But the worry persisted. The need to do something persisted. And it made it really hard not to be a jerk to Lia Blair’s open hostility. But he was on duty so he let a slow breath out, forced himself to smile. “Campbell took off today. What seems to be the problem?”
“I’ve got a thief.” She gestured to a girl in an oversize hoodie and…and a hoodie he recognized. Because it washishoodie.
He had to close his eyes against the wave of frustration, helplessness, and—worst of all—grief. Because he didn’t knowwhat to do for his sister, and he was making all the same mistakes with his niece.
“Sammy, what is this?” he ground out.
“You know the thief?” Lia asked, with some level of surprise and not accusation.
Sammy smirked at the lady, a flash of Dani so potent Gard just wanted to haul her out of here, take her home, and lock her in his house until she got it through her head to stop repeating her mother’s mistakes.
“Uncle Gard, tell this lady that I didn’t take anything, and she can’t prove I did.”
Oh, if only he thought that were true. “Cut the crap, kid.” He held out his hand. “Give me the money.”
Her face went mutinous. “You don’t believe me?” she shrieked.
“Give me the money,” he repeated. He couldn’t deal with the personal side of this just yet. First, he’d get Lia her money back, then he’d deal with…
God, he didn’t know.
Sammy shoved her hand into the hoodie pocket, pulled out a fistful of ones. She shoved it at him like he was the bad guy here.
He wished he could believe she was trying to help herself, but he just knew her too well. “All the money.”
She looked at him with eyes full of hate and fury. Yeah, he’d had his fair share of that from Dani too. These days it didn’t hurt so much as just make himsad. All he wanted to do was help, to save, to make thingsokay, but he could never seem to get that through to them. They justhadto paint him as their enemy sometimes.
Sammy pulled out more money—a carefully folded wad of twenties.Jesus.He took it and handed it over to Lia. “Is that all of it?”
Lia counted it out. “Yeah, that’s it.” She looked up from the money, to Sammy, to him. There was something…calculatingin her expression. “Unfortunately, that doesn’t account for the baked goods she ate or ruined in her quest to steal from me.”
Hell.“How much?” He reached for the wallet in his pocket.
Lia looked from him to Sammy and back again, still considering, calculating. He didn’t know what that was, and he wanted to get out of here more than he wanted to figure it out.
“I don’t want your money,” she said firmly. Lia’s gaze moved back to Sammy. “A couple weeks’ work should pay it back. You’re over fourteen, aren’t you, kid?”
“I’msixteen.”
“She’s fifteen,” Gard muttered irritably. “And has school. She might be currently masquerading as brainless, but she’s actually got a tough course load. I don’t like the idea of her working on top of it. She’s got to keep her grades up. I’ll pay you back for the baked goods.”
“Attentive uncle, are we?”
Gard liked to think he was an easy-going guy. But he also had a line he didn’t let people cross. Usually, they were criminals trying to find a breaking point.
But Lia Blair sure found his quick.
She must have realized it, because her own disruptive smirk—not unlike Sammy’s—melted off her face. “Weekends are my busy days and when I need help,” she said in her usual no-nonsense manner. “Six to noon, Saturday and Sunday. Three weeks of that should clear up this little…misunderstanding. And it still gives her time to do all her schoolwork.”
“Six in themorning?” Sammy squeaked.
Which settled it for Gard. Besides, if she was here, she couldn’t go sneaking off, could she? Maybe she’d cause troublehere, but that was going to be Lia Blair’s problem. “Start this Saturday?”
Lia had alot of problems with Corporal Fairhurst. First, the fancy-pants name. Second, the fact he was a cop. Third…
God, he was hot. Tall, broad shouldered. She was sure the whole uniform getup added to the fact he looked big and intimidating, but she had a sneaking suspicion even in plain clothes he’d look big and intimidating.
And she knew she had issues, because yeah, she liked that. She would have said she didn’t like short hair on guys, because it gave off that cop/military/authoritative vibe she was most assuredlynotgoing for in her life.
