Leo (Vigilance 3)

“That’s Six,” Leo said. “You can trust him.”

I joined him on the floor. “Is she okay?” If my presence in the shop had caused Agatha to get hurt or… worse, I didn’t know how I could live with that.

“She will be,” Six said.

Leo walked to the door, locked the shop, and turned the sign to closed. When he returned, Agatha stirred and tried to sit up. “What happened?”

Six glanced back at me, but I wasn’t sure what to say.

“Be careful,” I cautioned Agatha as she leaned back against the counter. “You may have hit your head?

She touched her head and winced. “I guess I did.”

“Do you remember a man barging in?” Leo asked.

“I… Yes. Who was he?”

“He was here to rob you,” Leo said. “He’s been caught in other businesses.” I hated that we were lying to her, but I didn’t want to put her in more danger by telling her the truth.

“In the middle of the day?”

“He’s a bold motherfucker,” Six said, then clapped a hand over his mouth. “Excuse my language, ma’am.”

She gave him a disgusted look. “How stupid do you think I am? Just because I’m old doesn’t mean I don’t pay attention. What’s going on? If he were here to rob the place”—she gestured at the man on the floor—“you’d have called the police.”

“How do you know we haven’t?” Leo asked.

“They’d be here by now. My nephew’s on patrol in this area.”

“Leo’s investigating something for me,” I blurted out. “I’m sorry. I should have been more careful.”

Agatha narrowed her eyes, studying me and then turning to give Leo a once-over. “You’re not a cop, and as far as I know you’re not a private detective either. You own Devilish Ink, don’t you?

Leo nodded. “I do, but I have a… background in law enforcement. Ezra was aware of that, so he asked me to help him.”

“There’s more to it,” Agatha said.

Leo smiled. “Isn’t there always?”

18

Leo

Agatha glanced between me and Ezra. “I suppose there is.” I had a feeling she would have made a very good operative.

I would appreciate it if you didn’t say anything about this. I’ll reimburse you for any damages and any medical bills.”

Ezra laid a hand on her arm. “Let me go with you to the hospital.”

She huffed. “I don’t need a hospital. I’ve just got a bit of a headache.”

“You want me to call Dr. Morelli?” Six asked.

I nodded. Dr. Giada Morelli was on call for the Marchesis. She was discreet and incredibly skilled.

“I said I don’t need a doctor.”

No way was she going home without being examined. “She’ll come here to look you over. We need to make sure you’re all right.”

Agatha huffed.

“It won’t cost a thing,” I added.

“I can pay her. I just don’t like to be poked at.”

Ezra was looking at me questioningly. I mouthed “Later” at him. Eventually, I was going to have to tell him all my secrets and then… I didn’t want to think about that.

When I’d seen Swain put a hand on Ezra’s shoulder, I’d nearly burst through the window and snapped his neck.

I could have done it, but there would have been hell to pay. I wasn’t sure even X’s lawyers could have gotten me out of that one.

I would go to jail for Ezra. I’d put my life and my freedom on the line for far less important people, but I wanted to bring down everyone in Swain’s organization, including his contacts in other states. I needed to be free to do that.

“The doctor’s on her way,” Six said. “I can stay here if you need to leave.”

“I’ll stay too.” Ezra leaned back against the counter next to his friend.

I wasn’t leaving Ezra there, not even with Six to watch over him. I turned to Six. “Thank you, but I’ll stay until the doctor comes. Can you head back to the shop and let Phoebe know I’m going to be out the rest of the day? Ask her to close the shop and call clients to let them know we’ve had an emergency.”

“Will do. You want me and Muffin to stay once the place is shut down?”

I considered that. “Yes. I’d say the chance of the shop being targeted tonight is fucking high.” I winced and glanced at Agatha. “Sorry.”

She grimaced. “You don’t need to fucking apologize.”

No wonder Ezra liked her so much. “My mother would say otherwise.”

Agatha just sniffed. “What does she say about your investigative work?” I could hear her disbelief at the description of what I did.

My mom actually knew a little about Vigilance, just not enough details to endanger her. She also knew as much about my work in the CIA as I could tell her. “She approves of my ideals, just not all my methods.”

After Dr. Morelli made her examination, she diagnosed Agatha with a mild concussion and told her to rest. It took some arguing, but finally, Agatha let us call her assistant to mind the shop and her daughter to take her home. Once they showed up, I managed to extract Ezra.