Page 38 of Operation: Unify

Cal tugged the door open and headed inside. He did a full surprised jump and gasp as if he was surprised to see them there, but his eyes were cold. There was no way he waslegitimately surprised to see them. With a slow gait, he made his way to their table.

“Randy, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you.”

Randy frowned and held up his phone. “You have my phone number. You could’ve called me.”

“This is a discussion that needed to happen in person, not over the phone. I called your father, since we’ve known each other since childhood. He told me you were staying at some house the next town over.” He thumbed the direction they’d come. “When I went there to confront you, you were gone. I understand why you would run from me. No one wants bad news, but I think you know why I’m looking for you.” His gaze never wavered from Randy.

“I don’t think it’s fair to be having this conversation right here,” Lacy pointed out, hoping Cal was talking about actual work and not Melinda.

Cal turned to her. “You were at my hotel that day, the day he pulled the fire alarm.” He pointed at Randy. “Are you in on it? He’s facing a fine, but if you were part of this, you should pay too.”

Connor stood, making her immediately feel better. Trapped by the table, she couldn’t have stood to defend herself. She was stuck in a position of being looked down on.

“I think you need to lower your tone and curb your accusations without proof. Before anyone can be fined, there has to be verification. Are there cameras on the premises that prove your accusations or are you just looking for someone to blame?”

He stepped closer to Connor, but was at least five inches shorter. “I do have cameras. Oddly, they all went black a few seconds before the fire alarm was pulled.”

“I had nothing to do with it. There was a man pounding on my door, threatening me when it happened. I was glad the alarmwent off and assumed it was a gift from God so the man would go away.”

Cal snorted. “Well, if God pulled the alarm, maybe He should pay for the repairs? I think it was a very human person who set off the sprinklers and only one man could turn off the cameras and force the fire alarm and that’s Randy. He was working that morning.”

“What about the man who was threatening me? He could’ve pulled it, thinking it would force me from my room.” She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, hopefully letting him know she was quite aware that he would have to admit he knew the man banging on her door if he wanted to ruin her theory.”

“That’s right,” Randy agreed. “If he knew that all the doors would unlock when the fire alarm went off, he could simply walk inside her room.”

Cal rolled his eyes and lowered his voice. “Only people who work for our hotel know that. It’s not common practice because it’s a safety hazard. If there wasn’t actually a fire, you put everyone else at risk. No one else would think that would happen.”

Randy smiled slowly. “Except your brother. He knew. If he was trying to get into a room, pulling the smoke alarm was a sure way to get what he wanted.”

Lacy held her breath. There was a clear gap in Randy’s logic. Why pound on her door if he knew how to get in? Though sounding an alarm would also send people out into the hallway and he’d be sure to be seen, it was still a risk.

“Are you accusing my brother of something?” He moved away from pressuring Connor with his size to leaning over the table toward Randy. “He wouldn’t do something to jeopardize my business.”

If she pointed out that it was his brother who’d been threatening her, then she would give away that she knew theconnection, whereas that fact was unspoken so far. A known connection might make him do something rash whereas now, he probably assumed they were too stupid to have figured it out. She kept her mouth shut.

“Randy, you’ll be getting the bill for the damage and if you can’t pay it, you’re going to jail. You’re also fired. You put multiple lives in danger and cost me days of work. I can’t let that slide.”

“Are you firing me in a diner?” Randy’s face contorted into an incredulous grimace.

“Well, I had to since you kept running from me. You can pick up anything you left in the break room in the next two days. We’ll throw it away after that. You can return your uniforms at that time.” He turned and headed for the order counter and rang the bell.

Connor sat back down and bent forward, lowering his voice, “Any of you get the impression he knew we’d be here?”

Lacy nodded and Randy joined in. Randy bent forward and muttered, “He could’ve called me. I think he was sent out to find us and use that as an excuse.”

Connor glanced behind him to the counter and Lacy followed his train of thought, watching Cal. The waitress came out and quickly took his order, called it up, then went back through the door. Cal dug in his coat pocket and pulled out his phone. Lacy quickly averted her eyes so he wouldn’t see them watching him.

She felt him stare at her and her skin tingled in unwanted gooseflesh. Taking a chance at getting caught, she looked up at him. He had his phone to his ear and kept looking back at them. From her vantage point, she didn’t need to turn around to see him like Connor did.

“We should get out of here. He’s on the phone, probably calling Tod. If he knows the police are after him, he’ll take chances to find us,” Lacy said as she shoved her wallet back intoher purse. Thankfully, the waitress had already taken care of her card, and they had been ready to leave.

“Good idea. Don’t rush, just grab your coats and act like we were going to leave anyway.”

Connor stood and slowly shrugged on his coat, then helped her put on hers. He paused with his hands on her shoulders, giving her a reassuring squeeze. He stepped forward, his mouth just inches from the back of her ear. “Hold my hand and walk slowly out. I don’t want that guy to think for a second that you’re vulnerable.”

She gave a nod and held out her hand. He took it, his fingers tightening around her ring finger. She remembered she’d left her wedding ring at home and felt his fingers searching for it. Even when there was no hope, and she’d told him she was not available to return to his side as his wife, she’d kept it on until now.

Outside, he held the door for her and waited for her to climb in before going around to the driver’s side. The moment Randy got in, he closed the door and locked it.

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