17. Chapter 17
Chapter seventeen
Mika
The next morning, Hawk drove me to work, but he refused to leave.
“They know where you work. And while I’m sure the gate guard does a fine job, I don’t trust him with your safety. So if you’re staying here, so am I.”
I thought I’d be perfectly safe, but I did feel better knowing he was there. If not for me, then for Mary Ellen. She would never let someone take me without putting up a fuss, and that meant she was just as much at risk.
He brushed another quick kiss across my lips and motioned for me to get out of the car. Looked like goodbye kisses were indeed a thing for him, and I sure wasn’t complaining.
I went inside and found Mary Ellen in the conservatory.
“Good morning,” I called out.
She turned to look at me, and I was glad I’d made the decision to come today. She looked stressed. “Mika, dear, good to see you. I can’t find the butter pats. You know, the ones with the pink rims. I ordered the prettiest centerpieces of light pink lisianthus, and those butter pats would be the perfect complement to the table.”
“I put them back in the butler’s pantry after your last luncheon. Let me grab them for you.”
She followed me and stood by while I got out the step stool and pulled down the stack of tiny little plates. “See, here they are. You have nothing to worry about. Her birthday party is going to be perfect.”
“I just want it to be special, but what do I know about entertaining a bunch of young women? She’ll probably think the whole thing is ridiculous.”
“I’m sure she won’t think it’s ridiculous at all. I have her gift, by the way. I set it on the table as I came in. She’s going to love it.”
“So are you going to tell me what happened yesterday since you didn’t come back? Not that it matters. It just wasn’t like you to be so vague.”
“I am. Why don’t I make us a cup of tea, and I’ll tell you all about it.” Mary Ellen was a firm believer that all bad news, good news, and in-between was best delivered with a good cup of tea. I thought that it came from the years she and David had spent in England when they were younger.
She followed me into the kitchen and waited while I put the kettle on and got everything ready. Once we sat down at the table with our cups, she was finished being patient.
“Okay, what’s going on?”
I told her about my ex showing up and his guy trying to grab me yesterday.
She didn’t say anything until I was done, but then she looked at me with concern in her eyes. “Mika, this man sounds like bad news.”
She wasn’t wrong at all, and I hadn’t even told her the parts about the Iron Jackals being mixed up in human trafficking and who knows what else.
“He is, but I’m okay. As a matter of fact, Hawk is sitting outside, keeping watch right now.”
“Hawk. That’s the young man you were taking self-defense classes from, isn’t it? That name is pretty hard to forget.”
“That’s him, yes.”
“Well, I would like to meet him. I don’t know anything about him or his company. I need to decide if he’s the right person to be protecting you.”
“His company, Three Bears Tactical, is very skilled, Mary Ellen. There’s no one better to be looking out for me than Hawk.”
“Have him come inside, and I’ll be the judge of that. If I think you need someone better, I’ll hire someone. I know you didn’t have the money to hire the best, but I do.”
“He isn’t charging me. He just wants to keep me safe. We’re, umm, involved.”
“Well, that’s all the more reason for me to meet him. Some decisions have to be made with a clear head, not your penis, dear.”
“Mary Ellen,” I said on a gasp.
“Don’t Mary Ellen me. Just get your young man in here.”
I pulled out my phone and sent him a text.
Me
Can you come inside?
Hawk
Is everything okay?
Me
Yes, she wants to meet you to see if she thinks you’re good enough to take care of me.
Hawk
I can take care of you. She has nothing to worry about.
Me
I know that, and you know that, but she needs to meet you. She’s threatening to hire someone else that she trusts to protect me.
Hawk
I like her already. I’ll be right in.
“He’s coming in. But trust me, no one will mess with me as long as Hawk is with me.”
“I’ll be the judge of that. Now, let’s go meet your young man.”
I grinned at the idea of someone calling him my young man. I bet he’d get a kick out of that.
By the time we made it to the front door, Hawk was standing there waiting. All six and a half feet of him. He sure looked like someone who could keep a person safe. Mary Ellen took a step back and looked him up and down before looking at me.
“I see what you meant.” Then she turned back to Hawk. “Well, come on in. Let’s have a seat, and you can tell me why I should trust you to keep Mika safe.”
He glanced at me, and I shrugged. We both followed her across the foyer and into the formal living room. She took a seat in the large wingback chair and motioned for us to sit on the small floral settee. It took everything in me not to laugh. In all the time I’d been working here, I’d never seen her use this room. She much preferred the cozy family room or the airy conservatory. Poor Hawk looked totally out of place on the small fancy couch, but I was willing to let this play out and see what she was planning.
“So, Mr. Hawk, is it?”
“Actually, ma’am, my name is Duncan. Duncan Hawkins.”
I raised one eyebrow at him. He still hadn’t told me his first name, but he folded like a bad cheap deck of cards as soon as she asked. He shrugged but didn’t say a word to me.
She nodded approvingly. “Very good. Duncan, then. Now, Duncan, what is it that you do for a living?”
This felt more like I’d brought a guy home to meet my dad, but okay.
“I’m one of the owners of Three Bears Tactical Services. We provide personal security for individuals and events, as well as training for law enforcement.”
“And are you from this area, Duncan?”
“I’m not. I’m from Houston. But my co-owner, Jason Wolfe, is from here.”
“Jason Wolfe . Is that Gareth’s grandson?”
“Yes, it is.”
“He and my David were friends. He was a good man.” She paused for a minute, thinking things over. “So you plan to find this man who’s threatening Mika and do something about it?”
“Yes, ma’am, I sure do. I don’t plan on letting anyone hurt him.”
She cocked her head to one side. “And does that include you, Duncan?”
OMG. I wanted to crawl into a hole, but Hawk just reached over and patted my leg.
“It sure does. I would never hurt Mika.”
“Okay then. You can call me Mary Ellen, and you can just send me the bill for his protection. I won’t have him receiving subpar service because you aren’t charging him.”
“Trust me, Mary Ellen, if anything, Mika’s receiving even better protection because he’s mine. And at Three Bears Tactical, we take care of our own. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d feel better if I went back outside so I could keep an eye on the property.”
“Absolutely. It was nice to meet you, Duncan.”
We sat there and watched while he walked out, neither of us saying a word, but once we heard the front door close, she looked at me and fanned herself.
“Holy moly, that’s one good-looking man.”
“He is, isn’t he?”
“Is he staying at your house with you?”
“He was right after Butch showed up. But after that guy accosted me yesterday, he decided I should stay at his condo in the Three Bears office.”
“That sounds like a good idea.”
“And he thinks I should take a few days off. That guy followed me from here, which means he knows where I work. I don’t want to put you in danger by being here.”
She waved me off. “I’m not worried about that. That gate out front does a good job of keeping the riffraff out, but I would feel better about things if you were someplace safe, so I agree with him. You should take some time off. As much as you need, dear.”
“I—”
“Nope, no apologies. I love having you here with me, and your job will be right here waiting for you. But you know as well as I do, I don’t need you here. I can take care of myself just fine. As a matter of fact, why don’t you go ahead and go now? I’d much rather your man be out looking for that scoundrel than sitting out front while you’re in here helping me do something I’m perfectly capable of doing on my own.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“Is there anything you need me to get for you first? I don’t want you up on any ladders trying to hang lights or anything.”
“I’m good.”
I lifted one eyebrow at her.
“No ladders, I promise.”
“Fine, but you call me if you need anything. I can get someone to run me over.”
“I will. And you keep me updated so I know you’re all right.”
I walked over to her and leaned down to give her a hug. “Thank you.”
Hawk
Mika’s employer was something else. The last thing I’d expected today was to be called into the house to be interrogated—not only about my ability to keep Mika safe but also my intentions with him.
Before I’d been called inside, I’d been researching crimes the Iron Jackals had been suspects in, and to my surprise, it was fairly limited. But then I remembered what Mika had said about them having local law enforcement in their pocket, so I shifted my focus off of them and onto the local sheriff.
I’d started to piece together a suspicious pattern of spending by the man when I got Mika’s text asking me to come inside. As soon as I got back in the car, I pulled out my laptop and went right back to it. I scrolled through the man’s social media, looking for new cars, boats, homes, or vacations. Most people didn’t give any thought to what they shared, which made posts and tweets a gold mine for investigators.
The party Mika had insisted on helping with was after lunch, so I had a few hours to kill. Or at least I thought I did. I hadn’t expected another text from Mika.
Mouse
She’s sending me home. Should I just come out or do you need to check things first?
I was proud of him for checking with me first. That told me he was taking this seriously—which was a good thing. He needed to. The more I learned about these guys, the more concerned I was.
I stepped out of the car and quickly scanned the area around us. I hadn’t seen anything that made me think there was any danger, but I had gone inside for a short time, so I wanted to be sure. Once I was confident that the area was secure, I sent him a text letting him know it was safe to come to the car.
I opened his door for him, and he hurried out and hopped in with no hesitation. I closed his door, then went around to the driver’s side and got back in.
“What about the party?” I asked.
“She agreed that it would be best if I took some time off and stayed somewhere safe. We’d already done most of the work on the party ahead of time.”
“She seems pretty capable for a woman in her eighties.”
“Oh, she is. Truth is, she doesn’t really need me here. She just enjoys having someone around. It hasn’t been that long since her husband passed away, and I think it helps to have me there to talk to.” He reached up and rubbed the pendant he wore. “He was a nice man. I’m glad she had him in her life for so long.”
I reached for his hand and twined our fingers together. “Let’s head home. I have some work to do, anyway.”
A short time later, I pulled into the parking garage at Three Bears.
“Are you going to be working here in the building?” he asked.
“I’ll be in my office on the seventh floor. You’re welcome to hang out down there if you want.”
“I think I’ll go on up to the condo, if that’s okay?”
“Mika, you can do whatever you prefer. This whole building is a safe zone for you. We’ve got the gym where we do self-defense class, the ninth floor is where the others hang out, and then, of course, you know where I’ll be. You don’t have to be cooped up in one place. If you need to get some air, you can always go up on the roof.”
“The roof? Why would I go on the roof?”
I chuckled because that was when I realized I hadn’t told him about the private rooftop area Wolfe, Gator, and I shared.
“Come with me, and I’ll show you.”
He followed me into the laundry room and gasped when I opened the door to reveal a set of stairs going up.
“When I was snooping around, I just assumed that was like a linen closet or something.”
“There’s a set in each of our condos that goes to the roof.”
We went up the stairs and out onto the top of the building. We’d had grand plans of turning this into our own little oasis, but running a business takes a lot of time, and none of the three of us had followed through. We’d made it as far as three Adirondack chairs and a small fire pit.
Mika stood there looking around for a minute. “Oh wow. This place up here could be fabulous. Some plants, maybe some lights, oh, and an outdoor kitchen. Maybe a pergola for shade.”
“That’s kind of what we were thinking. We just haven’t gotten around to doing it.”
He wandered over to the edge of the building and looked over. “It’s really high up here. I bet the view is something at night.”
“If you’re going to be up here, shoot me a text and let me know so I can find you if I need to.”
“I will, but odds are I won’t be leaving today. I’m just planning to drink coffee, watch baking shows, and crochet. No exploring—at least not today. I think I need some time to decompress and think about everything that’s happened in the last couple of days.”
I knew he’d been through a lot, but I hoped one of those things he needed to think about wasn’t us. I didn’t want to say that, though, because I didn’t want to pressure him.
“You take all the time you need. Don’t forget that the bistro is downstairs if you want to grab lunch, but if you’re going to do that, let me know first. You can access it from inside the building, but it’s open to the public with an external exit, so I’d prefer to go with you.”
“Thanks, but I have plenty of food that we brought from my place, so I’ll be good.”
When he stepped into the stairwell, I looked down at him before running my hand through his unruly curls. “If you get bored, you know where to find me.”
“I do. And if you get hungry, you know where to find me.”
I raised one eyebrow at him, and he laughed. “For lunch, silly.”
I was pretty sure that hadn’t been what he meant at all. “As tempting as lunch sounds, I need to find these assholes so you’ll be safe. I’ll want to eat later, though.”
I was so tempted to change my mind and stay upstairs with him, but there would be plenty of opportunities for me to spend time with my boy after Butch was taken care of. So I settled for a quick kiss and a reminder that if he needed anything, I was just downstairs.
I headed straight for the ops center to talk to Kat. I needed to tell her what I’d found about the sheriff and see if she had any information for me. She looked up when I walked in and grinned.
“You two are sweet together.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, and she pointed at the bank of monitors—one of which was pointed right at the area on the roof.
“I forget you have eyes everywhere,” I grumbled.
“Not everywhere. There are none in the personal residences.”
“Only because we told you no.”
She let out an exasperated sigh. “I still think it would be a good idea. What if there’s an intruder?”
“Then you’ll see him on one of the other hundred cameras you have in this building. Now, have you found anything?”
“Nothing good. Just more and more of the same. The Iron Jackals are involved in some shady shit. I can’t believe there are no charges yet. It’s so obvious they’re mixed up in everything from running guns and selling drugs to human trafficking.”
“Yeah, about that. Mika said something that got me thinking… something about how they had the local law in their pocket. I started looking into it, and I think he’s right. Check this out.”
I pulled up the guy’s social media and set the computer down in front of her, and she started scrolling.
“Is that a new bass boat?”
“Yeah, and it isn’t just any bass boat. That sucker is high-end. It starts at eighty K. But keep scrolling.”
“A new truck to pull the bass boat. Wow, nice house in the background there. I wonder if that’s his.”
“According to tax records, it is. And check out his vacation photos.”
“Is that from a guided hunt in Canada?” she asked. “That can’t be cheap.”
“I would think not.”
“Whew.” Kat blew out a breath. “Looks to me like our local sheriff is living pretty high on the hog.”
“Or he was anyway.” I pointed at the last post. “Check out those dates. All the posts stopped about six months ago.”
“Interesting. Here’s what I found.” She pulled up a map dotted with pins on her computer. Personally, I preferred old-school paper maps and physical pins, but I would never tell Kat that. “I cross-referenced individuals who were suspected of human trafficking with people the Jackals had worked security jobs for, and there’s a fair amount of overlap.”
“We already knew they were hired muscle for some unsavory characters, but the question is, do they know what they’re being hired for, or are they simply stupid?”
“Or both?” She shook her head.
“Did you get a hold of Chance?”
“I did. He’s looking into it on his end. He said he’d give me a call when he has something.”
I sighed. “Okay, I guess we just keep digging until then.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out, expecting it to be Mika—but it wasn’t. Instead, it was my friend Samuel.
Samuel
Mars is worried about Mika. He says he’s okay, but Mars doesn’t believe him. Is he alright?
Me
He’s fine for now. He’s upstairs in my condo, either crocheting or cooking or snooping.
Samuel
Any progress on catching these guys?
Me
Nowhere near enough.
Samuel
Maybe y’all should come over for dinner.
Me
Let me talk to Mika. I’d rather he not leave the building just yet, but maybe Mars could come visit him here?
Samuel
Sounds good. Have him get with Mars about that. And we need to go out for lunch once all this is over.
Me
You’re on.