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Janel looked up in time to see a young man walking out of the terminal in nothing but a t-shirt, khaki shorts, and sandals on his feet. Shaking her head in disbelief she pulled her down-filled jacket on and zipped it up before pulling on the gloves she’d tucked in the pockets. “Just from that blast of arctic air, I bet it’s way below freezing outside.”
“At least,” Rica agreed as she zipped her own jacket.
Janel had been thrilled to finally be able to wear a pair of jeans in public, but now she wished she had something warmer. Ten degrees Celsius was cold to them since their country had a perpetual summer climate. Their mothers always talked about missing the season changes, but Janel had to admit she wouldn’t enjoy the cold for very long. She hadn’t even enjoyed manufactured snow.
One year, her father had snow machines brought in and when they woke up on Christmas morning, there was a winter wonderland in their back garden. They’d had such fun playing in the snow for a few hours until it all melted away from the warm sun.
Acquiring a ride wasn’t difficult. There were cars lined up and they slid in the first one. She tried not to notice their bodyguards taking the second car. They asked the driver to turn up the heat and he gave them a look like they were crazy.
Janel was worried about the house her father had rented for them, hoping it wasn’t up to his usual standards. She didn’t want something huge and imposing. She wanted simple and quaint. Something her mom would have lived in.
When the taxi let them out in front of the address she’d given him, Janel had a smile on her face. “This is perfect!”
Rica joined her on the sidewalk, staring at the same house. “Are you sure this is the right address?”
She checked the numbers on the front of the house above the front door. They matched the ones she’d been given. “Yes, this is it. Don’t you just love it?”
“It’s so small. Are we both going to be able to live here? Maybe I have a separate house.”
Janel laughed out loud. “Rica, you’re not in Tanistan anymore. This is all two American girls would need. Father said it has two bedrooms.”
“How many bathrooms?” she asked cautiously.
She shrugged. “I don’t know, but probably two. One for each of us.”
She pulled the key from her handbag and they rolled their suitcases down the walkway.
“Hey, is anybody going to pay me?” the cab driver called out with a grumble under his breath.
Janel startled. “Oh, right. I totally forgot.” She paid the man, being sure to give him a tip like her mother said to do. Evidently, her tipping amount wasn’t sufficient because the man left in a rush with a comment about foreigners. American currency was confusing.
As she turned, a big black car driving by caught her attention because it was the type of car she was used to riding in. Her eyes met with the man in the back seat and held. She shivered and this time it wasn’t from the cold. It was him. The man from the airport. He looked so much like James. Same tanned complexion, same brown eyes and dark hair. This man wore his hair neatly styled, though. James never had a good hair day and running his hands through the shoulder length dark brown strands had been a habit.
But that man, she reminded herself, wasn’t James. James was dead.
* * *
Demonte
“Fuck!” Demonte snapped and dragged a hand down his face. What the fuck was she doing here?
For years he’d watched over her and not once made contact. She may have caught glimpses of him from a distance a few times, but never had he actually looked into her eyes. Today he’d been close enough to realize she was concealing those damn blue eyes.
“What’s wrong, boss?” his driver and friend, Marino, asked.
“Nothing. Get somebody over here for surveillance. You know what needs to be done. Until we figure out why she’s here, I don’t want her walking to the market without knowing about it. And, Marino, make sure it’s people we trust. Her being here can’t be leaked.”
“You got it, boss.” Marino spoke quietly into the earpiece he was never without. Once he’d relayed the message, he asked, “Any idea what she’s doing here?”
“Absolutely none.” He’d gotten a call earlier in the day telling him she was on the move to America. After his men found her flight and determined she was flying into Raleigh, he’d had no recourse but to meet her plane and follow her. What he should have done was to have his men tail her to her destination. Instead, due to some sick need to see her himself, he’d jumped in his own jet and was there before she landed.
What was she doing here? And staying at a private home. Was she visiting friends of her mother’s? That would make sense. At least she had two bodyguards with her, but why they didn’t drive her was a concern. Demonte didn’t like her riding with a stranger. Hopefully, whoever she was visiting would drive during her visit. All he had to do was make sure she came to no harm while here. A promise was a promise.
First, he needed more answers, which his men would supply. They were the best at what they did.
“Boss, where to?”
There was only one answer. With a heavy sigh, he answered, “Find us a hotel.”
