8. Chapter Eight
Chapter eight
Peter
Lukas had been home for a little over a week, and we were settling in again.
Things were almost feeling normal. I was just finishing up my weekly system diagnostic test on the lodge surveillance computers when my phone rang - with Lynette Agosti’s name on the screen.
There weren’t a lot of reasons she’d be contacting me.
What happened now? I let out a tense breath before answering the call.
“Lynette, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Hello, Peter. Lianne is going to be calling her brother in a minute, but knowing how my son is going to react to the news, I’m calling you first to give the same information so you don’t get blindsided, and so you know the facts.”
My eyebrows shot up, and I shoved the rolling office chair back as I stood, ready to rush off if needed. “That’s not ominous sounding. How bad is it?”
She let out a tense sigh. “There was an incident today in the parking garage attached to Ben and Ellen’s office.
Long story short, there was a tracking device with an explosive attached to it.
Ryan and Ellen got hurt, enough to be concerned, but not enough to warrant a hospital visit.
That being said, Lianne has barely left Ryan or Ellen’s sides since we brought them back to the house. ”
“Explosives? Shit. What do you need me to do?”
“I’d like you to collect Quinn immediately, if possible, and take her home. Lukas is going to need her after talking to his sister. Also, I’d like you to accompany both of them not only to the airport, but all the way to Chicago.”
I immediately headed out of the security office and toward Quinn’s office, mind racing. “You want all three of us there? Today? Is it that serious?”
Lynette sighed again. “Yes. Quinn will be there for Lukas, and you will be there to keep them both safe. Once he hears about Ryan getting knocked out from an explosion, he’s not going to think straight to save his life.
I need you to be the brains and brawn. As a personal favor to me, please make sure my son gets here safely. ”
Her voice cracked in the middle of the last sentence, and I almost tripped over my foot. Lynette never asked for favors. Holy shit.
“Hold on one second.” I’d made it to Quinn’s office door and knocked on it. When I heard her inviting me in, I opened the door enough to poke in my head. “How soon can you leave?”
Quinn’s eyes went wide. “Leave?”
I stepped in and shut the door behind me. “I’m on the phone with Lynette right now. She’s filling me in before Lianne calls Lukas. The short version is that Ryan and Ellen got hurt. They are both at the house and not the hospital, but I need you home as soon as possible.”
She blinked rapidly and then shook her head. “Fuck. This is the last thing everyone needed.” After furiously clicking her mouse a couple of times, she stood up, grabbed her bag, and walked toward me. “Let’s go. We can pop into Frank’s office on the way out.”
Lynette breathed a sigh of relief in my ear. “Thank you, Peter. I’ll see you all soon. Stay safe.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Frank all but shoved us out of his office after less than six words came out of Quinn’s mouth. “Go. Take care of your family. Edith, Chelsea, and I can handle whatever needs taking care of.”
We were barely in the SUV when Quinn exploded, demanding to know everything.
Quickly and concisely, I filled her in on my brief conversation with Lynette, and tears immediately flooded her eyes.
“Why did it have to be Ryan?” She angrily wiped her face.
“Not that I want bad things to happen to anyone, but why did it have to be Lukas’s best friend?
The man was already hanging on by a thread, and now this? Fuck.”
“I’m glad Lynette called us first.”
She nodded. “The woman is smart. She knows her son, and she knows what it’s going to take to contain the fallout.
” Quinn wiped her eyes and took a few deep breaths, letting them out slowly.
I recognized the act. She was shoving down her feelings and prepping to help Lukas handle his.
It wasn’t the first time I’d seen her do it, and it always made me worry about her when she did.
Quinn had gotten better about finding healthy ways to process overwhelming emotions since her toxic ex was permanently removed from her life, but that didn’t mean she never slipped back into old habits.
Surprisingly, we had made it almost all the way back to the house before Quinn’s phone rang.
“It’s Lukas.” She answered the call. “Hey… We’re pulling onto our street now.
Where am I meeting you?… Your mom called…
Okay… What about Peter?… Okay, I’ll let him know.
” She ended the call, let out a tense breath, and then turned to face me.
“I’m going into his office first. Give me a few minutes with him…
maybe go pack your bag? That might give me enough time to pull him back together.
Once you’re in the office, I’ll pack our things. ”
“Okay. Did he say if he got tickets already?”
She shook her head as I pulled into the driveway. “No. Cole is working on that right now.”
I barely had the SUV in park before Quinn hopped out and rushed into the house.
I ran downstairs and into my room, quickly finding and going through my go bag and adding a few things so I had three days’ worth of clothes.
I could always do laundry there if we stayed longer.
Gage insisted all employees have a go-bag ready at all times, it wasn’t long before I was packed and walking into the security room in the basement. “Any luck on the tickets?”
He nodded. “I have options, but I need to know how quickly everyone has to be in Chicago. Lukas made it sound dire, like you all had to leave on the next available flight.”
I let out a sigh. This is why Lynette called me first. “It’s not quite that dire. No one is in intensive care or dying. No one is even at the hospital.” For the second time in less than a half-hour, I relayed the information Lynette gave to me.
“Shit!” Cole leaned back in his chair, staring forward for a moment. “If Ryan’s down, do I need to come out?”
“Lynette didn’t say anything about that, but I’ll find out.” I glanced up at the ceiling. “I need to get back upstairs to help Quinn and see what Lukas has decided. Someone will give you an update.”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks.” I let out a tense chuckle and quickly made my way out of the basement and toward Lukas’s office. The door was mostly closed but not clicked shut. Quinn’s angry voice stopped me from entering.
“No. We are not racing out of here like there’s a fire. Absolutely not, Lukas. There is nothing you can do to help him right now that isn’t already being done by Doc, your mom, and your sister. How about we all take a deep breath, think clearly, and head out first thing in the morning?”
“But—”
“No buts, Lukas Reginald. Look me in the eye.” There was a pause. “Ryan is going to be okay. Your sister would have told you to leave ASAP otherwise.”
“Dad was supposed to have been okay, too.” His voice cracked on the last word, and I heard his heartbreak.
“Oh, Lukas.” There was a pause, and if I had to guess, Quinn was likely hugging him. “This is not the same as what happened to your dad. Ryan is not at the hospital, okay? He didn’t have to have emergency surgery. Please believe your sister and your mom.”
“Fine.”
She let out a deep sigh. “Now, I’m sure Peter is on the other side of that door, waiting to talk to you.
I’m going to let him in and then head downstairs to chat with Cole about when we actually need to head out.
You and Peter get whatever business shit figured out, and then we are going to have dinner and go to bed. Understood?”
My eyebrows went up at Quinn’s authoritative tone. It was no secret she was one of three or maybe four people who could tell that man what to do, but she never called the shots when it came to Agosti business. But is this technically a mafia thing?
Before I could ruminate on it for too long, Quinn pulled the door open, giving me a tight smile as she walked past me. “He’s all yours. After I talk to Cole, I’m going to throw pizzas in the oven. That work for you?”
The fiery rage in her eyes was a little terrifying. “Sounds great.”
She let out an irritated sigh. “Thank you. Is Cole downstairs?”
“Yes, ma’am. He has flight options ready but is waiting for further instruction.”
Quinn was barely to the stairs before I walked into Lukas’s office. Not too surprisingly, the man looked stressed. His hands were in his hair as he paced the room. “Hey, boss.”
“Mom called you?”
I nodded. “Yeah. She said Lianne was going to call you.”
He turned to face me, grief and worry flooding his eyes. “I can’t lose someone else, Peter. I know my sister said Ryan was fine, but you didn’t hear her. She was freaking out.”
“Kind of like you?”
Lukas wrapped his arms around his chest and clenched his teeth. “He’s my best friend, Peter. I can’t lose him and Ross. I--”
I walked up to him, reached out, and grabbed his shoulders, cutting off his words. “You are not losing Ryan today or any time soon. Would your mom lie about this?”
He took a tense breath and let it out slowly. “No.”
“Would Lianne lie about this?”
His shoulders dropped slightly. “No.”
“Are we going to follow Quinn’s plan?”
Lukas plopped down in the leather chair behind him, sinking his head into his hands. “Yeah.”
I nodded. Good. “What do you need from me right now?”
“Call Phil and let him know the plan. I’ll need the three of you holding down the fort.”
“Cole and Phil will be able to do that just fine.”
Lukas’s head snapped up. “And where exactly are you going to be?”
I stared back at the man glaring at me. “Accompanying you, per your mother’s personal request.”
He opened and then shut his mouth before nodding. “She wants you to keep me in line?”
Smart man. “She wants to make sure you and Quinn make it there safely.”
A grumble came out, and I thought I heard him say something about not needing a babysitter.