Page 78 of What Started In Deception

Ty walked into the sandwich shop on Main Street, spotting Danny at a corner booth in the busy restaurant. Lunchtime in Oliver Heights’ trendy downtown spot was a far cry from the crap hole they met at a couple of weeks ago. “Hey,” he said, sitting across from his co-worker, noting that his friend still had his goatee.

“This place makes a damn good sandwich,” Danny said, taking a bite of his ham and cheese on rye when he usually stuck with a cup of coffee.

Ty nodded. “The whole town is great. I can’t think of much to complain about. Nothing, actually.”

“It’s not exactly DC,” Danny said before he took another bite.

Ty shrugged because that seemed to work for him, which was a constant surprise. He’d lived in one major city or another since his college days. It had never crossed his mind to live anywhere else. “It’s certainly fine for now.”

Danny held up a finger as he chewed, then swallowed. “How are things going?”

Ty nodded. “Great. Better than expected.”

“You feel like she’s ready?”

“Yeah. She’s fully on board.”

“I guess that’s good since you guys leave in two days.”

Ty nodded again. “The case had a good weekend. We were up in DC⁠—”

Danny frowned. “I didn’t realize you were heading up that way.”

Ty shrugged. “We hung out and stayed at my place.”

Danny’s frown deepened. “You took her to your place? As in your actual apartment?”

He nodded. “That was the deal she and I made. From the beginning, she asked that I be real with her. She trusts me. The DOJ’s about to get the information they’re looking for, so I don’t see the problem.”

Danny grunted as he plucked up a chip.

“We saw her grandmother,” Ty added.

Danny looked at him again. “The Monroes’ beloved matriarch?”

He nodded. “She asked me to call her Marietta. She’s looking forward to spending time with her granddaughter and me on the compound.”

Danny smiled. “You’re definitely in.”

Ty grinned. “I’d say my cover’s solid at this point. Lydia talked to MacKenna Monroe yesterday afternoon as well. Everyone seems supportive of Lydia’s decision to keep her relationship quiet for the last few months. No one appears to be suspicious. Quite frankly, I don’t know why they would be.”

Danny sat back with another smile. “And this is why we all wanted you in on this operation. Even with a time crunch, you made it work. You’re good, man.”

He shrugged. Things had certainly started off a little rocky, but getting to know Lydia Monroe had hardly been a hardship. “This one’s been pretty easy.”

Danny picked up the other half of his sandwich. “She hasn’t said anything to you about Will or the senator?”

He shook his head. “Like I said to you before, she doesn’t know anything. I one hundred percent believe that.”

Danny nodded. “Obviously, there’s no new information on our end. No new meetups or pictures that the Boston team has sent down, so we’re status quo there.”

Ty nodded this time.

Danny bit into his sandwich again, holding up his finger like he had minutes ago until he swallowed. “The stuff we talked about last time. About Lydia being a beauty. You’re keeping your distance?”

Ty raised his brow. “She’s my fake girlfriend. We spend every day together and share a bed. We will for the next month.”

Danny nodded. “And that’s some boggy ground.”