“Hell no. That boy knows my front lawn better than I do. Been cutting my grass since he was old enough to run the tractor. He’s a good boy. And his two friends there. Been helping Lill and me for years. Planted every one of them arborvitaes over there for me.
And Scotty put in my brick walkway. They’re all good boys from good families. Now do your job and get those damn handcuffs off of them. Let them go back to their party.” The officer turned to Ryan. “Mr. Dooley claims that you stole the memory card from his camera.”
Ryan confessed to removing it. “But I don’t have it. I dropped it in the grass somewhere over there.”
After a few moments of scanning the yard with a flashlight, the officer gave up. Finding it was obviously not one of his top priorities.
Just when I thought they were going to release him, the officer informed Ryan that he was under arrest for disorderly conduct.
Everything became brighter as I heard the whoosh of my blood pulsing in my ears. It felt as if the ground were about to give out under my feet. Ryan’s father grabbed his mother as she lunged toward the police car.
She was crying and in just as much shock as I was.
Both Matt and Scott were under arrest as well. All three of them were getting crammed into the backseats of the cruisers. The officer guided Ryan into the car and closed the door.
As I stood there, watching him from the grass, he wouldn’t look at me.
“I’ll get the car and follow them,” Ryan’s dad, Bill, said. Mike followed him.
I was surprised when they came back in a little over an hour. David was not pleased to hear my voice when I called him, but too freaking bad. I was still on the phone getting talked down from the rafters by Trish when I heard the car doors slam in the driveway.
Ryan barely looked at me, passing me in the kitchen with a sideways glance. I heard him jog up the steps and then the shower came on.
Bill tossed his keys on the counter, answering his wife. “They got processed and released. They’ll all have to go to court, then find out what the fine is.”
I wanted to go to Ryan but I could tell he wanted space. Mike sat in a chair outside with his head in his hands doing his own private browbeating.
I sat down opposite him, leaning my elbows on my knees. “You okay?” Mike stared at me for a moment before silently shaking his head. “This should have never happened today. I screwed up.”
“No you didn’t.”
“Yes, I did. I’m too close.”
“Too close to what?” Snapping? Join the club.
“You and Ryan. Been too lax. I’m not paying attention like I should be. I didn’t even do a basic perimeter check today.”
“Mike, you can’t see everything. The guy was way up in the tree.”
He sat up abruptly. “It’s my job, Taryn.
You and Ryan are paying me to protect you from shit like that. I failed you both today.
I’ve got to resign. He needs someone new, someone who can put distance between the threats and the clients.”
“Oh no. You are not resigning from our detail. That idiot was so far up the neighbor’s tree there is no way you would have seen him unless you were standing in the middle of the pool. I only saw him because the sun glared off his lens. There’s no way you would have spotted him from the ground, so quit beating yourself up about it.”
“My charge got arrested today,” he growled through his teeth.
“Your charge could have easily sent you after the photographer but he didn’t. You are not responsible for Ryan’s actions.”
“He shouldn’t have had to if I’d been doing my job.”
His dedication and conviction were admirable. He wouldn’t be so torn up if he didn’t love us. I wondered if Marie got to see this side of him. “Are you always this sensitive?”
His eyes popped wide open. “What?”
“One slip in an entire year and you’re ready to quit.”
“Not quitting. Just placing you in better hands. I’ve compromised my position by blurring the lines and that puts you both in danger.”
He was being overly emotional. “Well, you can’t quit.”
“Why not?”
“Because I won’t allow it,” I said firmly.
“Look, if this is about Marie, I won’t let—”
“It’s not about Marie. It’s about having someone I trust watching him. Mike, you are the only one within his immediate circle of management that I trust. I breathe easier knowing you are with him wherever he goes.
Your presence alone gives him a level of comfort and peace that he’s not going to get from just anyone.”
“Comfort and peace do not keep him safe, Taryn.”
“Mike, you could surround him with armed guards and it would not have kept that idiot from climbing a tree and using a telephoto lens. Ryan has enough stress on him. He wants to feel normal. Who would have ever thought he couldn’t do that in his family’s backyard? And you need to have some downtime, too.”
“Yeah, but—”
“But nothing. You’re not quitting, so get that out of your head.”
Ryan came outside wearing a pair of shorts and a deep scowl. “Where’s that camera card at?”
I followed him in the house and handed it to him, wondering how much space was required. I mulled it over at the kitchen table before I decided to suck it up and be brave. I knew firsthand the humiliation that came with wearing handcuffs.
He was sitting at his desk in his old bedroom, glaring at his laptop. I noticed he plugged the card reader from our camera bag into the USB port.
“You okay?”
His eyes flashed up to me. “I was arrested for the first time in my fucking life. What do you think?”
“I know the feeling.”
He gave me an angered scowl. I could see a deep purple bruise starting to form under his left eye.
“Want to throw shoes?”
He let out a deep sigh, as if he was pushing all the bad out. His eyes closed for a moment. “No. Don’t want to throw shoes.” My next words came out on a whisper.
“Do you want me to leave you alone?” He huffed again and rubbed his forehead.
I took that as an unspoken yes so I turned for the door.
“Tar, wait . . .” He held out his hand.
“Come here.” I reached for his offering.
I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding when he pulled me onto his lap. His arms cinched around my body and he buried his face in my neck. I drifted my fingers through his damp hair, pressing him tighter.