“Your friend. Exactly what Iam.”
My chaperone, more like, I thought.
“Are we friends again?” I asked. “Have I given my consent to that?”
Dean chuckled. “I’ll keep working on earning back your friendship.”
I kept my eyes on the view outside the window. “We can compromise.”
“Frenemies?”
I snorted a laugh. “No. I mean about the approach to Phelan. We’ll start your way. Playing nice, asking for his help. But if that doesn’t work, I’ll trymyway. Provoking him. And you will be the calm, reasonable Dean you usually are.”
Because there was no way Phelan would actually lay a finger on me today. He didn’t seem like the type to get his hands dirty, certainly not in front of an audience.
Dean smiled, and there was a new edge to it. Something harder and far more intimidating. A brief glimpse beneath his surface.
“Alright. The good cop/bad cop routine. Sounds like a plan.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Dean
We reachedthe end of the driveway, and I slowed as we approached the circular paved area in front of the house. A covered parking lot stretched along one side, and I pulled my beat-up truck in next to a row of pickups and SUVs.
We had a plan. But I wondered if Keira knew the old military adage: No plan survives contact with the enemy. If she didn’t, I wasn’t going to bring it up.
I would be ready for anything. My top priority was Keira. Second, getting inside Donny Phelan’s head. On methods, I was flexible.
As we got out, Keira’s gaze lingered on the vehicles. She stopped beside a black Ford Explorer, her expression hardening.
“That one,” she said quietly. “Matches the description of the getaway car the shooters used. It’s spotless. Like it was recently detailed.”
I studied it, then shook my head. “Would’ve been pretty stupid to just park it here, don’t you think?”
“True.” She exhaled slowly. “Then again, Owen hasn’t been able to get a search warrant, so maybe Phelan reallyisthat overconfident.”
Which meant I had to be on my guard to ensure Keira’s safety here. I kept my eyes on the vehicles as we walked toward the house, cataloging details.
Beyond the parking area sat a massive garage, large enough to hold a boat or RV the size of a city bus. All the garage doors were closed, revealing nothing of what lay inside. Yet these vehicles were parked outdoors.
The front entrance of the house loomed before us, all wrought iron and dark wood. Oversized lanterns flanked a door that looked like it belonged on a medieval fortress.
I was surprised nobody had stopped us yet. With this guy’s media empire and massive ego, I’d almost expected security checkpoints and guards with clipboards.
I pressed the doorbell and heard it echo inside. Keira glanced up, tilting her head. “Camera.” She nodded toward a small black dome mounted above the door.
I gave a slight nod back. We were already being watched.
A moment later, a female voice crackled through an intercom speaker. “Can I help you?”
“We’re here to see Mr. Phelan,” I said.
“I don’t believe you have an appointment.”
“It’s a casual visit.”
Keira stepped forward, her voice taking on a lighter tone. “I met Mr. Phelan about a month ago. He might remember me. I’m Keira Marsh. Um, Deputy Marsh, but I’m on leave. We’d be very grateful if he would give us a few minutes of his time.”
