Page 101 of Highball and Chain

He lifted a brow, glanced in the direction of Jack’s room, and then to me. “You know the code to the backdoor.”

“Thanks.” I turned on my heel and marched outside with Enzo following.

Call it bad luck or screwy karma, but he grabbed the same wrist Jack had all but crushed upstairs. I cried out before I could stop myself.

He released me. “Did he hurt you?”

“No.” Not ready to discuss it, I hurried to the rear entrance of the shop. “Where are the bodyguards?”

“Out front.” He folded his arms. “Why?”

“Text them. They need to keep their eyes open and have the car ready to go.” I met his gaze and immediately wished I hadn’t. While Jack had a raw and loud brand of anger, Enzo was the master of cold, detached, and deadly.

“I’m going to ask you one more time. What is going on?”

I lowered my voice. “Whoever did this is looking for my camera.”

He nodded toward the shop. “It’s inside?”

“In my old beat-up backpack behind the jewelry case.”

Enzo pushed past me. “Stay here.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I know the layout like the back of my hand.” I ducked in front of him.

Gasoline fumes assaulted me the second I opened the door. I lifted my hand to turn on the light, but thought the better of it. With my luck, I’d blow myself and the antique store to smithereens.

Enzo covered his nose and mouth. “Leave it. It’s not safe in here.”

Feeling more than a little hysterical, I ran through every possible horrific outcome of venturing farther into the shop. “Do cell phones cause static?”

He looked at me as if I’d spoken in Swahili. “I don’t know.”

“I need light. There are no phone signs around gas pumps…” I shook my head. “Never mind.”

Glass crunched beneath my feet as I eased behind the display counter. Thankfully, I didn’t have to go far. The bag was exactly where I’d left it. “Got it.”

“Let’s go.” He waited for me to pass him before following me back into the courtyard.

I knelt and emptied the contents on the cobblestone.

“What the hell, Shanna?” Enzo glanced toward the gate and back to me.

“It’s the camera. It’ll be safer on my arm.” I pulled the spy-watch from the side pocket and slid it onto my sore wrist. “Okay, I’m ready.”

“I’m not letting you walk out of here wearing the damned thing. Give it to me.”

Rolling my eyes, I removed it and handed it to him.

“Thank you.” Enzo tensed his jaw hard enough to crack his molars, looped his arm with mine, and all but dragged me to the car.

I slid into the backseat. “I need to make one more stop.”

“No.” His tone might have worked with his staff, but I wasn’t on his payroll.

“I need to talk to Alex. He could be in danger.” It occurred to me I was probably too late, but I had to see him, to make sure he was okay, to find out what he knew.

“I’ll take you first thing in the morning. Right now, we’re going back to the house, reviewing that video, and you’re going to tell me everything…starting with exactly what Jack Landry means to you.”

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