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“Well, stay quiet until I finish,” he reprimands me.
“Angus!” I snap in frustration. He’s enjoying himself a little too much.
I signal I am zipping my lips shut and throwing away the key.
“According to Wiley, who called Shamus who called Teagan for verification, Matthew came to our house while Wiley was over there, and Shamus and I were here with you lasses. He arrived with his father—acting as chaperone—dressed in a fine suit and clutching a colorful fresh bouquet to ask Alice out for a surprise Valentine’s lunch.
“Ye can imagine the shock on Wiley and Dad’s face meeting Matthew for the first time, but Teagan knew all about the guy who has won our Alice’s heart after Matthew’s dad did some rapid explaining. We’ve known Harry for fifteen years, but he never let on he had a son, and he only recently came to live with him.”
Awww, my heart is all squishy for Alice and her boyfriend. Then it sinks in. My eyes go all Manga. “Oh, my God. Alice has a boyfriend.”
Angus chuckles. “Sshh… say it a little louder. They didn’t hear ye in Alaska.”
“Tell me more.”
“Matthew’s dad is a mechanic and runs one of the local garages. Nice man. Matty is Hawaiian, has Down syndrome, and is slightly older than Alice. He recently came to work for his father as an apprentice mechanic. He lived with his mother in Hawaii before then. That is all I know before ye ask. Why Harry kept his son quiet or why he didn’t live near his son is their business.
“Teagan knew Matthew was sweet on our Alice, and she liked him but thought it was her sister’s business to tell us in her own time, but she kept tabs on the two of them but gave them their space as it is all cute and innocent.
“The how this all came to pass? Paisley took Teagan back to L.A. to pick up her car a few days after they arrived from Alaska and gather a suitcase or two filled with Temecula-friendly clothing from Tucker’s Redondo Beach home because they arrived packed for Alaska. Recently, the car needed servicing, so Teagan booked it in with Matthew’s dad’s garage because it is across the street from where Teagan and Alice got part-time jobs at the local donut shop. Matthew, who prefers to be called Matty, comes in for donuts, and they meet up in her breaks. Alice also wanders over to the garage to talk to Matty.”
“I am so happy for the two of them.”
“It is all super innocent.” Angus presses the point. “Teagan and Alice were meeting them in yer driveway and escorting Matty to yer lunch, and his dad will pick him up when he calls.”
“Well, hasten your walking pace. I can’t wait to meet Matty.”
A thought hits me. I might be blindfolded, but I don’t need my eyes. I jab Angus hard in the chest twice with my finger. “Now, don’t you go messaging Tucker and dobbing Alice in. She is a grown woman. You don’t want me to do bad things to you,” I warn him. Alice is like a sister to me, and I can see why Teagan stayed silent, allowing Alice to get to know Matthew without the Mighty MacDougall Brothers overseeing their every move.
“Well, funny ye should mention keeping my mouth shut. Teagan just messaged me as ye walked out yer bedroom to let me know Alice told Tucker about her new boyfriend via his burner phone about ten minutes ago with a selfie of the happy couple. Anyway, time for a topic change.”
“Okay. Are we there yet?”
“We will be if ye count to one hundred, slowly, inside your head, and then we should be there.”
“Are you sure all this isn’t an elaborate decoy, and Tucker is here?” I say, half-joking because this has been one crazy morning, and at this stage, anything is possible.
“Tucker isn’t here,” he says softly.
Ugh.
Stupid heart.
Fifty-Nine
TEMPEST BROOKS
Tucker
We are now back at the safe house, and it is a little after half past three in the afternoon, and I am stepping under a hot shower before I get to cooking dinner for everyone in the house.
Before we left the house for a few hours, I received the photo from Gwen of Ophelia smiling, looking gorgeous in her dress. Seeing that image reminded me of everything I was missing, and unfortunately, I will have to delete it. I erase all correspondence just to be sure after sending anything important first to a private, secure email address. I got a little help from Joel, Lincoln’s boyfriend for that one, a friend of Boxer’s. I’m good with computers, but Joel is a next-level genius.
I haven’t used my private phone since Christmas Day. It stays in Slade’s well-hidden safe. I couldn’t risk my personal information getting into the wrong hands with my details, contacts, and photos at their disposal, threatening the safety of family and friends. Instead, I use two burner phones: one for keeping in contact with Shamus and a few others, and the other is dedicated to the job.
When we are out with our charge, our focus is on keeping the female happy and safe, which means no personal burner phone on me because I am on the job.
The Victoria’s Secret shopping trip was a success. The ladies had fun, and then they wanted to go to an adult shop, extending our time out. Phoenix knows the owner, and we made it worth her while to close the store down for an hour while the sisterhood of ladies shopped and giggled.
