Chapter 18
Adalyn smiled down at Gumbo, who was currently snoozing with her head on her lap, her little tail swishing occasionally even as she slept. “You really are a happy dog,” she whispered.
Out on the back patio, she was on her laptop, helping go through some of the intel they’d found on Omar Ali and a few other potential enemies. With her laptop on the small side table, she’d pulled it around so that it was closer to her.
She looked up as the sliding door opened, and pulled her headphones off as her sister stepped out. “Hey.”
“Hey, you hungry, thirsty, need anything?”
“Nah, I’m good. How are you doing?” She patted the seat next to her. After getting back last night with Rowan she’d crashed and had been avoiding him all day. He’d apologized and she knew she should just accept it, but…he’d hurt her more deeply than she’d realized.
“Still reeling, but Tiago was nice enough to grab some supplies for me so I’ve set up a little area to paint. I didn’t think I’d want to but…” She shrugged as she sat next to them. “I’m working on something for Clara’s mom. I don’t even know if she’ll want it but…” She lifted her shoulders again.
“She will, and that’s very kind.”
Gumbo switched her position, plopping her head on Fleur’s lap now probably to comfort her and to get pets.
“She’s the cutest dog… You sure you want to keep her?”
“She’s coming home with me so don’t even think about stealing my baby.” Adalyn scratched Gumbo’s back even as Fleur started rubbing behind her ears. And Gumbo started doing that thing where her entire body wiggled in happiness.
“Fine, fine. But I’ll have to come visit you more often now.”
“I really hope you do. And…I know I need to come home more too.” The word home slipped out but it was true, because she’d never stopped thinking of New Orleans as home.
“Stop with all that guilt. We’ve both been busy with our lives and we talk on the phone at least four times a week. I think that’s more than a lot of siblings.” Fleur cleared her throat delicately. “So Aunt Collette called.”
“And?”
“Said two hot, beefy guys—definitely her words—had been hanging around her bar not ordering alcohol or hitting on anyone. And after she grilled one of them, they admitted they’d been hired to keep her safe.”
Adalyn winced. “I did tell them that if push came to shove, they could tell her the truth.”
“I guarantee that crazy bitch got to the shove part.”
Adalyn let out a startled laugh at Fleur’s dry tone.
“What? She is crazy. And a bitch. But I love her. And I hate that you guys don’t talk anymore.”
“It’s called boundaries and I don’t believe in allowing people in my life simply because they’re related to me. And she stole from Mémé before she was even cold.”
Fleur sighed. “Look, I agree with you about boundaries and I agree that Collette was wrong. But she was grieving and took a painting that she’s since returned.”
“We would have just given it to her. But she broke in and stole the thing.” And it pissed Adalyn off that during the week they’d been planning a funeral and grieving, their aunt had literally broken into Mémé’s house in the middle of the night and snatched a painting.
“I know that and she now knows that. And I’m not making excuses for her exactly, but I did talk to her. She gave the painting back and broke down, explaining that it had significant memories from her childhood and she thought we might not give it to her based on the value.”
“And that was that?”
“Well yeah, but six months later I gave it back to her. At first I thought she was just giving it back in the hopes I wouldn’t keep it. But she truly made amends and…we have lunch at least twice a week. She wants to see you and apologize.”
“Okay.”
Fleur blinked. “Really?”
“I mean, not right now, but fine. Whatever. If you believe her, then I’ll talk to her. I kind of miss her,” she admitted.
“She wants to bang one of the security guys. Or both, at the same time. Also, her words. It’s the only reason she’s not putting up a fuss about them watching over her.”
“Now that I definitely believe,” she said on a laugh even as she pulled her cell phone out, looked at the incoming message.
And once again, her blood iced over.
“Oh my god, is that a bomb?” Fleur was looking at the picture on-screen.
“Yeah.” The message after it said, Are you having fun yet? I’ll even tell you where this one is. A new picture popped up, this one taken slightly farther away. The statue of Andrew Jackson on his horse right in the middle of the park and garden was clear, with the bomb partially hidden by the neat square bushes below.
She jumped up, raced inside without another word, though she heard Gumbo and Fleur behind her as she sprinted up the stairs. Hailey, Jesse and Gage were in the office talking but stopped as she shoved her phone out to them.
“He’s planted a bomb in Jackson Square. We need to call in an anonymous threat. The cops need to clear the area immediately and they need to get a team to disarm it.” There were certain things they could handle, and others they couldn’t. Too many lives were at stake now to try this on their own in the middle of Mardi Gras.
Hailey was already moving, had pulled out one of a handful of burner phones they used. “This has a voice modulator on it and it’s untraceable,” she said as she handed it to Adalyn. “You want to make the call?”
Nodding, she immediately dialed, her heart pounding so loud she could hear the blood rushing in her ears.
“911, what is the nature of your emergency?”