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There were two SUVs parked a few houses in front and behind. They were older models that fit in the neighborhood. Ones that wouldn’t draw attention.
I had to give credit to Daniel Elliott. He was smart.
And I had peace of mind knowing someone was watching over Ma when I wasn’t there.
Especially when the black sedan was parked across the street.
I hesitated before I cranked the engine.
The windows of the car were so dark, I couldn’t see if her father was inside. I doubted he’d get his hands dirty, but who knew?
And I felt guilty leaving Ma, even though the security detail was made up of ex-military special ops guys who could dismantle me before I could blink.
“Call your brother.” I inclined my head toward the sedan.
Beau stiffened. “Should we go back inside?”
I stared straight ahead, torn between options. When it came to my family’s safety, I wanted to be the one to take care of them. But I was running on no sleep. I couldn’t be in a million places at once. And I had to learn to trust other people to carry some of this load. Especially expertly trained people.
Iknewthat the security team could do a better job than me at protecting Ma, but still couldn’t shake the ingrained feeling I should be the one watching over her.
What was I going to do? Skip work tomorrow?
I couldn’t. I had to scrape up bail money for Joe.
And I wasn’t going to live under some asshole’s iron rule. He’d dictated my life with Beau for too long. If it weren’t for him, she wouldn’t be my wife now. But if it weren’t for him, maybe I’d have never had to let her go in the first place.
“Cal?”
“I should call Aaron. See if he can come stay with her tonight. I’m pretty sure he’s off tomorrow.”
We both pulled out our phones. And even after Lincoln was aware their father was watching Ma’s and Aaron had agreed to stay with her, I didn’t feel better as we drove away.
“We should take all this food to Daniel’s where it will be appreciated,” Beau said.
I sighed. She was right.
I was used to constantly being around people, whether it was my family or at the firehouse, but I needed some quiet.
“Tomorrow.” It would make more sense for me to go grab a bag so we could stay with Teague or the Elliotts in their secure building. Because in the morning, I was going to have to drop Beau by there anyway.
But I wanted my shitty apartment.
After we did drive-bys of all my brothers’ houses.
I turned up the radio and held up my hand, palm up. I needed Beau’s strength and energy, but I couldn’t just take it. She had to meet me in the middle.
When her delicate hand closed around mine, something in my chest eased. I’d been wound up tight for . . . I couldn’t remember how long. But it was taking its toll.
She cracked her window, letting in some fresh night air, and leaned her head back against the seat.
A few minutes later, we rolled by Bobby’s. There was security somewhere. I’d been promised. But they were so discreet, I couldn’t make them out.
However there was no missing the black sedan parked across the street from my oldest brother’s house.
“Son of a . . .” What had I expected? That her father’s threats were empty promises?
We cruised to Mike’s.
