After I got organized, I decided to hunt some zombies to brush up on my shooting skills. I wouldn’t be packing, obviously, but I still liked the idea of practice and it was while I killed the undead that my cell rang. Uncle Tim’s name popped up on the screen. I paused my game and reached for it.
“Hey, Uncle Tim. How are you?”
“I should be asking you that. I wondered why I hadn’t heard from you and then I saw the breaking news. That’s an incredible collar for your brother.”
“And justice for Dad.”
He was silent for a minute. “Absolutely.”
“How are you? How’s the Senate race?”
“Busy, lots of schmoozing, but early polling is looking favorable.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you. Would you be free to join me for lunch?”
“I’d love to. Why don’t you come here and I’ll make us something.”
“I’d like that.”
“See you around one.”
“I’ll be there.”
“How good is this intel?”
“It’s solid. Someone is following our digital footsteps. The team was able to reverse the search to pinpoint the IP address of the computer.”
“And it was last active?”
“About a half an hour ago.”
I swerved to miss taking off a car door then laid on the horn. Dumb fuck.
“You might want to switch to decaf.”
I wasn’t in the mood for Razor’s shit. Thea was fucking bait and I didn’t have her back. Cam was right. I was too invested. The guys on her were top rate. I had picked them out personally and still it fucking grated.
“She’ll be fine. Your woman is a bit cutthroat. Seriously, man, you let her slip through your fingers and I’m snatching her up.”
“Never going to fucking happen.” I never had a home. I had one now.
“You’re smarter than you look.”
I jerked my head to him to see the fucker grinning. “Seriously, I’m happy for you. If I found me a woman like Thea, someone who actually tolerated my bullshit, I’d hold on and never let go.”
Family, fucking hell I had one all along. “Talk to me about what the team found?”
“They’re mirroring our search, it’s like they’re giving us a virtual middle finger, like they want us to find them.”
“Or it’s a trap.”
“Or a call for help,” he added.
“We’ll know soon enough. We’re here.”
“What’s the play?” Razor asked.
I didn’t answer because my focus was on the man stepping from the shadows. “Fuck me.”
“Who the hell is that?”
Guy Hartnett peered into the car. “Took you long enough.”
The baked potato soup I whipped up had turned out perfectly. We were sitting in my kitchen. I had made sandwiches and soup. Uncle Tim wasn’t eating, but he was nursing three fingers of scotch. Unusual for him, but he was running a Senate campaign. That had to be stressful.
“You look well, Thea. Your time away agreed with you.”
More than he would know. I moved past that and studied his beloved face. He looked older since the last time I saw him.
“You look tired.”
He lifted his glass and took a long sip. “I am. Campaigning is exhausting. It is definitely a younger man’s game, but I’ve wanted the Senate for so long. When we were kids, I remember your father and I talking about what we wanted to be when we grew up. He always wanted to be a cop, was such a firm believer in right and wrong, black and white. I often straddle the line, but not your dad…incorruptible. Cam’s the spitting image of him.”
My soup was forgotten listening to Uncle Tim because there was an odd note in his voice. “Cam is like Dad. I think we both are.”
“Yes of course.” He ran his finger over the rim of his glass. “Your key is lovely.”
Absently I touched it. “Thank you.”
“I don’t remember seeing that before.”
“It’s usually hidden under my clothes but I broke the chain.”
“Ah. So can you tell me where you’ve been?”
How much could I share with him without impacting the sting on Guy? “The case Cam just closed on the dirty cops was originally Dad’s case. There was a little trouble here for me connected to that case, enough that the men in my life wanted to ensconced me away somewhere safe.”
“Smart men.”
“Yeah. I’m proud of Cam. It wasn’t easy what he did, but it was the right thing. I just know that Dad is smiling down on him.”
“I’ve no doubt.” He put his glass down. “I’m going to need your necklace.”