19. Chapter Nineteen
Chapter nineteen
Peter
From what pictures Connor had sent, the wedding looked beautiful. I couldn’t remember the last time I'd seen Lukas and Quinn that happy. Hell, the last time I could remember seeing that many smiling Agostis and crew was at Lianne and Ben’s wedding.
There was an amazing picture of Lianne and Quinn kissing their respective husbands’ cheeks, and there was no missing a very happy Lynette Agosti standing nearby. The best one of all was Lynette with all ‘her kids.’ The pride and joy beaming from her face was everything.
Lukas had informed us that there was a family dinner tonight per his and Quinn’s moms’ requests, and that he and Quinn were planning on flying back Monday.
Letting out a sigh, I leaned back in my chair in the security room of the lodge. It was originally Phil’s night to work, but had asked if I would cover his shift so he and Chelsea could go on a double date with Cole and Keira. I was happy to help him out. It wasn’t like I had other plans.
My phone dinged, pulling me from my surveillance of the camera feeds.
Quinn:
Peter:
Quinn:
Quinn:
Peter:
Quinn:
I immediately messaged Connor and Lukas.
Peter:
There wasn’t an immediate response, but that didn’t surprise me. I’d heard about the last two times Liam had shown up unannounced and uninvited, and I prayed the situation wouldn’t escalate to the point of no return.
Time slowed to a crawl and my skin prickled with unease. I hated being over a thousand miles away and unable to do anything to help. I took a walk around the main level of the lodge, inside and out, checking all the entrances before coming back inside and reaching out again.
Peter:
Lukas:
I nearly dropped my phone. Hospital?
Lukas:
Peter:
My phone immediately rang.
“What happened?”
Lukas let out a heavy sigh. “To answer your question, no. Not everyone is okay.”
There was silence for several long moments. Long enough for me to realize what happened. “Who did we lose?”
“Kevin.”
Shit. I leaned back in my chair and shook my head. “Please tell me someone is going to avenge him.”
A tight chuckle came out. “Li already did. Took Jeremiah out in one clean shot… but not before he put a bullet in Ryan.”
“What? Holy shit. Is he okay?”
Lukas took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“God, I hope so. He has to be.” His voice cracked with the last few words, and I couldn’t imagine the pain and fear he was feeling.
It had only been a few months since George had been taken from us the same exact way.
“The ambulance tore out of here a bit ago. Lianne, Ben, Ellen, and Regina are in the SUV in front of us.”
I was both surprised and not that he wasn’t in the same vehicle as his sister. He’s sticking close to his mom. That makes more sense. “Is there anything I need to do here?”
He cleared his throat. “Get Phil and Chelsea to our house. Now. I have no idea what else my dear brother has up his sleeve, and I don’t want us caught off guard again.”
“How many nights should I have them prep for?”
Another deep sigh came out. “Have them prep for a week. Oh! Have Cole start hacking into camera feeds. We need answers, and he’ll be able to find them the fastest.”
I nodded. “Done. Anything else?”
“Keep a close eye on the lodge and the house. Let me know if you see or hear anything out of place.”
“Will do.”
I heard Lynette talking in the background and then Lukas spoke again. “Mom would like you to check in with Edith. Now. I guess she’s expecting you in her office.” There was more talking in the background. “Sorry, Peter. We’re at the hospital now. I’ll be in contact.”
The call ended, and for a moment, all I could do was stare at the wall as anger overtook my thoughts.
What in the hell is Liam doing?
Shaking my head to clear some of my rage, I stood up and headed to the kitchen. If Edith was expecting me, I was not going to keep her waiting.
A smile appeared on the woman’s face when she looked up and saw me standing in the doorway to her office. “Peter just walked in… Mmhmm… Of course.” She held her phone out to me. “Lynette would like to talk to you.”
My eyebrows went up as I glanced at the phone in my hand and then up at the one in Edith’s. “Oh. Okay. Of course.” I took it and held it to my ear. “Are you okay?”
A tense breath filled my ear. “As much as I can be right now.” There was a pause.
“Gage, please step outside for a moment… Now…. Thank you.” After a moment, I heard a vehicle door close and Lynette let out a deep sigh.
“I’ll be brief. I need you to keep an eye on the nest tonight.
All night. I’m aware you’re the overnight for the lodge, but Edith and I are in agreement this takes higher precedence.
Have Cole or Phil come to relieve you so you can take care of this for me.
I’ll give you the access code to one of the backup servers Ryan uses to store footage.
There’s a bit of a delay, seeing as it’s not the main server, but it’s the best I can do right now. ”
“Where am I allowed to access it?”
Lynette hummed as I heard a truck door open and shut again. “Do you have your personal laptop with you?”
“I do.”
“Good. Use that. It’s the most secure option at the moment. Please call me with any and all updates.”
“Yes, ma’am. Should I give any update on the situation to our bird?”
There was a pause. “Not yet. I’ll do that later once I have more information. No need to get them all worked up unnecessarily.”
“Okay. We’ve got things covered here, Lynette.”
She let out a heavy sigh. “Thank you, Peter. Please hand the phone back to Edith.”
I complied and watched her wrap up the conversation. Once the call ended, Edith set the phone on the desk again as she rubbed her temples.
“Are you going to be okay?”
She glanced up and gave me a sad smile as she nodded. “I will. Lynette gave you instructions about Hummingbird, then?”
“Yeah. I’m about to get access to the camera feeds and sensors.”
Relief washed over the woman’s face. “Good. I hoped she’d be able to make sure you could keep an eye on things tonight.”
I glanced at the door, remembering where I was supposed to be right now. “I’m torn right now. Do you want me in the security office until I can get one of the guys here, and if so, do you want me waiting until after I’m relieved before diving into my other surveillance?”
Edith stared off to the right as she thought over my question.
“You know, I know Lynette told you to call Cole or Phil, but let’s not.
” When I opened my mouth to protest, she shook her head.
“No, Peter. I know what Lynette said, and while this is a definitely grey area, at the end of the day this is still my lodge, and I have the final call over staff changes. I’ll call Borce and see if he can come in, and I’ll sit with you until someone arrives.
Between the two of us, we can keep an eye on things. ”
I was not about to argue with her. “Yes, ma’am. I still need to call Phil and Cole and fill them in with Lukas’s orders. Is there any way you could get another pot of coffee going?”
She grinned at me. “I’ll even make sure we have cookies.”
Over the next several minutes, I filled in the rest of the Colorado crew on the evening events and relayed Lukas’s orders.
It wasn’t long until a message popped in on the secure app on my phone.
As promised, Lynette had sent over the information, and I logged in, immediately impressed at the number of sensors and camera feeds I had access to.
While I was getting my bearings as to what each feed showed me, Edith came in with the promised coffee and cookies. “Borce said he’d come in early and relieve us.”
I glanced up. “Can I ask what you told him?”
She gave me a classic mom glare that clearly relayed her annoyance with the question.
“I told him that something happened off-site that required your full attention, that I wasn’t allowed to divulge any details, and asked who he could have come in as quickly as possible.
It’s not my first time dealing with chaos, mister. ”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry, Edith.”
She reached over and patted my hand. “It’s fine, Peter. It’s been a wild night. Now, let’s see what we can find out about our favorite bird and her nest.”
It took some time to figure out all the angles, but after cycling through all the exterior cameras several times, I was relieved that nothing looked amiss.
There was another folder of camera feeds, but when both the password Lynette gave me and my app password didn’t grant me access, I left it alone.
Though, if I had to guess, it likely had information about the inside of the safe house.
Not much longer after that, Borce walked in, looking surprised that both Edith and I were in the security room.
“Do you still need me?”
She stood and nodded. “Yes. We decided to stay put until you arrived.”
His attention shifted from her to me. “Anything I should be concerned about here?”