Hammer sighed. “I have to babysit all the time now?”
“What?” Solene frowned. He didn’t mean her, did he?
“Well, Noel has Addy. Deacon clearly has Solene.”
Deacon’s eyes danced. “Clearly.”
“Hey.” Solene scowled.
“So, Noel Jr. must be my albatross.” He cleared his throat and in a dramatic voice, said, “‘Had I from old and young/Instead of the cross, the Albatross about my neck was hung.’ It’s Coleridge. Look it up.”
“His name is not Noel Jr.” Noel said through gritted teeth.
Addy laughed. “I like it. That and Little Dee. Isn’t that what you call him, Deacon?”
“Wait a minute.” Solene gaped at the giant with a brain. “That was a literary reference. Hammer just made a literary reference.”
He shrugged. “I’m not just another pretty face.”
Noel didn’t quite smile, but Solene would swear he was amused. “So we divide and conquer. Hammer, see what you can make out of our new intel. I already looked it over, and it just reinforces what I thought we should do. But maybe I missed something. That and keep looking into that locket. A lot of the work we need to do is research, and since you’re living next door now, you’ll be close enough to access the basement computer.” He turned to Deacon. “You can help me connect the dots and do recon. I came up with two more names that might want all of us out of commission. I also think we might need to revisit a few people I checked off the list before. Confirm some things, mark off others.” Noel turned to Solene. “Solene, you need to take a break.”
“Excuse me?” Since when did she fall under Noel’s command?
“It’s only a matter of time before they come after us again. They tried to drug and capture you just three weeks ago.”
“Not like I can forget that,” she mumbled.
Deacon squeezed her knee. To her bewilderment, the connection helped settle her.
“My point is they didn’t try to kill you,” Noel said. “Addy was bait, then she was as good as dead. The people who came to the daycare were there to take you away. To kidnap you. And I want to know why.”
Solene didn’t like hearing that.
Deacon didn’t seem to like it either, because he squeezed her knee again before pulling his hand away. “That, princess, is why I’m staying at your place for the foreseeable future. I know it’s tough to keep your distance. Lord knows I’m a tempting morsel. But don’t worry, I put your safety before sex. Unless it’s safe sex, and then I—”
Solene slapped a hand over his mouth. “Oh my God. Stop talking.”
The others laughed, easing the growing tension.
Hammer shook his head. “Yeah, I can’t understand why Solene hasn’t fallen for you before now. All that charm. Gosh. It’s a mystery.”
“Yes, as Deacon said, every woman wants him.” Noel gave a rare grin. “It was touch and go with Addy for a while. Deacon or me? Who to choose? But somehow I just lucked out.”
Addy stroked his cheek. “Somehow.”
Solene appreciated the humor, but not her orders. “Noel, I can’t just leave work.”
“Sure you can,” Addy said. “You’re the boss. You have assistants, and let’s face it, you like kids, but not so much that you like being there 24/7.”
“Well, okay, you got me there. The problem is that Darcy is new. She’s great with the kids, but it’s just her and Annie and me.” The break-in and near-death experience had scared off Marge, her most steadfast employee. To be fair, Solene herself had been thinking about life a lot differently lately since then. “And with Darcy being new, I—”
“Can oversee from a distance,” Deacon cut in. “Noel’s right. We need to get you out of the public eye for a while. We’ll stash you at your place, and I’ll make sure no one comes after you.”
The blank expression on his face made her pause. Hole her up at home, the place where she clearly lived and anyone with an ounce of sense would know to look for her first? “Hold on. Youwantthem to come after me, don’t you?” Before he could deny it, she went on. “So what? Now I’mbait?”
“No,” Addy said at the same time Noel and Hammer said, “Yes.”
Solene glared at Deacon, who had yet to answer. “Well?”
