Chapter Twenty-eight
Lucky hid in his cube. No other word worked but coward. No way, no how was he leaving his desk or going home anytime soon.
Not with them there. He shivered. At home Charlotte and Rett talked nonstop about kids, men, and when said kids weren’t around, things that made Lucky suddenly remember something urgent to attend to in another room.
He’d done the hard part, driving a U-Haul from Spokane to Atlanta. Kinda fun, reliving his old eighteen-wheeler fantasies.
In the meantime, he’d gotten to know his nephew throughout a surprisingly nice road trip. Ty snapped selfies of himself and Uncle Lucky, posting them to social media, then checking his phone every five minutes and giving an update of how many likes he’d gotten from friends.
Lucky had taken more than a few pictures himself.
Now boxes and boxes and boxes spread out in his living room, both spare bedrooms, and if he looked really hard he might find the Harley amidst all the furniture stored in the garage.
This morning he’d gone into the guest bathroom and found a bra hanging from the towel rod. What was the world coming to?
He loved having his sister and nephews near, but he’d gotten settled into a bachelor routine. Then he’d gotten used to having Bo around.
No. He’d discovered that life wasn’t worth living without Bo.
No more getting friendly with his man in the kitchen. If his sister knew what happened one day on the counter, she’d still be spraying bleach water.
Only until she found a place of her own. By then, he’d be so used to her presence he wouldn’t want her to leave. She’d also offered to help him and Bo become parents by carrying Bo’s child. Well, having her underfoot beat worrying about her. What if she fell in with some bad element?
Hmm… Maybe he shouldn’t have shot down Jimmy the Annoyingly Perky Agent from Virginia when the guy wanted to date Charlotte.
Now the guy had transferred to the Atlanta office, damn it all to hell. Jimmy seeing Charlotte might not be the best situation, since Lucky would be his boss for the foreseeable future.
Outranking the man gave Lucky strategic advantage. Not that he needed to defend his sister’s honor or anything. If a date didn’t treat Charlotte with respect, she’d have him laid out on the floor before Lucky ever got there.
She’d toughened up a lot since leaving her loser of an ex-husband.
Today after work his sister and the woman who’d elbowed her way into Lucky’s life were going shopping, and to a bar later while Bo and Lucky occupied Ty and Rett’s son. How’d that happen?
More than likely Charlotte and Rett would be talking about him.
Scheming.
Plotting dinner parties and cookouts, and all kinds of things involving lots of people invading Lucky’s personal space.
Like the reasons he wouldn’t leave his cube: the rookies who followed him like a pack of puppies any chance they got, whispering, “It’s him! It’s really him!” like groupies. Hadn’t they heard he was a card-carrying sonofabitch better avoided at all costs?
He’d better work harder on his asshole reputation.
Bo smirked at him from across their shared cubicle. “You know you can only hide in here for so long before the new recruits find you.” He snickered. “Want me to go get you more coffee?
The mere mention of coffee made Lucky wince. No hope for it now, he’d have to venture out of his cube before a full bladder got the better of him.
He poked his head out of the cube. Good. Not a soul in sight.
The moment he stepped into the hallway he cringed at the, “Oh, there you are, Mr. Harrison. Have you got a moment? I’d like to ask you something.”
Lucky didn’t even bother to see his pursuer, either Jimmy, wanting Lucky to fix him up with Charlotte, or some snot-nosed youngster who wanted to show off police academy knowledge by asking Lucky too many fucking questions.
He all but ran to the men’s room.
***
Despite Lucky’s best intentions, a party raged inside his house, a combination welcome for Charlotte and kids, birthday party for Bo, and a going to college party for Todd.
Bo had to go invite most of the department too, which meant Lucky spent half his time running interference between Charlotte and Jimmy from Virginia, or running from the pack of brats he’d been assigned to train.
He’d yet to talk to Johnson about Phillip.
Oh, how he’d love to escape to the back deck, but Bo would only drag him back inside, lecturing him on being a bad host.
Twenty more minutes and Lucky would scream and run from his own home. So many colognes! Plus, the ribs, burgers, mushrooms and hotdogs they’d grilled.
Oh, crap. Ty had a huge grin on his face, talking to a teenaged girl with big blue eyes, blonde hair, and an equally wide grin.
“Hey, what do you know? Ty’s making a new friend.” Bo wrapped an arm around Lucky’s shoulders.
“Ty is not allowed to date Keith’s daughter. Why the hell did Keith even come anyway?” Lucky groused.
“Um… because I invited him?” Bo wandered off to mingle some more. Better him than Lucky.
The nephew in question caught Lucky’s eye and pantomimed a right hook.
Lucky mocked Ty’s pose and lifted his elbow, driving home the “keep your arm up” lesson he’d been trying to instill in their forays to the gym.
Ty nodded, smiled, and turned his attention back to the girl. Given his hand gestures, bobbing and weaving, he’d started bragging about learning to box to impress his audience.
Judging by the wide smile on Keith’s daughter’s face, Ty succeeded.
Dear lord. What if he wound up having to deal with Keith over holidays? Lucky shuddered. Then again, hating the in-laws was a time-honored tradition. Lucky had a head start.
And Ty was young yet. He’d smile and try to impress many girls before he chose one to settle down with—at about age forty.
Walter made his way over to the spot on the wall Lucky had claimed for his own. “Lucky, could I speak to you in private?”
“I thought you’d never ask.” He put on a good show of heading out to the deck with the boss, in case Bo decided to come looking for him, and breathed easier once they’d stepped outside.
Fresh air! Less noise! Yes!
But…
What could the boss want? Lucky hadn’t fucked up lately, well, not much, but if he had, at least he could be reasonably sure Keith hadn’t installed any cameras to gloat over a reaming out Lucky might have coming.
Moose nearly knocked him over getting out the door. Wherever Walter went, the danged critter wanted to be.
A few late summer crickets chirped in the grass, though fireflies had come and gone for the year. Music, chatter, and laughter from inside the house muffled when Lucky closed the door.
At least talking privately gave him a valid excuse to get away from the crowd. The people in the living room weren’t bad, most of them, anyway, but so many at one time, who collectively knew too many of his secrets? Not a good thing. If anyone started talking…
Lucky dropped down into one of the two Adirondack chairs Bo had bought. Soon he’d need to add more for Charlotte and her brood. While Atlanta wasn’t known for cold weather, for better or worse, sooner or later summer would give way to fall.
Walter eyed the chair next to Lucky’s but remained standing. Lucky stood and joined him, resting his elbows on the badly-in-need-of-a-good-power-washing railing. “This reminds me of the time right after you attempted to leave the SNB. Remember? I came down to Pensacola to deliver your paycheck and order you back to work.”
Seemed like ages ago. Lucky’d spent that weekend with Bo in his arms—and his bed. The first time he’d admitted his feelings.
Bo hadn’t laughed and run.
No way would Lucky let Walter know how much the visit had meant to him. The personal invite back to SNB. Also, the .38 he’d found giftwrapped on his desk, once he’d served out his sentence. When no one else believed in him, Walter Smith had. “Yeah, pushy bastard. If not for you I’d be enjoying retirement or out driving a truck somewhere.” Even trying to be gruff, Lucky failed. The level of affection he had for this man couldn’t be hidden. Someone who’d once put guys like Lucky in prison but had taken a chance on a two-bit felon and herded, no, shoved Lucky headfirst in the right direction.
Walter emitted a chuckle. “I have a confession to make. I’d never been more terrified in my life.”
Lucky whipped his head around. “Terrified? What do you mean?”
“I honestly expected you to tell me to take the job I offered you and shove it somewhere physically impossible.”
“Really? Why?” Terrified. Most people were terrified that Lucky wouldn’t go away, not that he would.
“Because, eight years prior I’d met an arrogant, conceited man with little remorse for his crimes. Cocky, stubborn.” Walter reached a hand down and rubbed Moose’s furry ear. Moose groaned. Spoilt dog.
“Still am.” Most of the time.
“No, you’re not. Oh, you might have others fooled, but anyone with common sense can see right past your façade.”
“Now wait a minute…” Lucky’d worked hard for his reputation. And did façade mean good or bad?
“Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me. But as I was saying, I got to know you, saw beneath the bravado to a truly decent human being. In my line of work, I need all the decent human beings I can get.”
True dat. But Lucky? Decent? Even all those years ago? “You give me too much credit.”
“No, Lucky. I don’t give you nearly enough credit. Despite what you might believe, you’ve been the glue that’s held the department together. Some fear you, some may not like you, but all respect you, and know that, no matter how prickly you are, you’ll do everything in your power to keep them off the SNB memorial page.”
Did Boss Man know how many times Lucky agonized over the page, wondering, not if, but when his name would appear there, for real this time?
He’d use his dying breath to keep another name from appearing on the page.
Walter spat out a whiplash-inducing change of subject. “When I was a young man, I used to dream of being a father.” He gave a fond smile. “As an only child, I wanted a big family, four, maybe even five children. Then I fell in love with my wife. Have I ever told you why we chose not to have children?”
“No. I mean, I might have wondered, but it wasn’t any of my business.” Though Walter would have made one hell of a father.
“Lucy was born with a heart condition that put her at added risk. She still wanted to try for a child. To use one of your Southern expressions, ‘bless her heart.’ I wouldn’t take the chance. Even though I knew I’d never be a father, and would spend my years taking care of her, might even lose her young, from the moment I met her there was no other choice.” His eyes twinkled. “She’s defied the odds and we’ve shared a good life.”
Oh, crap! “You’re not telling me she’s sick or anything, are you?” Bo would have them on the road and taking her chicken soup or something within the hour.
No. Wait! She couldn’t be dying. Even now she sat on the couch a few feet away, lap full of black and white cat.
Walter waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, no. Nothing like that. She’s fine. I just wanted to explain why we never increased our family.”
“Do you miss not having kids?” Would Lucky one day regret if he didn’t take his sister up on her generous offer to make him and Bo parents? But who could bring a child into his crazy life?
“Never! What I’m getting at is, and I think I’ve mentioned this before, you’ve become like a son to us, though I’m thrilled that you’ve made up with your own family.”
Lucky’s heart stuttered with a tangle of emotions he’d need time to sort out. “If you see me as your son, how disappointed in me are you?” Lucky hardly made a shining example.
“Not at all. I’m proud of you. You may not have come from the same background as some of the other agents, but you’ve never let anything hold you back. All on your own, without even the support of your family, you’ve become a fine man and excelled.”
“So, what are you buttering me up for?” Lucky never learned how to take compliments. Or he had. As a wrapper for something unpleasant.
Walter shook from his laughter. “Ah, ever the suspicious one. Can’t I say something nice without ulterior motives?”
“If you can, you’re probably the only person on the planet.”
“When I brought Bo on board, I never dreamed that he’d follow in your footsteps and prove himself a worthy addition to the team.” Walter held up a finger, effectively cutting off Lucky’s comments. “Hoped, mind you, but nothing more. He’s done well.”
“Yes, he has.” In more ways than one. Now that they were talking so openly, Lucky’d had a question burning in his mind for a while. Time to get an answer. “Tell me the truth. When did you figure out we were a couple?”
Walter didn’t pause before answering, “The first time I saw you together in a conference room.”
Lucky’s jaw dropped. That couldn’t be right. “We weren’t involved then. We’d just met. He thought I was an asshole, and I thought he was a pampered mama’s boy.”
Walter grinned. “Yet the sparks flew. I must admit, I enjoyed the show, even if I couldn’t let on.”
“Why couldn’t you? You could’ve saved us from worrying.”
“Because then you wouldn’t have worked so hard at your relationship. Also, I had to comb the regulations to ensure there were no repercussions.” Moose butted his hand. Walter resumed the ear rubbing.
“Well, I appreciate that. Though it would’ve been nice to know how you felt.” All the time he’d spent, wondering and worrying about him and Bo getting found out, all the precautions they’d taken. For nothing?
“Now, Lucky, you don’t expect me to play favorites among my team, do you?” Walter raised one bushy eyebrow.
“No. Not you.” Damn it.
“Yet I’m about to.”
“What?”
“Please hear me out before you say anything. I understand my recent medical problems were induced, but it’s made me face reality. I’m not a young man. I’m past retirement age, and well, it’s time for me to pass the torch.”
“Nah, you got a lot of good years left. What will we do without you?” Oh, God. The SNB without Walter wouldn’t be the same. Nor would Lucky.
“Yes, and I’d like to spend those years puttering around the house, getting in my wife’s way. Or maybe seeing the world. I’ve been invited to visit Nice. I’m told it’s beautiful this time of year.”
Lucky grimaced. Visiting Nice meant visiting Victor. Between Walter and Victor, Lucky had no secrets. “If all that hadn’t happened, would you have allowed O’Donoghue to replace you?”
“I’ll be honest with you. O’Donoghue wasn’t my first choice, and without urging from the powers that be, I’d never have agreed to name him my successor.”
“Why not?” After the way Walter had sung the man’s praises?
“Because my best agent didn’t trust him, and I’ve learned to pay attention to his instincts.”
“Then who would you have named?” It had better not be Keith, uneasy truce or no.
“You, Lucky. You were my first choice.”
What the fuck? Oooo-kay. Not what Lucky expected. He rubbed at his neck, his insides twisting together like a bucketful of snakes. “No disrespect, Boss, but me wearing a suit and tie? Spending all day in a conference room? Besides, the rest of the team would go ape shit.” Lucky shuddered. Please let Walter not insist, please, please, please.
Walter shrugged. “Maybe they would, maybe they wouldn’t, but in the end, they’d accept my choice and they’d respect you for the job you would have done.”
“Would have done?” Lucky didn’t let out a relieved breath yet, but some of his anxiety lifted.
“Yes. Though I would love to see you fill my shoes, it’s not your way and not how you operate. After seeing the fine job you did with Bo and Loretta Johnson, you’re too valuable to the department as a trainer to lose.”
Whew! “Please tell me you’re not planning on naming Keith.” Keith would likely make Lucky’s life a living hell. But he’d better not mess with Bo or Johnson.
“Actually, he and I had a very enlightening talk the other day.”
Lucky pictured his career swirling down the drain. “You know me and him don’t get along.”
“Yes, I do. I also know he passed work off on others that he should have done himself. Not the action of a good leader. Yet he’s bright enough to realize he’d be unpopular and out of his depth. He made a suggestion that, I must admit, has a lot of merit.”
No telling who the little asswipe recommended, though apprehension swept through him. Something Keith said the night he’d invaded Lisa’s house. “Who?”
“A man who’s made his mark in the department and proven himself time after time. He’s smart, has impeccable integrity, and best of all, he’s managed to endear himself to the department without compromising his impartiality, mostly.” Walter had spoken so highly of Bo all those years ago, the day Bo and Lucky met.
A sinking feeling hit Lucky’s stomach. “Who?”
“A remarkable young agent named William Schollenberger. I believe you know him.” In all the years Lucky’d known Walter, he’d never witnessed such a playful smile. ‘Bout time the boss relaxed some.
But Bo? Job pressures. Dealing with suit and tie types? “He’s not ready.”
“No, he’s not. I plan to spend the next year grooming him. Once he’s in place and running the show, I’m retiring. Jameson has also committed himself to Bo’s training. He’ll be in good hands.”
Lucky still didn’t trust O’Donoghue and would never forgive him, but the man wasn’t likely to piss off Victor. Or Walter. “What about him and me?”
“What about the two of you?”
“We’re a couple.” He’d love to say, “Married couple.” Maybe one day. “We can’t work in the same department, can we?”
“No, you can’t, and you won’t. If he accepts the position, Bo will head the Department of Diversion Prevention and Control, and you’ll lead the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau’s training department. You’ll both answer to my current superior, who mostly stays on the eighth floor and seldom makes an appearance.”
Bo? And Lucky? In upper management? “What about…”
“I’m afraid that accepting the job will put an end to Bo’s undercover career, although he might still choose to act as handler from time to time to keep his skills sharp. Your training duties may occasionally require you to play an undercover role, but you’ll be home most nights.” Walter hid a grin by turning and ruffling Moose’s ear. “Who’s a good dog?”
If something sounded too good to be true… “What about the classroom part? And who’ll head up the undercovers? We got a lot of newbies wandering around.”
“I’ve read your reports on Loretta Johnson. I believe it’s time to see what she’s capable of. I’ve received more transfer requests from other branches of the bureau. Not to mention resumes from current members of the Atlanta police department. We’ll get along just fine.”
Lucky fought not to smile and give too much away. Boss offered him one sweet deal. “You’ve got everything all figured out, don’t you?”
“Don’t I always? Do you think Bo will agree?”
Being home at night? Not getting shot at? A vision flashed through Lucky’s mind of Bo, carrying a tiny squirming bundle into the unused nursery in their home, tucking a child—their child—into bed. Almost brought tears to his eyes. “He’ll agree. If for no other reason than you asked.” Lucky wasn’t above begging. Anything to see his man safe and sound.
“Then I believe it’s settled.” Walter gave Moose a final pat. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’ve noticed Loretta hovering around the door. I believe she wants to talk to you.”
Walter slid the door open and stepped inside the house. “Hello, Loretta. He’s all yours.”
Oh shit. Lucky had been instrumental in putting her lover in jail. Since then, she’d never once mentioned Phillip or his fate, had never acted any differently toward Lucky.
Sooner or later they had to talk.
Maybe he should warn Bo to keep an eye on the back deck in case of violence. Lucky’s weak knees made sitting down a rational decision.
Johnson plopped down into the chair next to him. Moose headbutted her hand. Fickle beast. He’d trained her as well as he had Walter, only Rett had nice long fingernails to scratch beneath Moose’s fur.
“Hi, Johnson.”
The air dropped ten degrees from her frigid tone. “Oh, so it’s Johnson again, is it?” She half-rose from the chair.
“What? Oh, no! Sorry, Rett. Got a lot going on in my head. Take a load off. What you got on your mind?” Let it not be punching him out for her boyfriend’s arrest.
“I just wanted to say that you did the right thing.” She propped her elbows on the chair arms. Moose abandoned her for Lucky.
“On?”
“It doesn’t matter if he was coerced or blindly following orders. The truth is, Phillip broke the law. Like it or not, I’m sworn to uphold those same laws.” Rett’s voice remained flat, emotionless.
At what cost? “He didn’t take a plea deal, so he’ll go to trial.” A trial hadn’t helped Lucky’s case any. He’d gotten ten years.
“He might wriggle free yet.” She closed her eyes, pulled in a deep breath, and whooshed it out. “His parents promised to hire the best attorneys they can find. If money can bribe Lady Justice, he won’t serve a day. He’s under house arrest and can’t leave the state.”
“I have a feeling there’s a ‘but’ or ‘and’ coming.”
Her weak smile couldn’t have fooled anybody. “He had to agree to go back to law school.”
“Doesn’t sound too bad to me, if they’re paying, and if he’ll be able to get past the bar with this on his record.” He’d also need to pull his grades up one hell of lot since the last time he’d tried higher education—if he found a decent school to accept him.
“Oh, they’re paying all right. If he isn’t convicted, it’ll be like nothing happened, as far as the bar is concerned.” Rett let out a breathy, humorless laugh. “I should’ve known better than to get involved with a man so far out of my league.”
Phillip? Out of her league? Never! “What the hell? If anything, you’re out of his.”
Rett patted the hand Lucky rested on Moose’s head. “Thanks, but I’ll never be the debutante his parents want for him.”
“Nope, you’re one hell of a lot better.” Why she stayed with such a loser as long as she had was anybody’s guess. The bastard was a fucking criminal, and Rett was class act enough to shoot her former lover to protect her kid.
A brief smile flitted over her lips. “Thank you for saying so, but his folks don’t agree. Another condition Mommy and Daddy put on helping him is that he can’t see me again.” She snorted. “His mother took great pleasure in telling me so. He didn’t even say goodbye.”
“Why that sonofa…”
Rett flopped against the back of her chair, staring at her hands as she twisted them together in her lap. “Wanna hear the stupid part?”
Anything dealing with a man dumb enough to dump Rett couldn’t get much stupider, could it?
She plowed on, not waiting for an answer. “The stupid part is that I knew I was only asking for trouble the first time I had drinks with him at the hotel when we both came here for training. Knew I should never have invited him up to my room. Knew with every kiss and—” she cut her eyes toward Lucky— “everything else, that we were riding a bus going nowhere.”
“Been there. Done that.” Usually by Lucky’s choosing.
Rett nodded and gave a sniffle. “Me too. Enough to have known better. But noooooo! I had to go and get involved with him, even though his parents didn’t like me.”
“What about your parents? What did they think of him?”
She gave him an “oh, please” face. “My mama said she done raised me right and trusts me to make my own decisions. She’s still there to help me pick up the pieces if things don’t work out.”
Sounded a lot like Lucky’s mother.
“Anyway, every time we went out I planned to break things off. I mean, he’s younger than me, comes from a whole different world, and it’d be hard for him to be a father-figure to my baby when, most days, Rone acts more mature.”
“You didn’t send him packing.”
Rett shook her head and stretched her legs out in front of her. “Here’s the reeeeeeeally stupid part. Even though my head said he was bad news, my heart…”
One moment they sat side by side. The next Lucky held an armful of weeping woman. “Oh, God, Lucky. It hurts. It hurts so damned much!”
Oh shit. He’d never been much good around people once the waterworks started. He hugged her, whispered, “It’s gonna be all right,” and ran a hand up and down her back like he’d seen his mother do to distressed folks back home.
His heart pounded. What could he do? What could he say? What would Bo do?
Bo’s voice answered in his head, “You don’t have to do or say anything. Just be there.”
Somewhere, mid-stroke, Lucky’s actions were no longer mimicked from his mother, nor the words taken from Bo. They were Lucky’s, soothing a friend.
“Yeah, we’re both gonna be all right.”