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“What’s that?” Augie asked when the phone in my pocket vibrated.
I dropped a quick kiss on his nose and rolled off him to pull it out. I hadn’t intended to look at it, but when I pulled it from my pocket, it vibrated again and the image of my boss flashed across the screen.
“Fuck,” I muttered. “It’s Lanny. I have to take this.”
I sat up and stepped off the bed, making my way out to the hallway for privacy while accepting the call.
“Saint Wilde,” I answered in a clipped tone.
“Why is Rex looking into two police reports involving August Stiel? And why, pray tell, did you not think to inform me of this development?”
Shit. Fuck. Damn.
“Rex told you?” I realized how petulant that sounded and quickly moved to take it back. “I mean, yes, sir. It turns out his house was broken into as well as his car.”
“Well, apparently Rex tapped into the surveillance of the parking deck where the vehicle was and saw something quite interesting. Mr. Brett Stiel, your client’s first cousin, was also present in the parking deck during that time.”
“That would make sense. I believe Augie was in town for a family dinner,” I said.
“Let me clarify,” Lanny said in a concerned voice. “His cousin’s vehicle wasn’t noticed; the man himself was seen approaching your client’s vehicle with another unidentified man forty-five minutes before the break-in. It appears he was pointing August’s car out to the other man.”
I glanced at the bedroom door I’d closed behind myself when I stepped into the hall. Surely Augie’s own cousin didn’t have anything to do with the vehicle break-in?
“Could you tell who actually broke the window when it happened?”
“No. The man was wearing dark, nondescript clothing and a ball cap, but to me—and Rex agrees—it very well could be the second man. The shoes look the same, but it’s too fuzzy to tell conclusively.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. Why would Augie’s own cousin arrange for his car to be broken into?”
“That’s the million-dollar question. And by million, I mean billion. Understand? We’re going to get to the bottom of this because these two events can’t be random. Not when that home invasion happened in Hickville where the crime rate is at Barney Fife levels.”
“I don’t know what that means,” I said. Which was a lie. But all of us enjoyed making Lanny feel old. It was left over from serving together when he was our team leader.
“Shut the fuck up. Yes you do,” he grunted. “Are you at a computer? I want to send you this surveillance video and see what you think.”
“Um, no. I’m not at home.”
“Well, get somewhere you can pull it up and call me back ASAP. Actually, no. Come here to the office if you don’t mind. I’ll pull together a crew to start work on this tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir.”
After disconnecting the call, I opened the door to the bedroom again and saw Augie lying back in his bed with his head on the pillow. His glasses were folded neatly on the bedside table, and his eyes were closed. I had to force myself not to go to him. The minute I touched him, I’d break all the unspoken promises I’d made to my boss.
This was ridiculous. I was skating on such thin ice as it was, and this job with Lanny was all I had. It was the only reason I’d left the navy in the first place. I’d wanted to go home when Otto had decided he was done, but I wouldn’t have felt like I could if Lanny hadn’t been there offering me a job. Being one of his trusted men at Landen had given me something to focus on, something to take the place of my identity as a SEAL. I was a personal security specialist. And my job was to keep Augie safe, not to get him naked and do naughty things to his body.
I sighed and cursed the act of maturing. It was so fucking overrated.
“Augie, I’m sorry,” I said, holding back all the things I really wanted to say. That he was beautiful and kind, sweet and sexy. “I have to go.”
Chapter 19
Augie
I sat there in stunned silence just staring at Saint as he paced in front of the doorway. “Wh-what?” I finally managed to sputter. “What the hell?” Had he just been fucking around with me for some reason? Was I the butt of some big joke? Humiliation bloomed harsh and fast throughout my entire body, strangling me with its familiar hold.
Saint’s face was flushed, and I wasn’t sure if it was from the kissing or something else.
“Augie, I can’t,” he said, running fingers through his hair and moving restlessly around the room. “That was my boss, okay? And you’re my client. You’re Lanny’s client. I can’t do this. I’ll lose my job. We shouldn’t have—”
