property is books there’d likely be no fine, no probation, and maybe restitution if we’re lucky. So it’s not worth involving Triple Canopy.”
“Babe. I’m not worried about the vandalism and neither is Ethan and you know it. What’s written inside those books is so jacked it’s freaked me out. Especially the part about cleansing. That’s the second time I’ve read that fuckin’ word in one of these books, and, baby, I was freaked the first time I saw it. Now seeing it a second time, I’m concerned.”
“He’s right.” Ethan sided with Brady.
“Are you agreeing with him as my cousin or as a cop?” I snarked.
“Both. Don’t stand there and hand me crap, Hadley. Our family’s in the business of protection. We’ve seen more than our fair share of fucked-up shit and Brady’s absolutely correct. A pile of ruined books sucks but the shit that’s written in them is concerning—most especially the parts about the unholy needing to be cleansed. That’s crazy talk, Had. That goes beyond someone who’s spiritual or religious and straight to Crazy Town.”
So they were both right and I’d gone from pissed to creeped out.
Whoever was defacing the books was coming unglued. Fifteen books outside. Each book had words blacked out. Not just a few—it seemed that any word the author used that the person deemed inappropriate was crossed out. And in each book, there was a threat varying from the author needing to be cleansed to the library needing to stop carrying such books or everyone was going to hell.
“I’m taking this seriously,” I assured them. “But I still don’t want Triple Canopy resources being used. I’ll talk to the county commissioners, maybe I can get emergency funding. I know you have to take the books but will you send me pictures? I need to file a claim with the board.”
“Yeah. And I’ll put the word out around the station, maybe have some cruisers drive by if they’re in the area, and I’ll check in with the other libraries to see if they’re having issues, too.”
Damn. I hadn’t thought of that.
“I appreciate you, cousin.”
“I know you do,” he sighed. “Please, for the love of God, be careful. Don’t go all Hadley Walker and do something crazy.”
“I resent that.”
“I’m sure you do but it doesn’t make my warning any less necessary.” Then Ethan sobered and a look I didn’t like sheered through his features. “This is Detective Lenox talking to you. I don’t like this, Hadley. I’ve been a cop long enough to listen to my gut, and my gut’s telling me not to fuck around with this. Be smart. Be vigilant. Be careful. You see something, you say something. You find another book, you call me. I’ll have these books printed but my guess is we’ll find a lot of them so it will be useless but I’m still doing it. You talk to the commissioners and see if they’ll put cameras in the parking lot. They should’ve already been installed seeing as the library closes after dark and you have kids and the elderly walking out. What you do not do is go at this alone.”
“Ethan,” I started gently. “Don’t you think we’re overreacting a little? I mean, someone’s just—”
“Learned the hard way to pay attention to the red flags,” he returned and said no more.
Not wanting to witness the pain in my cousin’s eyes I looked at my feet instead. It was a long time ago, but he had learned the hard way—his wife Honor almost died because her crazy stepfather had kidnapped her. No one saw the threat, including Honor. But Ethan had seen the warning signs but no one thought the man would go that far.
“I’ll be vigilant and I’ll be careful,” I promised.
“Good.”
When no one spoke, I lifted my gaze and found Ethan smiling.
“Glad you finally pulled your thumb out.” That came from Ethan and wasn’t directed at me. He was staring at Brady. “Now she’s yours and you’ve bought yourself the task of keeping her in line.”
Before I could tell my cousin that no one kept me in line—ever, Brady got in there.
“You’re damn right she’s mine. But if you think anyone’s keeping a Walker in line you’re mistaken. The task I bought is keeping my woman safe, and that I’ll do.”
God, I loved that Brady knew that.
“But, babe,” Brady continued before I could voice my appreciation. “No bullshit, you don’t do anything but keep an eye out. That’s it. No super sleuthing, no setting up stakeouts in the parking