Page 36 of Elijah’s Whim

“I’m going to throat punch you in fifteen seconds, dipshit.”

“Explain,” Bas issued in his usual business-first tone.

Grant bulldozed right over me when I began speaking. “See, he has it bad for the—”

I launched my entire body at him. Since he was the only person on the love seat and didn’t expect me to come at him in a full body rush, I took him off guard and toppled the furniture backward with both of us still on it. When the back hit the ground, the thud reverberated through Grant first and then me, since that was the order of our body stack.

“You’re such a jackass,” I said, but I couldn’t stop laughing at that point because I could imagine how ridiculous we must have looked to a spectator.

“Will you two idiots get up?” Bas grumbled. “For fuck’s sake.”

I rolled to the side and stood up, then extended my hand to help Grant up too. We both gave ourselves a once-over for wardrobe damage and brushed off the residual dust before setting the love seat upright.

“If you two dumb shits broke that furniture already, Pia will hunt you down at your homes. I’ll make sure of it. I’m not taking the fall for this one too.”

“That bullshit in your office was your fault,” Grant challenged incredulously. “What do you mean, ‘this one too’?”

“Let’s get back to the situation with Hannah. I noticed on her call log that she’s been getting an average of three or four hang-up calls every day. So far, I haven’t been able to get a trace on the number, but my team assures me they’re getting closer.”

“What do they say when she answers?” Bas asked. “Remember, I was getting odd calls before we put Abbi out in Twenty-Nine Palms.”

“Oh, that’s right. I forgot about that. And she hasn’t told me about the calls herself yet. I’m trying to be patient, but it’s wearing very thin. The woman doesn’t trust or open up very readily, so it’s taking longer than I hoped.”

“Wait,” Grant chimed in, and I could already tell he was going to say something that was going to make me want to punch him again. “Are you losing your touch, Banks?”

“Shut the fuck up, Twombley. At least I knew not to pick a married one, okay?”

Grant put his hand over his heart. “That was low, man. And you are going to get this same bullshit day after day after day for what the two of you put me through with Rio. This is just the beginning, my friend.”

“Oh, joy,” I said sarcastically while rolling my eyes. My mind was racing all over the place, which was very unusual for me. Normally I was laser-focused and could jump from one subject to the next while keeping up with Grant’s ridiculous banter on the side. But today I couldn’t think about anything other than Hannah. Was she safe? Did she stay at the kitchen after I dropped her off there this morning? Did she go out to run errands for Rio?

“Grant?” I asked.

“Yeah, man?”

“Is there any way you can call or text Rio?”

“Sure. What’s going on? She doesn’t always pick up right away, though. If they’re busy getting lunch together or whatever, phones go unanswered until they get a break in the action.” He explained it as if we all hadn’t been exposed to the food prep industry for the past year.

“I get that,” I said.

“What do you need from her? I know the two of you aren’t planning a Bunco night.”

“Not anytime soon, no.” I chuckled at the thought. “Can you ask her if she wouldn’t mind keeping Hannah inside the building when she’s at work? I feel increasingly nervous about her running errands or doing the lunch deliveries if I can’t have a bodyguard on her.”

“Sure, I’ll let her know your concerns. And I’m sure she’ll cooperate because she cares about Hannah very much.” Grant thought for a few beats. “Why don’t you have a bodyguard assigned to her, though? Wouldn’t that make the most sense if you’re worried about her safety?”

“Like I was getting around to explaining before, she’s very skittish. Especially regarding her family. She protects them like she’s the parent, even though both parents are still in the picture and not elderly. She’s harboring some guilt from something, but I’m still working through all of that. I’m sure I’ll get to the bottom of it, but in the meantime, if I could get some cooperation from everyone else, it would be so much easier. I’d be very grateful.”

“You got it, my brother,” Grant vowed. “I’ll ask Rio when I talk to her.”

“I was thinking of trying to flush these bastards out of hiding. Maybe make a public appearance or two over the weekend with Hannah and see if that shakes any trees. I’m thoroughly enjoying the woman under my roof, but I’d rather her be there because she wants to be, not because she’s forced to be because of circumstance. It’s not a great feeling. It’s giving me déjà vu, if I’m being honest.”

“What are you talking about?” Sebastian asked.

Grant looked at our buddy with utter confusion. “Dude. He’s talking about the same thing he’s always talking about. Hensley fucking Pritchett.”

“I’m not always talking about her,” I defended incredulously.