silver strand. He didn’t care how old Louis was. He’d taken care of boys in their sixties. Louis knew that.
“Craig!”
He looked over his shoulder to see Jamie waving at him from the entrance. He acknowledged Jamie with a return wave and looked in the car. “I’ll just go see what Jamie wants. I’ll be back in a minute.”
Louis opened one eye. “He wants to talk to you, not me?”
“Yeah. Stay there.”
“I’m not moving anywhere,” Louis assured him with a groan.
Craig grinned and jogged back to Jamie, noting his bleak expression. “What’s up?”
“Monaghan.”
Craig nodded. He’d been expecting a call. “What about them?”
“Rick Monaghan just called me,” Jamie said. “He wants a meeting with Louis.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I’d pass the message on.”
If Louis ever let Jamie walk out the door, Craig would be waiting with a job for him.
“What did he say?” he asked.
“To tell you it’s important.”
“I’ll get Dominic to call him. If Louis needs to meet him, we’ll do it at CDR, not here. Under no circumstances is Monaghan allowed on the premises.”
“I’ll tell security.”
Craig would also liaise with them as they were all CDR men. He had extra instructions.
“I know Monaghan,” he said, to reassure Jamie. “He’s a good guy even if he does fly close to the wind. Dominic is sure Monaghan wasn’t involved.”
Jamie raised an eyebrow. “But you’re still not letting him in the door?”
“They were his men. Monaghan doesn’t set foot on Louis’s territory. Louis deserves that surety.”
Jamie sighed and scrubbed a hand through his hair. “I want my boss back,” he admitted.
“He nearly died at the hands of men who were meant to have his back,” Craig pointed out. “How do you think he’s going to feel every time he walks in here?”
“Scared.”
“Yeah. Give him time. It’s not even been two weeks yet.”
“He wants to make me manager.”
“I know. What do you want?”
“I want to be promoted because I’ve earned it, not because Louis is too scared to walk through the door.”
“And that’s why you deserve to be the manager.” Craig clapped a hand on Jamie’s shoulder. “Give him time and earn your position.”
Jamie fixed him with a hard stare. Craig noticed for the first time how rich brown his eyes were.
“Don’t break his heart again.”
Craig snorted. “Too late. Vera gave me that lecture already.”
Jamie grinned at him. “And you’re still standing?”
“Only just,” Craig assured him. “Now let me sort out Monaghan.”
He jogged back to the car to discover Louis was asleep. No surprise there. He decided to make calls and climbed in the front next to Eddie.
“Ready?” Eddie asked.
“Yup. Monaghan’s sniffing around.”
Eddie grunted. “Word is he’s losing clients. He must be pretty desperate by now.”
“Let’s hear what he has to say.”
Craig left Dominic to set up the meeting with Monaghan for the following day. He was there for Louis. Dominic was the alpha dog at CDR.
Louis woke as they arrived back at his house. “Hey,” he said, sounding groggy.
Craig looked over his shoulder and was pleased to see the tight look in Louis’s face had eased. “You’re awake. Feeling better?”
“Ask me after coffee. What time is it?”
“Nearly two.”
“I feel like I’ve been awake for hours.” Louis yawned.
“Padraig and Jace will bring your bikes back,” Eddie said.
Craig grimaced. He hated anyone else riding his bike. Then he caught the same expression on Louis’s face.
“You’re gonna have to suck it up,” Eddie said brusquely. Then he winked at Craig who laughed. Eddie knew how precious all the operatives were about their bikes.
Craig helped Louis out of the car. Louis groaned as he stood to his full height.
“I feel like an old man.”
“How about a hot bath to soothe out the aches?”
“Only if you join me.”
Craig froze, and Louis gave a shaky laugh.
“Just joking.”
But it didn’t sound like a joke.
Craig looked at him. “Louis…”
Louis looked away. “Forget I said anything.”
He walked toward the house, leaving Craig staring after him.
“What are you waiting for, man?” Eddie said from the driver’s seat. “He’s asking you to look after him.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Craig murmured.
Eddie rolled his eyes. “You were put on the case because of what you are.”
“I was his Daddy.”
“If you can’t help him, I’ll call Quinn. He can help Louis.”
No fucking way!
“Louis is mine!”
“You sure about that, son?” Eddie obviously wasn’t intimidated by Craig’s snarl. “He asked for your help now. If you can’t do it, then I’ll get someone who can.”
“No one else touches him.”
“Then help him,” Eddie said in exasperation. “What are you afraid of?”
“Not being able to walk away at the end,”