Page 36 of Guarding Grace
“Serena mentioned a Janice somebody was hot and going to be there and available.”
I wished there was a way I could shut down the matchmaker pipeline between Serena and my sister. “Really?”
“I worry about you, big brother. You need to socialize a little. A girlfriend would be good for you.”
I knew one way to get her off the phone. “I don’t need a girlfriend to get a nice hot fuck when I feel like it.”
“Now you’re just being crass.” Deb yawned. “I’m going to nap for a while so I can stay up until tonight. Love you.”
“Back at ya, sis.”
An incoming text dinged and showed up on the screen.
LUCAS: We traced the car.
“Hey, Deb, I gotta go. It’s work.”
“See you soon.”
Ending that call, I dialed Lucas. The partial plate had obviously been enough for Jordy to do his thing with traffic cameras.
“Where are you?” Lucas asked when he answered.
“At her work. She’s secure.”
“How’s she doing?”
“Remarkably well. A little shaken, and she won’t be sitting comfortably for a day or two. She got Tasered in the ass.”
“Ouch. I texted because Jordy tracked that plate to a company owned by the Russo family.”
I nodded. “That makes sense. Her cousin, Elliot, said he was working for Tall Tony and messed up some delivery or other. That looks like what started all this.”
“Delivery of what?”
“No idea. He didn’t tell Grace, and maybe he didn’t even know. Theylock the cases and don’t give the couriers the combination.” We knew this from surveillance on a previous case.
Lucas blew out a breath. “The idiot’s lucky he didn’t get blown up.”
“It’s true then?” The rumor was that ever since getting ripped off two years ago, Tony’s shipments were wired with explosives so only the guy at the destination with the correct combination could open the cases without getting blown to bits.
“It sure is. One of his couriers found out the hard way.”
I silently agreed that Elliot was an idiot for taking on a job like that.
“I’d like to warn Russo off, but it would help to know where the cousin is first.”
“Grace gave him a key to some warehouse space her company has.”
“Why’d she do that? It only gets her in deeper. Never mind. It doesn’t matter at this point.” Clearly Lucas had the same thoughts as I did about Elliot.
I read off the address for him.
“That’s close,” he said. “Hold fast while I have Winston check it out.”
I liked that idea. Winston Evers was ex-FBI and a solid guy who could easily corral a slippery dude like Elliot if he was there.
“How will she take it if we move her to the Fontana safe house tonight?” Lucas asked.
