Page 44 of Rogue Wave

Dougie walked over to my place shortly after I arrived, and he handed me a burner phone he’d set up for Hazel with her number and all her contacts already stored inside.

“I’m glad you’re on the good side, because it’s mildly terrifying the things you can do with technology,” I told him, and he just grinned.

“Good,” he replied, looking entirely too pleased with himself. “Remember that in case I ever cross into my villain era and need a favor.”

I snorted because I knew he would never cross that line, but I also knew I would have his back in an instant if he did.

I gave him the lowdown on the case and a few other things I was working on for the next hour until Hazel’s car finally pulled into her driveway.

The first thing that made me think something was wrong was the fact that she turned the car off but just sat there for a few minutes before getting out. Then she slammed the door hard enough to make Shadow flinch at my side.

“Hey, Hulk, I got a present for you,” Dougie yelled out to her, causing her head to snap in our direction.

“Is it Luigi’s breadsticks? Cause I could really use breadsticks right now,” she shouted back.

“Nothing’s as good as Luigi’s breadsticks, but hopefully this is a close second.”

Shadow jumped up and wagged her tail excitedly at the top of the stairs as Hazel walked over.

“You’re so cute with your pretty, furry face,” she cooed, crouching down to Shadow’s level.

My dog immediately started wiggling harder under the attention.

I felt my heart pinch a little at the unconditional love she had for my dog. Even when she thought I was a grumpy asshole at times, she never treated my dog with anything but kindness.

Dougie held up the flip phone. “Here you go.”

“What’s that?” she asked, lifting her brows and tilting her head in confusion.

“A replacement phone until you can get a new one tomorrow or whenever,” he explained, handing it over. “It already has all your contacts loaded and is tied to your number. Just give it back to me when you get a new one.”

Her breath hitched, and her lip wobbled. “Thanks, Dougie.”

“Given the break-in, your douche-canoe ex, and your kleptomaniac octopus coworker, Hank and I figured you needed a phone for safety reasons.”

She did need one, but Dougie had a way of explaining it so it seemed more like a suggestion rather than us forcing a new phone on her.

Hazel blinked rapidly and looked at me. She didn’t say anything, but the gratitude in her eyes was impossible to miss.

“Sorry,” she said with a shaky laugh as she waved her hand in front of her face. “It’s been a shitty last few hours.”

The situation with her octopus had given me a mild heart attack, but she’d handled it surprisingly well. Whatever had her this upset wasn’t Nigel.

“What else happened?” I asked, sitting up straighter in my chair.

She rubbed her eyes and sighed. “My dad showed up at work today.”

What did she just say?

“I knew it was weird because I haven’t seen him in forever, but he brought this creepy friend of his too. After a few minutes of chatting, it became very clear they were there for the same reason Rourke was. Stupid freaking reward money.”

That last part was mumbled angrily under her breath, but Dougie and I both heard it. He and I exchanged a look before I spoke.

“Do you know who his friend was?” I asked, forcing my voice to stay calm even though I was anything but on the inside.

“I’ve never seen him before, even though he claimed they were friends from high school. Samson something. I’m not sure if he ever said his last name, but he gave me the heebie-jeebies.”

“How so?” Dougie asked.