Wicked and True (Wicked & Devoted 4)

Zy shook his head. “I have to head out. That was Trees, and he needs some mission support. It’s urgent. If I get any sleep tonight, it will be late, so I’ll do it at my place. And I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Sure. Be careful and stay safe.”

Would she be worried if she didn’t care about him? Maybe love him at least a little?

“I will. Night, baby.” He kissed her softly.

“Night,” she mumbled, then lay back on the pillow.

She was asleep again before he even left the room.

Zy let himself out of the house, locked the door behind him, hopped on his bike, and sped through the chilly night back to the office. It was late, but not obnoxiously so for a call. The instant he set foot in the office again, he flipped on the lights and the coffeemaker, prowled to the conference room, propped his feet on the table, and called Cutter.

The former EM Security operator, now married to the TV star he’d once protected, answered almost immediately. “Zy?”

“Yeah. Hey, congrats on your marriage, man.”

“Thanks. Sometimes I can’t believe my good fortune.”

No shit. Shealyn West had made People’s most recent Sexiest Woman Alive list, and she’d fallen not for her on-screen movie-star boyfriend but for a regular Joe who wasn’t famous and wasn’t rich. But Cutter was real. Zy really respected her choice since he’d grown up in the land of the plastic.

“I’m sorry to bug you this late.”

“It’s not that late for me. I’m in LA. Just arrived a few hours ago.”

Cutter was starting his new life with his new wife…and he didn’t need the old life dragging him down, but Zy wasn’t sure where else to turn for a quick answer.

“And I know you must have a million things to do.” Including his gorgeous bride. “So I’ll keep this quick. I need a safe house somewhere around Lafayette. And I need it in the next few hours.”

“That urgent?”

“Life-or-death. And I don’t know the area the way you do.”

Cutter sighed. “I have some thoughts. Gimme ten.”

“If you can come through, my life won’t be the only one you’re saving.”

“Want to tell me about it?”

If he was still a team member, Zy wouldn’t hesitate, but the EM brothers had left him in charge, and he wasn’t going to risk sinking their ship by having loose lips. “I can’t.”

“Sorry. I wasn’t thinking. Of course you can’t. I’ll get right back to you.”

The line went dead. Zy barely had time to make a cup of coffee and text Kane to be on standby for further instructions when his phone rang again.

“That was quick, Bryant.”

“Like you said, I’m more familiar with the area. So I’ve got two choices for you.”

“You’re a miracle worker. Lay them on me.”

“My best friend, Brea—”

“You mean Walker’s fiancée?”

“Yeah.” And Cutter didn’t sound thrilled. “Her father has been a widower since Brea was a baby, and he’s finally getting remarried. His girlfriend is willing to give up her home and stay with ‘friends,’ meaning Preacher Bell, for a few weeks.”

Valeria and her sister would be in hiding for months, maybe even years. But in a pinch, this temporary solution might do. “Tell me about it.”

“Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, single story. Quiet neighborhood. Nothing flashy about the house. She’s a schoolteacher, been widowed a long time. No children. Almost no one drops by, and she assures me she can handle the few who do.”

“And second?”

“My apartment. I didn’t see the point of breaking my lease when it was half over. It’s not far from your place, so you can keep a discreet eye on them. Plus, a Lafayette SWAT member and his wife, a homicide detective, moved downstairs from me a few months back. Not much slips past them.”

“You got the two-bed, two-bath unit with the balcony?”

“Yep. They’re welcome to take the desk out of the spare room and set it up as a bedroom.”

Zy weighed his options and made a quick, gut-level decision, not that he informed Cutter. No reason to tell him anything that could drag him into this cartel shit. “Where could I find the key to either place?”

“How about I call Brea and have her give both keys to Walker. Hell, they’re probably together anyway. Connect with him, and he’ll hook you up.”

“Thanks, man. I owe you.”

“You don’t. You and the team have helped me and Shealyn out so much, not to mention the fact her sister told me you and Trees were mighty instrumental in getting them out of that shit with the crazy cult.”

“Maggie is being nice. We just hung around and made sure nothing went south.”

Cutter scoffed. “Maggie is never just nice. Between you and me, I got the sister with the sweeter disposition. Maggie is Josiah’s problem now.”

Maggie was every bit as beautiful as her sister, and Zy was pretty sure Josiah welcomed the challenge of taming his bride-to-be. “That, she is. But seriously, if I can ever do anything to help you or your wife…”