Page 21 of Operation: Unify

I love you, too.

He stared at the message. Had he said he loved her? She hadn’t wanted to hear that for so long. Every time he’d hinted at it when his men had done their second chance missions, she’d shut him down. Looking back, he’d only said he worried about her. Was that the same thing to her?

Love you, too.

He hit send. If he was going to have a text to hold on to, she needed one to match.

Lacy waitedon the sofa for Melinda to finish in the shower. From the couch in the living room, she could see most of the house, making it a great vantage point to feel secure. Randy sat at the counter a few feet away, eating a breakfast he’d found in the freezer and microwaved.

He finished the last bite and looked up at her. “Thanks for letting me hang out for a minute. I didn’t want to go home early. If I did, Dad would wonder why. He’s always wondering about me.” He shrugged like it wasn’t important, but his eyes said it was.

“After this morning, I’m in no hurry to be alone.” Lacy glanced out the sliding glass door that led to a fenced back yard. At least that part of the house looked safe. The rest of it was just like any other house with multiple entry points and windows all over. Far too many things for her to watch.

“I don’t blame you.” He wiped his hands on a kitchen towel, then quickly washed the fork he’d used and put it back in the drawer.

“Will you get blamed for the fire alarm? I don’t want you to get in trouble for us. If there’s a fine, I should pay it.” She wasn’t made of money, but she doubted a twenty-something year old guy who lived with his parents did either.

“I won’t. There are no cameras behind the desk and Melinda’s husband happened to be right in front of a camera. I had to turn the lock off to your room and cut all the cameras for a few seconds before forcing the alarm. That way, it would be plausible that Tod did it. Especially since our fire alarms are coded to unlock all the doors. If he wanted to get in, that was a sure way to do it.”

Lacy tried not to wring her hands when she realized how close she’d come to being attacked. If Tod had known that the doors opened, he would’ve easily gotten inside the moment the alarm went off.

“What if he would’ve known that and just flung open the door?”

“That’s why I told you to stand back by the window. He would’ve been forced to go all the way into the room, giving me a second to get to you. Pretty smart, huh?” He grinned.

“Yeah, it sure worked. Will you still have a job after they clean up any water damage?” She heard the shower shut off in the nearby bathroom. Melinda would be done soon.

“I’m sure I will. He has trouble keeping employees because he’s not a great boss. I’m in college for coding. I take classesonline. When I sit there all night, it gives me time to listen to lectures or do homework.”

Great idea, getting paid to do homework. “Sounds like the perfect plan.”

“It would be if my boss wasn’t who he is. If you think Tod is bad, you don’t ever want to meet his brother. He has anger issues, times ten.” Randy hid a yawn behind his hand. “If you both are settled, I’ll head home. Dad said he didn’t have anyone booked in this house until New Years, so you can stay for a while. Maybe as long as you need, depending on how long that is.”

Randy seemed to have a similar issue to some of the clients back home. They talked a lot when they got nervous. Sometimes it helped, other times it just made them embarrassed.

“I wish I knew how long I needed to stay, but I’m not sure. Thank you for checking with him. Moving around isn’t fun. We’ll probably be here most of the time.”

“Great. Well, if you need anything you can call me at the number I gave you. Not sure I’d be much help if I can’t control the weather though.” He laughed.

“Making it rain was perfect. Thank you again.”

Though she didn’t particularly like Randy, she could see he was already turning into a decent man. Whatever set off her weirdo alarm that morning had been completely wrong.

Randy paused at the door. “They hang out at the Pretty Pint uptown in the evenings. You might want to stay away from that block any time after five in the evening. They know everyone who drinks there. It’s like one of those old man clubs. I hear all about it when my boss comes in stinking of alcohol and wanting to talk about all the things he did that evening, things he can’t tell his wife. Anyway, since there are a bunch of restaurants over there too, I thought I’d mention it.”

Lacy swallowed hard. What kind of family had Melinda married into? “Thanks for the heads up.”

As soon as Randy left, she got up and locked the door. Melinda emerged from the bathroom scrunching her wet hair in a towel.

“That felt amazing. Your turn?” She looked pointedly at Lacy with eyes that said she’d better not argue.

While she would love a shower, she was worried about leaving Melinda alone without anyone to watch the doors or windows. “Are you sure? I could wait until this evening or even until Randy comes back to see if we need anything. He promised he would.”

Melinda snorted. “It feels strange to have met him today and he is already nicer than anyone else we’ve talked to. How did he know you?”

“Long story.” And not one she wanted to relate again.

“Okay.” Melinda glanced at the fridge. “Anything in there?”

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