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“What?”
“It looks like someone is out on the trail in front of the house.”
“It’s probably just a member of your security team.”
Saylor half-laughed. Poppy was probably right. No way in hell Cliff would be so bold. He knew what her brother did for a living.
—:—
Monk dumped the rest of the cognac in his glass in the sink. If he was going to be traveling in the morning, he needed to stop drinking now.
Onyx, who had gone into the bedroom, came back out. “Yeah, he’s right here,” he said, handing his cell to Monk.
“Hello?”
“I hear you need transport to the West Coast tomorrow.”
“I thought you were grounded,” he said to Alegria.
She laughed. “Only by choice. My parents are in town. Between them and Mantis’ mother and father, Ian is well-cared for. I need to fly, Monk.”
“Just tell me when and where.”
A few minutes later, Alegria sent a text telling Monk to meet her and her father, who would fly with them, at Potomac Airfield at zero eight hundred hours. By mid-afternoon tomorrow, he’d be back in Oregon.
HE’D HEARD about the Cirrus jet, but had never been on one. Besides the pilot and co-pilot, the aircraft had room for five additional passengers. With a two-million-dollar price tag, it didn’t lack any luxury. He wasn’t sure if it was a rumor, but he’d heard the plane had a whole-aircraft parachute system.
“Yes, it does,” answered Alegria when Monk asked. “Let’s hope we never have to use it.”
Monk rested his head back against the leather seat and closed his eyes. He had no idea how Saylor would react when he arrived. Onyx had made it abundantly clear that he thought Monk handled the whole pilot issue like a jackass, and she likely agreed.
No matter what she thought about him at this point, he couldn’t leave her and her daughters’ safety in anyone else’s hands. Saylor might not want anything to do with him, and that would have to be okay. He’d still be part of her detail.
32
Instead of taking the Jeep to Manzanita, Razor insisted they caravan with two of K19’s SUVs. Part of her felt like it was overkill, but if her brother believed there was a potential risk, she had to respect that.
The girls’ bags were packed and in the garage, ready to go. She was wheeling her suitcase out of the bedroom when she heard a knock at the door.
She trie
d to shake off the pin-pricks of fear that coursed through her body, reminding herself that she wouldn’t allow Cliff to have this power over her.
Her resolve was instantly quashed when she rounded the corner to find the man himself standing on her deck. Saylor quickly turned around, praying he hadn’t seen her, and called her brother.
“Cliff is here,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Goddammit. What is he doing? The restraining order is still in place.”
“What am I supposed to do now?”
“Hang tight, kiddo. I’m already on my way. You stay put. Where’s your gun?”
“In the safe in the closet.”
“Get it out, Saylor, but do not leave that room until you hear from me.”
She heard the familiar tone of the call ending and went to the closet to open the safe like Razor told her to do. She sat on the edge of the bed, facing the door, gun in hand, watched the minutes tick by on her bedside clock, and listened to the deafening silence.
