Barbara Dunlop – The Baby Contract (страница 9)
“She’s a nanny, not a fugitive. She’ll be here any second.”
“Just giving you a contingency.”
Drake wiggled again.
“Since when do you care about babies?” asked Troy.
“He seems a little restless.”
“He’s supposed to sleep for hours.”
“Whatever you say.” Then Vegas zoomed in on a screen. He went still and flicked a switch on his headset. “Boomer’s on that job in Rio, remember? He’s on the run.”
Troy’s focus was instant. “What happened?”
Vegas reached for the intercom to put the feed on the speakers, but Troy grabbed his arm. “You’ll wake him.”
Vegas nodded, withdrawing his hand to leave the sound coming to his headset. “Shots were fired.”
“At
Vegas paused. “Nobody hit. They’re in the bus headed for the hotel.”
Boomer was at a Rio de Janeiro jazz festival with a California band. The festival attracted thousands, but it didn’t have a history of violence. It had been considered a routine operation.
“They think it was probably celebratory gunfire,” said Vegas. “But Boomer wasn’t taking any chances.”
“Good decision,” said Troy.
“Roger that,” Vegas said into his microphone. He flicked a smile. “No longer headed for the hotel. They happened onto a beach party. Boomer will pull in a couple of reinforcements.”
“Gotta be a hundred parties there tonight,” said Troy.
“I wouldn’t mind an assignment in Rio,” said Vegas.
“I’d take anything with palm trees right about now.”
There were no windows in the DC control room, but the day had been cloudy and gray, October drizzle turning into November cold.
Troy’s phone buzzed.
He could only hope it was Edison with good news.
“Yeah?”
“Troy? It’s Mila.”
Her voice took him by surprise. For some reason it seemed to resonate right down to his bones.
“What are you doing with my direct line?” he asked.
“Kassidy gave it to me.”
Drake wriggled against his shoulder, and Troy lowered his voice. “Next time, call the switchboard.”
“Sure.” She went silent.
“Is something wrong?”
“I thought you’d like an update.”
“What I’d like is a nanny.”
“The nanny’s not there yet?”
“No,” he said.
“Where is she?”
“I have no idea. You want to come back and take over?”
“Kassidy is onstage. The crowd’s going nuts. You know, Troy, she really is good.”
“I know she’s good.”
“I mean
“Let me guess, you want to head the task force?”
“Sure.”
“That was a joke, Mila.”
“I’m not joking.”
“You’re angling for a job.” He wasn’t buying what she was selling.
“Is that deductive reasoning 101?”
“Ha-ha.”
“Gotta go. We’ll talk later.” The line went dead.
Troy heaved a sigh and pocketed his phone while Drake kicked his little legs and whimpered in his sleep. Anybody could see this babysitting thing was all about to go south.
Vegas turned from the monitor screens to gaze at the baby. “You ready to talk about the formula contingency plan?”
Mila and Kassidy crept into Troy’s apartment at three a.m. after a fantastic performance. Kassidy had come back onstage for two encores, and the club manager had already contacted Eileen Renard looking to set up future gigs. The social media buzz that had started during the evening continued even now.
“I’m trending,” said Kassidy in an excited whisper as the apartment door swung shut behind her.
She scrolled through the screen of her phone while she kicked off her shoes and started for the living room. “It’s mostly good.”
“I’ll go through the posts in the morning,” said Mila.
She was dead tired right now, and as soon as she retrieved the rest of Kassidy’s email printouts from Troy’s dining table, she was headed home for bed. She’d taken dozens of photos of the audience and the outside crowds, and she’d add the new social media posts to the mix. She intended to get back to her situational analysis early tomorrow.
“Oh, look,” whispered Kassidy, coming to an abrupt halt at the edge of the living room. “How sweet is that?”
Mila followed Kassidy’s gaze to find Troy sound asleep on his sofa. He was flat on his back, Drake sprawled across his chest, eyes closed, his face pressed into the crook of Troy’s neck.
“Sweet,” said Mila. Though, even sleeping, she found Troy more imposing than sweet.
His eyes blinked once then came fully open, obviously alert.
“What happened to Alice Miller?” asked Kassidy.
“She left.” Troy cradled Drake and sat up, glancing at his watch. “This one slept until five minutes after she drove away.”
Troy’s short hair was still neat, his shirt wrinkle-free, and he seemed completely awake and alert. The only flaw to his otherwise perfect appearance was the shadow of a beard. But it was sexy—made him look rakishly handsome.
“He’ll be hungry soon,” said Kassidy, moving to take Drake from her brother.
“He’ll be chubby soon the way he eats,” said Troy.
“That’s what babies do,” said Kassidy.