“Central?” She looked to Deacon and raised a brow. “Is that what we’re calling it?”
He sighed. “Not my idea. Noel’s making all our decisions.” Deacon should have been more annoyed about the fact, and he was when he thought about it. But he trusted Noel. The guy would take a bullet for him, and Deacon couldn’t say that about many folks. Hell, just Noel and Hammer, really. Big Joe had too much invested in the Business to be totally trustworthy. As it was, though their handler had said Noel leaving would be no big deal, Deacon didn’t trust the easy acquiescence. Just one more instance of having to watch his buddy’s back on top of the assassination attempts.
As the three of them left Solene’s daycare and headed for Hammer’s huge truck, he tried to remain aloof, unaffected by the woman’s presence. Then he caught a whiff of her shampoo, something floral that went straight to his gut.
He had to swallow a groan.Man, I am so screwed.
“I don’t get it,” she said, her voice pitched low. “You guys took care of the thugs after Addy and Noel. Dickhead Brent is dead.” She blew out a breath, and he had a feeling the tossing and turning she did at night had more to do with her brush with violence than proximity to him. Deacon preferred to think of her lost in sexual frustration, sleeping so close but not close enough to him down the hall.
Yeah, he knew he was delusional.
“We took care of a few pieces of the puzzle, but it’s nowhere near complete,” Deacon answered, trying to get his head on straight. “It’s too pat, and Noel knows it. The assassination attempts, the mysterious locket, the baby…it’s all connected. I feel it.”
“Yeah? Well I feel nothing but hungry.” Hammer hurried them into his truck and drove to their go-to restaurant—the Treehouse Café in Lynwood. “Look, let’s talk about what we know. One: some woman dropped a baby off at Noel’s and said it was his. The age of the kid puts his time of conception down to that stint in Mexico. So, it actually made sense Noel thought the woman might have confused him for you or me.”
“Seriously? I amsomuch better looking than you guys.”
Solene chuckled, then coughed to cover it.
“Two,” Hammer continued and glanced at Deacon, “we all thought it was yours.”
Considering the three of them had been in Mexico around the same time, Deacon still felt a little miffed that they wanted to blame him for the dirty deed.
Solene sat behind him in the extended cab, and he could feel her stare like a heated brand. “Interesting how everyone assumes the boy is yours.”
“Assumed, past tense, since the paternity test showed it’s none of us,” Deacon retorted. “And sure, everyone thought it was mine. Because women love me.Normalwomen love me,” he corrected before she could say something sarcastic. In the rearview, her saw her pursed lips. “But I figure you’ve been through some stress, so I’m giving you some time before you too take the Deacon-plunge.”
Hammer muttered something under his breath and laughed. Deacon didn’t want to know.
Deacon continued Hammer’s bullet-points. “Three, we know Brent was a plant, made to look like a civilian while he kept an eye on Noel. And man, he was here foryears. That’s freakin’ weird.”
Solene huffed. “Look, Brent’s dead, and good riddance. So, we have him, that guy who tried to kill Noel in Seattle, then those two other guys who tried to kidnap Addy. Again, all dead.”
“And the guy who tried to run Noel down in the city,” Hammer added. “But an acquaintance took care of him.”
“Don’t forget the woman Addy shot.” Solene shook her head. “I still can’t believe sweet little Addy blew someone away. My girl is awesome.”
“She bothers me,” Deacon admitted.
Solene got huffy. “Why? Because Addy can take care of herself and doesn’t need a man to do it for her? That threatens you?”
“No, Blondie. His contractor, Annette. The dead woman bothers me,” Deacon explained. “I mean, I get Brent acting out—a wannabe agent pissed off that Noel will always be better than him. Brent was a washout. They recruited him but the training didn’t stick. Same with the Wilkes brothers. But Annette Fusco was a legit contractor. A good one. I can’t see her working for Brent.”
“Maybe you’re wrong. All the bad guys are dead. We’re all safe; you can go home.”
“Wish it was that simple.” Hammer sighed. “Sorry, Solene, but we’re not out of the woods yet. From what I heard, Annette wasn’t working for Brent.”
“What did you hear?” Deacon and Solene asked at the same time, then Deacon smiled at her in the rearview and said, “Jinx. Buy me a Coke.”
“Jackass.”
He smiled wider.
“I’ll tell you guys when we’realltogether, that way I only have to say it once.” Hammer frowned. “That Violet. She gets pissy if she thinks she’s being left out of anything. I swear that woman is more than a nurse. She’s a contractor. Has to be.”
“Why?” Deacon teased, loving the fact Noel’s nurse irritated the crap out of Mr. Easy Go Lucky. “Because she can kick your ass at darts, badminton, and Ping-Pong?”
Hammer scowled. “No. It’s the way she moves.”
