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Probably way more than he should have, but as far as the mission, he was in.
FIVE
Elena had to close the shop for the day, which sucked for business but was a necessity. She had to clean up, inventory what had been stolen, call the insurance company, get the glass and door replaced and do a hundred other things that had nothing to do with sales.
Her mind was running in a million directions.
She’d called Marco and told him about the break-in. He’d rushed in to help with the cleanup, horrified by what had happened, but also eager to hear all the details.
“You’re lucky only a few pieces were taken,” Marco said as they finished up the inventory.
She nodded. “Obviously someone busted in to make a quick swipe.”
“Probably wanted jewelry to pawn for drugs.”
“That’s what the police said. I have to take photos of the stolen inventory to them and they’ll alert the pawn shops. If any of the pieces show up, the shops will notify the cops.”
Marco took care of running over the photographs and descriptions of the stolen jewelry, while she met with the insurance adjuster there at the shop. He had just left, as had the glass company, when a van pulled up on the side street.
Jed got out, grabbing a bunch of equipment. She went out to greet him.
“Where’s your bike?”
He smiled at her. “The bike is for play. This is for work.”
He dragged the equipment inside her shop.
Uh . . . what the hell? She pivoted, went inside and locked the door and found him at the back of the shop.
“What are you doing?”
“Installing a new security system. Your old system sucked.”
She crossed her arms. “I don’t recall ordering one.”
“You didn’t. This one’s on the house.”
“Jed, really, I can replace the alarm system myself. That was going to be my next call, as a matter of fact.”
He didn’t look up from the pile of gizmos and wires. “Now you don’t have to.”
“Jed.”
“Busy here, Elena.”
The doorbell rang. “Dammit. Stop what you’re doing. I’ll be right back.”
It was a customer—one of her regulars—and she had to spend some time telling her about the burglary and letting her client know everything was all right. By the time she got back to Jed, he had the alarm system mounted on the wall.
“Remove that system.”
He finally stopped and gave her an exasperated look. “Why would I do that when it’s already installed? I’m testing the connections now.”
“Jed. I don’t want your charity.”
He laughed. “This isn’t charity, Elena. It’s advertising.”
“What?”
