Page 87 of Guarding Grace

“Victor, so nice to hear your voice again.”

There was a pause. “Who the fuck is this?”

“Maria and the other idiot you sent are busy right now, and they won’t be coming back anytime soon.” Anger made me grip the phone tighter.

“I want the weasel Elliot,” Victor snarled. “Give him to me now, or things are getting very bad for everybody.”

“Coming for Grace was a very big mistake, dickhead. Don’t make it worse,” I growled.

He laughed. “You must be Terry. Last name Goodwin. I looked you up—a fucking LAPD pussy. You give me back my cousin Maria right the fuck now or else.”

“Not happening.”

“Mr. Policeman, do you have a death wish? You have no idea what my father will do when he hears you have Maria.”

Hiding behind his father’s name told me exactly what kind of wimpy prick I was dealing with. “I don’t give a flying fuck who your father is, asshole. Grace is off-limits, you hear me?”

“I only hear a dead man talking.”

Grace paced in a tiny circle.

“Fuck you!” Deb burst into the conversation. “Don’t you dare insult my brother.”

I mouthed, “Be quiet,” and pointed an angry finger at my firecracker of a sister, then added a warning glare.

Victor laughed. “Ah, Mr. Policeman, you have a woman to hide behind.”

“Screw you, Victor. She’s not a part of this either.”

“She’s got sass. I like that in a woman. I think we should have dinner.”

“Fuck off, asshole,” Deb spat. She’d never been good at following my orders. “My brother is going to wipe the floor with you, and then I’ll cut your balls off for a trophy.”

Victor laughed. “I like her. She has spirit.”

I grabbed Deb and clamped my hand over her mouth. “You sent Maria and that other idiot after my woman,” I snarled. “And that is unfuckingacceptable.”

Grace stopped pacing and wrapped her arms around herself.

“Stay quiet,” I whispered to my damned sister.

“Fuck you, Mr. Policeman. When I’m done with you and your bitch, you will wish you’d licked my boots when you had the chance. I’m going to enjoy feeding you to the sharks.”

“Look, shit for brains, you have no idea who you’re fucking with. When you came for Grace after our warning, you crossed a line that your father knows not to go near. Ask him what happened the last time anyone fucked with Lucas Hawk. Good luck explaining to him that you decided to pit your family against us.” I chuckled. “And for your information, dickwad?—”

“You shut your mouth, Mr. Policeman.”

Deb squirmed loose. She was red-faced, but at least she didn’t yell into the phone.

“Too bad for you, Victor. I’m not a cop anymore. That means I don’t have to play by their rules.” I gave that two seconds to sink in. “So when you go out on the street or even near a window, you might want to check the fine print on my resume. I was a Marine Scout Sniper before I joined SWAT. You won’t even hear the bullet coming before it splits your head open.” I stabbed at the phone and hung up.

Deb was one huge smile. “You told him. I loved that sniper shit. He’s probably shittin’ himself right now.”

Grace shivered. “You were scary.”

I shrugged. “That was kind of the point. It’s the only language a dickhead like him understands.”

“What do we do now?” Grace asked.