Silver Lining, page 14
“Lena…Ms. Montgomery.”
We turned to Kelsey. “I’ll call you.”
“CJ,” she said. “I need your address.”
As he started to speak, I interrupted. “Go to the hotel. Three rooms. Make a show of renting another plane. Be visible.”
“CJ, your address,” she repeated.
He wrapped his arm around me and ushered me to the passenger side door. As he helped me inside, he asked in a whisper, “Do you not want her to know?”
“I don’t know what to think anymore.”
With a nod, he closed the door. I watched for a moment as the two spoke to one another. He stood a head taller than Kelsey and somehow, I knew I trusted them both. CJ returned to the vehicle as Kelsey got in the rental and drove away, I’d assume back to the place we were meant to meet Adam.
Once CJ was back inside the car, he hit the locks and reached over, covering my hand with his. “I gave her my address.”
I nodded.
His grin quirked. “They’d be terrible security if they couldn’t figure it out.”
“I guess that’s true. I’m sorry to involve you in this.”
CJ put the vehicle in gear. “Your timing is perfect. Full disclosure, I’m Chandler Johns Thompson.” He flashed his smile before we pulled out onto a busy street. “My friends call me CJ. I just sold my company. So as luck would have it, my schedule is free to be involved.”
With a sigh, I laid my head back against the seat.
“Talk to me.”
A lump filled my throat with the realization that CJ was willing to risk everything for me. I turned toward him as my vision blurred, and my emotions bubbled within me. “I was awful to you. I didn’t…”
CJ returned his hand to my thigh. “You weren’t terrible. I believe you used the word practical. You didn’t scare me away.”
“I’m glad. I think.”
“Talk to me,” he said again.
For the next fifteen minutes, as CJ navigated the streets of Austin, I recounted the last few days. Fighting back tears that I haven’t shed in years, I told him about the man in New York and about today’s discovery. While he drove, I’d had my attention on my story. Now, as I looked around, trees were more plentiful than buildings.
“How far do you live from Architech?” I asked.
“Less than ten minutes on a bad day.”
I turned toward him. “Wait, where are we going?”
His cheeks rose as he flashed his handsome smile. “I gave Kelsey my address. She or Adam could have found it in a matter of minutes or faster. I have a two-bedroom apartment, nothing spectacular. I’ve been too in my head about Architech and this woman I met in Cancún to actively spend my new fortune.”
“We aren’t going to your place. Where are we going?”
“My brother has been more engaged with the prospect of having expendable income. He and my sister-in-law made an offer on a house on Lake Travis, west of the city. It’s in a gated community and has some land. As I was running to find you, Colton told me their offer was accepted.”
My forehead furrowed. “We’re going to their house?”
“It isn’t theirs yet. Don’t you see? If we were watched and anyone knows you’re with me, they’ll never find us. The house isn’t in Colton and Devon’s name yet. Only the realtors know it’s sold. We’ll be safe.”
“On a lake and secluded,” I said, thinking of one of my few friends. “I have a friend with a home on Lake Superior. It’s beautiful up there.”
“Lake Travis isn’t a Great Lake, but in my opinion, it’s beautiful.” CJ turned my direction as the highways turned to streets. “Trust me, Lena.”
“I do.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
CJ
Wrapped around her slender wrist, Lena’s watch caught my attention. Slowing the Range Rover, I pulled to the side of the road, the gravel crunching under the weight of the tires.
“What?” she asked, her eyes wide. “Why did you stop?”
“Your watch.” I lifted my left arm. “If it’s the same as mine, you can be tracked.”
“Yes, but only by my security.”
“Lena, if you truly want to hide, we can’t be wearing these watches. We can turn off the tracking on our phones, but the watches are a completely different animal, even with the factory-installed Find Me feature turned off, with the right knowledge you can still be tracked.”
Indecision showed in her beautiful features, the worry lines near her eyes and the way her lips were pressed together.
I lifted Lena’s chin, bringing her gaze to mine. The chocolate orbs swirled with emotions. I’d told her earlier that she’d been afraid to have my number. That wasn’t true fear; it was her way of shielding herself. What churned before me was visible dread, a chilled-to-the-bone terror. “You reached out to me. You wouldn’t have done that if you didn’t trust me.”
“I trust you. I trust my security.”
“Who has access to that watch?”
“The entire team.”
“Adam and Kelsey?”
She shook her head. “No, many more. Adam and Kelsey travel with me the most, but there’s a team.”
“Who knew you were coming to Austin? Colton and I didn’t hear that Jeremy wasn’t alone until your plane landed.”
“Jeremy. I told him yesterday that I wanted to come. Adam was with me at the time. He knew. Jeremy said he’d call Kelsey. By the time we took off this morning, everyone on the team…” Her words faded as she fumbled with the band with shaking fingers.
“Let me,” I said, placing her wrist on my knee and unfastening the clasp. Once it was off, I did the same with mine, taking it off. “Where is your phone?”
Lena reached for her purse and opened a flap, revealing her phone.
“Turn off the tracking.”
She punched a four-digit code into her phone and went to settings. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I checked the tracking capability. It was off, the way I have always kept it.
“Done,” she said.
“May I see?”
“I know how to work my phone.”
“I’m sure you do. Are you confident someone hasn’t added another tracking app?”
Lena sighed and handed me her phone.
Swiping the screen, I entered her four-digit code.
“How do you know that?”
“You just did it.”
“And you remember?” she asked.
“I’m kind of weird about numbers.” I smiled. “Yes, I remembered.”
It took a minute to scan all her apps, but in the end, I found two additional programs that could pinpoint her phone’s location with significant accuracy. “Two was smart,” I said, giving her back her phone. “Most people would quit after finding one.”
“I’m sure it’s extra precaution.”
“Turning off the apps is our extra precaution.”
Looking around, I realized we were closer to Colton’s new home than I wanted anyone to know. The thing about Lake Travis was that it was a reservoir for the Colorado River with over two hundred and fifty miles of shoreline.
“We’re going to go on a bit of a wild goose chase, or maybe we’re the geese.”
“CJ, I want to trust my team.”
“This isn’t saying they’re not trustworthy. It’s to protect you.”
Lena nodded.
By the time we were miles beyond Colton’s home, I drove into Dink Pearson Park, parking along the well-packed dirt road. “Come with me?” I said, looking over at Lena.
She was stepping down from the Range Rover, her shapely legs visible below her skirt as I came around the vehicle. Without assistance, she landed her high heels on the dirt. Taking off her blazer, she tossed it back in the vehicle and stood in her skirt and white blouse.
Offering her my hand, Lena took it as we walked toward the shoreline of a small inlet.
Lena lifted her face to the summer evening breeze as she looked around. “It’s hot and flat.”
“You’re very observant.”
“No, I’m tired,” she said with a chuckle. “Missoula has mountains, snowcapped even in the summer. This heat is stifling, almost worse than Chicago.”
“Missoula is sounding more and more appealing.”
“We might be moving Architech there.”
Reaching into my shirt pocket, I handed Lena her watch. “I hope you’re not attached.”
“To a watch.” She shook her head.
As I unclasped my own watchband, I started to toss it into the water and stopped. “Damn thing is waterproof.”
“Mine too.”
Dropping mine to the ground, I used the heel of my shoe and smashed the face before picking it up and tossing it in the water. When I looked over, Lena handed me hers.
“You’re better at the smashing thing.”
“Are you one hundred percent certain you’re okay with me doing this?”
“Yes.”
The face cracked and went black before I handed it back. With one look my direction, she reeled back her arm and threw it into the water. As her watch sank below the surface, small ripples blended into the water’s texture.
Lena exhaled. “It’s freeing.”
Wrapping my arm around her, I pulled Lena to me until she lifted her chin. “You’ll be free, free of this lunatic, free of being watched.”
“No. It’s my life.”
“It doesn’t have to be.”
She lowered her forehead to my chest and surrounded my torso with her arms. Just the two of us in Dink Pearson Park, Lena Montgomery’s persona faded, and the woman inside took the first step of freedom. When she looked up, her brown gaze glistened with moisture. “Thank you.”
“Thank you for trusting me.”
“It’s crazy, I know. We don’t really know one another.”
My grin grew. “We don’t, but I know I want to learn more, all the magical sides of Lena Montgomery.”
She lowered her forehead to my chest. Her words came out muffled. “I don’t know who to trust anymore.”
“Come on,” I said, keeping my arm around her and leading her to my vehicle.
Taking both paved and dirt roads, I drove in circles, in the hope that we weren’t being followed. As the sky darkened, I pulled into a small store, told Lena to wait, and went inside. When I returned, I had four bags of groceries and a twelve-pack of water.
When her gaze met mine, I grinned. “This is my first hideout, but I don’t think letting you starve would be a good start.”
Her smile faded as she lifted her phone screen my direction. “It’s blowing up with calls and texts from Adam, Kelsey, Jeremy, and now others on the security team.”
“Have you responded?”
She shook her head.
“Respond. Tell them you’re safe. If you don’t, Adam will have me on the top-ten wanted list before we get a chance to eat the packaged deli meat.”
As I started the car, Lena hit a number on her screen. After a moment, she spoke, “I’m safe, Jeremy.”
Interesting that she’d call him before Adam or Kelsey.
Her gaze came my way. “I do. I really do. Trust me on this.” There were pauses as Jeremy spoke. When Lena disconnected the call, she lowered the phone to her lap and sighed.
“I’m curious,” I said. “Why you called him and not Kelsey or Adam?”
“Jeremy started out working for me, years and years ago, before either Adam or Kelsey. Our relationship has changed, morphed into something beyond work.”
“Lovers?” I asked, unsure that it was any of my business but unable to stop the question.
Lena shrugged. “Nothing serious. We are better as cohorts.”
“He called you his boss at Architech today.”
“I’d say that Jeremy Wilde is more of an independent contractor. He gets me.”
The sky beyond the windshield had begun to darken. “I think I get you.”
Lena reached over and placed her hand on my thigh. “I think you do too.”
Fuck.
Seeing her slender fingers outstretched over my pant leg and feeling her touch, I was more determined than ever that Lena Montgomery would stay safe under my watch. I also had hope that she’d just given me the answer to her hard line.
Pulling up to a large gate with stone pillars on each side, I entered a code. The gate before us began to move.
“How?” she asked.
“Colton brought me here to show me the house a few weeks ago.”
Lena’s lips curled upward. “And you remember the code.”
I nodded. “Numbers, remember.”
“How are we getting in the house?”
“The realtor lockbox also works with a code.”
“I’m glad you’re good with numbers. I meant what I said earlier, CJ, your technology—what you and Colton created— is a world changer.”
Colton’s new home sat on over six acres of property, tucked high above the water’s edge. The five-bedroom home was mostly windows. As we approached, the security lights illuminated the grounds while the inside remained dark.
As I pulled onto the concrete and stone driveway separating the house and the garages, Lena gripped my forearm. “Are you sure it’s safe?”
I wanted to be certain.
“Yes, but I’d rather be absolutely sure.” Leaning over, I hit the button on my glove compartment. The small door opened, revealing a Glock 19 pistol.
“You have a gun?” she asked.
“It’s registered and yes.” I’d never shot more than targets, but I was more than competent at the shooting range.
Lena’s gaze met mine. “I’m glad.”
“Stay behind me.”
“I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Give me the reins, Lena. I promise I’ll give them back.”
The fear in her expression eased as she nodded.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Lena
My racing circulation had me on the verge of fainting as my pulse thumped in my ears, drowning out all rational thought. Step by step, I walked behind CJ toward the large house. Stone slabs created a walking path leading to the main entry. With each step, another light came on, illuminating the outside and keeping the inside behind the unblocked windows a mystery.
“What if someone is inside?” I asked, keeping my volume low.
“No one should be. It’s been empty for months.”
“Should be? That isn’t reassuring.” When CJ turned back toward me, I asked, “Is there a security system?”
“Yes. Set to a code.”
“What if they changed it?”
“Then we go to plan B.”
I scoffed. “You always have a plan B.”
“I haven’t thought this one out yet, but yeah, I like to leave my options open.”
Once we were on the front porch, I turned the flashlight app from my phone on and shone the beam toward the realtor lockbox. I held my breath until the hinge released, and CJ opened the box, revealing a key.
“So far, so good,” he said with a grin.
The natural noises set my nerves on high alert. Around us the trees rustled in the breeze. Above, owls hooted, and bats flapped their wings. A low hum filled the air as CJ opened the door inward. Quickly, he went to a keypad near the door and entered another code.
The hum ceased.
“It worked,” he said. Then speaking louder, he called out, “Hello.”
CJ’s greeting echoed in the empty entry, bouncing off the hardwood floor and ceiling and ricocheting off the glass walls. After removing the lockbox from the outside door handle and locking the door from within, CJ reached for my hand. With our steps in sync, we went to the right, into a large master bedroom suite. Walls were either wood, stone, or glass. Everything was very open with natural materials. Furniture was present in a staged way that realtors do. There was nothing personal. The room and large attached bath were sleek, modern, and sterile.
After turning on lights and checking every nook and cranny, we walked back through the entryway toward the main house. I stopped for a moment. “The outside lights have gone out.”
“Motion detectors, I’d assume.”
That made sense.
As the sky darkened, and the inside brightness grew, the windows became mirrors. Through the next archway, CJ led us to the left. We discovered two more bedrooms, each with attached bathrooms. He searched in every closet, behind every shower door, and under every bed. Back out to the main hallway we turned left. The ceiling heightened as we entered a large open kitchen. Edison lightbulbs strung fourteen to fifteen feet above glistened off the quartz counters. The rectangular island contained a deep sink and was covered with a butcher-block top. The far quartz counter seconded as a breakfast bar with five high-backed stools separating the kitchen from the family room.
The main hall was all glass. CJ said it faced the lake. I’d have to believe him as nothing could be seen through the panes except darkness.
We kept walking, turning on light after light until we came to the far end of the house, a wide-open living room with a slate-stone fireplace, one that I imagined would be nice if the outside temperature wasn’t still near ninety.
Setting the safety, CJ placed the pistol on a table and reached for my hands. “We’re alone, Lena. You’re safe here.”
“Does Colton know we’re at his new home?”
“Not yet. I have about fifty voice messages from him. I say first, I bring in the things I purchased at the store, we eat something, and settle in. Then I’ll give him a call.” His turquoise stare shimmered in all the artificial lighting. “You asked me for my help. Now, I want to discuss our next move. You’re more in tune with your threat level. Tell me what you know, and let’s figure this out together.”
“How do you remember all those numbers?” I asked. It was hardly the most important information at the second. Nonetheless, I was curious and impressed. “How many times have you been here?”
“I don’t know how I recall numbers. I just do. Colton can do it too. And” —CJ grinned— “this is my second visit.”
“Are you a genius?” When his smile quirked, I justified my question. “Are you? I’m serious. The technology. The codes. You saw your brother enter them once. You saw me unlock my phone once. You’re very analytical.”
We turned to Kelsey. “I’ll call you.”
“CJ,” she said. “I need your address.”
As he started to speak, I interrupted. “Go to the hotel. Three rooms. Make a show of renting another plane. Be visible.”
“CJ, your address,” she repeated.
He wrapped his arm around me and ushered me to the passenger side door. As he helped me inside, he asked in a whisper, “Do you not want her to know?”
“I don’t know what to think anymore.”
With a nod, he closed the door. I watched for a moment as the two spoke to one another. He stood a head taller than Kelsey and somehow, I knew I trusted them both. CJ returned to the vehicle as Kelsey got in the rental and drove away, I’d assume back to the place we were meant to meet Adam.
Once CJ was back inside the car, he hit the locks and reached over, covering my hand with his. “I gave her my address.”
I nodded.
His grin quirked. “They’d be terrible security if they couldn’t figure it out.”
“I guess that’s true. I’m sorry to involve you in this.”
CJ put the vehicle in gear. “Your timing is perfect. Full disclosure, I’m Chandler Johns Thompson.” He flashed his smile before we pulled out onto a busy street. “My friends call me CJ. I just sold my company. So as luck would have it, my schedule is free to be involved.”
With a sigh, I laid my head back against the seat.
“Talk to me.”
A lump filled my throat with the realization that CJ was willing to risk everything for me. I turned toward him as my vision blurred, and my emotions bubbled within me. “I was awful to you. I didn’t…”
CJ returned his hand to my thigh. “You weren’t terrible. I believe you used the word practical. You didn’t scare me away.”
“I’m glad. I think.”
“Talk to me,” he said again.
For the next fifteen minutes, as CJ navigated the streets of Austin, I recounted the last few days. Fighting back tears that I haven’t shed in years, I told him about the man in New York and about today’s discovery. While he drove, I’d had my attention on my story. Now, as I looked around, trees were more plentiful than buildings.
“How far do you live from Architech?” I asked.
“Less than ten minutes on a bad day.”
I turned toward him. “Wait, where are we going?”
His cheeks rose as he flashed his handsome smile. “I gave Kelsey my address. She or Adam could have found it in a matter of minutes or faster. I have a two-bedroom apartment, nothing spectacular. I’ve been too in my head about Architech and this woman I met in Cancún to actively spend my new fortune.”
“We aren’t going to your place. Where are we going?”
“My brother has been more engaged with the prospect of having expendable income. He and my sister-in-law made an offer on a house on Lake Travis, west of the city. It’s in a gated community and has some land. As I was running to find you, Colton told me their offer was accepted.”
My forehead furrowed. “We’re going to their house?”
“It isn’t theirs yet. Don’t you see? If we were watched and anyone knows you’re with me, they’ll never find us. The house isn’t in Colton and Devon’s name yet. Only the realtors know it’s sold. We’ll be safe.”
“On a lake and secluded,” I said, thinking of one of my few friends. “I have a friend with a home on Lake Superior. It’s beautiful up there.”
“Lake Travis isn’t a Great Lake, but in my opinion, it’s beautiful.” CJ turned my direction as the highways turned to streets. “Trust me, Lena.”
“I do.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
CJ
Wrapped around her slender wrist, Lena’s watch caught my attention. Slowing the Range Rover, I pulled to the side of the road, the gravel crunching under the weight of the tires.
“What?” she asked, her eyes wide. “Why did you stop?”
“Your watch.” I lifted my left arm. “If it’s the same as mine, you can be tracked.”
“Yes, but only by my security.”
“Lena, if you truly want to hide, we can’t be wearing these watches. We can turn off the tracking on our phones, but the watches are a completely different animal, even with the factory-installed Find Me feature turned off, with the right knowledge you can still be tracked.”
Indecision showed in her beautiful features, the worry lines near her eyes and the way her lips were pressed together.
I lifted Lena’s chin, bringing her gaze to mine. The chocolate orbs swirled with emotions. I’d told her earlier that she’d been afraid to have my number. That wasn’t true fear; it was her way of shielding herself. What churned before me was visible dread, a chilled-to-the-bone terror. “You reached out to me. You wouldn’t have done that if you didn’t trust me.”
“I trust you. I trust my security.”
“Who has access to that watch?”
“The entire team.”
“Adam and Kelsey?”
She shook her head. “No, many more. Adam and Kelsey travel with me the most, but there’s a team.”
“Who knew you were coming to Austin? Colton and I didn’t hear that Jeremy wasn’t alone until your plane landed.”
“Jeremy. I told him yesterday that I wanted to come. Adam was with me at the time. He knew. Jeremy said he’d call Kelsey. By the time we took off this morning, everyone on the team…” Her words faded as she fumbled with the band with shaking fingers.
“Let me,” I said, placing her wrist on my knee and unfastening the clasp. Once it was off, I did the same with mine, taking it off. “Where is your phone?”
Lena reached for her purse and opened a flap, revealing her phone.
“Turn off the tracking.”
She punched a four-digit code into her phone and went to settings. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I checked the tracking capability. It was off, the way I have always kept it.
“Done,” she said.
“May I see?”
“I know how to work my phone.”
“I’m sure you do. Are you confident someone hasn’t added another tracking app?”
Lena sighed and handed me her phone.
Swiping the screen, I entered her four-digit code.
“How do you know that?”
“You just did it.”
“And you remember?” she asked.
“I’m kind of weird about numbers.” I smiled. “Yes, I remembered.”
It took a minute to scan all her apps, but in the end, I found two additional programs that could pinpoint her phone’s location with significant accuracy. “Two was smart,” I said, giving her back her phone. “Most people would quit after finding one.”
“I’m sure it’s extra precaution.”
“Turning off the apps is our extra precaution.”
Looking around, I realized we were closer to Colton’s new home than I wanted anyone to know. The thing about Lake Travis was that it was a reservoir for the Colorado River with over two hundred and fifty miles of shoreline.
“We’re going to go on a bit of a wild goose chase, or maybe we’re the geese.”
“CJ, I want to trust my team.”
“This isn’t saying they’re not trustworthy. It’s to protect you.”
Lena nodded.
By the time we were miles beyond Colton’s home, I drove into Dink Pearson Park, parking along the well-packed dirt road. “Come with me?” I said, looking over at Lena.
She was stepping down from the Range Rover, her shapely legs visible below her skirt as I came around the vehicle. Without assistance, she landed her high heels on the dirt. Taking off her blazer, she tossed it back in the vehicle and stood in her skirt and white blouse.
Offering her my hand, Lena took it as we walked toward the shoreline of a small inlet.
Lena lifted her face to the summer evening breeze as she looked around. “It’s hot and flat.”
“You’re very observant.”
“No, I’m tired,” she said with a chuckle. “Missoula has mountains, snowcapped even in the summer. This heat is stifling, almost worse than Chicago.”
“Missoula is sounding more and more appealing.”
“We might be moving Architech there.”
Reaching into my shirt pocket, I handed Lena her watch. “I hope you’re not attached.”
“To a watch.” She shook her head.
As I unclasped my own watchband, I started to toss it into the water and stopped. “Damn thing is waterproof.”
“Mine too.”
Dropping mine to the ground, I used the heel of my shoe and smashed the face before picking it up and tossing it in the water. When I looked over, Lena handed me hers.
“You’re better at the smashing thing.”
“Are you one hundred percent certain you’re okay with me doing this?”
“Yes.”
The face cracked and went black before I handed it back. With one look my direction, she reeled back her arm and threw it into the water. As her watch sank below the surface, small ripples blended into the water’s texture.
Lena exhaled. “It’s freeing.”
Wrapping my arm around her, I pulled Lena to me until she lifted her chin. “You’ll be free, free of this lunatic, free of being watched.”
“No. It’s my life.”
“It doesn’t have to be.”
She lowered her forehead to my chest and surrounded my torso with her arms. Just the two of us in Dink Pearson Park, Lena Montgomery’s persona faded, and the woman inside took the first step of freedom. When she looked up, her brown gaze glistened with moisture. “Thank you.”
“Thank you for trusting me.”
“It’s crazy, I know. We don’t really know one another.”
My grin grew. “We don’t, but I know I want to learn more, all the magical sides of Lena Montgomery.”
She lowered her forehead to my chest. Her words came out muffled. “I don’t know who to trust anymore.”
“Come on,” I said, keeping my arm around her and leading her to my vehicle.
Taking both paved and dirt roads, I drove in circles, in the hope that we weren’t being followed. As the sky darkened, I pulled into a small store, told Lena to wait, and went inside. When I returned, I had four bags of groceries and a twelve-pack of water.
When her gaze met mine, I grinned. “This is my first hideout, but I don’t think letting you starve would be a good start.”
Her smile faded as she lifted her phone screen my direction. “It’s blowing up with calls and texts from Adam, Kelsey, Jeremy, and now others on the security team.”
“Have you responded?”
She shook her head.
“Respond. Tell them you’re safe. If you don’t, Adam will have me on the top-ten wanted list before we get a chance to eat the packaged deli meat.”
As I started the car, Lena hit a number on her screen. After a moment, she spoke, “I’m safe, Jeremy.”
Interesting that she’d call him before Adam or Kelsey.
Her gaze came my way. “I do. I really do. Trust me on this.” There were pauses as Jeremy spoke. When Lena disconnected the call, she lowered the phone to her lap and sighed.
“I’m curious,” I said. “Why you called him and not Kelsey or Adam?”
“Jeremy started out working for me, years and years ago, before either Adam or Kelsey. Our relationship has changed, morphed into something beyond work.”
“Lovers?” I asked, unsure that it was any of my business but unable to stop the question.
Lena shrugged. “Nothing serious. We are better as cohorts.”
“He called you his boss at Architech today.”
“I’d say that Jeremy Wilde is more of an independent contractor. He gets me.”
The sky beyond the windshield had begun to darken. “I think I get you.”
Lena reached over and placed her hand on my thigh. “I think you do too.”
Fuck.
Seeing her slender fingers outstretched over my pant leg and feeling her touch, I was more determined than ever that Lena Montgomery would stay safe under my watch. I also had hope that she’d just given me the answer to her hard line.
Pulling up to a large gate with stone pillars on each side, I entered a code. The gate before us began to move.
“How?” she asked.
“Colton brought me here to show me the house a few weeks ago.”
Lena’s lips curled upward. “And you remember the code.”
I nodded. “Numbers, remember.”
“How are we getting in the house?”
“The realtor lockbox also works with a code.”
“I’m glad you’re good with numbers. I meant what I said earlier, CJ, your technology—what you and Colton created— is a world changer.”
Colton’s new home sat on over six acres of property, tucked high above the water’s edge. The five-bedroom home was mostly windows. As we approached, the security lights illuminated the grounds while the inside remained dark.
As I pulled onto the concrete and stone driveway separating the house and the garages, Lena gripped my forearm. “Are you sure it’s safe?”
I wanted to be certain.
“Yes, but I’d rather be absolutely sure.” Leaning over, I hit the button on my glove compartment. The small door opened, revealing a Glock 19 pistol.
“You have a gun?” she asked.
“It’s registered and yes.” I’d never shot more than targets, but I was more than competent at the shooting range.
Lena’s gaze met mine. “I’m glad.”
“Stay behind me.”
“I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Give me the reins, Lena. I promise I’ll give them back.”
The fear in her expression eased as she nodded.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Lena
My racing circulation had me on the verge of fainting as my pulse thumped in my ears, drowning out all rational thought. Step by step, I walked behind CJ toward the large house. Stone slabs created a walking path leading to the main entry. With each step, another light came on, illuminating the outside and keeping the inside behind the unblocked windows a mystery.
“What if someone is inside?” I asked, keeping my volume low.
“No one should be. It’s been empty for months.”
“Should be? That isn’t reassuring.” When CJ turned back toward me, I asked, “Is there a security system?”
“Yes. Set to a code.”
“What if they changed it?”
“Then we go to plan B.”
I scoffed. “You always have a plan B.”
“I haven’t thought this one out yet, but yeah, I like to leave my options open.”
Once we were on the front porch, I turned the flashlight app from my phone on and shone the beam toward the realtor lockbox. I held my breath until the hinge released, and CJ opened the box, revealing a key.
“So far, so good,” he said with a grin.
The natural noises set my nerves on high alert. Around us the trees rustled in the breeze. Above, owls hooted, and bats flapped their wings. A low hum filled the air as CJ opened the door inward. Quickly, he went to a keypad near the door and entered another code.
The hum ceased.
“It worked,” he said. Then speaking louder, he called out, “Hello.”
CJ’s greeting echoed in the empty entry, bouncing off the hardwood floor and ceiling and ricocheting off the glass walls. After removing the lockbox from the outside door handle and locking the door from within, CJ reached for my hand. With our steps in sync, we went to the right, into a large master bedroom suite. Walls were either wood, stone, or glass. Everything was very open with natural materials. Furniture was present in a staged way that realtors do. There was nothing personal. The room and large attached bath were sleek, modern, and sterile.
After turning on lights and checking every nook and cranny, we walked back through the entryway toward the main house. I stopped for a moment. “The outside lights have gone out.”
“Motion detectors, I’d assume.”
That made sense.
As the sky darkened, and the inside brightness grew, the windows became mirrors. Through the next archway, CJ led us to the left. We discovered two more bedrooms, each with attached bathrooms. He searched in every closet, behind every shower door, and under every bed. Back out to the main hallway we turned left. The ceiling heightened as we entered a large open kitchen. Edison lightbulbs strung fourteen to fifteen feet above glistened off the quartz counters. The rectangular island contained a deep sink and was covered with a butcher-block top. The far quartz counter seconded as a breakfast bar with five high-backed stools separating the kitchen from the family room.
The main hall was all glass. CJ said it faced the lake. I’d have to believe him as nothing could be seen through the panes except darkness.
We kept walking, turning on light after light until we came to the far end of the house, a wide-open living room with a slate-stone fireplace, one that I imagined would be nice if the outside temperature wasn’t still near ninety.
Setting the safety, CJ placed the pistol on a table and reached for my hands. “We’re alone, Lena. You’re safe here.”
“Does Colton know we’re at his new home?”
“Not yet. I have about fifty voice messages from him. I say first, I bring in the things I purchased at the store, we eat something, and settle in. Then I’ll give him a call.” His turquoise stare shimmered in all the artificial lighting. “You asked me for my help. Now, I want to discuss our next move. You’re more in tune with your threat level. Tell me what you know, and let’s figure this out together.”
“How do you remember all those numbers?” I asked. It was hardly the most important information at the second. Nonetheless, I was curious and impressed. “How many times have you been here?”
“I don’t know how I recall numbers. I just do. Colton can do it too. And” —CJ grinned— “this is my second visit.”
“Are you a genius?” When his smile quirked, I justified my question. “Are you? I’m serious. The technology. The codes. You saw your brother enter them once. You saw me unlock my phone once. You’re very analytical.”
