Page 94 of Ozzie

The police arrive, and I tell them what I saw. There really isn’t much to go on, but one officer gives me his card and says he’ll be in touch.

As the officer walks away, Lightning is there. “JB is at his hotel. I suggest we go back too.”

“Do you think the senator is behind this?”

Lightning shrugs. “Not sure, but I don’t like feeling like we’re being used. I really hope JB is wrong about his dad. But the senator having her kidnapped to scare her would be a lot better than some terrorists.”

We walk to the hotel and head to our room. I’m ready to get out of this tux.

“We should take shifts to sleep,” I say.

“Why? Just set the app to sound an alarm if he moves more than five feet,” Lightning says.

“I didn’t realize the app could do that.”

He takes my phone from me, punches something in, then hands it back. “We’re all set. I’ve used this app before.”

I arch a brow.

“On an assignment. I don’t track Alicia.”

“How is she doing anyway?”

It occurs to me I haven’t seen her in a while, and Lightning hasn’t mentioned her. “She’s good. Her little sister has been staying with us more frequently. It’s brought up a lot of topics for discussion.”

I step into the bathroom and change from the tux to jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. “Like what?” I call out through the open door.

He’s quiet until I pop out.

“Like if I want to have kids.”

“Do you?”

He shrugs. “I’m not sure. I mean, I love Alicia, and I guess I’m afraid we could lose us if we have any. But the thing is, I need to figure this out. Like Alicia said, we aren’t getting any younger.”

I lie down on the bed. “I want kids. Lots of them. I want them to have a lot of siblings to count on.” Unlike me. But I shake that thought from my head. There’s no point dwelling on my sad family life.

“Do you think Piper is on board with that?”

His question catches me by surprise. “You see me with Piper long term?”

Lightning laughs. “Fuck, I hope so. Otherwise, all this bullshit with Durango was for nothing?”

I laugh too.

“Seriously, you two seem good together, so yeah, I see you guys in it for the long haul.”

He gets ready for bed as I think about what he said.

“We should get some sleep. I’m so grateful we got a room with two beds,” Lightning says.

I laugh. Whatever happened on his assignment with Thunder in Grand Cayman traumatized the guy or something.

Lightning frowns. “Thunder’s not a cuddler. Poor Madison.”

I know better than to dig into that statement. I love Lightning, but we might never get any sleep if I get him telling stories. Instead, I lean over and turn off the lamp.

I’m almost asleep when my phone beeps loudly. I grab it and sit up.

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