Page 368 of Romeo

“I was plannin’ on it.”

“Good. Lock it down. Don’t go playin’ hero until we get there.”

I almost smiled. “You know who you’re talkin’ to?”

“Yeah. That’s why I said it.”

Something shifted in the brush again.

I turned slightly, putting my body between the sound and Fiona.

“How long?”

“Depends how fast Juju can get the boats ready without bitchin’.”

“I heard that!” somebody yelled faintly in the background.

Gator ignored him.

“We’re on our way, cousin.”

The line went dead.

I slipped the burner back into my pocket and opened the screen door.

Fiona had already backed away from it.

Her eyes moved immediately to my face, reading everything I hadn’t said yet.

“You found something.”

I stepped inside and locked the door behind me.

“Yeah.”

The color drained slightly from her cheeks, but she didn’t panic. She simply folded her arms across her chest and waited.

I crossed the room, took her face between my hands, and kissed her forehead before looking into her eyes.

“I don’t know who’s out there,” I told her. “I don’t know if they’re here for us. I don’t know if that SUV had a damn thing to do with this.”

“But someone’s out there.”

I nodded.

“More than one?”

“Looks that way.”

Her hands closed around my wrists.

“What do we do?”

“Gator’s comin’.”

That answer settled something in her expression. Not relief exactly. Gator was one man, and Fiona knew enough now to understand I wouldn’t have called him unless I believed I needed backup.

I brushed my thumbs over her cheeks.