Page 29 of The Soul of Archer
“Alora said she’d leave my house about six. She leaves for the shop about eight or shortly after. She’s usually home by five-thirty, seven at the latest if they’re really busy.”
Danny wrote down the information. “Got it. I’ll put Harrison on the first watch. He’ll be in a black Jeep about two houses down. I’ll call either you or Alora with who will be there that evening around lunchtime.”
Lance felt a weight lift off. He laid a hand on Danny’s shoulder. “Thanks Danny. I mean it. Alora…”
Danny smiled, “Hey buddy I get it. I’ve seen how you two look at each other. It’s like Ethan and Kris. If I had a girl like that I’d do all I could to keep her safe too.”
Lance nodded. He walked out of the office while Danny pulled out his cell to make the calls. Lance stepped back out into the yard and made a beeline for Alora. Knowing that his boys would razz the hell out of him, like he had done to Ethan the previous fall, he didn’t stop till he reached Alora. He tugged her to her feet and before she could say a word he kissed her. He, Lance Archer, had kissed a woman in front of god and everyone. A first for him.
“Well, um, wow.” Alora giggled.
“Just felt like it.” He shrugged.
“Fell free to do that anytime you want Mr. Archer.” She said, with a bit of sass in her voice.
Lance growled low. He loved her sauciness. He leaned in close so only she could hear. “Keep it up and I may just drag your ass back home early.”
Alora giggled as her lips tugged at his earlobe. “You do that, who’s to say I let you wait till we get home.”
Lance groaned and quickly spun away. Behind him he heard the ladies and Alora giggling. When he reached his boys, they all wore knowing smirks. “Okay, you four can just kiss my ass.”
“Hey, come on Hawk, you know we’re happy for you.” Tony said.
“Tony’s right. You’re happy and Alora’s the reason. She’s a good woman.” Grant added.
Lance nodded taking a swig of his beer. “Yeah, she’s one hell of a woman.”
Chapter 13
Lance sat at his desk going over the reports on Malconi from the weekend. There had been a lot of activity from the Malconi camp. Which made sense, considering the deal Alora had spoken of was set to go down in less than two weeks in Houston. Danny said the Feds and D.E.A. had already reached out to their colleagues in Houston and had the ball rolling. Once they knew the exact location they could fine tune things for the bust. It still worried him though. Anything could go wrong and if the Malconi’s got away they would still be a threat to Alora. Laying the report on his desk, Lance stood up and moved to his window looking out over Austin. A knock interrupted his thoughts.
“Yeah?”
A second later, Ethan walked in. “Hey.”
“Hey. So, Tony was able to get the footage from the light cam where you and Alora saw Malconi. Tony also was able to track him from the surrounding cameras. After he lost you guys when you pulled into the garage, he drove around the area. He missed you two going into Q-Ball by like fifteen seconds. After that, Tony lost him when he left downtown. Danny’s guys watching his house said he pulled in about eight.”
Lance ran a hand through his cropped hair. “He was pissed. He drove around looking for us, then probably ran crying to daddy. Fuck. Ethan, this whole mess is a clusterfuck.”
“I hear you Hawk. Which is why, when we go to Houston for the bust you won’t be there.”
Lance spun and faced his friend and boss. “What?”
“You heard me. Look, I want you and Alora out of here. Take her to Jacksonville for the weekend, hell the week if you can get her to agree. I’ve sent Kris to tell her the same thing I’m telling you right now. If anything goes wrong and the Malconi’s get away, I don’t want her or you to be here.” Ethan stated.
Lance started to argue but then he caught the look on Ethan’s face. It was the same look he had the previous fall when Krista was being stalked by Ingram. It was worry. Letting out a deep breath Lance nodded. “Alright boss, we’ll go.”
Ethan walked over and laid a hand on Lance’s shoulder. “Lance, I know you hate not being in the action, but who would you trust to be with Alora while you’re with us? Huh? I’m guessing not a damned person but yourself. I felt the same with Krista when we were discussing her New York trip. So, take her and go to see your folks. Me, Danny and the rest of the team will handle Houston.”
***
Alora sat across from Krista at Kirby Lane. Krista had called her about half an hour ago asking if she could meet her for lunch. From the woman’s face, Alora knew this wasn’t just a friendly girl’s lunch. “Okay Krista, what is it?”
