Hard to Handle (Caine Cousins #2)(46)

His first order of business had been to start coffee, which he’d done, then proceeded to drink the entire pot while he pulled the parts out for another pair of rocking chairs. They happened to be the most popular piece of furniture they sold in the store. Seemed no matter how many he made, they never lasted long, and Calvin was always asking him to bring more.

So, after the first pot was gone, he got the second one going and got to work, all the while thinking about Reagan. He hadn’t seen or heard from her since yesterday afternoon at Wolfe’s house. Not that he blamed her. After having to hear Amy’s story again, listening to the pain she’d endured, Lynx had needed some time to himself as well.

Now, he merely wanted to know how they were going to stop a man who seemed to wield all the power. Lynx still didn’t understand why Amy couldn’t go public so they could get this over with. She’d even said she wanted to, but now they were going back on that. It seemed simple to him. If she went public, there would be a lot of heat on that bastard, which would ultimately keep him from sneaking around trying to fucking kill people.

However, it appeared Lynx was the only one thinking along those lines. According to Madison, the idea was to lure him out and stop him once and for all.

Of course, that made sense to Lynx, too. If Amy went public and the guy stopped making his attempts, it would be Amy’s word against his, and Kelly Jackson would likely walk around a free man indefinitely. After all, he was the chief of police. People respected him. Granted, they didn’t know he was a monster who should be locked up indefinitely.

And right now, Madison said her brother wanted enough evidence to stick the asshole with multiple charges of attempted murder as well as the murder charges for the man’s two dead wives and the police detective.

Lynx just didn’t want the man to succeed in taking someone else out, and based on his actions, the asshole was bound to get lucky at some point. Then again, if the mafia was after him…

“Holy shit!” Wolfe yelled when he stepped into the shop. “Did hell freeze over and I didn’t get the memo?”

Lynx flipped his cousin off, which earned him a grin from both Amy and Wolfe. Copenhagen took off at a trot over to the new arrivals, eager for some attention.

Watching the pair, Lynx grinned when Wolfe pulled Amy against him, their lips coming together.

“Hey,” Lynx called out. “None of that kissy-face shit in here.”

Wolfe and Amy chuckled as she kissed him quickly before turning to go up the stairs.

“I think there’s a rule somewhere that says once you move in with someone, that shit stops,” Lynx continued.

“Not in my world, it don’t,” Wolfe noted. “And you wanna tell me why your happy ass is here before the sun’s up?”

“Bored,” he said, standing up and leaning against the steel beam. The second he touched the damn thing, the memory of him holding Reagan right here, his fingers buried in her silky heat, assaulted him. That seemed like a million years ago and it had been less than forty-eight hours.

“You get ahold of anyone yesterday?” Wolfe asked as he moved closer.

Shaking off the erotic thoughts of Reagan, Lynx let Wolfe’s question sink in. Wolfe had to be referring to the crew he was wrangling together to get started on the rebuild of Reagan’s bar. The favors he had called in.

He nodded. “I did. Harlow’s gonna loan us his equipment. Got Ben and Ed headin’ over this mornin’ to clear the lot.”

Wolfe frowned.

“Don’t worry,” Lynx told his cousin. “I talked to Rhys. He gave me the go-ahead. Just said we couldn’t touch the propane tank, or what’s left of it, anyway, until he signed off on the investigation.” Something about ongoing bullshit that Lynx knew wouldn’t matter anyway. They weren’t going to find anything, but apparently Rhys had to do his due diligence to make everyone happy. “You get ahold of Ron?”

Wolfe nodded. “He’s sendin’ over a couple of dumpsters this mornin’. Said he’d be able to pick ’em up later today.”

“Perfect.” Lynx had spent the better part of yesterday evening on his phone, recruiting people to help clear the remains of Reagan’s bar so they could start the rebuild.

“She know yet?”

Lynx shrugged. He hadn’t told Reagan that they were starting the demolition on the remains of the old building so they could get the new one underway. He’d heard her mention calling the insurance company this morning, and she’d seemed extremely stressed, so he hadn’t wanted to add to that.

“How’re things goin’ with … you know?”

Cocking one eyebrow, Lynx waited for his cousin to elaborate.

“With you and Reagan?”

Shaking his head, he turned to get back to work. He didn’t want to talk about him and Reagan right now. For one, he had no fucking clue where they stood. It seemed she’d turned this thing between them into a friendship. And with all the shit going on, he wasn’t sure how to move things in the right direction. The only thing he could do was help her out and wait for her to come around.

Wolfe chuckled and Lynx spun around to look at him.

“Man, you got it bad.”

His middle finger automatically went up, but Lynx couldn’t hide his smile.

“You up for breakfast in a bit?” Wolfe asked, thankfully changing the subject.