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“Wow. What’s this?”
He gives me the combination. “Open it up, baby.”
I turn the dial, and the mechanism clicks, and I’m able to open the heavy door.
“Holy shit.”
There’s some serious firepower in this safe. Handguns and rifles, and I can’t help but scowl.
“Carson, we have a whole armory elsewhere on this property. Why do you have this?”
“In case we’re compromised and I can’t get to the fucking armory,” he growls. “I know we don’t want the guns where Charlie might find them, but I want you to grab one and keep it with you at all times until I get home. Put it under the pillow, in your purse, tucked in the back of your jeans. I need you to be armed, Sunshine.”
“Carson, you’re freaking me out.”
“If I thought you were seriously in imminent danger, I wouldn’t be getting on a plane, and I’d keep you glued to my side. This is a precaution. I have a bad feeling, and I want you armed until I get home. You’re trained, you’ve got this.”
I sigh and take the gun, shut and lock the safe, then make sure the safety is on and stow it under my pillow before climbing back in bed.
Not that I’ll be able to go to sleep now. That ship has sailed.
“Okay, it’s done. But I’ll be hiding this whenever Charlie is home, somewhere high. Carson, you have us surrounded by men all the fucking time. I won’t risk my kid with a firearm.”
“I know.” He blows out a breath, and I hear the weariness in his voice that he never lets anyone else see. “Fuck, I know. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Just be careful. We’re fine, babe.”
“Get some rest. I’ll call you later.”
He hangs up and I sigh. I hate hearing him like this. He’s been on edge all week, and I know it has to do with Damien. I hope he finds the son of a bitch so this chapter can close and we can move on with our lives.
It’s the phone that pulls me out of a dreamless sleep, and when I see that it’s Charlie’s school, I come fully awake, sitting up in bed.
“Hello?”
“Mrs. St. James?”
“Yes, this is she.”
“This is Albert Smithers at Charlie’s school. Now, I’m not calling to make you worry, but I wanted to notify you right away that we had an incident today.”
I close my eyes and drop my face into my hand.
“What happened?”
“There was a threat called in against another student, and—”
“Wait.”
I scowl and leap out of bed.
“I was expecting you to say there was a bullying incident, or Charlie wouldn’t shut up during class.”
“No, I’m sorry, and like I said I don’t want you to panic because everything has been handled and all is well now. There was a threat issued against the daughter of a politician in Charlie’s class, and we put the whole school on lockdown while our security team took care of the situation.”
“Why didn’t my security team call me?”
“They likely contacted your husband,” Albert continues, “but I wanted to make sure you were aware.”
