Ty closed his eyes and clenched his teeth.

Peña kept speaking. “As Keaton was involved in this meeting, he informed IA of this plan, IA told him he had a comrade in arms that he didn’t know he had and then Keaton manipulated the situation. He made it so it was Dolinski and him who did the inspection and he leaked the information in a way you’d have a head’s up. Luckily, you had your shit together and half the town was in your kitchen. This gave Dolinski and Keaton an excuse not to follow through with the plan seein’ as Jackson was there as was Sterling and they’d both sniff that shit out faster than snot. So, they aborted but I say aborted in quotes because they weren’t gonna do it in the first place but at least they didn’t get their asses in hot water and under suspicion because they didn’t.”

So Ty had angels too.

And one of those angels was f**king Chace Keaton.

Fuck.

“So, Santa says, while your ball-breaker attorney does her thing, Keaton’s got your back. Dolinski tells me that Keaton tells him that Fuller is already making noises about his next play. Keaton is in place to deflect it. I do not know this man’s story and I do not have a line to him. I do know his wife recently got dead. I also know she f**ked you in the sense that that is the definition of understatement. And I also know she got dead and they think he’s still a loyal foot soldier so somethin’ is f**ked with that. So this man might have your back but you keep an eye to it.”

“Always do,” Ty told him.

“Good. Don’t stop, Ty, and when I say that, not for a minute.”

“Like I said, Angel, always do.”

“Right,” Peña whispered.

“You got more?”

“Just like all the little boys and girls, Santa’s generous and they’re turnin’ their stockin’ inside out hopin’ for one more piece of candy.”

“I’m not sayin’ I’m not grateful,” Ty said quietly. “I’m sayin’ I got news to break to my wife and an imminent visit from my father, a drunk, an ass**le the last thirty-six years but now a man who wants to get to know his son and daughter-in-law and try to be a good grandfather, so I got gratitude, Angel, I just don’t have time.”

Silence then, “Sorry, Ty, never stops for you.”

“Not a problem, Angel, and no, it doesn’t but I got hope this shit storm will end soon and all I’ll have is sunshine.”

“I hope so too, esé. Stay sharp.”

“Same to you.”

Then he heard the disconnect.

“What?” Lexie asked the minute he pulled the phone from his ear.

Ty pressed his lips together. Then he tossed his phone on the coffee table with a clatter and framed his wife’s face with his hands, bringing her close as he leaned into her.

And he gave it to her quick and straight.

“They found the man who killed Rodriguez and they also found that hit was ordered by Shift.”

He watched up close as her eyes got huge. Then she closed them, turned her head slightly away and pressed her lips together.

Ty slid his hands back into her hair and whispered, “Mama.”

Lexie’s eyes opened and came back to him.

“I don’t believe this. Ronnie loved him,” she whispered.

“Yeah,” Ty whispered back.

“And I thought Shift loved Ronnie.”

He didn’t respond because he didn’t need to, it was obvious Shift didn’t love Rodriguez.

“They were brothers.” Lexie was still whispering. “How could he do that?”

“No f**kin’ clue, Lex.”

She held his eyes, he couldn’t read hers.

Then Ty spoke. “Angel is on his way to Ella right now.”

“Shit,” she said softly.

“’Spect you’re gonna have to deal with that,” he warned her.

“Yeah, no love lost but still, it’ll be a blow.”

Watching her face and, for once, unable to read it, he moved his hands forward, taking her hair with them until they were at the sides of her neck and he asked, “This a blow for you?”

Her head tipped to the side and her eyes grew unfocused like she was thinking about it and he then understood why he couldn’t read her. She didn’t know what to think.

Then she decided what to think and her eyes focused again on his.

“It’s surprising,” she said quietly. “But, I don’t know, weirdly, it’s good to know what happened, who was behind it. But it doesn’t breathe life into Ronnie and even if it did, it wouldn’t matter. That’s… it’s…” She swallowed, shut her eyes tight for a second, opened them and continued, “All that is gone. All those years, all that feeling I had for him and now this is just, it’s just…” she trailed off but lifted her hands to wrap her fingers around his wrists and she finished, “Ty, it’s strange to feel this way but it’s just… news.”

Ty stared at his wife. She was over it. She was over Rodriguez. She’d moved on.

With him.

His fingers squeezed her neck and he bent to touch his mouth to hers. When he pulled back he dropped a hand but used the other one to wrap around the back of her neck and tuck her face in his throat. Both her arms moved to curve around his middle.

Once she settled she sighed.

Then she asked, “Does Angel have Shift?”

“They’re lookin’.”

She nodded.

Ty kept talking. “Dad’s here, Ella calls, you take all the time you need. I’ll keep him busy.”

She nodded again.

“Lex, we’re close,” he assured his wife with a squeeze at the back of her neck. “Pretty soon, these hits’ll stop comin’.”

Yet again, she nodded.

A knock came at the backdoor, Lexie tensed and so did Ty.

His Dad.

Jesus, God, he hoped his father had his shit together and this did not mean another hit.

Her arms slid from around him so she could pull down her skirt.

“You good?” he asked. “I can ask him to –”

She shook her head then pulled her face out of his neck to tip it back to give him a small grin she wasn’t committed to but she was trying. It wasn’t a blow, she wasn’t suffering but the news was not good, her family was going to have a past loss made fresh again, she was going to have to deal with that and she wasn’t looking forward to it.

Then she whispered, “I made brownies.”

Ty studied her face. Then he grinned back.