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“Okay.” Kerry scribbled a few notes in the pad she was carrying. “I take it you want this in a hurry?”
“You guessed right.” Spencer reached for his cell phone. “I need to make a call to the AAG ranch, then, since Harley’s no-show has freed up some of my time, I’m going to pay Aidan Hannant a visit.”
When he called the AAG ranch, Leigh answered. She was her usual charming self. “Sergeant Colton, it’s such a pleasure to hear from you.”
“I’d like to ask you about one of your members. A young woman called Christie Foster.”
It appeared that her default setting was vagueness. “I’m not sure...”
“Apparently she knew Eliza Perry.”
He heard clicking sounds, as though she was typing. “I’m just checking our database. I’m sorry, but we don’t have anyone called Christie Foster registered as having visited here. Not now, or in the past.”
Chapter 8
Katrina was in the Look Who’s Walking office, trying to make sense of her business accounts, when Spencer walked in.
“Didn’t I just have breakfast with you half an hour ago?” From the frown on his face, she wasn’t sure her jokey tone had lightened his spirits.
“I’m going to Aidan Hannant’s apartment and I want you to come with me.”
“Why?”
“He came to see me on the day after he threatened you. He admitted that he was the person driving the car that mounted the sidewalk, but he said it was an accident,” Spencer said. “I figure, if you’re by my side when I ask him a few questions, he’s going to find it hard to lie about what happened.”
“Oh.” She studied her computer screen for a moment or two before returning her gaze to his face. “Why didn’t you tell me this when I first informed you about Aidan Hannant?”
“I wasn’t sure if it was important.” His manner troubled her. It was almost as if he had something to hide. She told herself not to be foolish. He was busy, that was all. He had moved in to protect her, but he was dealing with other problems as well as hers.
She checked the time on her cell phone. “I need to be back in an hour for a training class.”
“It won’t take that long.”
“To be honest, I’m glad to get away from the paperwork.” She pushed back her chair, stood up and stretched her arms above her head. “Although I could think of more enjoyable ways of playing hooky.”
She paused on the way out of the building to let Suzie and Laurence, the junior trainer, know she would be returning soon. As she stepped into the bright sunlight at Spencer’s side, it felt like a long time since she’d relaxed. The thought made her smile. Had she ever been able to take it easy?
She’d spent most of her childhood waiting for the next crisis. The only times she’d been able to put aside her anxieties had been in the company of her grandparents. But, all too often, her grandma and grandpa would be drawn away by Mollie or Eliza, and Katrina would fade into the background.
Now, as an adult, much of her downtime revolved around her professional life. If she wasn’t on training courses, she was researching new methods or honing her skills.
I don’t know how to enjoy myself.
Why did it suddenly matter? She took a sidelong peek at the tall, muscular figure at her side. And found her answer. She might not like it, but Spencer had come into her life and changed it. He made her feel differently and he made her want more. She could fight it, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to. And that thought alone scared her almost as much as the idea of facing Aidan Hannant again.
Spencer held open the passenger door and Katrina got into the car. She heard the heavy thump of a dog’s tail and twisted in her seat to pat Boris on the head. “Hi there, big guy.” She turned to Spencer. “Can he have a treat?”
“Only if you want him to love you forever.”
Reaching into the fanny pack she always wore when she was working, Katrina took out one of her own natural dog treats and offered it to Boris. The well-trained canine politely took it from between her fingers.
“What do you want to talk to Hannant about?” she asked as Spencer drove away from the training center.
“Apart from why he intimidated you?” Watching his profile, she detected a trace of tension in the muscles of his jaw as he spoke. “He told me he had no involvement with the AAG. I want to dig deeper into that.”
She took a moment to consider that response. She should be experiencing a hint of triumph that he was finally taking her seriously about the threat posed by the Affirmation Alliance Group. Instead, her whole body felt curiously hollow. She recognized it as a heightened sense of her own vulnerability.
The man sitting next to her was a cop. An experienced one. If he thought the AAG might be dangerous, then she really was in trouble.
