Page 111 of Guarding Grace
For such a big man, his fingers were surprisingly nimble as he worked the problem and freed her hair from the clasp. “All done.” He swept her hair around her neck and over her shoulder.
“Thank you.”
“Who’s Tyrant?” he asked, glancing at my phone screen.
I picked it up quickly.
Peyton grinned, but obeyed the glare I sent her way and kept her mouth shut.
I escaped to my office without answering his question. Through the glass I might have noticed an admiring gaze my assistant aimed at the big man as he walked back to his post.
Then I did something completely out of character and sent the tyrant a text.
ME: Thinking about you.
That was a mistake, because I felt less good when a minute later a reply hadn’t come.What was I thinking?
Terry
Before driving off,I reread the piece of paper Lucas had passed me.
When I call, play along. Start toward Grace and then U-turn to the office when I tell you.
I hadn’t seen anybody watching us, but Lucas’s code that we could be overheard had been clear. He, of all people, knew never to call an ex-Marine like me a soldier. Marines were called Marines and nothing else.
The meaning of the note was clear. He thought one or both of our cars had been bugged, and they may have been listening on the street as well. All it would take was a parabolic mic from a window or rooftop. Since he wanted me to make a U-turn, he was also concerned about being followed or them having a tracker on my car.
I stashed the note and pulled away from the curb, turning right at the light on the way to Grace’s building.
Lucas’s call arrived less than two blocks later.
“Are you going to fly straight, soldier?” he said as soon as I answered.
“Yes, sir.” If I said anything else, he would assume I hadn’t gotten the note.
“That was one hell of a meeting. Tony is a scary motherfucker.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Like I said, we need to put every effort into finding this Elliot asswipe. Do you have any leads on him from your girl?”
I guessed that playing along meantno. “Sorry, sir. No.”
“Then you better develop some pronto, because I want that ten grand he’s offering.”
Now we were clearly in deception mode because Lucas had made it quite clear that he would never work for any of the criminal organizations in town.
“Yes, sir.”
“Okay, then. I’ll see you back at the office. Don’t dawdle.”
“I have an errand to run first, but I’ll be in as soon as I can. I’ll text when I’m on the way.”
“Roger that.” He disconnected.
This meant leaving Grace’s safety in someone else’s hands for now.
I hit the steering wheel, hard.I should be with her. Deciding I should be an adult about the situation, I pulled into the next gas station and parked to compose a text to Grace. I didn’t dare put down how I felt, so I made it simple.
