“Fuck no. They can figure their own way back. Serves them right for not being around when I was looking for them.” I huffed.
He gave me a quick glance. “You, Mistress, shouldn’t be looking for anybody. They should be following you like good little ducklings.”
“Aww, that’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard,” I gushed, resting a hand on his arm. “Now I’m so going to call them my little ducklings, and they’ll hate it.”
“Your ride should be ready now,” he offered. “Get home safe.”
“Thank you once again. I’ll make sure to tell Boykov you were amazing,” I shared, waving him goodbye and heading up the stairs.
As if the man heard me, Boykov was standing by the limo door waiting for me to get in. I hurried over but paused before I slipped in. “That man down there needs a raise or whatever job he wants, Ralph.”
“I’ll make sure to mention it to Master Ryker,” he assured me with a smile. “Are the others coming?”
“Not with me,” I announced and slid into the car.
To my surprise, Boykov slid in beside me and closed the door. I cocked a brow at him, and he shrugged. “Protocol. If you’re not with any of the lieutenants, then one of us needs to be with you. They’re part of your security team as well, but when it’s just you, that means we step up to the frontlines.”
“Interesting… good to know,” I said as I pulled out my phone to call Ryker.
Two rings, and he answered, “What’s wrong.”
“Goodness, you think just because it’s one in the morning and I was out with the boys, something is wrong?”
“Ti… Astin, what do you need?” he asked with a groan.
“I need everything you know on Harrison and Raymond along with what moves Harvey O’Hagan is doing. Seems we’ve been behind on a few things,” I shared.
“None of that makes sense,” Ryker challenged. “What am I looking for?”
“You’re not looking for anything. That’smyjob. I need the information,allof it, Ryker. Not just the things you think I should know. I mean, every speck of information we have on those two property tycoons.”
“Fuck, okay. I should have a fair amount already, but the way you’re talking, it makes me think I need to take a second look. We’ve gotten lax with them being some of our top people,” Ryker said, and I could hear the typing on a keyboard.
“One more thing, which room is Gunner’s?” I inquired.
“Ah… left side, third door down,” he paused. “Why do you need to know that?”
“Fucker doesn’t have his phone on,” I bit out.
There was a moment of silence. “Yeah, I’ll let him figure that out on his own.”
“Wise choice. When you have what I need, meet me in my rooms,” I directed and hung up.
“Do I need to call the doc and tell him to be on standby?” Boykov asked.
I cocked my head. “Why would you need to do that?”
“For Gunner, after you wake him up,” he explained.
Laughter burst out of me, and I nearly fell over in my seat. “Oh God, that’s amazing. Damn, I’m so glad you’re on my team. You’re my kind of people.”
“So… is that a yes?” he pressed.
“No. I’m just going to make him piss his pants. The golden boy is going to be horrified that he fucked up this bad without me needing to spank him too,” I assured Ralph.
We pulled up to the house, and Boykov wished me a good night as I entered the front door. The house was quiet, and the lights were dim, making it a little spooky. It was an old house, so it makes sense it would have a creepy side to it. I felt like that was a rule. Moving quickly up the stairs, I got to the landing and took a left, looking for the third door down. The doors alternated which side they were on, so I guess when he said third door, he meant literally the third door. Welp, if it wasn’t him, then I’d have some apologizing to do.
I kicked in the door, letting it slam into the wall as the dim light from the hall lit up the room. Unlike my suite, they only had one actual room with the bed off to the right side of the room. Gunner flailed as I flipped on the lights, falling out of his bed.