Page 166 of Guarding Grace
Winston nodded. “And we bring her along for someone who can get into small spaces.”
Constance brandished her fork.
He slid back in his chair. “And when we need someone smart,” he added. “Everybody knows that.”
I couldn’t help it, and a laugh escaped. I tapped my fork on the plate. “Constance, this is delicious, and in my book, it counts as real cooking.” I loved seeing a side of these two beyond stern looks and guns at their hips.
“It is,” Winston admitted with a smile. “And I’ll go undercover with you again anytime, dear.”
Constance made a show of rolling her eyes, but I caught the smile she tried to hide and guessed that she agreed.
“You have breakfast together regularly?” I asked, going back to Winston’s original comment.
“Pretty much every week,” Winston mumbled with food in his mouth.
Constance picked up her glass. “Yeah, he’s like one of those sad-looking puppies you just have to feed.”
A pang of guilt shot through me—or maybe not guilt, but a realization of something I’d missed out on. I’d spent years building my business, and not until this week had I spent a single morning eating breakfast across from someone.
Clyde rubbed up against my leg and meowed.
I looked down and gave him the bad news. “It’s not meat, so no, you can’t have any.” Breakfast with two cats was not the same.
Clyde repeated his meow.
Picking up my phone, I tried Terry’s number again. It went straight to voicemail. “Just calling to say good morning,” I told the recording. I needed to talk to him.
“It’s not you,” Constance assured me. “While he’s in the field, he keeps it on do-not-disturb.”
The sound of the garage door opening came up the stairs, and my heart accelerated.
Constance stood. “Speak of the devil. It looks like I’ll need to make a little more.”
I ran to Terry when he reached the door and jumped into his arms.
“Whoa, Tiger. I haven’t been gone that long.”
“I still get to miss you.”
“I missed you too.” He set me down and stroked my hair. “I got your messages.”
Not what I wanted to hear, since he hadn’t called me back.
“After Russo bugged my car, I didn’t want to say anything over the phone.”
“Hey, big guy,” Constance called. “Get your hungry ass to the table before Bigfoot here eats everything I cooked.”
I was busting to know what he couldn’t talk about in the car, but I waited until he’d loaded his plate and taken a bite.
“Constance, I should hire you as my cook.”
Winston laughed.
Then curiosity got the better of me. “What’s the news?”
Terry finished chewing before answering. “Jordy and I checked out a place Rudi gave us. Elliot had definitely been there. Jordy set up surveillance, and we’ll nab him when he returns.”
“And then what? He said he needs money to get away and disappear.”
