Institute of America? I didn’t go there.” She bit into her cookie. “Anything you need from me, Reed?”

“The truth,” he said lightly. “The whole truth and nothing but the truth.”

“Nothing but the truth I can do. I don’t know the whole truth about anything. One of my assets is recognizing that fact.” She sounded pragmatic, without a hint of defensiveness. “Jamie says we’re meeting over lunch. I suppose I could head out for a walk in the snow and ice with the brisk wind off the water in my face. That ought to jump-start me. Jet lag never used to bother me. It’s only after I read you need a day for each hour of time change that I started to notice it. Something to be said for being oblivious, isn’t there?”

Mike had a feeling she wasn’t just talking about jet lag, but he wasn’t asking.

Reed shifted to him. “Why don’t you get settled? Call your brother back. At least stay tonight. Have lunch and dinner on us. Hear what we have to say. Then decide what you want to do.”

“Sounds good.”

Mike left Reed and Naomi in the library and headed down the hall to the lobby. Serena Mason, a sturdy, efficient woman, greeted him with a room key. “Second floor,” she said. “You’re next door to Naomi.”