Page 36 of Home Again

Gideon Smith – Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek, Virginia

Gideon looked down at his phone, then tapped it against his chin. This was not fucking good. Sebastian was too close to the edge. He knew the backgrounds of almost every one of the members of the Omega Sky team. No, that was in his job description to know their backgrounds, but hey, information had always been his stock and trade. He’d always worried that one day Sebastian’s past might come back and bite him in the ass, and today was the day.

Sebastian Lazar Durand the Second had been in politics since the eighties, and if there was a dirty deal in Louisiana state politics, his hand was in that pie. At least if there was money to be made. Gideon had been looking into all of the corrupt activity going on with Lazar to see if there would be some kind of motivation behind Pamela Durand’s death—or Lazar’s son for that matter. But then when Sebastian had him check into Gianna, Jada, and Etta Rose he’d been hit with a curve ball.

This Jada woman, she was something else. She’d really hit a goldmine with the parties that Lazar had hosted with Etta Rose’s escorts. That was definitely a new lead.

Gideon looked at the time on his computer. Only five more hours until he needed to get his ass to the airport. There wasn’t a chance in hell he was going to let his boy handle all of this on his own.

* * *

Gianna had tramped over to the side of the big house after sundown and saw that Sebastian’s SUV was gone. Then at six the next morning she’d done another check she’d seen the same thing.

I’ve got it bad.

She looked down at her muddy boots as she toed them off on the porch before going back into the carriage house. Gianna looked around the little living room and yawned. She had it really bad, because she wasn’t a morning person, but she’d woken up at God-awful o’clock thinking about Sebastian and had left the house. She pulled off her hoodie, went to her bedroom, and crawled back into bed, still thinking about Sebastian. Yep, she had it bad.

She woke up at the persistent knocking on the door. She was still in her pajama bottoms and tank top, so she put on her hoodie again and pulled back the drapes to see who was on the porch. She squealed with delight when she saw Ophelia.

“Yay! You’re back,” she cried as she swung open the door.

Ophelia stayed out on the porch and smiled. “You’re looking good, Gianna.”

“Come in. Come in.” Gianna stepped back and waved the woman inside. Ophelia was wearing her normal outfit of black polyester pants and a brightly colored top. This time Gianna spotted a chunky, blue-beaded necklace.

“Honey, that necklace is gorgeous. Come sit down and tell me about your trip, and tell me where you got that necklace; it matches your eyes perfectly.”

Ophelia blushed. “My daughter made it. She’s making jewelry now. Isn’t it cute?” Ophelia held it away from her neck so that Gianna could admire it.

“These aren’t just normal beads, what is that?” Gianna asked.

“Some of it is sea glass and this here is recycled rubber.”

“This is amazing. It’s exactly the type of thing I would love to sell at Tina’s Treasures back home.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely,” Gianna insisted. “Can I make you some coffee?”

“No, Neil and I got home last night, then came here first thing this morning. I just wanted to check on you. Are you coming up for breakfast?”

“So, are the three men that Lazar invited still there?”

“Yep.”

“Then, I think I’ll pass. I’ll just make something here. How about Sebastian, did he come home?”

Ophelia’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. “I can’t wait to see that boy. When Neil and I got here, there was no sign of him and he would have been the first one up. Armand and Lazar didn’t know where he was, and Lazar is not happy about it. Apparently, he was out all night. So what do you think of my baby?” Ophelia asked Gianna.

Gianna snorted. “Baby?”

“Well, he was when he left. Are you trying to tell me he isn’t a baby anymore?”

“I’ll let you decide for yourself,” Gianna demurred.

Ophelia pushed up off the sofa. “I better get back up there and start breakfast. By the looks of Lazar’s office, they’re probably hung over with how low the bourbon bottles are, but you never know.”

Gianna got up and hugged the woman. “Thanks for coming to check on me.”