“It’s done, sir.”
“Very well. Disperse.” He tossed his phone onto the coffee table and turned to me. “Now we see if this was the greatest takedown or the worst.”
I cupped his cheek, leaned in, and kissed him. “It was necessary, and hopefully the beginning of the end for Lorcan.”
He sighed and rested his head on my shoulder. We stayed like that for a long time, ending the night in bed wrapped around each other.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Gideon
I was spooningPenn in my bed, inhaling his pine scent in every breath, relaxed. The morning sun was peeking through the curtains in the bedroom, a peaceful glow. I closed my eyes, intending to fall back to sleep, but a knock disturbed that idea.
“Hmm…” Penn mumbled.
“It’s nothing. Rest.”
I ambled out of bed and slipped on a pair of boxers and a robe before opening to see who was disturbing me when I had a perfectly good cell phone.
Danny had the decency to at least appear apologetic. “Sorry, sir, but there’s an unexpected visitor here to see you.”
“Who?”
“Chief Bainer.”
Fucking hell. “Let me get dressed. I’ll be down in a few—offer him coffee or something.”
With a nod he left, and I shut the door. I looked up to see Penn sitting up.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, the chief of police is here.”
His eyebrow arched. “That can’t be good.”
“I did pretty much light a portion of Northchester up last night without warning him…I’m sure that’s exactly what this is about.” He made to get up, but I stopped him. “Stay in bed; I’ll handle this.”
“Alone?”
I tossed my robe to the chair and went into my walk-in closet for a casual suit. “I’ll have guys with me, but Bainer is on my payroll. It’ll be fine.”
“What if you need an alibi?”
Suit in hand, I exited with a grin. “I won’t.”
“But…”
“Penn, if you go with me, I’ll have to explain who you are, and you don’t want more people knowing about you right now, do you?”
He blew out a breath. “Not sure it matters anymore.”
“It does to me. Let me handle this, and I’ll be right back.” He didn’t argue, but there was no hiding his upset. I walked over to him and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Keep the bed warm.”
After I dressed, I made my way to the living area. Bainer was sitting on the couch, coffee in hand. He was in his fifties, in decent shape, and still had a full head of hair. His problem was gambling and when he’d gotten himself in some trouble a few years ago, I’d gotten him out of it. Then I’d put him on my payroll.
“To what do I owe this wake-up call, Bainer?”
He jolted slightly. He tried to act tough, but he was afraid of me. “Gideon.”
