Jethro sighed. “Wonderful.”
Sirens echoed in the distance.
Somebody had heard them force entry and had called the police. Angus headed toward the door. “New plan. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Morning brought fresh rain. After organizing the timeline the day before, Nari felt nicely relaxed as she sipped her first cup of coffee of the day. Angus and Jethro had been gone most of the day before, but once Angus had returned to the apartment, he’d spent the night showing her his own attention to detail. She smiled as she sipped, her heart feeling all warm and gushy.
She had to knock that off because this was casual for now. Even so, a night with the hard body of Angus Force should be celebrated at least a little.
Roscoe whined over by Jethro’s bedroom door.
Nari glanced at the clock. It was after nine, and Jethro didn’t seem to be a guy who slept in. Didn’t he have classes today anyway? She wandered over and peeked into the room, drawing back at seeing the neatly made bed. “Angus?”
“What?” He emerged from their bedroom, finger combing his wet hair.
“Jethro didn’t come back last night.” The professor had said he was meeting friends for a late dinner but would return early to prepare for classes. She frowned and tried not to overreact. “Didn’t he say he’d be back?”
Angus reached for his phone on the table. “Yeah.” He dialed and waited before he spoke. “Jet? Give me a call.” Then he hung up.
Nari bit her lip. “He’s an adult, and ordinarily I wouldn’t worry, but somebody has been killing people around us lately.” She paced over to the murder board and then back, looking at her color-coded files. “Why wouldn’t he answer his phone?”
Angus dialed another line. “Brigid? Do a GPS search on Jethro’s phone, would you?” He winced. “I know you’re at work at HDD. Sorry about this. Please do it, though.” He hung up. “I’m probably going to get her fired.”
Nari looked at her coffee, which was no longer appetizing. “He has to be okay. Right?”
Angus didn’t answer. “He can take care of himself.” He looked around, as if trying to solve a mystery. “I didn’t realize he hadn’t come back.”
Heat slipped into Nari’s face. They had been rather preoccupied getting naked together.
Angus’s burner phone beeped and he pressed the Speaker button. “Hey, Bridge. Where’s the Brit?”
“His phone tracks to his apartment building,” Brigid said, just as the front door opened and Jethro walked in. “I have to go back to work.” She clicked off.
Angus took a menacing step toward Jethro. “Where the fuck have you been?”
Jethro shrugged out of his leather jacket and tossed mail onto the counter, both of his eyebrows rising. “Gee, Dad. I’m sorry I missed curfew.” He looked at Nari, his gaze full of questions.
Oh, she wasn’t in the mood. “You said you’d be home after meeting friends for dinner and you didn’t come back. At the very least you could’ve called. People have been shooting at us lately, you know.” She tapped her foot on the concrete.
His lip ticked up, but he wisely refrained from calling her his mom. “Dinner went well, I got on with a visiting professor, and we went to her place for a nightcap.” He did look relaxed this morning and, with his hair rumpled, more like a James Bond than ever. “I stayed for breakfast.” He paused. “Do I need to add any more details?”
“No,” Angus bit out. “We get the picture.”
“Excellent,” Jethro said, patting Roscoe on the head and walking toward his bedroom. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to shower and get to class by one this afternoon.” He whistled a jaunty tune and disappeared into the bedroom.
“What an ass,” Angus muttered, then turned to stare at the murder board.
Nari laughed. “Well, I guess he’s all grown up now.” Angus’s responding smile warmed her heart. Shared moments like that made her like him even more. “I have to go to HDD and do an exit interview as well as fill out some HR forms. Do you need the rental car?”
He studied her. “Yes. I’ll drop you off at HDD and then pick you up afterward. You’ll be safe at the agency so long as you remain there. Promise me?”
“Sure,” she said. “It should only take a few hours, from what I understand.” She needed to keep her COBRA insurance.
Angus dialed a number and left the phone on speaker.
“What?” Brigid’s Irish accent emerged with her exasperation.
