AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hold up, hold up, hold up,” Sammy blurts out through choking laughs, smacking her hand on the table. “Your real name is Calvin? You’re Calvin motherfucking Klein?”
Although everyone else at the table already knew this, another wave of chortles, snorts, and guffaws rolls through us. Even Cal cracks up.
A sense of humor is sexy. But being able to laugh at yourself too? Holy hotness.
Just one more thing I love about him.
Love.
It hasn’t been long, but I’m falling hard. Sometimes, the heart knows. So the next chance I get, I’m telling him everything. Opening myself wide for him to see all my secrets. No more hiding. Nothing left to shield me.
And if he doesn’t run, then I have a chance. Maybe one day, he’ll love me too.
Chapter41
Smile and wave, boys
KLEIN
Sawyer sucks the pad of his thumb, licking off the cocktail sauce. “Did they find anything at her place?”
I glance at the girls’ table, then at my meal. “Nope. We didn’t expect they would. The cops have nothing to go on. And she hasn’t been able to find anything on traffic cams, satellite imagery, or in any of the hundred other places she’s looked. We have no fucking idea who was in her place.”
“What about the surveillance equipment you found?” Shep asks.
“Standard issue stuff anyone can get off the internet. Nothing we could trace. No clue where the signal was being sent.”
“Not military grade?” Sawyer slants his head, suspicion dancing over his features. “CIA? FBI? Law enforcement grade? Nothing?”
Leaning in the high-back chair, I cross my arms. “Mia thinks it was bought off Amazon and only slightly modified.”
“You’re fucking kidding me,” Shep scoffs. “That makes no sense. Someone is savvy enough to disrupt her security system, but then uses bargain-basement spy tech?”
I dig my fingertips into my forehead, scrunching the skin to reduce the tension. “And she still wasn’t able to crack it.”
Our phones all chime simultaneously with the hourly check-in request from the Redleg comm app. We enter our codes to silence the chirping.
At the table behind me, Kri and Mia do the same, while Sammy spews a litany of curse words. That’s the third time Sammy’s snapped at the alert. This time, her colorful rage rant was a bit louder than what’s probably acceptable, despite the loud music and our tables on a deck overlooking the marina.
“Your princess swears as much as a drunken pirate,” Shep teases.
I pile on. “Call it a hunch, but I don’t think she’s a fan of the hourly check-in alerts.”
Sawyer leans closer. “She says the babies will be born making that chirping sound instead of crying if we don’t bust Lenkov soon.” He runs a napkin across his mouth, then chugs his iced coffee. “On the bright side, there’s been no sign of retribution from the Mafia.”
After shrugging his shoulders and rolling his neck, Shep ominously adds, “Yet.”
“Speaking of which.” Sawyer stands and spins his pointer finger around like a rotating helo blade. “My turn.”
He kisses Sammy’s cheek on his way past their table. She shoos him away jokingly. The ladies have been giggling and whispering most of the evening. It’s nice to see how readily they’ve accepted Mia. Some of her comments about her past lead me to believe she’s struggled to make friends beyond work acquaintances. And since her family has all but abandoned her— or perhaps it’s the other way around— she’s gotta be lonely. Her bonding with Sammy and Kri, and even Sue, Marley, and Deb, gives me hope she’ll stay.
I want her to be happy here. At Redleg.
With me.
Staying on high alert, Shep, Sawyer, and I have taken turns patrolling the outdoor deck and interior of the restaurant every ten minutes. Each time I do my check, I pause to text or call Kate once I’m out of view of the guys. They don’t need to know how worried I am about what’s going on at home. Unfortunately, I can’t hide my checking at the table, but I’ve been discreet with my simple glances at the app every few minutes.
So far, Ma seems to be doing great. Only some mild agitation that Kate was able to handle easily. She distracted her with specialty puzzles made for people with dementia. Kate brought a bag of items with her tonight: an assortment of puzzles, fidget items, and wooden mazes.
