Waiting For Wren (Book Five In The Bodyguards Of L.A. County Series) by Cate Beauman Page A

I go.”
    Tucker snorted into the phone. “You think so?”
    She grinned. “Definitely.”
    “I’m stuck in traffic. I’ll be there in about thirty minutes.”
    “Ten-four, boss.”
    “Since you seem to be handling the situation better today, it’s your turn to cook tonight. You can cook, right?”
    “Very well, actually.” Ms. Willa had insisted she and Ethan learn to handle themselves in the kitchen. “I’m a jack of all trades.”
    “Stay put until I get there, Jack.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Smartass.”
    The dial tone buzzed in her ear, and she chuckled. Tucker’s hourly calls had annoyed the hell out of her for much of the day until she decided to have fun with them. After all, he was doing what he was told. Ethan was stuck in Hawaii for the foreseeable future with his family. His trip to the islands wasn’t only for pleasure; he, Austin, and Hunter were attending several conferences in between pulling duty for two Hollywood families on vacation and helping out with the Phillips/Cooke kiddos when Sarah left for her photo shoots.
    During their endless phone conversation last night, Ethan insisted she hop the next flight to Hawaii, but she refused. The island brood already had their hands full, and she had a job to do. More than that, she wasn’t about to burden her family with her problems or risk involving Ethan and Hunter’s children. Besides, Rex was likely to lay off now that the police were involved.
    Having a round-the-clock guard was probably overkill, but that’s the compromise she and Ethan made. He’d tried to flex his big-brother muscles and demanded she work from his office for the next little while; she’d promptly told him to go to hell. Her business would not suffer because some sicko had a vendetta to settle. She’d worked too damn hard to make Cooke Interiors one of the top design firms in LA. She’d be damned if Rex Richardson was going to ruin her reputation for client-focused service at its best. She and Patrick would continue to run the company just as smoothly as always, with a few minor adjustments.
    She understood her situation and was being a team player. She’d slept over night in Tucker Campbell’s apartment, breathing in his sexy scent while she lay in his bed. And she’d rearranged her schedule to fit Jackson, Jerrod, and Tucker’s, staying put, locked behind her client’s gated fortresses, hadn’t she? But tomorrow life got back to normal—whatever that was.
    “Hey.”
    Wren whirled, almost falling out of her chair. “JT,” she whispered, closing her eyes as her heart slammed a jittery beat.
    “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
    She took a deep breath. “That’s okay. I’m a little on edge today.”
    “I heard.”
    Her brows winged up. “You did?”
    He nodded and walked further into the room, wearing his fancy courtroom duds. “Kinda hard to keep that sorta news out of legal circles. DA Richardson is pretty riled up.”
    “As he should be. His grandson is a nut job.”
    “Is there anything I can do to help?”
    “No…” She stood and leaned against the table. “Actually, yes. I would love some straight-up honesty.”
    He nodded. “Okay.”
    “What’s the likelihood the police are going to make an arrest?”
    “Probably not great.”
    She puffed out a breath and looked to the ceiling. “And why am I not surprised?”
    “I did a little digging after I found out you were involved. Rex Richardson agreed to meet with the police last night with his attorney present. They questioned him for less than half an hour.”
    “Unbelievable. They grilled me for two.”
    “Other than the voicemail he left on your home phone, there’s no hard evidence linking him to the rest. His attorney called the entire situation ‘ridiculous, baseless, and completely insulting to Mr. Richardson’s exemplary character.’”
    Her jaw clenched as she thought of the month-long harassment she’d endured. “Now that’s ridiculous. Did they expect him to have a