Page 10 of Operation: Unify

Her breath lodged in her throat and Melinda screamed behind her. “Aunt Joy! No!” She tried to push past Lacy, but Lacy held her in place.

“Don’t touch anything. They’ll need to fingerprint the scene. Let’s call the police.”

Chapter Four

Had it only been one day? Connor scrubbed his face with both hands, feeling the weight of missing Lacy’s presence for his evening routine. To be real, his whole day had been upended from his first drink of coffee to heading up the stairs for the evening. The house wasn’t right without her.

He looked at his phone. She hadn’t called since that morning, letting him know she’d arrived in New Mexico. Would she miss their evening chats or was she so consumed by what she was doing that she wouldn’t miss him at all?

She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. That wasn’t the question. But he wished she’d asked him to come with her. Having more than one set of eyes on a problem was often the way to fix it.

He punched in a quick text, wishing her a good night and hoping she had a good day. He wasn’t usually so aware of every word he said to her. They’d lived in the same house, though in separate rooms, for so long he felt like he knew her inside and out. Yet this had thrown him for a loop. She’d needed time away from him. Did his text sound too clingy? Would she roll her eyes at him?

He closed his phone before sending the text and set it aside. His couch was empty, except for the blanket Lacy used to cover her feet while they talked at night. She wasn’t one to watch television, since the only thing that interested her were crime documentaries and she got enough of that in real life to satisfy her.

Everywhere he looked in his suite reminded him of her, except, oddly, his bed. That had been empty for ten years. Empty since he’d returned from the military, so changed he couldn’t accept love from a woman too good for him. Even before they were divorced, he’d had her move to her own room.

She hadn’t cried in front of him, but he’d heard it through the wall. Muffled sobs confirmed the fact that he’d hurt her even when he’d tried to save her. What kind of man did that? What kind of monster hurt the woman he loved?

A text came through on his phone and he pounced on it like teenager, then stopped himself. This was not okay. He couldn’t make Lacy an addiction. That wasn’t any better than pushing her away.

Hey, Connor. It’s been a really long day. Things are crazy here. I’ll be here longer than I thought.

He stared at the phone and his jaw hardened so tight his teeth throbbed. What wasn’t she saying? Something was going on behind the scenes because that text practically screamed something had happened that she didn’t want to tell him about.

He deleted the text from before and typed out a new one.

Are you okay?

He waited, holding the phone, needing to see an answer. After a minute, he swiped out of the text ap and pressed the phone icon just as a text came through. He raked his hands through his hair. When she was here, life was easy. He didn’t have to think about her safety or where she was, who she was with, if something was happening.

I don’t want you to worry about me. I’m handling it.

“Ach!” He pressed her number to call her. She had to know that her vague texts were making this worse.

The phone rang four times before going to voicemail. He listened to her message as he paced the floor.

“Lacy Kincade, I need you to call me back. I don’t know if you intended to make me worry or if you’re so tired that you didn’t think about how those texts would come across. Sometimes texts are the worst.” He sighed, looking for the right words. How did he tell her that he needed to know everything was alright so he didn’t stay up all night worrying about her?

“Look, just call me so I can hear in your voice that everything is fine. I’ve always been able to tell what’s going on with you just by hearing you. Okay? That’s all I’m asking for. I know you need time, space, whatever, I’m trying to give that to you, but . . .” The phone beeped. He’d run out of message space.

Had he sounded possessive? Frantic? Well, if he did, she’d get the hint that he cared. What was so wrong with caring? He collapsed onto the sofa and let his head fall back against the cushion. The trouble with that was she’d clearly said no, and he would always take no for an answer.

“Lord, I blew it. I know I did. When I asked her for a divorce, I thought I was saving her. Protecting her. I’ve never wanted tohurt her. I’ve only wanted the very best for that woman. She is my heart. I don’t have one outside of her.”

He closed his eyes, hoping the phone would ring. What was wrong? Why wasn’t she calling him back?

A text came through on his phone and he lifted it.

Connor, big trouble. Meet me in your office.

A note from Brendon was the last thing he wanted to see tonight. He shoved his phone in his pocket and headed downstairs. Brendon waited for him at the foot of the stairs.

“I just got a call. There was an attempted jail break tonight. Viceroy didn’t escape, but his people are clearly on the move.”

“Now?” Why now? Why not when he wasn’t already worried about Lacy. At least she was all the way down south in New Mexico, far away from the jail that was housing Viceroy before his trial.

“They don’t have much time left. He’s scheduled for his first court appearance January fifteenth. Three weeks.”

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