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“I’ll give you tomorrow,” she said. “I’ll say good-night to Jason tomorrow night and won’t come back here from work the next day.”
“But Dr. Barth had to go out of town. He can’t come tomorrow.”
Kelly’s gaze shifted toward the door just as a voice behind Trey said, “Mr. Wentworth.”
He whirled, furious at the interruption.
Jason’s on-duty bodyguard stood at the door, shifting from foot to foot, wearing a grave expression.
“I need a moment, sir.”
“What is it?” Trey demanded.
“There’s been an unauthorized docking at the marina. You and your family need to move into the panic room immediately.”
* * *
“AND THEY ALL lived happily ever after. The end.”
Kelly closed the book she’d just read to Jason and glanced down to the kid. Eyes closed, breathing regularly, he leaned against her shoulder where they sat on a sofa in a claustrophobic twelve-by-twelve room. She peered more closely at him trying to determine if he was asleep.
Trey stood at a bank of four monitors that showed different angles of his property watching people enter and exit the view. Tension flowed off him as if he were a wire strung too tightly.
Kelly itched to be out there with the security team on the hunt. She was a cop, for God’s sake. But oh, no. She was stuck with Trey and Jason, stashed in this vault-like room until his team gave the all-clear.
For her own protection? What a bunch of BS. This was not how it was supposed to go.
Jason made a noise and yawned huge. Not asleep, but close.
“Come on, Jase,” she whispered, and carried him to the crib in the corner. This room had been created when Jason was much younger, but he still fit in the old bed just fine.
Trey turned from the monitors.
“This is a baby bed,” Jason fussed as she placed him down.
“It’s just for fun tonight,” Kelly said.
Jason’s lower lip stuck out. “How long do we have to stay here?”
Trey moved next to her and said, “Just until the game ends, buddy.”
“Okay, Daddy,” he said on a deep sigh.
And then, just like that, he was out. He hadn’t even demanded the kiss ritual. Was it the change in routine or was he just too tired?
“I wish I could fall asleep that easily,” Kelly whispered, unsure if she was sorry or relieved about missing her good-night kiss. She’d been dreading her reaction to Trey’s lips on hers again.
Or was it anticipation?
When Trey didn’t reply, Kelly shot him a glance. He gazed down at this sleeping son with such obvious love that her heart lurched. Trey might not be a perfect parent, but he would do anything for Jason.
She moved quietly back to the sofa. Hell, and what was a perfect parent? She’d never had one, that was for sure. Her mother hadn’t protected her from Roy. She hadn’t encountered an ideal mom or dad since she’d been on the job, either, although she had to admit her police work might not provide a fair sampling. She was only called to situations where trouble already existed.
Trey sat beside her. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m antsy,” she said.
“You want to be out searching for the intruders, don’t you?”
“You got that right.”
He smiled. “It’d be a waste of your time. I’m certain this is a false alarm.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Visitors tie up at the marina and forget to ask for clearance all the time. Or, according to my security team, more often than it should. They’re usually guests of a resident, apologetic and embarrassed afterward. We don’t hustle into the safe room every time.”
“But because of Jason’s abduction, your team is taking no chances.”
Trey nodded, looking toward Jason’s crib. “And I agreed with them.”
Kelly surveyed the windowless room. Everything they would need for the short term was here, a small refrigerator stocked with water, sodas and frozen meals, a microwave. The sofa made into a bed, and there was even a toilet, although no shower. Thick walls and huge stainless steel doors made unauthorized entrance impossible.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this room?”
He shrugged and placed his arm behind her on the sofa. “I seldom think of the safe room except during hurricane season, but you’re right. I should have. I’m sorry.”
