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“That was our guess. Lipori didn’t mention them in the interview, either, did he?” Patterson asked.
“No, he did. He said they were good friends of his. Wow. Some way to treat a good friend.”
“Just adds another piece to the puzzle. When the Italian forces raided the villa, these two were not picked up. They escaped.”
“You think it was arranged?” she asked.
“Probably not. Lipori did not want to get captured. I think they were just lucky,” said Patterson. “It goes to show you, he uses everyone he can to leverage what he wants. Even his long-time friends. And you’re right, Lydia, he cannot be trusted. But we’re going to move forward carefully. Our main priority is to keep your home, you, and Harper safe, without putting you into some protection situation.”
“Oh, I understand very well. I’m not happy about it, either. But I know we’re bait. Sucks, but there isn’t any other way you’ll catch them.”
After Patterson left, the two of them talked until Lydia grew tired again and retired. Her evening was filled with wild dreams, none of which she could remember in the morning. But she was satisfied there was a plan in place. Her warnings had been taken into account, and she believed in the successful plans Harper had executed over the year. She also knew it wasn’t an exact science.
This was the price she was going to have to pay to remain in his life. He was always going to be putting his life on the line, putting the lives of his team on the line as well. Maybe she’d passed the test. Maybe she was part of the team now, just like he’d told her so many times lately.
If so, she was grateful for the opportunity to show how brave she could be. Because when it came down to it, she’d do anything to save Harper, just like he would do the same for her. It was part of their love story. It wasn’t all roses and silver slippers. It was a bond between them, just like his Brotherhood of men. She was lucky to be a fully functioning part of that Brotherhood.
It was the stuff of heroes. She didn’t realize until now that, in order to love a hero, she had to become one herself.
Chapter 14
Their trip homewas filled with messages and phone calls made from Harper’s satellite phone. Lydia tried to lean back in the leather reclining seat and relax, but she was overhearing all of his plans, all of the items he had asked people to do while they were gone, setting up new routines and making the most of the fact that his team was now in full combat mode.
He finally set the phone down and rubbed his temples.
“Pretty exhausting, I’ll bet.”
“I’m used to it. A lot nicer with present company in this nice, comfy, and private space, high above the clouds. But still, I’m not a young buck anymore. It’s also urgent, Lydia. I don’t want to miss a thing.”
She opened her eyes and stuck her feet in his lap. “I need a foot rub.”
“My pleasure.”
His fingers began kneading out all the pain in her toes and causing more. She had to caution him to go a bit softer. It was wonderful the way his fingers worked over all her joints and tendons.
He watched her. “Do you have any questions about the plans?”
“No, I think I heard most of it. I think you’ve got it all spot on. But I had one question.”
“Shoot.”
“The one thing I don’t get is why they haven’t appeared since we’ve been gone. I mean, you would think they’d take this opportunity to mount an attack—at least on the home or Venom, something. They’ve just disappeared. Doesn’t that seem odd to you?”
“Don’t flatter yourself or think for a moment they’re done. Maybe they’re playing nice, maybe he told him to cool it for a while. I have no doubt once we return, if they’re able to, they’ll mount something.”
“Do you think he’ll warn them?”
“It doesn’t matter. I will never trust him. We’ll get them anyhow, if they show up. No worries, my love.”
“I get the cameras and all the electronic devices. Did we figure out how they got the gate code changed?” she asked.
“Yes, they found a camera with a sensor installed in one of the trees overhanging. The monitor recorded the code that we punched in after we changed it. We located it two days ago and disabled it. And I had Paul Taylor, he’s our gadget guy, install a different device for the gate, both gates.”
“Did anybody check the park next door?”
“They were all over that the next day, Sweetheart. We let the ranger know we’d been having some intruders on our property so they allowed us to stay there, two of the guys even camped out in a little storage shed they use for equipment, just to see if somebody would show up. We got cameras mounted on the shed. They will alert us if somebody trespasses. We also put a bead of sight down along the fence line, and if anybody tries to come over the top fifty feet, they’ll be picked up.”
“It’s all monitored from the house?”
