“Any leads?” Andro pounding fists on his highchair returned Bo’s attention back to the matter at hand.
Lucky shook his head. Nothing but gut feelings. “Not that I’ve heard tell of. His security cameras had been disabled about thirty minutes before he died.” About the time he’d called Lucky. “The back door was unlocked. That’s how I got in. He’d been shot once in the head. At close range.” He side-eyed his nephew, who’d abandoned dinner and listened with rapt attention.
“Elbows off the table,” Charlotte scolded.
Ty complied, but didn’t take his eyes off Lucky.
“You thinkhe’sback in town?” Bo murmured, nearly too low for Lucky to hear.
Lucky nodded, teeth gritted hard enough to make his head ache. No need to ask who “he” was. The man of Lucky’s nightmares. “Yeah.”
“Who?” Ty asked.
Lucky ignored him.
Bo spooned up more peas for Andro. “Have you heard from Cruz?”
“Not today.” Cruz. A necessary evil. He kind of grew on a person. Still, he’d helped Bo and Lucky out during their Corruption case in Mexico, though at the time they’d thought him a drug trafficker and not a member of an international drug task force.
He’d returned for the Chastain case, helped Andro’s mother when she’d been the victim of human trafficking, and always seemed to be lurking nearby. He’d promised to keep an eye out for Landry.
Bo regarded Lucky a long moment, head cocked to the side. “Call him. Tell him what happened.”
“I’m pretty sure he already knows.” The outfit Cruz worked for had their hands in so many pies, Lucky wouldn’t put it past them to know of crimesbeforethey happened.
“Who?” Ty repeated, louder this time.
His mother glared him to silence. For now. The kid did have Lucklighter blood after all. They didn’t stay shut up for long.
Lucky should tell the whole ugly story. What if Landry decided to get to Lucky through his family? Simmering rage he’d barely managed to contain back at Chastain’s place heated up with a vengeance.
Moment of truth. “Remember a while back, the case I worked on where Walter got sent to the hospital? Ty, you stayed with Mrs. Griggs. Charlotte, you were in Spokane.” Lucky didn’t add, “Selling your house,”in case the reminder of his old home brought on one of Ty’s moods.
Ty and Charlotte nodded.
“One of the suspects got away. One with reasons to hate me. The man killed today? He was involved in the case too. I’d bet good money his murder relates to the case.” He paused. If only he could think of an easier way to say this.
“Out with it,” Charlotte snapped. She knew him too well.
“If it’s case-related, I wouldn’t rule out him coming after me.” More quietly he mumbled, “Or one of you.”
Charlotte’s face went white. “Is it too late for you to not tell me?”
Ty didn’t say anything. In his world people didn’t pick up guns and shoot each other.
Much.
“Charlotte.” Lucky pinned her with a look she’d understand as “don’t argue with me”. “If you leave the house, I want me, Bo, or Rett with you. Better yet. Why don’t you pack up and head to the farm for a few weeks? I’m sure Mom would love the company.”
Charlotte slapped a hand down on the table, making Andro jump. She winced. “Sorry, kiddo.” To Lucky, she said, “You have no idea if the man is in town or if this has anything to do with you. Ty and I live here now and I have no intention of running for the hills every time you get a wild hair up your ass. Hell, you’ve always got your hackles up about something. Besides, the farm isn’t the most comfortable place to stay with Mom and Dad barely speaking.”
True enough. Lucky held up a hand, cutting off the forthcoming tirade, and deliberately not mentioning the language she’d have fussed at him about. Once Charlotte got going… “Okay, no staying with the parents. Promise me, though. Until we figure out what’s what, you’ll be escorted by a member of the SNB. Got that?”
Her face did a “bit a lemon” pucker “What about grocery shopping?” Oh, yeah, she’d inherited their mother’s scowl. Digging her heels in.
Lucky couldn’t settle arguments like when they were kids, by running to Mom.
Bo stepped in. “Several stores have curbside service. Fill out your order online and Lucky or I can pick it up on the way home. Some have delivery too, but under the circumstances, having strangers at the house isn’t a good idea.”
