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“How about the bedroom?”
“Sure thing.” Banshee set the bowl of mango aside and stood up. “Gimme five minutes.”
“Thanks, Banshee. I owe you.”
“Yeah, I know. You owe me a lot,” he said as he walked away.
“He can get grumpy,” Ryland explained with a shrug. “But he always comes through.”
Harper sent him a grateful smile. “Thank you for helping me.”
“You’re welcome.” The happiness and relief on her face was worth the ass-reaming he’d get if his father found out. “Who’s Betty?”
“My fish,” she murmured.
“Ah, I see. Don’t worry. We’ll make sure your sister knows to take care of Betty.”
The smile she gave him was pure gratitude and relief, and his entire world seemed to light up.
It took Banshee half as long as he said and, in less than three minutes, Harper was talking to Savannah through a video call on Banshee’s laptop.
“Ohmygod, Harper,” Savannah exclaimed. “I’ve been texting and calling all day! Where are you?”
Both Ryland and Banshee stayed off-camera, but Ryland peered over the top of the monitor and got his first look at Savannah Grant. She had the same blonde hair as Harper, but shorter, sweeping the tops of her shoulders, and instead of bright blue eyes, hers were a smoky sage.
“Um, well, I can’t say exactly, but I wanted you to know I’m safe.”
“What do you mean you can’t say?”
“FYI, you’ve got three minutes,” Banshee stated. “Then the call disconnects.”
“Who is that?” Savannah demanded.
“Savvy, listen to me. I don’t want you to worry, but I’m going to be away for a little while. I can’t tell you any details…” she looked up at Ryland and he nodded, “but can you feed Betty while I’m gone? Maybe take her back to your place so she isn’t alone? She likes when you talk to her, too.”
“Yes, I’ll watch your fish but, Harper, are you really okay?”
“I am and I promise to call you again when I can. Sorry for being so mysterious, but I have to be.”
“Does this have anything to do with the neighbor you had a date with? The one who’s a spy or something?”
Hovering above the monitor, Ryland tilted his head, wondering just how many times Harper had mentioned him to her sister, but shook it in an emphatic no.
“Um, I…” She hesitated over her next words, eventually deciding not to acknowledge her sister’s reference to him. It was a good choice on Harper’s part—the less Savannah knew, the better—and relieved a bit of the tension over how much she might accidentally give away through their conversation. “I swear I’m fine. Just please take care of Betty and I’ll be in touch, okay?”
Savannah gave a long sigh. “Okay,” she finally relented.
“Love you, sis.”
“Love you, too.”
The call ended and Ryland met Harper’s grateful eyes. “Thank you,” she mouthed and sent him a stunning smile. His heart felt a little lighter, a lot more full, and he vowed to do just about anything to keep her smiling like that.
Chapter Eleven
After talking to her sister, Harper felt better. At least until Cross returned and launched back into his “discussion” of them going off grid. And this time pulling the entire team into the conversation.
“For how long?” Harper interrupted when she couldn’t take their back and forth anymore. She couldn’t help it and needed a more clear-cut answer of how long she’d have to stay away from home. Basically be on the run. “A week? Two weeks?” Maybe she shouldn’t be so worried about it, relax and let the professionals handle it. But a part of her was scared she wouldn’t like the answer she was about to get.
