Chapter 17
Lucky
At the start of day five of the silent treatment, a text arrives from my wife.
Callie: Having a great time with my mother. You don’t need to come.
Me: Got my ticket B there 2nite.
Callie: Please don’t come.
This is so fucked up.
“Hey boss.” I put my phone on speaker and check my refrigerator for breakie but there’s nothing but pickles and beer.
“Lochlan, what can I do for you?” He’s a fuckin’ billionaire and I feel bad about wasting his time but I need good news or I may lose my mind.
“Have you heard anything from Callie?”
There’s a moment of tense silence, then he clears his throat. “I did. Her mother called me. She said you two were having some sort of fight. She asked I tell you to back off. Claimed you’ve been texting and calling incessantly.”
Shit. Last I knew, we were not fighting.I grab a beer and as a second thought, open a sleeve of saltines and the peanut butter jar. “Who’d you send to keep an eye on her?”
“I found a couple new guys but not to worry. Both come highly recommended. Her mother tried to hire another firm but I convinced her to stay with us. We take care of our own.”
No longer hungry, I toss my knife into the jar and set it aside. “Maybe that’s the problem, Gray. I didn’t take care of her. This whole mess is my fault.”
“Is that what’s been eating at you?”
“Yeah, sir. Sort of.”Beer for breakfast? Crikes, how low I’ve sunk.
“Suds was on duty and even he’s let it go.”
“I was outside and inside the restaurant. Why didn’t I see anything?”
“First off, it was unexpected. Secondly, they were damn good. This is everyone’s fault, Lucky, including mine. I was the one who picked out the damn restaurant and said it was safe.”
“But why? What the fuck were they after?”
“They didn’t want your wife, they wanted mine. They figured if they had her, they could coerce me into doing just about anything. I’m not so sure they were wrong.”
“A bodyguard is supposed to see shit going down.”
“Only with the right intel, which you didn’t have. Let it go, Lochlan. I tell you what. Isabella’s been working with Jason to help track down a couple leads. Why not give her a call? She needs another point of view.”
“I will, and thanks. If you hear from Calliope, make sure to tell her I was asking about her.”
“Call her yourself.”
“Sure thing, I will.”But I won’t. Not until she wants me to.
After, like every day, I drop the prince off at school and pick him up. I have a shitload of homework and read some but all I can do is think of my wife up north without me.
Tonight, the dark, dingy bar in Brooklyn perfectly suits my mood. The dive is hotter than hell and smells a whole lot worse. It’s got crappy food, criminal lowlifes, and a bartender who doesn’t give a rat’s ass if I get shit-faced.
Suds holds out his hand as if expecting I’ll let him see what Callie texted. I’m not about to expose my complete failure as a husband, a father, and a human being. Instead, I chuck the electronics into my pocket, point to my glass, and the bearded bartender fills it with more whiskey.
Before I can wrap my fingers around my drink, Suds slides it in front of him and downs my amber liquid. “You’ve had enough.”
