“What’s your name?”
“Carly Stone. You spoke with my grandfather, Pierce Stone, about your daughter.”
Mrs. Murphy smiled. “Where’s my punkin? Is she here?”
“Erin isn’t here right now. Do you remember talking to Pierce Stone?”
The woman shook her head. “I don’t know who that is.”
Carly tried several different approaches to spark Mrs. Murphy’s memory, but nothing worked. When the nurse returned, she escorted Carly to the lobby.
“Mrs. Murphy would be interested in what my grandfather found out for her.” Carly handed the nurse a business card.
“When she’s feeling better, I’ll let her know.”
When Carly returned to the yacht, she found Ashton setting the table for dinner. “Hello, wife. How was your day?”
Hearing him call her that made her smile. “Good day, hubs. You?”
He stepped close enough for her to delight in his earthy scent. But when he didn’t kiss her, a pang shot through her chest. She stroked his arm, finding joy in running her fingers over his solid muscles.
“I met with a prospective client who’s considering us for some local security gigs.”
“That’s good news.” She lifted a lid to find pasta boiling in a pot of water. “Yummy, tortellini.”
“Nothing but the best for my pretend woman.”
With a snicker, she washed her hands and made a simple dinner salad. “You are spoiling me.”
“That’s the plan.”
Next, she heated a jar of tomato sauce. “Where’s the protein? You can’t live on pasta.”
He pulled four chicken breasts from the toaster oven. “Voila.”
She kissed his cheek. “Best husband ever.”
“Best husband ever deserves way more than a peck on his cheek.”
He’s right.
During dinner, she told him about jamming Internado’s garage door opener so he’d have to leave his car outside. “I’m going back there tonight to hide the tracker.” Then, she told him about the guy with the dog.
“Whoa. You can’t go back there alone.”
“I’ll be careful.”
“I hired you, so, technically you work for me. I’m going with you.”
At midnight, she changed into black clothes and braided her hair, then confirmed Kathy Internado was still in Richmond. On the way out, she handed Ash a black ski mask.
He drove Carly’s Acura into Internado’s neighborhood, pulled over, and killed the lights, including the interior ones. After sliding on their ski masks, Carly covered the license plates with diffusional shields. They continued to the senator’s street, parking two houses away.
“Good luck, babe.”
She acknowledged him with a tight nod before exiting the vehicle and quietly closing the door. Using trees and parked cars as cover, she made her way to Internado’s house. To her relief, he’d parked in the driveway, but his front porch light illuminated his yard.
As she crawled up the dark side of the driveway, lights on the garage flicked on, bathing her in bright light. She froze. When Internado didn’t emerge, she shoved the tracker in the rear wheel well. Then, she pressed the button on the device to unjam his garage door. As she turned to leave, the front door opened.
