Page 75 of Sheltered By Love

I cough just as Jaxson appears beside me. “Garrett called. He explained you’ll be giving me a hand on Saturday night,” he says.

My stomach tightens a little as I nod. “Tell me the truth. Do things really get wild at these dances?”

“Only if you want them to,” he says with a grin.

Zane

Saturday 4.12pm

I check my watch again as I lean against the stock shelf in Jax’s small office.

Pretty much the only place we could meet that wouldn’t make anyone suspicious.

Levi has taken the roller chair behind the mahogany desk and has so much energy to spend, that he’s pushing off the desk and shifting the chair from one side of the desk to the other.

As I’m glaring daggers at Levi, Jax is running through everything with Felicity sitting in the chair on the other side of the desk.

He hands her a wine glass to demonstrate. “We keep the drinks to beer and wine. The glasses all have lines on them so it’s easy.”

Felicity shuffles in her chair. “I haven’t used a cash register before.”

Jax shakes his head. “We don’t use one. Everyone with a ticket gets tokens at the entrance to the town hall. Just put them in the buckets under the bar and give everyone their drink. Anyone gives you grief, you point them in my direction.”

To demonstrate, Levi hands her a token. “Do you think they will give me grief?”

Jax pulls a face. “There’s always one or two. Like I said. I’m there and Zane will be until eight.”

Her brow furrows. “What happens at eight?”

Levi starts to laugh, but neither of them gets a chance to answer when Garrett shows up with two of his men in tow.

He looks harried and accepts Jax’s offer for coffee before he speaks.

“It took some doing but Carey’s Creek has loaned us two of their reserves for security at the ball. I’ll be able to split my time between Felicity’s and town after all.”

I should feel happier Garrett is the one watching the place. With the rest of us at the ball, he’s the one Reid who won’t be missed.

As he sips his coffee and sighs into it, a twinge of guilt hits my midsection. I still haven’t said anything to him about filling in more permanently, and now I’m wondering if I had done it earlier, it would be me in this position.

An active cop would have had any number of legitimate excuses to avoid going to this damn dance.

Garrett’s reserves obviously know what’s happening tonight, and one of them, probably holding a grudge because I bested his swimming across the Bay record in high school has the nerve to smirk at me.

While Garrett is reassuring Felicity that her house will be well looked after, I give Dave the finger and lower my voice.

“Don’t mess around with the settings on the cameras. I have them calibrated the way I want them,” I say to Dave.

Garrett stops mid-sentence and gives me a warning look. “No one is going to mess with your gear. If we catch these guys, it’s going to be a team effort. From this point on, I want all egos checked at the door.”

When he’s sure no one is going to bitch anymore, he addresses the unwanted filming going on tonight.

“The camera crew filming has added an extra layer to this. I know the reporter, and she’s a pain in the ass. Under no circumstances is anyone in this room to speak to the documentary crew about the break-ins.”

No one speaks. But Felicity’s face pales. “Why didn’t you tell me about the camera crew before?” she asks.

Garrett grimaces. “Apologies. It’s just a local reporter, her cameraman, and a boom operator. They arrived by ferry this morning and will be around the Bay for a few days.”

For whatever reason Felicity starts to fidget and looks like she’s going to throw up.

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