Page 134 of Thick as Thieves

“The dude?”

“With the boots?”

“I’ve got a situation with him.”

“Tell me where. Give me an hour.”

That was a friend. Ledge felt a tug on the inside. “Thanks, but I need you where you are. This asshole and I have a long history. He could soon drop a lot of shit on me, but he’ll do it in a roundabout way. His practice is to prey on the defenseless.”

“Like your uncle Henry.”

“I’m coming to see him as soon as I can. I’ll give you the background details then, but, George, I need you to keep a hawk’s eye on him. When duty calls, please assign a staffer you know and trust to sit with him. Nobody who isn’t authorized goes into his room.”

“On it. What else?”

“Let me know if the dude, or anybody who doesn’t belong there, shows up. I need to know immediately.”

“Copy that.”

“Thanks, man. Later.” He clicked off.

“George is also former military?” Arden said.

He nodded. “Hard core.”

“I could tell by the way you talk to each other.”

“How’s that?”

“Like combat soldiers.” She motioned to his cell phone, which he’d placed in the cup holder. “I believe you’ve covered everyone.”

“I haven’t covered anybody. But at least I’ve put them on guard until I settle this with Rusty.”

“What this, Ledge?”

Feeling the weightiness of her stare, he said, “I’ll tell you when we get to your house.”

The rain held off, but bluish, potbellied clouds made for a low ceiling and mistimed twilight. Arden unlocked her back door and went inside, but she didn’t switch on the overhead kitchen light, leaving the room appropriately gloomy.

She set her purse on the table and turned to face him.

“Do you want to sit?” he asked.

“No.”

“Well, I do.” He pulled out a chair, rotated it, and straddled it backward. He clasped his hands on the back of it and addressed them rather than looking at her. “I was in on the Welch’s burglary.”

A gust of breath escaped her, but she didn’t speak.

“Along with Rusty. It was his idea. He recruited the rest of us to help him execute his plan. That’s why our digging into the crimes has him off the rails.”

He looked up at her then, and she appeared to be on the verge of boiling over. Her chest was swelling and collapsing like a bellows. She had shut her eyes tightly. When she reopened them, they were shiny with tears of the furious kind.

“You…you—”

“I’m no hero. I told you that.”

“It’s the only truth you’ve told me.”