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CHAPTER FIVE

LACY

L acy sat behind her desk and sipped her coffee.

It was past six a.m., so there was no point in going to bed, and besides, they were in crisis mode.

She’d sent Logan to his office to make calls because she didn’t want him hovering.

And if she were being honest, she didn’t want him to hear the next call she was going to make.

She took another sip of coffee as much to procrastinate as for the jolt of caffeine.

She hadn’t spoken to Ty Bancroft in a lot of years, and they had not parted on the best of terms. She blew out a sigh as she picked up her phone.

Her finger hovered over the number, but she chickened out, clenched one fist, and then pressed the button to call her father instead.

“My darling, what a nice surprise. How are you?” Armand Fontaine’s deep baritone came through the phone line instantly made her feel better.

“I’m fine. How are you? How’s your diabetes?”

“Stupid disease,” her father grumbled. “My chef won’t let me eat many of the things that I love. But his insistence is keeping my numbers good, so I guess I should be grateful.”

That eased the tension that had tightened Lacy’s chest. She worried a lot about her father. He had supposedly retired from being one of the biggest arms dealers on the planet, but she was quite sure he was still involved in that world. The stress would do him in if he wasn’t careful.”

“To what do I owe the pleasure? Are the wedding plans progressing nicely? Is there anything you need help with? I am looking forward to seeing you and Logan.”

“I am looking forward to seeing you, too, and yes, the wedding is in hand. That’s not why I’m calling.”

“I can tell by your voice that you are concerned about something, yes?”

She let out a sigh. “Yes. I need your help.” She went on to explain the situation in detail, not leaving anything out, because not only was he one of the most well-connected and protected men in the world, but he was also her father. She just needed to unload all of her worries.

“This has you quite upset,” her father commented. “I know you and Alex have always been like sisters but I’m sensing you are getting a bit frustrated with her.”

Lacy took a sip of coffee. She hadn’t admitted that to herself, let alone said it out loud.

But her father was pointing out the truth.

She sighed. “I am, if I’m being honest. The stealing thing was…

well, it was never really fine, but it was more acceptable when she was younger.

Now I feel like we’re all getting a bit old to be involved in these capers.

And now, Gage might be arrested because of it.

” She smoothed her hand over the hair she’d slicked back into a ponytail.

She continued, “To be fair, she hasn’t done a job in quite a while, and she only took one recently because Leo asked her. But the job was a risk and not just to her, to all of us, and now we’re flailing around trying to find out what’s going on.”

Her father clucked his tongue. “Darling, you have always been far more responsible and resourceful than most. Could it be that you’re feeling a bit frustrated with your own life, so you feel frustrated at Alex for enjoying hers?”

Damn. He’d done it again. Found the truth. Heaviness weighted her breath. “I don’t know,” she grumbled, but then added, “You could be right.”

“Are you having cold feet?”

“About Logan? No! But that’s the only thing I’m not having cold feet about.

” She played with a pencil on her desk. “The truth is… as much as I like event planning, I kind of miss the excitement of law. Okay, mostly it was just boring paperwork that I hated, but there were moments of real excitement when I went head-to-head with another lawyer. I enjoyed that part of it so much, and I miss it.”

“So, you need to combine the two things you love,” her father supplied as if it was that simple.

“What lets me plan event and then argue with people over an issue?”

“Break it down to the skill level. You enjoy organization and you enjoy a challenge. You also enjoy finding out the details of something and doing something that brings people joy. Think of where you get to combine all those skills.”

“When you put it that way,” she chuckled, as if it would be an easy thing to do. Still, she started to smile. He was right. She would need to noodle the idea around more, but it had appeal. Surely there was something she could do that would combine all her skills.

“Thanks for the pep talk. I guess I needed it.” Feeling the weight in her chest ease again, she continued.

“On the other issue, can you do some subtle poking around and find out who is pushing this break-in within power circles? It can’t just be coming from the museum.

It feels like there are power players behind it. It’s all just a bit…unrealistic.”

“Of course. I will ask around but be the soul of discretion. I must run. Send my love to all. I’ll see you at the wedding.” With that, he was gone.

She was happy that their relationship was closer these days.

Not having to pretend that she was just another lawyer who worked for him instead of just being his daughter made a huge difference.

He listened to her concerns about his health more and had taken to asking her opinions on things.

He’d also turned into a great sounding board for her.

She’d come to appreciate his mind much more.

She glanced at the clock. It was still early, and chances were excellent Ty wouldn’t pick up, but she could leave a message and maybe he’d call her back.

Or maybe not, and then she’d have to call him again, but that would be a problem for later.

She needed to call him because he would have the inside scoop on Gage’s case, or at least he could get it.

She couldn’t let her desire to avoid Ty at all costs stop her from helping Gage.

She took a large swig of coffee and swallowed as she hit the button on her phone.

“Yo,” the male voice said on the other end of the phone.

Lacy’s mouth went dry. She really hadn’t thought he would pick up.

“Hello?” Ty said again.

“Um… hi, Ty. It’s Lacy. Uh, Lacy Carmichael.”

There was a long silence. Finally, “Lacy? Is everything alright?”

“Sure.” She took another sip of coffee, attempting to get her mouth to work right. “Um, so how have you been?”

“Fine.” His voice was flat.

This was not going well. It was like pulling teeth. “How’s Donna?”

“My sister is good. She’s married and having her third child.”

“Really?” Lacy’s voice squeaked. “Donna said she didn’t want to have kids. I never expected she’d have three.”

“You and me both, but she loves being a mom.” His voice had softened and held a smile that warmed her. This was the Ty she remembered. The one she’d fallen for.

“That’s awesome. How’s your Dad?”

“As ornery as ever but he’s doing well.”

“Great.” Lacy couldn’t think of a way to broach the subject.

“Was there something you needed?” Ty asked, his voice cold and dispassionate again.

Lacy swore silently. “Er… yes. Are you still an investigator at the D.A.’s office?”

“Yeah,” Ty said in a weary voice.

She bit her cheek. It was now or never. “Do you by chance know anything about the Met theft case?”

There was a long pause. “That’s right. The guy they’re looking at is your soon-to-be brother-in-law. I heard that you were engaged to a Callahan.”

“Yes, that’s right.” She swallowed. “Logan and I are engaged. Gage is his brother.”

Ty grunted. “I know.”

“Can you share anything with me? Anything at all about the case? Gage didn’t do this, and we’re just blindsided that the cops think he did.”

Ty went silent for so long that Lacy thought maybe he’d hung up on her. “Ty?”

“Yeah…I got help,” he blurted out.

“Help?”

“After you left. I got help. Turns out you were right that I had anger issues. Donna told me I was scary, and she was worried about me being around her child. She was pregnant with her first one at that time. It shook me up enough that I got help. I have learned to process things better and deal with my anger when it comes up.”

“Oh, Ty. I am so glad to hear that.” And she truly was. She’d fallen for Ty the nice guy, but Ty the monster was always lurking under the surface. He’d reared his ugly head a few too many times, so she’d gotten out of the relationship. But she still genuinely cared for him.

“Thanks. So, I guess I owe you one because if you hadn’t have said it first… I wouldn’t have believed Donna. It took me losing you and hearing that Donna was afraid of me to knock some sense into me.”

“I am so happy for you. You are an amazing guy. I’ve always said so.”

“Thanks.” He cleared his throat. “I don’t know anything about the case other than a text one of my buddies sent me at three a.m., indicating they thought Gage broke into the Met, and wondered if I knew anything about him? I didn’t get the text until I got up to work out a while ago.”

Disappointment filled her stomach.

“But let me make a call and I’ll call you back. I owe you that much.”

“Thank you, Ty. I really appreciate it. And I’m truly happy for you.”

“Yeah, I know. Thanks, Lace,” he said, using his nickname for her. “I’ll call you back.”

She put the phone in her pocket. She needed another jolt of caffeine.

Her hand shook a little as she grabbed her coffee mug.

Was it possible to have a bit of PTSD over a phone call?

Ty had screamed at her on a couple of occasions and scared the hell out of her.

She was so glad he was getting help, but she guessed that didn’t remove the residual scarring from the experience.

Making her way to the kitchen, Lacy bumped into Alex. “You okay?” she asked. Alex was standing in the kitchen area, staring off into space.

“What?” she said, frowning.

“I asked if you’re okay.” She came around the counter and hit the button on the built-in coffee machine.