And it wasn’t just listening devices he was trying to avoid. The more he said, the more he risked Detective Amaro catching a whiff. He glanced over to where she now stood on the flagstone path, talking with one of the uniformed officers and someone from the coroner’s office.
No, he couldn’t risk her learning a thing.
Renly followed Red’s line of sight, then swung his leg over the stone bench and stood, nodding toward the detective. “If we’re playing evade the cops, I think I’ll go see what they know. Or don’t know.”
“Good luck. She seems the type to hold information close to the vest.”
Renly spread his hands. “I don’t need luck. It’s me.” He flashed a grin. “And it doesn’t hurt that I know her. Detective Lucia Amaro. She worked a series of ODs on the set of one of the movies I consulted on. Looked like ODs, anyway. Turned out they were murders.”
“So you’re going to pump her for information?” Red allowed some welcome humor into his voice. “Should Abby be worried?”
“Never,” Renly said, and Red knew he meant it. His brother had been in love with Abby since forever, but never thought he could have her. Now that he did, there was no way that Renly would screw that up.
As Renly headed across the lawn toward the detective, Red took a sip of water, his mind turning to Jo. Immediately, he felt like a complete prick for even letting her inside his head, much less in the context of comparing his love life to his brother’s. Except despite whatever other feelings Red had for Jo, she was also a friend. And she was going to need help.
“What?” Damien asked, watching his face.
“I was thinking about Jo,” he admitted. “She doesn’t know yet.”
“You’ve called?”
“Voicemail. Text. Got nothing.” As he spoke, he pulled out his phone and tried again, only to once more get the recording. He held it out to Damien with a sad shrug.
“You’ll be there for her,” Damien said. “We all will. And Jo’s strong.”
“She is,” Red said, smiling despite the situation. “She always has been. But she shouldn’t have to be strong for this.”
“No one should,” Damien agreed. “I’m glad I got to meet her and Mel. I would have liked to have known him better.”
Red cupped his hands over his chin, feeling the scruff of his beard. He sighed, a sound of utter exhaustion. “To tell you the truth, today I’ve been thinking that I wish I’d known him better, too.”
“We’ll find answers,” Damien said. Red nodded. Because when a man like Damien Stark made a promise like that … well, you had to believe him. “There is something I’m curious about.”
Red sat up, his head tilted slightly as he studied his friend. “What’s that?”
“Anything you need from me or Stark Security, you only have to ask. You know that. But with your skills, I’d think you’d be comfortable handling this on your own. Or with your brother. Working on his own time, of course,” Damien added with a grin. Because now Renly was a full-time operative with Stark Security.
“My skills?” Prickles of awareness straightened his spine. “Not sure what you mean. And I’m just one guy.”
“Your experience served my wife well when you protected her during that hostage situation. But I wouldn’t have expected anything less from a former SWAT officer.”
Red heard the question—or maybe it was an accusation—in Damien’s voice. “What do you think you know?”
To Damien’s credit, he didn’t deny. “I know that you never served on a SWAT team, even though that’s what you told me after you took that bullet. So why did you say that you did?”
Red shrugged. “Maybe I wanted you to feel secure about who’d been protecting your wife.”
“The crisis was already over when you told me. You could have been anyone with the courage to use themself as a shield against a bullet. You chose SWAT. You chose a lie. I want to know why.”
Red leaned forward, looking directly into Damien’s dual-colored eyes. “I like you. And Renly damn sure respects you. But even a man like you doesn’t always get what he wants.”
Damien smiled. “You’re right. I don’t. But I always try. Usually I succeed. I’m stubborn that way. In your case, I wanted to know more about you. Like you said, you saved my wife’s life. And I’m always on the lookout for talent.”
“I told you I wasn’t interested in working for Stark Security.”
“And if I’d stopped pushing after the first no in any business negotiation, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Red exhaled. “What is it you think you know?”
“You were the SOC, one of the most secret and elite groups under that umbrella of Special Forces. You have skills. You spent time in Romania. And you left the service after coming home.”
Red forced himself not to react. “I’m impressed. How exactly did you find all of that?”
“I told you. I’m tenacious.”
Red drew a deep breath, wondering how much Damien knew. The silence lingered, and it became a point of pride not to speak first.
Red won.
“Those must have been interesting missions,” Damien said. “I know a bit about human trafficking network operations in Romania. We’ve dealt with the fallout from a network run by a man named Corbu.”
“I know the name. His, and his lieutenants.”
“I thought you might.”
Once again, silence hung between them. Red looked toward the flagstone path, but only the uniformed officer was there now. Renly and the detective must have gone inside.
“I think you’d be an asset.” Damien’s voice was level, but Red thought he heard an undertone of compassion. As if Damien understood some of what had gone down.
“I’ll think about it.” When hell freezes over. “In the meantime, just so we’re clear, I do intend to handle this myself. It’s personal. But I’ll likely need op tech and remote assistance, not to mention backup.”
“Again, you have it. Whatever you need, no questions asked. And, Red,” Damien added, “that’s not a one-time offer. Anytime, anywhere. Whatever you need, tomorrow or ten years from now.”
“I won’t turn it down, but I think you’re being overly generous.”
“No,” Damien said. “I’m not.”
Red nodded, thinking of Nikki and the connection between the two of them that was so vibrant it practically lit up a room. “I get it,” he said softly, his heart turning over as he saw Jo step into the garden from the tasting room, a uniformed officer at her side.
He realized what he’d said, and almost tried to cover. But he let the words linger. They were true, after all. Maybe that made him the world’s biggest asshole, but he loved her. He had for years.
And there wasn’t a damn thing he intended to do about that except be the best friend he could possibly be.
He didn’t realize that he’d stood until she turned toward him. Even from this distance, he could see her red, swollen eyes.
“Go on,” Damien said gently, now also standing. “She’s going to need you.”