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“Yes, Ms. Powell, they have the Tahoe in their sights, one unit will stay with it, and one will meet you. Stay on the line with me until you are with the officers in the parking lot.”
Gray pulled off onto the Shawano Avenue exit, eased the SUV onto the roundabout and slowed to turn into the parking lot. A police car pulled in from the opposite entrance and drove directly toward them. He found a clear spot at the edge of the parking lot and stopped. His hands shook, his heart pounded, and his senses were on hyper-alert. Each slight movement in the parking lot from shoppers coming and going had him twisting his head to and fro. He took in a deep breath and slowly let it out, turning his head to watch Sam. She sat stone still, watching the road they’d just left for any signs of the Tahoe.
The officers motioned for them to get out of the vehicle. The dispatcher broke the silence. “Officers confirm sighting of you in the parking lot. Do you see them?”
He answered her. “Yes, ma’am and thank you.” He wrapped his hand around hers. The chill in her fingers worried him; the temperature was in the high seventies today. She turned to lock eyes with him, and the fear in hers pissed him off.
“Are you okay?” She slowly nodded. “You?”
“I’m fine. Pissed. Scared. But fine.” He raised their locked fingers and kissed the back of her hand. “Let’s go give the officers a statement.”
She nodded. He opened his door, stepped down on shaky legs and glanced over to see Sam slowly making her way around the vehicle toward him. The police cruiser had come to a stop next to them.
He heard the dispatcher through his speakers. “Officers, you have them with you now?”
“Yes, we’ll take it from here,” one of them acknowledged.
He wrapped his arm around Sam’s shoulders and pulled her tight to his side. The officers exited their car and approached. “Mr. Kinkaide. Ms. Powell. Tell us from the beginning what happened.”
When they’d finished talking to the police, he called David Haggerty, a friend of his who owned a security company. “David, I need some help, can you meet me at my parents’ house in about an hour?”
He walked around his vehicle in the parking lot. A police investigation team had come and taken paint chips from his vehicle for samples and took pictures of the damage. His shaking had long ago subsided, but his anger now bubbled to the surface in full force. Sam now sat in the front seat of his truck; she’d wanted to call her kids, so they didn’t hear anything from a third-hand source. News crews had followed one of the police cars, and the reporters now stood at the edge of the parking lot filming their stories.
His cell rang. “Kinkaide.”
“Mr. Kinkaide, this is Officer Williams. We’ve found the Tahoe abandoned in a parking lot just out of town to the north. We’re going through it to see if we can find anything that will give us an identity of the occupants and where they were headed.”
He ended his call and jumped into his SUV. He related the information he’d just received to Sam. “Let’s go back to Mom and Dad’s to tell them what happened before the news hits the airwaves. With Dad’s recent heart attack, I don’t want him unnecessarily upset.”
David Haggerty arrived at the Kinkaides’, and he spent the better part of two hours discussing the recent events. Then he methodically went over every aspect of their safety with David, including security cameras on their house. David called in one of his men, who would be assigned to him and Sam for the time being. Probably a little overboard, but this was twice now, and it would be stupid to ignore the signs presenting themselves.
Their new security detail arrived at the house, and he watched as Sam stifled a giggle when they were introduced to Tank. It suited him; he looked like a tank—no neck, broad shoulders and thick middle and thighs. He sported a buzz cut hair style and gave off the air of no-nonsense—ever. David ran through all the events of what had happened, and they sat through a litany of question from both men.
27
Once David Haggerty and his team put everything in place at Harry and Mary’s, he was exhausted and ready to tuck Sam in somewhere safe. Their private engagement celebration would have to wait. Since it would be a day or two before the security system was installed at the house, he wanted to go to a hotel. His vehicle had been taken to the dealership for repairs by one of David’s men, and Tank was now their driver. Fine by him; that experience had been more than he’d ever imagined he’d encounter.
They went to the house to quickly pack an overnight bag. Tank had cleared the house first, giving them the okay to go in, but with firm instructions to make it quick and pack light. They checked into a hotel, and Tank took the room next to them. They synced their phones with his so they could call with the touch of a button. Tank reviewed all the security precautions and told them they were not to leave their room—for anything—without calling him first. They weren’t planning on leaving anyway, so no problem there. He got them some ice and made sure they were comfortable, and they bid him goodnight It was now close to midnight. It had been a very long and full day, and they were exhausted.
Once they closed the door on Tank, he turned to Sam and winked. He went to his bag and pulled out a bottle of champagne he’d taken while they packed.
“I had it at home for our celebration,” he whispered conspiratorially.
Sam grinned, went to her bag and pulled out a bottle of wine.
She winked. “Great minds.”
He met her halfway across the room and hugged her close.
“I can’t wait until you’re Samantha Kinkaide.”
She giggled. “I hadn’t even had the time to run my new name through my head.” She pulled away and set her bottle of wine on the desk. “I can’t wait, either.”
Gray walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. He sauntered back into the room and held out his hand. “Come and take a shower with me?”
She took his hand. “Absolutely.”
After showering and loving each other, they climbed into bed with a glass of champagne. “Not exactly the celebration I had in mind, but we’ll get to it when we’re able to go home.” He tapped his glass to hers and winked. “Here’s to a long and happy life together as Mr. and Mrs. Kinkaide.”
