Page 13 of Barbed Wire and Burglary
She set the remaining stack between them. “Since I dealt, you get to go first.” She turned over the first card, which turned out to be a Blue Two.
He promptly slapped a Draw Four card on top of it. “Red.” His voice was flat as he followed it with a red Draw Two card.
“Rude.” Aurora drew six cards, inwardly fuming at nearly doubling the size of her hand before playing her first card. “Aurora goes for the rebound,” she intoned, laying down a red Reverse card, followed by a blue Reverse card, followed by a blue Draw Two. It got rid of three cards while giving him two, which netted her a five-card gain overall.
What ensued was the most cutthroatgame of Uno she’d ever played, as well as the most enjoyable. Neither of them held back. She was dimly aware of Aaron hovering on the other side of the wall in the kitchen, hopefully waffling on his decision to join them.
She wanted so badly for her brother to spend some time getting to know A.J. Changes were coming their way—big ones—and she wanted Aaron to be on board with them. They’d been through so much together and shared a bond she didn’t want to give up.
A few minutes later, he cut silently through the living room and made his way to the front door. Her heart sank at the realization that he was leaving much earlier than he had to, well before his next shift at the police department began. Either that, or their uncle had given him a sidebar mission to complete.
“Be safe,” she called after him, not sure what else to say.
He gave her a crisp nod instead of saying anything and left the house.
Worry clogged her throat as she listened to him rev his motor and drive away.
Chapter 3: The Phone Call
A.J.’s phone vibrated with an incoming call. He wished he could ignore it, blocking out everything but the woman in his embrace, but too much was at stake.
“Sorry about this.” Giving her an apologetic look, he pulled his phone out of his back pocket, glanced at the caller ID, and was extra glad he hadn’t ignored the call. It was his new boss at Lonestar Security.
Curling to his feet, he walked to the other side of the living room as he accepted the call and lifted the phone to his ear. “Hey, Decker.”
“Hey, A.J.” Decker’s voice snapped with urgency. “I know your start date isn’t until Monday, but we’ve got a situation.”
It felt like a test, but A.J. wasn’t afraid of tests. “How can I help?”
“I just received word that the pawnshop across the street from Modello’s was just broken into.”
A.J.’s instincts went on full alert. “When?”
“Few minutes ago.”
“Sorry to hear it.” He remembered seeing the tiny clapboard building with peeling white paint. More specifically, he remembered driving through the business district and thinking it looked out of place among the ritzier surrounding buildings.
Decker’s voice turned wry. “Any chance you can make it over there?”
“Yep.” He glanced at Aurora and found her on her feet watching him expectantly. “I can be there in ten minutes, fifteen tops.”
“That would be great.” Decker sounded relieved. “Like I mentioned during your interview, we work closely with the local police, providing more hands on deck as needed.”
“And this is one of those situations?” A.J. was already moving toward the door.
“Yep.”
“What are my marching orders?” He wanted to be clear about what Decker expected of him.
Decker quickly filled him in on what he knew. “They’ve got Deputy Cannon on the scene. He isn’t new to police work, just new in town like yourself. I’d like you to assist him in processing the crime scene. Whatever he needs you to do, even if it’s a coffee run.”
Yeah, putting two new guys on a job together was definitely a test. “On my way, boss.”
“You don’t need to call me that,” Decker said hastily. “And this is a paying gig. Your paycheck will be retroactive to today. Nobody expects you to work for free.”
“Roger that.” This was everything A.J. had hoped for and more. He’d been angling to get closer to his target, but he’d never imagined being assigned to work directly with the guy. Did Deputy Cannon even know a private investigator was being sent to assist him? Their upcomingencounter could easily erupt in fireworks. Or an arrest. He didn’t dare look at Aurora out of concern for what his gaze might inadvertently reveal.
“Keep me posted,” Decker ordered.
