When He's Dirty (Walker Security Adrian’s Trilogy #1) - Lisa Renee Jones Page 0,57
like Adam to protect me. And you and your family. Blake had the foresight to send a few men from our Dallas office to Austin at dawn. They just got here and they’re already in place.”
“How many?”
“Four men, good men. We now have full-time attention on your parents in doubles, without them knowing. They’re protected. You’re protected. I’m protected.”
“But Deleon—”
“Will come for me and not anyone else,” I say. “I have a plan, but we need to talk through pieces of that puzzle. Overall, you’ll feel better about all of this when you meet our team. Which is why,” I add, “now that we have more men and coverage, and I’m out in the open, you can meet them. Unless you object, we’re on our way to meet Jacob, Savage, and Lucifer for lunch.”
Her eyes go wide. “In public?”
“Yes, Pri,” I laugh. “In public.” I motion to Adam. “Though Adam and I can tell you, taking Savage out in public is not always a good idea. You’ll figure out why over lunch.”
“He’s not kidding,” Adam calls out. “Savage is Godzilla smashing through every place he enters.”
“And he’s guarding Ed?”
My lips curve. “Seemed a good match.”
“Really?” she says. “Is it?”
“Savage is a killer and a protector,” I say. “You want to be his friend, not his enemy.”
“Truth,” Adam chimes in.
“You okay with lunch?” I ask.
“Aside from now being intimidated by the idea of Savage, yes, but surely you’re being watched. And as much as I hate you making yourself bait, won’t all your men scare off Deleon?”
“Not a chance,” I say. “I know him. I’m setting him up. He’ll bring in his team to fight my team. And his team has nothing on Walker Security. It also means all of his men will be here where we can end them once and for all.”
“That sounds dangerous,” she argues. “And you’re the target.”
And her, I think, more so because of me. It’s not a topic I welcome, but if I want to deserve her trust, I have to talk to her—alone. For now, I say, “I’m not going to die, Pri, and neither are you, but you need to know that I may kill a few people before this is over. You’re going to have to live with that.”
She presses her hand to my face. “Just stay alive, then maybe you’ll figure out that I’m not a fair-weather friend.”
I capture her hand. “Friend?”
“We are friends,” she says. “Isn’t that a good thing?”
“Yes, Pri,” I say, surprised at how much I mean those words and how much closer to her I feel, as those words pull us together. “It is a good thing.” And then, with none of the relationship hesitation of years and women past, I lean in and press my cheek to hers and whisper, “But we are so much more and I’m not letting you go.”
She leans back and meets my stare, shocking me when my law-abiding prosecutor says, “Then kill him before he kills you.”
“I let Waters go,” I say. “I won’t make that mistake with Deleon.”
Chapter Thirty
PRI
The restaurant where me, Adrian, and Adam are meeting more of the Walker team is only a few blocks of heavy traffic and stoplights away from the DA’s office in the downtown warehouse district. Appropriately, the bar and grill is a two-story warehouse, with plenty of front door parking thanks to the early hour of just eleven in the morning.
Adam pulls us into a parking spot and kills the engine. Adrian kisses my hand before he exits the SUV and helps me out, but once we’re outside, I don’t miss the fact that he, quite deliberately it seems, isn’t touching me. I’d read into that, but I’m not sure what. Am I a conflict of interest some on his team won’t appreciate?
Whatever the case, we join Adam on the driver’s side of the vehicle, and with Adrian and Adam by my side on the walk to the door, I’d feel pretty darn safe walking toward the entry if one of the two of them wasn’t on a hitlist. Actually, I might be on that same list as well, so overall, we’re just like three ducks lined up to be picked off.
We enter the building through heavy wooden doors, the swoosh of cool air conditioning washing over us, and I breathe a sigh of relief that we are free of any bullet holes. Adam steps forward and greets the hostess, and Adrian’s hand slides to my back, and I decide