My Day with the Boys
I heard Hank’s phone ringing, he muttered an oath and leaned over me to pick up his cel from the nightstand.
“Yeah?” he answered, his voice husky with sleep.
My eyes flickered open, it was stil real y dark.
My eyes shut again and I curled into Hank. Shamus pressed into my back.
“Where?” Hank asked.
He seemed resigned, not tense. Since he wasn’t tense, I figured my world was not about to come crashing down so I didn’t get tense.
Then he said, “Got to take care of somethin’ at home, then I’l be there.” Another pause, then, “Yeah.” Then I heard the beep of him disconnecting the cal .
“Whisky?” I whispered.
There were more beeps. Hank was making a cal .
“Just a minute, sweetheart,” he answered then he talked into the phone. “Jack? Hank. I need to go out and I need protection for Roxie.”
He stopped talking. I got up on my elbow and pul ed my hair out of my face. Shamus gave an enormous doggie groan of protest.
“Fuck,” Hank said then paused. “Yeah. I’l take her there.
Twenty minutes, tops.”
Another beep as he disconnected.
“What’s going on?” I asked, looking at his shadow in the darkness.
He moved, the light came on and I blinked. Shamus jerked to his bel y and surveyed the scene, preparing for al doggie possibilities open to him; early walk, early breakfast or some sort of pets and cuddles.
“There’s been a homicide and it’s connected to a case I’m on,” Hank told me. “I’ve got to go to the scene. I need to take you to Lee’s offices. You can go back to sleep there.
I’l pick you up later.”
I blinked again, but not because the light burned my eyes.
Lee’s offices?
No way in hel .
“I can go to Uncle Tex’s,” I suggested.
He shook his head, pul ed away, got out of bed and walked to the dresser.
“Please don’t argue, I want to be sure you’re safe and Lee’s boys can keep you safe. Get some stuff together. A change of clothes, whatever you need for the morning. We have to leave now.”
Was he serious?
“Now” wasn’t an option for me. He knew I was high maintenance. He’d said twenty minutes, some of that was travel time. I needed to choose an outfit, I needed hair stuff, body stuff, makeup. I needed twenty minutes just for the outfit.
“Now?” I asked.
He pul ed on some white boxer shorts, came back to the bed and tugged me out of it.
When he was standing in front of me, he bent and kissed my nose.