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“I never thought I’d see the day,” Lennox says, joining us.
“This is what we fought a war for,” Keenan adds. “This is what we need to protect.”
“We will,” Lennox agrees, his lips pressing into a grim line.
Chapter 28
Now You See Me
KEENAN
“Where are we going and why do we need a moving truck?”
Vanessa left the house early this morning only to show up with a moving truck, insisting I get inside and come with her. I grip the door handle as she runs over a curb making a right turn. We’re driving through an industrial area so there are no pedestrians about, thank god.
“I’m not used to driving a truck this big,” she mutters, swinging far too wide on her next corner.
She still hasn’t explained where we’re going. “As your bodyguard I should know your itinerary so I can determine if your safety is at risk. I should also be the one driving because…” I flounder for a reason that won’t hurt her feelings, “I can protect you better.”
She frowns. “How can you protect me while you drive? Wouldn’t your hands and eyes be busy, you know, driving?” I feel her rooting around in my head and she gasps before I can block her. “You think I’m a bad driver!”
“God damn mating bond,” I mutter, trying to arrange my features into an earnest expression while lying through my teeth. “It’s not you, it’s me. I prefer to be in control when in a vehicle.”
“That’s bullshit,” she says accusingly. “I read your thoughts, Keenan. I can clearly see an image of a fiery car wreck with you running around with your tail on fire.”
Time to change the subject. “So where are we going again?”
I can tell she wants to pursue the argument, but something is distracting her. She’s nervous. “Ummm… I’m taking you someplace… that is… not totally… legal.” She glances at me from the corner of her eye.
I stare at the industrial buildings we’re passing. “Are you running an underground sweatshop?” It seems unlikely, but I can’t imagine what sort of illegal enterprise my mate might be embroiled in. So long as I’ve known her, she’s been the epitome of law abiding, even insisting we cross streets at crosswalks.
She laughs nervously. “Nothing that bad. More of a Robin Hood kind of thing. Stealing from the rich, although not really giving to the poor. Okay, it’s not a perfect comparison.”
“I’m clueless, but intrigued,” I tell her.
“Good.”
We arrive at a storage lot filled with dozens of buildings containing storage spaces. She circles the buildings, stopping in front of a garage door. Climbing out of the vehicle, she hands me a pair of gloves and a mask.
I take them, raising an eyebrow as I put them on, attempting to fit the mask over my beard. “The intrigue is deepening.”
“Just wait.” Her nervous excitement has her dancing on the spot as she punches in a combination code and pushes the garage door up, waving me inside.
I step into the cool interior. Rows of crates stacked to the ceiling fill the space. “What’s in them?”
She approaches a crate, unlatches the top and shoves it to the side. Reaching inside, she lifts out a flat square object wrapped in cloth. Propping it on the edge of the crate, she moves the cloth aside showing me her treasure.
Understanding dawns and I reach for it, touching the gilded frame. “Tell me.”
Her eyes are shining with excitement, but vulnerability colors her tone. “My mom left all this stuff for me. Dozens of paintings, vases, jewelry, mosaics and more. These are the things she collected but kept for herself. She sold most of what she stole, but not these pieces.” She gazes fondly at the painting, taking in the pastoral scene. “These were special to her.”
“Which makes them special to you,” I say, warmed by her obvious joy at being surrounded by her mother’s things.
She nods. “When I was at my most desperate, I still couldn’t bring myself to sell any of it. I know it was her intent that I sell the pieces when I needed money. It was her insurance that I would survive, but they’re all pieces of her. Too precious to give up.”
“And now you want to move them to the mansion.”
She looks at me with a combination of hope and fear. “I know having these pieces is unlawful and moving them is risky. Now I’m knowingly involving you, which means you’ll be breaking the law if you help me. But I don’t know what to do. I can’t give them up and we’re together now, which means…” She drifts off.
