Page 15 of Guarding Grace (Hawk Security #2)

Terry

The text message arrived on the drive to meet Lucas and the team. I glanced at it in case it was Grace—it wasn’t.

CAROL HAWK: Call me when you are alone.

The Hawk family had taken me in after my return from the Middle East. Carol and Henry Hawk had even invited me to their occasional family dinners.

Having lost my parents years ago, I hadn’t ever expected to be a part of the kind of family dinner you saw on TV, but the Hawks had changed that. I was grateful.

This might be as alone as I was going to be all day, so I dialed her back using hands-free Bluetooth.

“Thank you for calling, Terry,” Mrs. Hawk answered sweetly.

“I’m driving right now, so I have a few minutes. How can I help you?”

“I need somebody I trust will be discreet arranging something I need—something that has to be kept in complete confidence,” she explained. “I know I can trust you.”

“Of course,” I answered. I had top security clearance from my days in the military. Arranging a surprise birthday party or whatever should be a piece of cake .

“I need an investigation,” she said.

My breath hitched. So not an innocuous surprise party.

My boss would not take violating the chain of command lightly. “I’m sure Lucas would be happy to help you.”

She was silent for a few beats. “This is rather delicate,” she said, with reluctance in her voice. “You can’t mention anything about this to anybody, including Lucas. Not one thing, not even this phone call.”

That got my attention, in a dangerous way. “I understand,” I said. She wouldn’t be asking me this if she didn’t think it was extremely important. I had now agreed to deceive my boss, if need be. “What would you like me to look into?”

“Not what, but whom.”

Holy shit . Lord help me, I’d better not have just agreed to get in the middle of a marital issue with my boss’s parents. “Who is it?”

If she said her husband, I was going to puke. Lucas would have my balls.

“When can we meet? I don’t want to discuss the particulars over the phone.”

I was only two blocks from the meeting point for the Russo confrontation. “I’m very busy today. I’ll get free as soon as my current assignment allows.”

“Thank you, Terry. I’ll look forward to hearing from you soon. I knew I could count on you.”

“Of course. I’ll be in touch. Bye.” I ended the call and parked behind Winston’s Cayenne, next to our little group.

It wasn’t easy, but Grace’s safety was on the line, so I exited the car one-hundred-percent focused on the Russo meeting and joined the team on the sidewalk.

“According to Winston’s contact, the restaurant around the corner is the latest Russo headquarters,” Lucas said. “Their intel is that Tall Tony might be out of town, so we could be meeting with one of his sons, which makes this unpredictable.”

“Why?” Winston voiced the question we all had.

Lucas sighed. “Tony and I have a history. He won’t be looking to cross us.

But I haven’t dealt with any of the sons, and they could be wild cards.

Expect two guards at the door and two inside, probably one more in the back room with the guy in charge.

We walk from here. Follow me, single file until we’re inside.

Nobody draws a weapon unless I do. I do all the talking. Understood?”

Around the circle, Duke, Winston, Constance, and I all nodded .

Lucas Hawk had a sixth sense about things. I half expected him to look at me and ask what was wrong. Instead he said, “Weapons check.”

Relieved, I inspected my SIG. Lying to the man was nowhere on my list for today.

The rest of the team did the same, and we holstered our weapons.

Lucas touched his ear. “Comms check, Jordy.”

He was the only one of us wearing an earpiece.

Lucas nodded. “Jordy, you’ve got electronic overwatch. Horseshit is the word to call in the cavalry or if you hear things go kinetic.” To the rest of us he explained, “Wellbourne is on standby with six officers, if we need them.”

Lieutenant Wellbourne was our go to at LAPD since he owed Lucas big time. The problem was, if the LAPD group wasn’t already here, they’d likely be too late to the party. But Lucas was calling the shots, so that was the plan we’d follow.

“Execute,” Lucas said as he walked off.

My girl was the one in danger, so I bumped Duke aside to take the position directly behind Lucas.

Duke grunted and followed me with Constance and Winston behind him. As we rounded the corner, two goons on either side of the restaurant door came into view.

We marched on.

The guy on one side of the door saw us and surprised the hell out of me. He pulled open the door and held it as we approached. This was weird times ten.

Maybe Lucas had called ahead and forgotten to mention it.

Inside were two more guards.

“Mr. Hawk,” the taller one said. “May I help you?”

“We’re here to see your boss.”

“All of you?”

“All of us,” Lucas said.

The shorter of the two smiled.

The taller one held his arm open toward a door at the back. “Very well. This way.”

Yes, we had entered the Twilight Zone here. People like us, armed, were not just invited into the back room to see the head of a crime family.

I wiggled my fingers. Either Lucas had called ahead to arrange this, or we were walking into an ambush.

Duke looked on edge as well.

Constance had her hand close to her weapon .

Winston either didn’t feel the tension or was putting on an act for the bad guys.

When we entered, the room smelled of cigar smoke.

An unsmiling man with small, dark eyes sat behind a large wooden desk.

As Lucas had predicted, there were two additional guards in the room.

One with a bushy mustache had stationed himself in the corner behind the man at the desk.

The other, bald, was off to our left with his arms crossed.

Lucas took position on the left, near Baldy, and I stood to his right, with Duke farther right. Candice and Winston flanked Tall and Short until they left the room, giving us the numerical advantage Lucas had predicted.

Mentally, I thanked Lucas for the spot he’d given me.

If anything happened, we’d split the room into sectors, as we’d all trained.

He would take care of the guy on the left, Duke the guy against the back wall, and I had the bossman behind the desk, whoever he was.

He didn’t match the picture of Tony Russo we’d been shown.

“Lucas Hawk, is it? I’ve been expecting you,” the man behind the desk said, addressing me. Expecting us, but not knowing what Lucas looked like, was a rookie mistake. He motioned to the two chairs in front of the desk. “I’m Victor Russo.”

Mustache Man behind him chuckled.

“I’m here to see Tony,” Lucas announced.

Victor steepled his hands, shifting his gaze to Lucas. “He’s busy. I’m handling this matter for my father.”

“I understand you’re looking for Elliot Boyle,” Lucas said. “Why?”

“He took something that doesn’t belong to him.”

“What?” Lucas asked.

Victor shook his head dismissively. “That’s not your concern.”

Lucas shrugged. “You don’t want to know where it is, then?”

Instantly interested, Victor sat up. “Where?”

“My investigators are top notch,” Lucas replied. “I may be able to assist you.”

Victor fidgeted and gave in. “He was supposed to make a delivery for us. He disappeared with the package. My customer is not happy.”

“Send another.”

“It can’t be replaced, and my customer has already paid half.”

“Tell him to wait while you find the guy. I’m sure he’ll turn up sooner or later.”

“These people are not the kind you say that to.” Victor’s face and his words telegraphed actual fear.

“How valuable?” Lucas asked.

“Not your concern. ”

“Do you want our help or not?”

Victor contemplated the offer. “Ten million.”

I swallowed a laugh. Victor was an idiot to entrust Elliot with anything that valuable. “What does the package look like?”

“A metal briefcase.”

“The exploding kind?” Lucas asked.

Baldy laughed.

Victor grinned. “Not your concern.”

“What’s in it?” Lucas asked.

“Still not your concern,” he shot back.

“Then I should talk to your father,” Lucas said.

“I’m in charge of this.”

“Not if you don’t even know what’s in the case. I don’t deal with underlings,” Lucas said sternly.

Baldy pushed off the wall. “Don’t you dare talk to him like that, asshole.” Then he grabbed Lucas’s arm. Big mistake.

Lucas grabbed his hand and with a practiced twist, forced a yowling Baldy’s face down to the desk as his arm rose high behind him.

Mustache Guy reached for his gun.

Before he could get it out, Duke had his SIG aimed at the guy’s head. “Don’t even think about it.”

I’d drawn on Victor, who hadn’t moved, but his face showed the fear that Lucas brought out in anyone.

Mustache Guy slowly removed his hand from his jacket.

I noticed Victor move his hand below the desk. “Press that button and they’ll be calling you One-Ear Victor.” I shifted my aim slightly to one side.

He froze.

“Or maybe I can’t shoot straight and they’ll just call you dead.”

He pulled his hand back and placed it on the desk. “You’ll never get away with this. We’ll squash you all like bugs.”

“I came here to give you some friendly advice,” Lucas said. “But you aren’t being very friendly. Does your man here attack every guest and call him an asshole? I think an apology is in order.”

Baldy squealed when Lucas applied a bit more pressure. “I’m sorry.”

“I still think we should talk.” Lucas released him.

Duke and I lowered our weapons.

I relaxed, as Lucas did.

“Grace Brennan is Terry’s girl.” Lucas tapped me on the shoulder. “And she is off-limits. She doesn’t have anything of yours or know anything about it. Understand?”

“We have no interest in her. It’s her cousin we need to talk to. ”

“Bullshit,” I exploded. “Your guys tried to abduct her this morning.” Lucas glared at me, and I shut up.

“A misunderstanding, I’m sure.” Victor laughed. He was an asshole. “I want the package her cousin, Elliot, stole. She can choose to be part of the solution or part of the problem.”

“Let me make myself clear,” Lucas bit out. “She is not a part of this. If you come after her again, you go through us.”

Victor let out a breath and leaned back. “You didn’t need to bring all your friends with you for such a simple conversation.”

Lucas shrugged. “I thought you might want to meet them before deciding to go after Grace again. My team is former special forces, FBI, and Secret Service. Constance is the only one who hasn’t killed multiple people who messed with us.”

“Hey,” Constance complained. “I aimed to hit the guy in the crotch.”

Victor and Mustache Guy winced. Baldy was busy massaging his sore shoulder.

“And my aim was true,” she added. “He’s singing soprano and won’t ever be getting his equipment up again,” she added.

Duke chuckled. “That’s as good a being dead.”

“But a lot less paperwork,” she mused.

Victor didn’t appreciate the humor. His beady eyes shifted to me and back to Lucas. “How long will it take you to locate Elliot?”

“Like I said,” Lucas drawled. “I don’t work with underlings. Have your father call me.”

Victor’s face distorted into a snarl as he picked up his phone and dialed. “Maria? Very good… Yes, now.” A smirk crossed his face as he turned back to Lucas. “Since you won’t help, I’ll find Elliot with Miss Brennan’s assistance.”

I shook my head. “She doesn’t want to talk to you.”

“We’ll see.” He motioned to the door. “Show these gentlemen out.”

Lucas touched his ear as we hit the street. “Jordy, relay to Wellbourne that we’re clear and no blood was shed. He can release his people.”

Outside, I finally had a chance to ask my question. “Are we really going to work with those assholes?”

Lucas shook his head. “We needed the intel.”

“Who tipped them off to expect us?” Constance asked.

“Winston?” Lucas asked. “Who did you call to get this location?”

“My usual department source. I doubt it was him, but I’m sure he had to call someone else in the department to get the info.”

“Or,” I added, “it could have been one of the guys Wellbourne called for backup. ”

Victor, the little prick, had been too smug for my taste. I needed to get back to Grace and be ready for when the next shoe dropped.

Lucas nodded as we walked. “From now on, we don’t talk to LAPD on this case.”

Grace

“No heroics,” Maria reminded me as I opened the door to leave demo two.

As soon as I cleared the door, I searched the room and spotted Zane. We would have to walk nearby to reach the door. Was there a way I could warn him nonverbally? My stomach dropped when I saw Lorenzo eyeing Peyton, who was at her desk.

“Explain the trip normally,” Maria whisper-warned me as we approached my assistant.

With each step, I got closer to vomiting and wishing Terry was here. I would have given anything to rewind this morning and decide to stay on the couch in Terry’s arms. I could have told Mrs. Eclestone we’d have to reschedule. How the hell could I get a message to any of them?

“The landlord needs a signature on some disclosures or other. I left it on your desk,” Peyton noted.

“Sure.” Scribbling on that could be my opportunity to get a message to them.

“But we’re in a hurry,” Maria said. “And legal documents can take so much time to review.” Her demonic gaze conveyed very clearly that I didn’t have a choice.

Lorenzo had his eyes on us all.

“Probably right,” I agreed. “I’ll get to it later.”

Going into sales mode, Peyton asked Maria, “What did you think of our offerings?”

“I think my boss will be very interested in your proposal when it’s finalized,” Maria said. “But first we need to take some measurements, isn’t that right, Grace?” She angled toward the door.

Message received. “Yeah. We’ll do that right now.”

“You look tired,” Peyton said, picking up her phone. “Paul is up next. I’ll get him.”

“No,” I said quickly and waved for her to put the phone down. “I’ll do this one myself.” I couldn’t fail in getting Maria and her henchman out the door and away from my people. Without Terry here, it was the only way.

“But—”

“I said no,” I repeated firmly as I started for the door. My people weren’t safe until I got out of the office.

Peyton’s face fell like I’d slapped her.

Ignoring her, I strode past, my eyes landing on Lorenzo’s evil face before glancing away to Marci and then Zane.

The former SEAL didn’t even look up.

Fuck this. Nobody threatens my people and gets away with it. Terry’s words echoed in my head. “Don’t go quietly. Fight with whatever you have.”

By the desk Zane had chosen, my legs went wobbly, my head lolled to the side, and my eyes rolled back. Why was fainting my only gift?

“Grace,” Peyton screamed as I fell to the floor.