“That’s every place out here.”
“No kidding.”
Jeremy turned around and headed back for the empty lot.
“What a waste,” she said. “Why did Ollie write this name down if there’s nothing here? And what are all these notes about? He had to have been staked out here for hours. He must have—wait! Stop!” She smacked the dashboard. “Stop, stop, stop!”
Jeremy halted and backed up, stopping before he reached the gate so they wouldn’t attract attention.
“Xavier Shipping Company.” She whirled to face him. “This is it!”
“What is?”
“Something called ‘XS co.’ from Ollie’s notes. This has to be it.”
Jeremy shifted gears and resumed a normal speed.
“We need to stop and look around,” she told him.
“We need to not draw attention.”
He surveyed the area for a better vantage point. About half a mile ahead, he spotted a long berm that likely served as a dam for storm surges.
At the next juncture, he made a turn. About fifty yards later, he found a gravel road that ran atop the berm. On the downside, it wasn’t a well-traveled road, which meant they might attract suspicion. On the upside, it was an elevated vantage point.
Jeremy turned onto the road. Superior vantage point won every time.
“Where are we going?” Kira asked.
“Getting a better view of the property. I assume you brought binoculars? Or a zoom lens?”
“Both,” Kira said, dragging her bulky duffel into her lap.
The berm traversed an empty field. Beyond it was a stand of trees. Jeremy eased onto the shoulder, then pulled a three-point turn and positioned the truck near a dense thicket. Someone would have to drive right up on them to see them here. The location had flaws, but it was better than being right on top of the surveillance target.
Kira handed him the binoculars case. Then she attached a big lens to her camera and peered through it.
She checked her watch. “It’s ten twenty, which is when Ollie was in Channelview exactly a week ago.”
Her voice was tinged with excitement, and Jeremy watched as she adjusted the lens.
“This is perfect.” Click. Click. Click. “I can see the gate from here.”
Jeremy unsnapped the case and pulled out the binoculars. Leupold BX-4 HDs. He looked at Kira, amazed.
“You bought these?”
“Yeah.”
He examined the high-def lenses, and his respect for her took another leap. “These are military-grade.”
“Yep.” She lowered her camera. “Ollie recommended them. I blew my whole second paycheck on those things. First one went to this.” She lifted her camera and snapped another photo.
“You’ve got some serious cash invested in your equipment.”
She shrugged. “Tools of the trade.”
Jeremy peered through the binos, and the world became a tunnel. He moved the diopter adjustment dial, and everything came into focus, sharp as a blade. The scene had a hyperreal look to it, from the textured shingles on the gatehouse to the glint of razor wire on top of the security fence.
Jeremy whistled. “Nice.”
“I know.” Kira lowered her camera. “Now comes the fun part.”
He looked at her.
“Waiting.”
Jeremy peered through the binoculars again, zeroing in on the guard inside the gatehouse. The man had a shaved head and a thick neck. The interior of the building was dim, but his face was lit blue from a screen. He was probably watching a game or looking at porn, oblivious to his surroundings. He picked up a fast-food cup and sipped from a straw.
Night watchmen never ceased to disappoint. Working after hours, they seemed to assume they could sit around and jerk off, when the late shift was a peak time for criminal activity.
“How’d you get into this, anyway?”
He looked at Kira.
“Working for Liam Wolfe,” she added.
“He recruited me.”
Kira dug a shiny red apple from her bag and offered it to him. “Want one?”
“No.”
She took a bite, and Jeremy tried not to think about her mouth as she chewed.
“I’d take some water, though, if you have some.”
“Nope. Rule number one for female PIs: water on a stakeout is a bad idea.” She chomped the apple again. “What made you want to join Liam? It’s a pretty big leap from being a Marine, right?”
“True.”
He lifted the binos again, scanning the fence around the property. No security cams visible, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there. Judging by sheer size, Xavier Shipping seemed to be a small-scale operation compared to some of the others on the waterfront.
“That’s all?”
He looked at her. “What do you mean?”
“I’m curious how you got into this.”
She’d been doing her homework. Or else hitting up Trent for info. Jeremy had told her almost nothing about himself, not even his military background—although it didn’t take much to figure that out.
She shook her head and looked away. “Like pulling teeth.”
“What is?”
“Getting you to talk about yourself. You have an entire file on me, and I know almost nothing about you, except what’s readily available online.”
He frowned. “Which is what?”
“Past addresses, criminal history, marriages, bankruptcies. Oh, and the occasional mention in Stars and Stripes.”
“I’ve never been arrested or married or filed for bankruptcy.”
“I know.” She smiled. “But this conversation makes you uncomfortable, doesn’t it? I mean, it’s kind of weird realizing someone you just met knows a bunch of personal stuff about you.” She nibbled her apple, watching him.
Jeremy lifted the binoculars. She was making a point.
And he didn’t blame her, really. A lot of clients weren’t thrilled about the scrutiny that occurred when they hired a top-notch firm like Wolfe Sec. They weren’t rent-a-cops, not like the guys who worked graveyard shifts at some of these shipping terminals. Most of those guys were hired because some insurance company required it, and although they carried sidearms, their training was a joke.
Kira tucked the apple into the cupholder and picked up her camera again. “You still haven’t answered my question. How’d you get into protection work?”
So much for stonewalling.
He looked at her. “You really want to hear this?”
“Yes.”
“I was in an elite MARSOC unit in Afghanistan. That’s special operations. Liam was there, too, and we provided security to VIPs visiting the area. Military brass, visiting politicians, people like that.”
“Sounds exciting.”
“Not usually. They showed up for photo ops, and we made sure they didn’t get blown up or picked off by a sniper.”
“Whoa. I can’t even imagine living in a war zone like that. What was it like?”
He thought for a beat. “Dusty.”
She just looked at him.
“Dust was everywhere. In your eyes, in your socks, in your weapon. I got to where I could’ve cleaned my gun in my sleep.”
He remembered the colors, too. A million shades of brown. Coming home after his first tour, the world had seemed like a Disney cartoon. He’d gotten a headache just looking at it.
“What was the work like?”
Jeremy turned to look at her. Interest flashed in her eyes, and she sounded genuinely curious, not like she was making small talk. He felt compelled to be honest with her.
“Sometimes it was hell.”