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“Good. Lots of intel. Found out a lot about my woman.”

“You talked to her?”

“Not yet.”

“Shit. Did you break into her house?”

“No. I entered when she opened the garage door.” Not that I had to explain or defend myself. “Used the ghillie suit. I’m wearing it now.”

“Fuck, Cuckoo. That’s gonna be suspicious.”

“That’s why I need you to take control of all the security footage on the street.”

He sighed. “Done.”

“And I need to know the code for her alarm system.”

I wanted to set it for her since she must have forgotten when she left. Who knew if some creep would try to sneak into her place after me?

“Give me a minute.”

“No problem.”

I let him work, scanning the area of her backyard, which, in Nevada, never consisted of grass. Sand, decorative gravel, and a few palm trees took up most of the space. A few chairs, a table, and a firepit were all that remained within the gated space. Out front, I noticed a swing during my surveillance.

“Okay, got it. It’s four letters and two numbers.”

“Give it to me.”

“R-A-I-N-1-2.”

A stupid grin stretched my lips. She never forgot me.

My crow chortled before a loud caw filled the air, and he dropped from the sky, hopping beside me. He chittered as we enjoyed Katrina’s security code. My name plus the number of years since we last saw one another. She must have updated it recently.

“Thanks, brother. I appreciate you.”

“Just don’t get yourself arrested. I’ll deny any involvement,” he laughed. “Crow can just kick your ass.”

I snickered. “Yeah. Okay.”

We ended the call, and I walked back to Katrina’s door, set her alarm, and returned to my bike. I stashed the ghillie suit before I started the engine, eager to get moving. There was only one thing left to do now.

Time to meet my angel face-to-face.

Chapter 4 Katrina

The morning shift had been busy. I had several classes return for their school projects, a few people signing up for new library cards, a guy complaining about $3.42 in fines, and a co-worker called off, leaving me to handle most of it. By the time I headed to my hour lunch, I was starving and thirsty, my feet ached, and I wanted a few minutes alone.

I grabbed my purse and headed outside, removing my name tag and stuffing it inside my purse before I walked toward my car. As luck would have it, I didn’t get far. Only a few yards away from the library entrance and into the parking lot, I felt my phone vibrating inside my pocket.

Snatching it free, I noticed my supervisor’s name. “Darlene,” I answered, slowing my steps. “I’m just heading out to lunch.”

“I know, sweetie, but I wanted to ask you about that literacy program for the homeless we talked about last week. It’s been so busy today, and I’m leaving soon for a meeting downtown.”

Shit. I forgot to type up a proposal for that. “I’m working on it. All the information is stored on my laptop, but I left it at home today.”

“Oh! That’s fine. Maybe you could bring it on Friday? I won’t be back until then.”