He wished she would hurry up and change out of the damn dress that sent his blood rushing to his groin.
“I’ll go with you and Razor,” offered Aine. “Pen and Tara can ride with Gunner.”
Ava nodded, but she sure didn’t look very happy about it.
—:—
“See you shortly,” Ava said to Tabon, but didn’t look in his direction.
“What’s wrong?” Aine asked after he walked away.
“He’s lying.”
“What about?”
“I’m not exactly sure, but my guess is, about not knowing anything about Dad.”
“How do you know he’s lying?”
“It’s a thing he does. I can’t really explain it, but it’s the set of his mouth. I wouldn’t have thought anything of it, but then I remembered he’d done the same thing when I met him last summer on Fire Island.”
“You thought he was lying about something then?”
“He was lying. He was pretending to be Quinn’s boss, when really, he was her bodyguard.”
Aine shrugged with a skeptical look on her face. “I hope you’re wrong,” she murmured. “For your sake.”
—:—
“Fill us in on meeting the twins’ father,” said Doc, when he and Merrigan joined Razor and Gunner in their cottage.
“Every nerve ending tells me that man is dangerous. He definitely suspects that I’m not on the up-and-up, maybe just with his daughter, but he watched me closely.”
“We’ll know soon enough if he’s Petrov, but whether he is or not, he’s the head of CRM Allied, and that is who we’re officially investigating. It’s CRM that Ava will indirectly testify against at Finnegan’s trial. In the meantime, I can guarantee the agency is making a deal with him to take down the company he works for,” said Merrigan.
“What’s the status of the daughter?” asked Doc.
“Ava, her sister, and their two friends will be stayin
g in one half of my duplex in Cambria.”
“For how long?”
“As long as necessary.”
“And if she insists on leaving?”
“I’ll handle it, Doc. You do your part of the job, and I’ll do mine.”
Razor was getting sick and tired of Doc treating him like an employee rather than an equal partner. Sure, he’d always assumed the role of leader, but they’d managed without him when he’d disappeared for two years.
He met Gunner’s eyes, which conveyed both that he understood Razor’s irritation, but also that he was equally concerned about him being able to handle this assignment.
“Penelope and Tara are riding with you. I’ll ride with Ava and Aine,” he said to Gunner, who rubbed his hands together.
“Behave,” said Doc.
Razor looked at him to see who he was talking to, but Doc’s eyes went back and forth between him and Gunner.