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“Show her who’s boss!” and a “You da’ man” spill from Brody and Ansel, but I can’t decipher who said what.
Elena’s motherly tone carries from deeper inside the house, “I know I raised you all better than that. You’ve had your fun; now leave them be. You can come in here and tell me all about it instead.” Everyone laughs, waving to us from the window and leaving one by one until we are finally alone.
I pull Leanna onto my lap while I hold her in the Papasan swing, enjoying her breath against my skin as she snuggles up to me. We swing back and forth, holding onto one another in silence, no closer to figuring out who has targeted Leanna and why. Now that the assaults have crossed the line from scare tactics to physical harm, the intense pressure to find him or her before it’s too late weighs heavily on my shoulders and on my heart.
Over the course of the next two and a half days, Leanna’s large family reminds me that I’m not alone and the burden of protecting her is on them all. The Arbaroas stick together, and they’ve made it clear that I’m a part of their family. I hope to make it official someday, but that will have to wait until this situation is resolved.
It’s been quiet since Leanna’s near disaster on the slopes, which can likely be attributed to the increased police presence of patrols in the area and the fact that the family has banded together, never giving her much time alone unless it’s with me. We’ve snuck away for a few kisses here and there, but for the most part, we’ve always been in someone’s line of sight so that no one ever worries about her.
I pull out my laptop, open the encrypted video communications link, and wait for Patrick to connect on the other end. It takes a minute, but eventually, his face appears on the screen.
“Are you and Savannah ready for tonight?” I ask. Tonight is the Friday night gala for all the resort guests, which will be held at the main lodge.
“We are. You should know that we overheard Melissa urging Joe to extend their stay so they could attend the gala. I didn’t hear everything, but I did hear their new checkout date is Sunday, which aligns with your checkout date,” he says.
“Are you really surprised? Melissa was trying to get Joe to go ‘explore all the resort had to offer,’ including the other guest areas such as this one. Thankfully, Joe had his reasons for being up here in the first place, which included attending the expo and networking, not hunting down ex-fiancés.” Savannah says from behind him, giving me a little wave.
“Twice, Melissa was having coffee in the café when a man came up and joined her. He didn’t stay long, certainly not long enough for us to get in a position to listen in or gather any intel. This may be the man who has been coming after Leanna. If that’s the case, Melissa can be directly tied to whoever is causing the chaos and playing mind games. I know that’s not what you want to hear,” Patrick states. I wave his concern away.
“All right. I should expect to see Melissa and Joe at the gala. What about Mark, Brayden, and Amanda? Do you think they’ll be there, too?”
“It’s highly likely. I don’t see Mark passing up a free meal that includes lobster and steak, but whether or not he stays for the party afterward is debatable. As far as his kids go, they’ll either stay and take a shuttle back or ride with their father since they only have one vehicle. If they leave, Savannah and I will have to separate in order to keep an eye on both Melissa and Mark.”
“Does that mean you don’t think Joe is a suspect anymore?” I ask them both.
Savannah shouts from the other room, sounding tinny through the speaker. “I don’t. Call it a woman’s intuition or whatnot, but he doesn’t strike me as the type to vandalize property or seek to harm a woman he’s interested in. He’s a playboy at heart, although a bit rebellious and misguided.”
Patrick bobs his head slightly while Savannah is expressing her thoughts. After she’s done, he looks back at me through the camera lens. “While I agree with Savannah, it doesn’t mean either of us will disregard Joe as a potential suspect. However, if we have to split up, he won’t be high on our priority list. It will be up to you, Callum, or one of Leanna’s brothers to follow him.”
“Roger. I’ll inform everyone to keep a lookout and assign one of the guys to follow Joe. Nick, Elena, and the kids are staying here, along with Marybeth and Sebastian. Marybeth isn’t feeling well, and Sebastian doesn’t want to attend without her. Do you think they will be safe here with just the security around the cabin?” I ask.
“They should be safe enough. You showed Sebastian where your hunting rifle is and gave him the combination, correct?”
“Yes, along with a few other non-lethal weapons.” Leanna walks up behind me, looking positively stunning in a floor-length dark purple gown with a beaded heart-shaped top. She leans in to smile and wave at the couple on the screen.
“Hi, guys. We’re just about ready to leave. Before I have to go and pretend that I don’t know who you are, let me just say that you both look great!” Leanna kisses me on the cheek and whispers, “But not nearly as sexy as you.” Savannah waggles her eyebrows at me from behind Patrick, who tries his best not to laugh. They heard every word despite Leanna’s attempt to be quiet.
Leanna heads over to where her family is standing, waiting for me to finish up when the perimeter alarms start blaring. Patrick and I both pull up the feed on our laptops and see the local florist’s delivery van parked out front and blocking our vehicles.
“Standby. I’m heading outside,” I inform him.
“Roger.”
I pull my Glock 19 from my holster and drop the magazine into my hands. I rack the slide back to clear the weapon, then slap the magazine back in and send the slide forward. The process takes me only a few seconds, but now I don’t have to worry about whether or not I have a round in the chamber if I should need to use it.
The feed I transferred to my phone shows the driver carrying a large box to the front door. I meet him on the porch and stop him from going any further. The kid doesn’t look to be more than 17 or 18 years old.
“Hi. I have a delivery for Leanna Ar-ba-roh-ah,” he sounds out.
“I can take those. She’s inside getting ready.” He gives me the pad to sign for the package, and as soon as it’s in my hands, I tear the ribbon to shreds.
“Hey, those aren’t for you!” the kid says. I ignore him and pry open the lid, gasping at what I see inside.
“Who ordered these?” I ask, my tone demanding.
“I don’t know. My boss thought it was a weird request, and it took three days to get them in. That’s all I know,” he says.
“These were ordered three days ago?” I pull out my phone and dial the number on the side of the florist’s van, not waiting for the kid to answer.
