Page 42 of Blind Luck

This was clearly news to Guardrail. “I didn’t hear any word about that.”

“It was a message for her boss. The guy said she was to tell him that this was his second warning, and he’d regret waiting for a third. That they’ll get what’s owed to them, no matter how many tricks he plays.” Guardrail’s expression had darkened. “The problem is, she has two bosses, and we can’t work out which one the message is for.”

“And you think the Devils stirred up trouble and it spilled onto her?”

“It’s a possibility I can’t rule out at the moment. But she works at the Galaxy too. As far as we can work out, her boss there keeps his nose clean, plus he’s only been in the post for a couple of months. He took over after his uncle died.”

“Natural causes?”

“He had a heart attack in his office.”

Guardrail nodded knowingly. “Shit happens. I can ask around, but I don’t think the Lucy thing is connected to us. And if it is, that’s a fucked-up way to deliver a message.”

“Agreed.”

“Swing by later in the week. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

“I’d appreciate that. And say hi to Loretta for me.”

He saluted, turned on his heel, and walked back into theshop. I’d never asked him outright and I probably never would, but from his bearing, I thought he might have served in the military before he joined the Devils.

Before I returned to the Galaxy, I checked for messages. There was nothing from Erin but one note from Alexa. At first, I thought it was a joke. Erin, Rusty, and Sin were in the desert trying to rescue a stray dog from a canyon? Was that some kind of code? Ah, there was a picture attached.

Crickets on a cracker, Erin sure got into some weird situations.

But if Sin was there, Erin couldn’t even take full credit this time. I climbed into my car and waved to Womble as I pulled out of the parking lot.

CHAPTER 14

RUSTY

The guys on the team would laugh their asses off when Rusty told them about today’s adventure, or maybe he just wouldn’t tell them. They’d only come up with a new nickname, one worse than Toolbox, which was his current moniker. Spiderman, Dangle, something like that. It wouldn’t even have to make sense, necessarily. Toolbox didn’t. A bolt wasn’t a tool; itneededa tool.

Anyhow, he was sitting in the waiting room at the animal hospital with Erin while Sin or Astrid or whatever her name was had disappeared to do questionable activities. She hadn’t said as much, but after the impromptu rescue in the canyon, he got the picture.

Would the dog be okay? He sure hoped so. The mutts back home had been constant companions throughout his childhood, and he missed them while he was away. Getting a dog was on his bucket list, but with the amount of travelling he did, that wouldn’t be happening any time soon.

Not anymore.

He’d planned to adopt a dog when he and Florencemoved into their dream home. Neither of them was ready for kids yet—at least that’s what she’d said, but she’d changed her mind on everything else, so who knew? Florence adored dogs, horses, all animals really. In their final year of college, she’d run a half marathon to raise funds for the local wildlife sanctuary. Horses were her first love, and the home she’d always coveted in Savigny had been surrounded by pasture with a barn out back. He wouldn’t be surprised if Kirk Steiner had made the owner an outrageous offer and bought the place for her as an engagement gift.

Beside him, Erin stirred. The AC was set to icy, and he’d borrowed a blanket from one of the vet techs and draped it over Erin’s slender body. When it kept slipping down, he’d tucked his arm around her shoulders to keep it in place, and she’d responded by leaning into him and sighing in her sleep.

Then her eyes opened.

She looked wildly around until her gaze landed on his hand, then shoved his arm away with a ferocity that shocked him.

“Get off me!”

“Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… You had goosebumps, and the blanket kept slipping, so…” She was staring at him as if he were a serial killer. “I’m sorry, okay?”

“I d-d-didn’t like that,” she stuttered.

“I see that. Again, I’m sorry.”

“Why do men always act that way? Wait for the room to empty and put their hands all over you?” Her voice quieted as she muttered, “I swore the next time that happened, I’d kick the jerk in the balls.” A sigh. “But with you, I can’t.”

“Why not? Not that I’m encouraging you to kick me in the balls or anything,” he added hastily.

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