CHAPTER 10
Bo snatched the phone away from Lucky in mid-swear. “I’m sorry, you have to understand that my partner is upset. Yes, his sister was attacked, and we’re all under a lot of stress. I’m the assistant director of the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau…”
Whereas Lucky’s redneck persuasion got him nowhere, in less than five minutes Bo hit mute and said, “You get more flies with honey.”
“Way to sling the title around.”
“I’ll use it while I have it.” Bo met Lucky’s eyes. “Yes, I know it probably won’t be mine for long.”
Bo held up a hand, indicating the person he spoke with returned. He unmuted the phone. “Are you sure? But… Yes, I understand.” He ended the call. “I shoulda let you keep talking to them. They can’t come out until next week. Until then, we’ll have to stick to our unmonitored system.”
A Jaguar pulled up into their driveway. A motherfucking Jaguar. Was the driver in the right neighborhood? Lucky reached for his ankle holster. No use shutting the door. The cheap piece of wood still hung from its hinges. Cruz hopped out of the car and bounded up the sidewalk. “I am so sorry. Is your sister all right? I hadn’t gotten my men in position yet.” He eyed the door.
“Charlotte’s fine,” Bo said. “A little shook up.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“As a matter of fact…” If Cruz felt guilty for promising protection he didn’t deliver, Lucky would make use of the guilt. “We can’t get a monitored security company out here until next week, and forget trying to find a contractor.” Lucky could install a new door and frame himself, but he’d be too busy digging a moat around the place.
“That I can do.” Cruz stepped away, holding his phone to one ear and jamming a finger in the other, speaking in rapid-fire Spanish. When he turned back around, he said, “Someone is coming to fix the door in twenty minutes. You’ll have your security system in an hour.”
Driving a Jaguar, snapping his fingers and folks came running. Lucky really should have considered the offer to work for Victor, but no, he couldn’t leave Bo for weeks on end. Not the life he wanted for himself or his family.
Lucky left Bo to answer Cruz’s questions and collapsed onto the ripped couch. Bo’s words came back to him, about using the job while he had it, because it wouldn’t be his for long.
Lucky had been so busy lately he hadn’t even thought to ask about the latest on O’Donoghue’s power play. Walter insisted the asshole wasn’t behind the position shuffle at work. Even the office betting pool knew better.
A car door slammed outside and the Jaguar backed out of the driveway.
Bo busied himself picking up pieces of the coffee table and shoving them into a box. He’d not sat still for two seconds all afternoon.
Lucky knelt beside him on the floor. “Are you okay? Getting screwed over by O’Donoghue, I mean.”
“It’s a job, Lucky. As long as people are treated fairly and we’re doing what we’re supposed to do, I don’t care about titles.” Bo stopped midmotion, but didn’t look up. The better to lie and not get called out.
Lucky wouldn’t call him out. Bo’d been through one hell of a lot today, just like Lucky. If he chose denial as a coping mechanism, Lucky had his back. “Well, and getting a paycheck.” One they’d need now more than ever with furniture and rugs to replace. Not to mention Moose’s vet bill. The high deductible on his homeowner’s policy meant smaller expenses came out of pocket. Then again, did the policy even cover breaking and entering?
Bo ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, that too. Anyway, the new system will be monitored, and if anything suspicious happens, Charlotte, or any of us, just have to hit a panic button.” If anything tripped the sensors, the security company would call. Panic button? Send the cops.
Lucky had dealt with monitored systems before, but always thought their own system adequate enough. It squawked if someone broke in, right? Alerting the people in the house and no one else.
“She has to remember to keep the system on.” Their self-monitored system didn’t work very well if Charlotte didn’t set it during the day. The monitored system wouldn’t either.
“Who would’ve thought anyone could get through the damned gate? We can’t half the time. And to pull up into the driveway, bold as brass.” Bo dragged his fingers through his hair. “I know you don’t like them, but there will be cameras in the living room and on all outside doors. We’re contacting the windows. We’ll just have to remember to turn off the system to open a window or a door, and set the system on ‘stay’ mode if we’re home.” If someone opened the window and broke a contact, alarms sounded and the security company would call.
Lucky could see a lot of accidents happening. Oh well, better safe.
A whole lot of necessary inconvenience to keep the family safe. “What about the pets?” Lucky would hate to pen Moose and Cat Lucky up in a bedroom when they weren’t home.
Moose would climb on the bed and take a nap, but Cat Lucky might retaliate by smothering them in their sleep. Or making everything in the house fair game as a scratch toy.
“They make sensors that allow for animals up to sixty pounds. We’ll have to keep Moose outside or in Ty’s room if we’re out. The days are getting warmer, so Moose can stay in the back yard more.”
Was there a way to secure the back yard?
When Charlotte returned from the Smiths’ with Andro and Ty, Bo sat everyone down at the kitchen table, explained how the security system worked, and assigned personal activation codes while munching on the pizza Charlotte brought. Rett, who’d acted as Charlotte’s bodyguard for her dangerous trip to Pizza Shack, snagged a slice of meat lovers and left for home.
Lucky watched his sister’s every move. How close he’d come to losing her today. Yes, he’d swallow his pride and pay a monitoring company for extra security, even though a primitive part of his brain screamed about privacy. Anything to keep his family safe.
