Best Laid Plans(91)

Furious, Sean walked out, disabled the code, and came back in. “Why didn’t you call me first?”

“You put in motion sensors. Smart.”

“Don’t f*ck with my equipment again.”

Kane smirked and helped himself to a beer. “I didn’t want to wake you up.”

“Instead, you risked being shot.”

“You’re too good to shoot blindly.”

“Don’t be so sure of that.”

Sean reached into a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of Royal Lochnagar and two glasses. He poured shots for both of them.

“Where the hell did you get this?” Kane asked, looking at the light amber Scotch.

The twelve-year-old single malt was rare and hard to come by, especially in the States. “Eden sent it to me for a housewarming present.”

Kane scowled and sipped. Liam and Eden Rogan, the twins, lived in Europe and weren’t on the good side of RCK right now. Sean tried to stay out of it—he still talked to them, while Kane and Duke had all but cut the two out of their lives.

Sean asked, “You just get in?”

“A couple hours ago. Paid Donnelly a visit first, then needed a place to crash.”

“What’s going on?”

Kane sat and downed the shot. Sean followed suit, poured them each another, and waited. Kane would talk only if he wanted to. It could be annoying, but Sean was used to it.

“Donnelly’s working a case that’s bigger than he knows.”

“You alerted him?”

“I don’t know enough to help, but not for lack of trying. Tobias is a f*cking ghost. He is so far under the radar I wouldn’t even think he existed except that Lucy saw him and overheard his conversation with Trejo. And that’s what’s really bothering me.”

“He doesn’t know Lucy saw him.”

“But Donnelly had her look at photos. He’s kept it quiet, he put in the report that he had eyes on Tobias, but if they have yet another traitor inside, Lucy could be at risk.”

“I’ll protect her,” Sean said.

Kane didn’t say anything.

“You look worried,” Sean said. “You don’t get worried.”

“Worry is a useless emotion,” Kane said. “It f*cks with logic. I’m bothered that I can’t get a line on this Tobias.”

“Is that why you broke into my house?”

“I didn’t break anything. And no. I was on an assignment in Colorado and after I got your message decided to stop here on my way back south.”

“Colorado? What sent you there?”

Kane didn’t like talking about his jobs, partly because what he did wasn’t always legal, but partly because he didn’t want people thinking he was a hero when he thought of himself as simply doing a job that needed doing. He said, “A buddy needed help getting his little sister out of some serious trouble.” He didn’t say anything more about it. “I’ll be out of here early in the morning to meet with a snitch down south.”

“Stay for breakfast.”

“You’re not letting Lucy cook, are you?”

Sean grinned. “I’m not going to tell her you said that.”





CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT



Lucy was surprised to find Kane eating breakfast with Sean when she came downstairs Wednesday morning. She kissed his cheek. “Nice surprise.”

“Passing through.”

“Almost got himself shot last night,” Sean said.

Kane snorted and sipped black coffee.

Lucy poured herself a cup of coffee and added sugar. Sean dished up a plate of scrambled eggs, ham, and cheese for her. She sat down at the island and said, “Are you here because of the shooting Brad is investigating?” She liberally sprinkled hot sauce on her eggs and ignored Sean’s distressed expression. She liked spicy.

“Partly,” he said.

She waited for more, but Kane didn’t add to his answer. She’d grown accustomed to his brief communication style. “Ryan Quiroz has been working with him on it, he’s kept me up to speed.”

“Good.” Kane stood, drained his coffee, and said, “I need to head out. Thanks for the room and board.”

“Next time, don’t touch my security.”

Kane turned to Lucy with a half smile. “Sean hates that I’m as good as he is.”

“You’re not,” Sean said.

“You did nail me with the motion detectors. They weren’t in the pool house two months ago.”

Lucy watched the exchange, intrigued about what had happened last night while she was sleeping. “I’m heading to headquarters,” she said. “Do you need a ride?”

“No, thanks. I borrowed a truck.” He glanced at Sean, then said to Lucy, “Watch your back.”

She didn’t like his serious tone. “Okay. Any specific reason why?”

“Sean will fill you in.” Kane walked out.

“Sean?” She looked at him.

“He’s concerned that you’re the only one who’s seen Tobias.”

“Me and Michael.”

“But you’re the one who looked at photos.”

“So? No one knows I was there.”