Page 30 of The Desperate Warrior

“Me too,” Dad said with a somber expression and then glanced out the window again. A second later, he turned his attention back to Jules. “Before I go, let’s figure out a time for your party.”

“What party?” Nikki piped in.

Jules let out a long breath. “Since I was stuck in the hospital on my actual birthday, Dad wants me to host a party so that I can invite all of my coworkers. He thinks it’ll be a great way for Brock to question everyone to see if they’ve had any run-ins with Steve Randall.”

Nikki’s eyes shimmered with excitement as she brought her hands together. “A party? I’d be all over that.”

Dad threw Jules a grin that said,I knew exactly how this would go down. “We were hoping that you’d plan it,” he added.

“Of course,” Nikki said eagerly. “When’s it gonna be?”

“How about next Friday?” Dad suggested.

“Next Friday?” Jules shook her head. “That’s too soon.” She had to go back to work on Monday, which would be a hard transition. Then Nikki signed her up for that stupid cooking class on Wednesday evening. Adding a party on Friday would be too much.

“I’d have the party tomorrow if we could,” Dad countered. “We need answers now.”

“I’ll handle everything,” Nikki assured Jules. “You won’t have to do a thing.”

“Okay,” Jules relented.

Dad looked at Brock. “Let’s plan on jumping on a call sometime tomorrow with Sutton so that we can go over the details of the plan moving forward.”

“I’ll reach out to Sutton and see if we can get on his schedule,” Brock said.

Jules looked from Dad to Brock, her expression unyielding. “From now on, I want to be included on every call.” When Dad’s mouth moved like he might protest, she added, “I’m the one whose life is at stake here, and I deserve to be kept in the loop.”

“Very well,” Dad agreed. Rising from his seat, he stepped over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Go easy on the boy,” hemurmured. “He’s hurting, just like you.” Dad nodded to Luke as he passed by him and then gave Nikki a peck on the cheek, just as he’d done to Jules.

Thunder boomed, nearly jolting Jules out of her skin. She glanced towards the window and the darkening sky. Apprehension ran through her as she spoke to Dad. “Are you sure you should leave right now? It looks bad out there.”

“I’ll be fine,” Dad said easily. “I need to get home to your mama. You know how she gets in thunderstorms.”

Jules nodded. Her mother hated thunderstorms. She’d been in a tornado when she was a kid and had never gotten over the trauma. Unfortunately, tornadoes were a way of life in Texas, but it didn’t make living through the threat of them any easier.

“See y’all later,” Dad said and then went out the door.

Luke jutted his thumb. “Well, I’m gonna get a shower.”

“Good idea,” Nikki responded. “You stink, Stalker Boy.”

“You don’t exactly smell like a bed of roses, Combat Barbie.”

Brock looked at Jules, mirth sparkling in his dark eyes. “They already have nicknames for one another. Interesting.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Luke demanded with a frown.

“You’re the strategist; I’ll let you figure it out.”

“You like me.” Nikki taunted Luke with a wicked grin.

Luke rocked back. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

“See ya around, Stalker Boy,” she drawled and then sashayed out of the room.

“She’s a lot,” Luke murmured as he watched her retreating form with an eye of appreciation.

“So are you,” Brock shot back.

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