Saving Serena (Hawk Security #1)

Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24

Serena

“Want a piece?” Back downstairs, Constance offered me reheated pizza across the table.

“No thanks.” What I really wanted was my man alone upstairs so we could continue where we’d left off. It was unavoidable now that I knew he wanted me as badly as I wanted him.

I was his—he’d said it, to my dad no less. It couldn’t have been plainer than that. Well, maybe if he’d thrown me over his shoulder to cart me off, but that was a bit much to expect.

“Are you sure?” Constance asked.

Her question drew me out of my reverie. “Duke and I already ate.”

“Terry and I didn’t get a chance,” she said around a mouthful. “Nobody delivers to a stakeout.”

“I have some news.” I figured it would get pretty obvious tonight. “We’re now…” I added air quotes. “A couple.”

Constance choked on her food. “What changed?”

“In front of my dad, he just said outright that I was his girlfriend.”

“Wasn’t that the cover?” she asked, confused.

“Now it’s real.”

“You’re sure?”

Remembering a few minutes ago, I nodded. “Uh-huh.”

As we waited on the guys, I contemplated our hot hide-in-my-old-bedroom sex. It didn’t get more real than that. “How long will this meeting take?”

She shrugged. “Until we make some progress, I guess.”

I wanted to have tonight and our not-fake date tomorrow at Disneyland before Duke learned the ugly truth about me. I only hoped we could bond enough before then that it wouldn’t all come tumbling down when we had the talk .

Would he even want to hear the entire story or be too disgusted with me for that?

Terry, Winston, and Duke arrived with the other pizza and a tray of soft drinks.

I chose the Diet Coke and patted the seat next to me. “I saved you a seat, Studly.”

Duke grimaced and rounded the table to my side. “Thanks, Snuggles.”

Terry looked confused.

“They’re together now,” Constance explained. “Pet names are what couples do.”

Terry shrugged and sat across from us. “About friggin’ time.”

Guess we hadn’t been as discreet as we thought.

Duke dialed his phone. “Jordy, you ready?”

“Always.”

“Where do we start?” Constance asked.

Duke grabbed a Coke. “First, in my opinion, we can scratch George Kittleman. He’s no longer our prime suspect.”

“Why is that?” Terry asked through a mouthful of pizza.

“Personal observation. No reaction to any of our trigger words, plus the fact that Serena’s government car had a tracker. Also, the obsession with the USB drive doesn’t fit the romantic stalker type. But we have a new name?—”

“Stop,” I said, cutting Duke off before he could mention Harvey Fox. I leaned over and whispered, “Remember, we can’t talk about him.”

“You owe me an explanation,” Duke whispered back.

“Consider who?” Constance asked.

I was glad I hadn’t accepted the pizza as my stomach churned. Now that these two knew there was something we were holding back, Monday’s conversation was going to be an even bigger deal.

Terry leaned back. “What’s going on?”

I glared at Duke.

He shook his head. “Sorry, something I learned today is confidential, and I need to get it cleared first.”

Terry sat forward, glaring at Duke. “Working with an arm tied behind our backs sucks.”

“Drop it,” Duke commanded. “Let’s get back to the basics of what we know.”

Terry sighed. “It happened right after she visited the plating and chemical companies. They could be involved.”

“I’m with you,” Winston agreed. “Start with the ones with the most money to lose.”

Duke nodded along. “So we launch Jordy on a deep dive into those two companies.” He turned to me. “Who did you meet with at those two places—the decision makers, not the peons?”

“Uh, Excalibur Plating was Larry Pollock, their president. At Knife Creek Chemical, there were two, Aiden Pons, the COO, and Gabe Woodward. I don’t remember his title.”

Constance took notes.

Duke steepled his hands. “Yaroslavsky practically told us the source he got the info from isn’t in LA anymore. That means he’s either out of town?—”

“Or dead,” Terry finished.

Constance checked her notebook. “The body would have had to drop recently, and Winston, you didn’t find any that fit the torture MO locally, right?”

“Nope. I’ll expand the area.”

“Good. What about that second call?” Terry brought up.

“It was to his brother in Miami,” Duke answered.

Constance had been writing a note until the word Miami. “You didn’t tell me he called Miami.”

Duke answered. “Sorry, you weren’t with us, and we might have summarized it as a call to his brother.”

I got the tingle that said we’d found a thread to unravel things. “What’s the significance of Miami?”

“She’s not here now,” Constance said, leafing through notes. “But I was told a previous EPA employee in the office relocated to Miami.”

It clicked for me. “Sophia Rossi. When she left, that created the opening for my promotion. I knew she relocated to the East Coast, but nobody mentioned which city.”

She looked up. “Yup, Rossi is the one, and it was definitely Miami.”

Duke pointed at Winston. “First plane out. Let’s find out what this woman has to say.”

“Copy that. I love the beach.”

Constance went back to her notes. “Let’s get back to the drive. If Rossi thinks you have this drive, whatever it is, did she give you one?”

“We never talked much.” I thought hard before the next part. “I’m sure she never gave me anything at all.”

“This all started on Monday,” Duke pointed out. “What happened last week to start this?”

“As I told you, it was my first day in the new job. I visited the two companies and was attacked on the way back to the office.”

“But before that, you got a note,” he reminded me.

“That’s right. The note was on my car in the morning, but I’d parked down the street and thought it was meant for someone else.”

“Did you change desks that morning?” Constance asked.

“Of course. I inherited Sophia’s job, her files, and her workstation.”

“Now something makes sense.” Duke’s fist came down on the table. “Constance, can you help Serena check her work area and files?”

“You got it.”

“You think Sophia left something for me in the files, and that’s what this is about?”

“Could be,” Terry said. “Look, the timing fits. Maybe the call to Yaroslavsky’s brother was to double-check on the intelligence, pressure Rossi some more, whatever. It makes a hell of a lot more sense than an ex-boyfriend.”

“And the companies have the resources to get somebody like Spinelli,” Constance pointed out.

I was feeling optimistic that we could find the drive and end this. “Should we go to the office tonight?”

Duke shook his head. “We should expect somebody as good as Spinelli to have eyes on us somehow. For now, Winston catches the first flight to Miami and searching the office waits until Constance can help you on Monday.”

I nodded and stretched. “I’m exhausted after today.”

“Rest up for your date tomorrow?” Constance kidded.

Terry perked up. “What date?”

“Oh, crap.” Constance put a hand on Terry’s shoulder. “I forgot to tell you, we have a date tomorrow too. You’re coming along to Disneyland.”

Terry turned to Duke. “Seriously? I get to date Constance?”

Constance shoved him. “No way. Your date is her friend, Grace Brennan.”

“That… You gotta be kidding me,” he complained. “She sucks. Send Jordy. I’ll handle comms.”

“I’m not going. No way,” Jordy said over the phone. “I’m not letting Terry ruin any of my equipment.”

I was determined to have my day with Duke. “I’m going. No question about it. You guys have to figure out how many extras you need for protection.”

Duke side-eyed me. “Serena is the priority. Because of the crowds, we need the eyes, and they know Constance. Terry, are you admitting you can’t handle her?”

“Kitty? I can handle her,” Terry said without conviction. “If I have to. I’d just rather not.”

Kitty was her nickname? That didn’t sound as bad as Grace had made out.

Duke pointed a finger. “Suck it up. It’s the job.”

I pushed back from the table and stood. “You guys stay up all night figuring out the logistics if you want, but I’m going to bed.”

Constance smiled. “I think we’re done for tonight. What do you think, Duke?”

“Terry, you get the first shift,” Duke said. “Constance, you’ve got the second.”

“What about you?” Terry complained. “This isn’t fair.”

“I was on duty during that whole damned barbecue while you guys were sleeping out by the gate.”

“I didn’t get any sleep.”

Constance stayed out of it.

Duke stood. “You should have. Now I’ve gotta call Lucas.”

Duke

After we broke the meeting and Serena went upstairs, I wandered outside to dial Jordy back.

“What’d you forget, Bro?”

“I’ve got a recent parolee we need to run down. What did he go up for, and what connection does he have to the Benson family, Serena in particular.”

He sighed. “Why do you always come up with these at the end of the day?”

“It’s not my fault. The name just popped up.”

“What state, and who is it?”

“California, I think, and the name is Harvey Fox. How long do you think it’ll take?”

“He was sent up on attempted murder charges, and there’s no connection to the Bensons.” Something was off. Jordy hadn’t even had enough time to type the name in.

“How do you know that without looking it up?”

“I tend to remember the person convicted of attempting to kill our oldest brother.”

That was a shock. “Lucas?”

“Yup. Fox copped a plea super quick, was sentenced immediately, and went straight to San Quentin.”

My brother had never mentioned a thing. “Why am I just now hearing about this?”

“You have to ask Lucas. He swore me to secrecy.”

I scratched the back of my neck. Why would Lucas keep this from me? “Does Brett know?”

“I didn’t tell him.”

I almost hung up but caught myself. “Thanks, Jordy.”

“Be careful. Lucas doesn’t want to talk about this.” Jordy ended the call on that note.

Careful, my ass. I had to know, so I dialed.

Lucas picked up on the first ring. “I’ve been expecting your call.”

“What’s the story with you and Harvey Fox? Jordy says he got sent up for attempting to murder you.”

“That’s true.”

“How? What happened?”

“Not important.” Lucas’s ability to keep conversations short didn’t impress me today.

“What’s the connection to Serena?”

“I don’t have anything to say.”

“Benson thinks he’s a threat, so I damn well need to know.”

I could almost hear his teeth grind. “Not my story to tell, Brother. I suggest you don’t pursue this, but if you do, know it’s Serena’s choice what she wants to say. For her sake, do not push. I’ll leave it at that.”

Do not push her? What the hell was that? Even my brother was keeping something this important from me.