I still wasn’t thrilled about Kick being on her detail. The only explanation I could muster was that I wouldn’t trust anyone with her safety more than myself. Jealousy might play a role in it too, but that was harder to admit.
As much as I hated doing it, I had to wake her. When I opened the door, though, she was resting on her elbows.
“Good afternoon, sweetness.”
“Hi. I’ve been thinking about getting out of bed.”
I smiled. “What have you come up with?”
“I won’t if you crawl in next to me.”
“Would that I could, but there’s someone I need to introduce you to.”
She sat up straighter. “Who?”
“His name is Kick. He’ll be taking over as your custodian while I’m gone.”
I waited while she processed what I’d just told her.
“Is that really necessary?”
“I’m afraid it is.”
“Can’t Tee-Tee do it?”
I scrubbed my face with my hand. “I’d prefer that equally, but there is the matter of your safety. While Decker has tightened security on the ranch, the fact that someone got to you once…” I shook my head. “I cannot risk it.” My mobile buzzed, and I took it out of my pocket. There was a text from Rile saying Smoke had established our cover with the ABT.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“We’ve received confirmation from Smoke,” I answered without thinking.
“Who is Smoke again?”
“He’s with the CIA, but more and more, I think he operates independently. Right now he’s in Idaho, undercover with the Aryan Nation.”
She shuddered. “Scary.”
“Smoke or the job?”
“I was talking about the job, but is he scary?”
“You remember Hammer? Your attorney?”
“Yeah, he’s scary. I never would’ve guessed he was a lawyer.”
“Well, Smoke makes Hammer look like a primary school teacher.”
She laughed.
“I like seeing you smile.”
“I wish you didn’t have to leave.”
I felt the same way, but I had no choice. It was imperative we find not only Possum’s killer, but who the group was that backed him. I couldn’t trust anyone else; Rebel’s life was dependent on the success of this mission.
Once I’d introduced Rebel to Kick and he’d dropped his bags in the guest bedroom, I excused myself to the office. There were three things I needed to take care of before Casper and I went undercover.
First, I rang Hammer, and when he answered, I took the piss out of him for being uncommunicative.