Page 56 of In The Trenches (Owens Protective Services)

He hesitated, his eyes flicking to the security guards before a smooth smile filled his face. “Not at all, but that doesn’t mean I want something just up and walking out the door.”

“Well, we can have some men out here later today to have a look at the generators and make sure they’re running in no time.”

“It’s fine,” he cut in. “I already hired men to work on it.”

“Then I’ll leave you to it.”

I turned and walked out, ready to call my team when I remembered my phone wasn’t working. Swearing, I glanced up and noticed the cameras at the building across the street. Rushing across the street, I yanked the door open and headed to the security office. It was very unlikely they had any security footage from the day of the outage, but I’d take a slim chance over nothing.

As luck would have it, the security guard was in. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah, I’m Cash Owens. I’m working with the city on restoring power, and we noticed the buildings on the other side of the street were having some trouble with their generators. I was hoping I could see your security feed from that night to see if I can piece together what happened.”

“Owens, you said?”

“Yes, sir.”

He grinned. “Yeah, I know you. Owens Protective Services.”

“That’s correct.”

“Yeah, my nephew works for your company.”

“Really? Who’s your nephew?”

“Brian Wilson,” he said proudly.

I pretended I knew who the fuck that was. His nephew was obviously lying to him, probably because he didn’t want to let him down. That meant he was trouble, and his uncle would know that.

“Brian, yeah, he’s a real ball buster.”

“That kid has been in so much trouble. I’m just happy someone finally gave him a shot.”

“We’re lucky to have him.”

He waved me into his office. “So, you need security feed?”

“Yes, I know the feed probably turned off when the power went out, but I was hoping I might find something helpful.”

“A couple of years ago, we had the power go out. Someone broke in and trashed the lobby. After that, the bosses had the security tied into the backup generator to kick in right away. I should be able to get you what you need.”

“Perfect.”

“I’ll make a copy for you. Just give me a minute.”

After a half hour and ten stories about his nephew, I finally had the footage in my hand. I walked out of there, shaking his hand and promising to keep his nephew on the right track.

“Hey, any luck?” Dash asked as he leaned against my truck.

“Possibly. What about you?”

“Nothing. Unless you think the power outage had to do with modern art or wine that can no longer be kept at the precise temperature needed.”

I snorted and headed to my truck. “Let’s go. I think I have something better than chilled wine.”

“Is it beer? Because I could really go for beer right now.”

“Only if it’s made in a research lab.”

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