Page 139 of Guarding Grace

Rudi went white as a sheet. “Hold on. That wasn’t me.”

Lucas shrugged. “Tell it to him. I hear he takes special guests out on his boat to swim in the ocean.”

We’d all read the story in theTimesabout when one of Tony’s rival’s shoes had turned up in a shark’s stomach.Horrible. I’d faced bullets, but there was something about being eaten by an animal that elicited a primal fear.

“No. You can’t.”

Lucas grabbed Rudi. “I can and I will if I think you’re holding a single thing back.”

“I’ll tell you everything. You just gotta let me go.”

“Right,” Lucas agreed. He looked at Winston. “Which of the rooms is ready to use?”

I’d seen this skit make more than one tough guy pee himself.

“Number one,” Winston answered. “They’re still trying to get all the brain matter off the walls of number two.”

Rudi looked ready to barf.

“Let’s go,” Lucas said as he towed Rudi off. “If you pee on my carpet, I’m going to be very upset.”

Winston pulled the silver case from the car. “What do we do with this briefcase bomb in the meantime?”

“Get that thing outta here,” Joe yelled. “How dare you bring a fuckin’ bomb into my garage?”

Lucas looked back. “The terrace is probably the safest place for it.”

That made sense—a blast on the terrace would do a lot less damage than one under the building.

“My money’s on Lucas getting the truth out of him,” I said after the pair turned the corner.

Winston shook his head. “No way am I taking that bet.”

“Hey,” Joe yelled. “Will you guys stop jabberin’ and get that fuckin’ bomb outta my garage?”

I let Winston carry it. I’d seen the effects of too many IEDs to want to be anywhere near explosives.

I felt better once the case was headed for the terrace, but something still didn’t feel right, so I strode to holding room one and opened the door without knocking. “Boss, I should be doing this. He put my woman in danger.”

The boss turned, and his dark eyes drilled into mine. “You think so?”

No man had ever scared me until I met Lucas Hawk. Anyone who wasn’t scared of him had shit for brains. “Yes, sir,” I answered without hesitation. The responsibility should be mine. “He put my woman in danger. I should get revenge.”

Rudi shrank in his seat.

Lucas scooted his chair back and stood. “I see your point. Keep in mind, if he barfs, it had better be in the bucket, or the cleanup is on you.”

“Copy that,” I said, taking the chair he’d vacated.

Rudi glanced down at the plastic bucket by his feet. “I swear,” he started, even before the door closed after Lucas.

“Shut up.” I let him stew for a few seconds.

Rudi squinted at me. “So you’re the good cop?”

I laughed. “You’ve been watching too much TV. This is the real world.I’m the bad cop.” I took out my knife and unfolded it. “He’s the worse cop.”

Rudi swallowed. “What do you want to know?”