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She nodded slowly. “And he has two spots. But I’m not sure how secure the garage is. Anyone could walk past the gate at the entrance.”
“Okay. I’ll figure out how to deal with it.” He jerked his head toward the stairs. “Go ahead and get back to work. I’ll think about how we stay safe in Evanston.”
She wanted to kiss the worry off his mouth. Slide her hands up his back. Instead, she hurried up the stairs.
She’d learned to compartmentalize. To shut away things she couldn’t control. Focus on the stuff she could control. And her feelings for Cody? Definitely hard to control those. But for her own sake and Cody’s, she needed to lock them away and ignore them. Focus on practical stuff, like keeping Jack safe.
And getting back to her own life as quickly and painlessly as possible.
Maybe painlessly wasn’t possible. But she’d worry about that after Cody walked away.
* * *
Cody hurried through the barn and into the pasture, holding the SAT phone to his ear. Jase should have called back by now. The cows studied him for a while, then went back to eating the grass.
Finally, after almost ten rings, Jase answered. “Parker,” he said, a little out of breath. “What’s up?”
“Where are you and Laila?” Cody asked without preamble.
“Right now? You interrupted us. We were in…”
Cody interrupted with a shudder. “Don’t need to know those details, buddy. I meanwhereare you? What state? How far away?”
“We’re in Wisconsin. Door County. Four hours away,” Jase said. He must have put his hand over the phone, because he murmured something that Cody couldn’t hear. “What’s going on?”
“We may have a problem in Evanston,” Cody said, shoving his hand through his hair as he studied the trees beyond the pasture. Saw no movement. Nothing out of place. But the attack last night had spooked him. “Sierra’s friend had a visitor last night. Ski-masked. Tried to get into his apartment.
“Didn’t succeed, but she’s freaked out. Worried that she put him in danger. So she wants to go back to Evanston. And we had visitors last night. Russians, by the sound of their language. I managed to catch them, and they’re the FBI’s problem now. But they found us here, so the next Russians won’t be far behind them.”
“Damn it! What does Mel have to say?” Jase said with a sharp exhale.
“She’s checking some things. But bottom line? She doesn’t have anyone she can send to Evanston to watch Sierra’s friend. And I don’t want to hang around here and give the Bratva another go at Sierra. Can you get back here before tomorrow morning?”
Jase hesitated for a long moment. Finally said, “Yeah, of course we can. We’ll take off in a few hours. Should be there this evening.”
“I hate to bring you and Laila back, since you might have to deal with the Russians,” Cody said, regret for shortening their vacation tangled with guilt for bringing trouble to their home.
“Don’t worry. We can handle it. If I get alerts and see someone’s on the property, I’ll call the sheriff. He knows who we are and knows our security is top notch and reliable. He’ll send out a couple deputies, and we’ll take care of any intruders.”
“Okay, Jase, thanks,” Cody said, blowing out a relieved breath. “Sierra and I will leave near sunset. Fewer people on the roads in farm country at night, so easier to make out someone following us. I appreciate this. We’ll make it up to you and Laila.”
Jase blew out a breath. “Part of our job, buddy. Not a problem.”
“I’ll talk to you in a few days. Go get back to what I interrupted,” Cody said.
“Kinda ruined the mood,” Jase retorted. “But we’ll see what we can do.”
He hung up the phone, and Cody ended the call on the SAT phone. He looked around the pasture, peaceful and quiet except for the whisper of a breeze from the woods. The occasional sound from one of the cows. He was a little sad that they had to head back to Evanston. He’d miss the hell out of Sierra when this job was over. He’d gotten way to attached to her, far too quickly. But even knowing it was a mistake, he wanted more. Wanted to explore the connection that burned between them.
They had a few more days while they figured out who the ski-masked guy was and assessed the level of threat to Sierra’s brother. And it sounded like the FBI was tearing apart the Bratva’s tentative hold in the Chicago area.
When the Russian mob had been eradicated, she could go back to her normal life. A life that wouldn’t include him.
Ignoring the sharp pain in his chest at the thought, he pushed back into the barn and stopped at the pig pen. Filled the water barrel to the top, then poured more food into the feed trough. Did the same for the chickens, managing to avoid Maurice. Then he headed for the house to tell Sierra the good news. They were heading back to Evanston tonight. She’d be reunited with her brother.
Would she miss the intimacy they’d shared here at the farm? Would she regret that their time together would end soon?
He wasn’t sure.
