11. Chapter 11
Chapter 11
I’m still waiting for those tacos.
Magnolia wrapped her arms around herself as she watched through her living room window, very aware of Ezra’s presence next to her. The man was impossible to ignore anyway.
Not that she wanted to ignore him, but that was something no mere mortal could do.
“Everything about this sucks,” she muttered, watching as the bomb squad picked up the box with their robot, then slowly put it inside another big container thing.
“I know,” he murmured. “I’ve already checked in with Scarlett. Lucas is safe and playing basketball. She sent me a couple pictures of him. I hope that’s okay.” His voice took on a quality she couldn’t define.
“Of course it’s okay.” She looked up at him and couldn’t get a read on his expression either. “You’re his dad.”
“I know. Well, I know that biologically I am but this is all surreal. I…thought about saving the picture as my screen saver but then thought it might be weird.”
A rush of tears shoved up fast and hard so she turned back to the window. “That’s not weird,” she rasped out. “It’s sweet.” Jesus, this man had the ability to completely unravel her. Apparently some things hadn’t changed.
She jumped as the ground shook slightly. “Oh my god, did they… Was that… ”
“Yep. It was an explosive device.” His voice was tight, controlled. Angry. “And I know I’m jumping ahead, but these two acts of violence are back-to-back. This kind of escalation is really, really bad, Magnolia.”
“I know,” she whispered, looking up at him again.
“I think you and Lucas should stay in a safe house.”
“Okay.”
Surprise flickered in his gaze for a moment. “Okay, then. Pack what you need for at least a week for you and Lucas. I can have someone stay here, someone trained, to keep an eye on your place if you’re okay with that.”
“If you trust them, I do.” She glanced back outside to see Camila hustling down her driveway. “Come on,” she murmured, breaking away from the window to greet her friend.
Ezra was faster, opening the front door before she could.
Camila nodded once at him, then stepped inside, pulled her into a quick hug. “That was quick thinking, calling us.”
“Well you can thank Ezra.” Magnolia nodded to him.
Camila gave him a curious look. “How exactly do you two know each other?”
“He’s Lucas’s father,” Magnolia said before he could respond. “And we’re going with him to a safe house.”
Camila did a slow blink, then a slow sort of nod. “Oookay, then. I’m glad to hear that. I know that he, and his company, will keep you safe. I’d planned to suggest you stay somewhere else for the time being so that’s something out of the way. We’re still looking for Perry, but he hasn’t popped up on any cameras around town. He’s either in disguise or he’s gone to ground.”
Magnolia simply nodded as Camila continued for a few more minutes. She was grateful for how seriously the PD was taking this, but she wanted to pack and get out of here. And she loved her house, was beyond angry that someone was driving her out of it.
But at the end of the day, her son’s safety was the most important thing. She headed upstairs while Ezra talked with Camila, feeling on autopilot as she gathered their things. She knew what Lucas would need for the next week, including his backpack and books—he only had one exam left since he’d either finished the others early or had been able to opt out of others with final projects instead.
As she gathered all his stuff, she picked up a canvas painting the size of a small square shower tile tucked into his gym bag. She’d never seen it before, but it didn’t look manufactured. Maybe he’d bought it at Jackson Square, or more likely at one of the smaller local art fairs. Or…maybe it was a gift from someone?
The painting was of the back of a man and woman, their heads tilted together, their arms wrapped around each other. The man had dark hair, the woman wavy red hair, and the background was a starry night. She wasn’t sure what to make of this, set it back in his duffel, then quickly packed up what she thought he’d need. If she missed anything, they could send someone back for it.
By the time she made it downstairs, Camila had left and Ezra was talking to someone on the phone as he paced in the living room.
“I’ll call you back,” he growled before he stalked to the bottom of the stairs, plucked the duffel bag and her rolling suitcase from her. “I’d have helped with these.”
“I know.” Though she hadn’t even thought about it. She’d barely dated since Lucas had been born. When Lucas had been about seven, she’d tried to dip her toes back into dating, but she hadn’t been impressed with what was out there.
She’d heard the stories from her friends, but experiencing the nightmare of bad dates hadn’t been worth the effort. After a man had gotten so sloppy drunk at a gala with her he’d had to be hauled out by security, she’d shelved all thoughts of dating. She’d been a busy mom and trying to prove herself at work, and men hadn’t been worth the effort. So she’d thrown herself into those two things instead of trying to date on top of that.
“I’ve talked to my crew and the safe house is set up. I actually stayed there last night so I knew it was ready, but I wanted to check with them.”
“You stayed there last night?”
“Yeah.”
“You don’t have a place in the city?”
“I do. I just didn’t want to go home to it,” he said bluntly.
“Oh.” She didn’t know how to interpret his tone. Or maybe she did and just didn’t want to ask questions. So she changed the subject. “I need to let my parents know what’s going on. Even if I don’t want to deal with my dad right now, I need to talk to my mom and fill her in. And if you think I could swing it, I’d like to keep my meeting. The guy I was supposed to meet with texted me while the bomb squad was here.” Words she’d never thought she’d say. “And he asked to move our meeting to lunch. What do you think?”
He was silent for a long moment instead of saying no, which surprised her. She could see him actively thinking. Finally he said, “If you let me set the meeting place and don’t mind a couple of my people watching you. They’ll be at a different table and the person you’re meeting won’t know we’re there.”
She blinked.
But he continued. “Also, I need the name of who you’re meeting with so one of my coworkers can run his information, make sure he’s not the psycho targeting you.”
She blinked again. “You’re very thorough.”
“I’d be pretty bad at my job if I wasn’t thorough.” His gaze dropped to her mouth as he said the last word.
And oh. Ooohhh, she had memories of exactly how thorough he’d been once upon a time. She cleared her throat once. Twice. Finally she just nodded because words weren’t happening.
“I’m gonna need the guy’s name.” His mouth quirked up slightly and she had no doubt he knew his effect on her.
Because some things definitely hadn’t changed.
“Louis Tremblay. And I’ll text him, tell him where we’re going to meet. What place should I pick?”
He rattled off a local place she’d heard of but never visited. Then said, “It’s small and will be easy for us to watch the exits. Also, we know the owner so we can be open about what’s going on. And I’ve asked one of my crew to drop off an SUV for us to use. That way we’re not driving around in your vehicle. I’ve already checked it for tracking devices, but this keeps down the possibility of someone seeing you by chance.”
“Thank you for doing this. Seriously, it sounds like a lot. And whatever I owe your company—”
“Magnolia.” The way he said her name had far too many emotions packed into that one word.
“What?”
“I’m doing this to keep you and Lucas safe. You’re not paying me.” And he sounded almost offended that she was offering.
She stepped forward, closing the short distance between them, resisted the urge to touch him. “I wasn’t trying to offend you. This is just a lot of trouble you’re going to.”
He shoved out a sigh. “I know, and you didn’t offend me. But I haven’t been able to take care of either of you for years. I’m trying to make up for it.”
“You don’t need to make up for anything either.”
“Well I’m doing this. So just accept it,” he said.
She found herself grinning despite the shit show her life had turned into. “And you say I’m the bossy one.”
That got a smile out of him, and whew, her hormones, which had been dormant for so long they had cobwebs, flared to life. That smile was absolutely everything. It was the reason her teenage self had agreed to go on a date with him. That, and his motorcycle.
Oh, she was in trouble. “And thank you again for making this happen.”
He shrugged. “I know it’s important to you.”
Yep. So. Much. Trouble.