I frowned.
"No, seriously, Lany is a chaos magnet. Why do you think he has his own personal bodyguard? There is a security force at the estate, but Lany is the only one who has someone like Marcus following him around everywhere, every second of every day. And even then he still finds a way to get into trouble."
"Going to work is a relief," Burke said from the driver's seat. "It's less chaotic."
I wasn't sure Lany was all that bad. Granted, I'd been his personal doctor for several years and had treated the man for more injuries than any one person should have, but I didn't think he went looking for trouble. It just kind of found him.
"Don't get us wrong, Skip," David said. "Lany is the sweetest, kindest guy you could ever meet, and he loves Sal and those kids more than anything in the world, but we all hold our breath if he steps off the estate because we know something is going to happen."
"And we can't keep him on the estate," Burke added. "No matter how much any of us wish we could. It wouldn't be fair to Lany or his family."
"So, he has a security force, a personal bodyguard, and every single one of us on call twenty-four-seven. We try to keep him safe and bash in the heads of anyone who threatens him or anyone he cares about. You are in that group."
"Is that why everyone is jumping in to help find Jean?"
David nodded. "That's exactly why."
Huh.
It made me feel good to know I was included in the people Lany cared about even if his antics scared the crap out of me. "Has anyone put a tracking chip in his ass?"
Burke snorted. "Sal's considering it."
"If he gets it to me," I said, "I'll get it in Lany."
I'd take one for the team.
Chapter Eighteen
David
I winced when we pulled up in front of the estate and I saw the condition of the gate. It had been hit by two armored vehicles and was bent all out of shape, just kind of hanging there. The guard at the gate waved us through. The gate creaked when it opened and creaked when it closed behind us. Brant had to be pissed.
Burke brought the SUV to a stop in front of the mansion. I could see the back end of Sal's car parked around the side of the house so I knew they had made it back. I wasn't sure if the others were here, as only Burke, Skip, and I were in this car and I didn't see theirs.
"Are you hungry?" I asked.
Skip smiled. "I could eat."
"I'll bet Mrs. Martinez has put out quite the spread."
She usually did. I was pretty sure that woman lived to fatten us up.
I was a little surprised Brant didn't meet us at the top of the steps but, considering what had happened here earlier in the day, not that surprised.
He was probably pissed at himself for allowing others onto the estate and devising some plan to secure both the front gate and the river access to the place. I hoped it wasn't something that would impede the view. It was nice looking out over the river.
Burke glanced around when we got inside. "I'm going to go find Sal and see if he's learned anything new."
"I'm going to check in with Brant and then see about getting Skip something to eat."
Burke nodded and then headed down the hallway toward Sal's office.
I walked over to the security door and pulled it open. A sliver of unease slid up my spine when I found it empty. It was never empty. Brant had someone manning the surveillance cameras twenty-four hours a day.
Skip frowned at me when I turned and started for the kitchen. "What's wrong?"
"Come with me." I grabbed Skip's hand and pulled him quickly after me into the kitchen and then the pantry. I quickly typed in the code to open the panic room. When the door swung open and I saw the faces staring back at me, I stepped over in front of Skip until I realized who I was looking at.
