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“You know what. I have work to do today. Knock it off.”
His lips twitch.
I smother a grin. I’ll be fantasizing about Saturday night for the rest of my life. They’re incredible. We are. Incredible and impossible, all superlatives all the time, and now is really not the time for me to be dwelling on it, but my facial muscles refuse to cooperate, and I’m still smiling like a fool.
The phone rings. Making a face at Finn, I answer. Natalie arrives a short while later, and another day begins.
I must be getting used to having them around, distractions notwithstanding, because the next time I look up, it’s midday, and Natalie is setting a takeout container on my desk.
She gives me a stern look. “Eat it, please. Probate won’t process the Bookers any faster if you pause long enough to actually eat a meal.”
I snag hold of her hand before she can step away, kissing the back of it quickly. Her eyes go wide in shock, filling with warmth as she beams a smile at me.
“Thank you for looking out for me,” I say. Her smile turns absolutely radiant. I don’t tell her that enough. She’s always taken such care with me, even before things changed between us. It’ll take me a lifetime to thank her for it.
That thought is a little too much for lunch in the office on a Monday, but instead of mentally stomping it into oblivion like I might have done a few weeks ago, I bookmark it for later cross-examination.
Midafternoon, a productive day is interrupted by the ringing of my cell phone.
“Hey, Rand.” Last I heard from him, he was getting bored with tailing my brother around Atlanta’s small-scale sports book community.
“Barry’s gone.”
“What do you mean, gone?”
“Vanished. Disappeared sometime overnight. You still got your bodyguard?”
I catch Finn’s eyes through the open doorway. I motion for him to come on in.
“Yeah,” I tell Rand.
“Keep your guy close. Barry’s been moving faster the last couple days, but I thought he’d be branching out in Atlanta if he went anywhere at all. My guys lost him completely. There’s a good chance he’s heading home.”
I hold up a finger at Finn’s questioning glance.
“I know he’s your brother, Nic, but you need to take this seriously. Keep someone with you at all times. Lie low for a while. No more going out if you can help it.”
“You really think we’re in danger?”
Rand pauses. “We?”
I could kick myself. “I’m responsible for my employee, Rand.”
“I don’t think your office is the target,” he says after a moment. “I think it’s you. And I think you remember we covered criminal escalation in law school. But yes, it is my professional opinion that you may be in danger if Barry is back in town.”
Finn watches as I end the call, radiating tension. Natalie hovers in the doorway until I wave her in, too.
“That was Rand. Barry skipped town overnight. Best guess is he’s headed back this way and in a hurry.”
Finn nods. “Lockdown.”
“I’m afraid so,” I say. Natalie frowns, confused. “By breaking into the office, he’s already established that he’s willing to break the law to get what he needs, which, as far as we know, is just money. But there’s a good chance he’s running dry, and if that’s the case, he may be getting desperate. If Rand is right and Barry’s gambling has hit a crisis, another break-in might be possible.”
“Or worse,” growls Finn. I nod once.
“Or worse,” I concede.
“You’re with me—all the time,” says Finn, pointing at me. He looks at Natalie. “And I want you to consider staying with us until this is resolved.”
