When he’d left her at his house it was with a five-day supply of frozen meals that he’d cooked and made sure that there were no Hot Pockets anywhere to be found. Those things were murder on the cholesterol, and anything he could do to keep her out of harm’s way, he was all for. After all, she was the one who’d spent a shit ton of money on motorcycle leathers for him. It went both ways.
“I sure appreciate you taking on all this extra work, Jill,” Natalie’s smile was wide on the computer screen.
“It’s so not a problem. I’m glad you understood why I needed to do all of this documentation from home and away from the office distractions.”
“Sweetie, I’d set you up on the beach in Hawaii if you can get this done in time for our roll-out. You are amazing, especially after Beatrice botched it. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you.”
“I will,” Jill told her boss right before shutting off the Zoom call. She looked at the flowchart on her document and winced. It still wasn’t right. Jill reached over to the plate to pick up her food.
“What the?!” Her fingers were sticky with zucchini, red sauce, bell peppers, and cheese instead of nature’s natural food group—a pizza roll in a pocket. She’d forgotten she’d warmed up one of the meals that Law had cooked for her. Heck, it required a fork and everything.
She got up from off the floor and went into the kitchen to wash her hands before she dripped tomato sauce all over her print-outs and keyboard. She looked over her shoulder. Scratch that, her papers were already dripping in red.
Great.
When she got to the kitchen, she noticed that her shirt had red sauce on it, too.
Really? Really?
I need a keeper.
She giggled. She did have a keeper, and wasn’t that wonderful? However, it would also be nice when she could leave the house again. She’d actually called Angela two nights ago and had a great chat with her. Her one-day-to-be-ex-husband was a crazy to the nth degree. Thank God she had gotten away from him. Jill was so happy to hear about Rancher Man. Angela swore there was nothing boy-girl going on, they were just friends. But Jill was willing to bet her last clean shirt that as soon as crazy hubby was in the rearview mirror, Rancher Man would be staking his claim.
Jill pulled off her shirt as she moved toward the laundry room, secure in the knowledge that there were only motion detectors and no cameras attached to the security system in Law’s house. He did have panic buttons set up in four rooms these days. He would have given her a gun, but they both agreed she would’ve ended up shooting herself in the foot, so no to that.
She was about ready to strip out of her bra and throw on a sleep shirt because it was bedtime. No more Zoom calls for this working girl. If someone wanted to talk to her, it would be audio only. Before she had the relief of taking off her bra, her phone all the way back in the living room rang.
Darn it!
She would’ve ignored it, but it could have been Law. She threw on one of his Marine t-shirts and practically ran to the living room hoping it was him. But when she got to the coffee table she saw that it was Lesley.
“Hey, Lesley, you’re never going to believe who I was just talking to the other night,” Jill smiled.
“Was it my wife?” A man’s voice asked.
“Who is this?” Jill demanded to know. “Where’s Lesley?”
“Oh, quit the games, Jill, you know who this is. Where’s my wife?”
Jill’s mouth was filled with cotton. She couldn’t catch a breath, and she couldn’t get her lips to part because she was biting down too hard on her bottom lip.
“Answer me, bitch, where’s my wife!”
“Uhhhh…”
A high-pitched scream came through the phone. A woman’s scream. Lesley’s scream.
“You better answer me, before I start cutting off body parts. Where’s Angela?”
“Don’t hurt her!” Jill yelled.
“Bitch, tell me where she is!”
If she told him, then Lesley would be dead for sure. She had to stall. She had to get help. She had to do something!
He hated being away from Jill for so long. It might’ve only been three days so far, but it was two days too many. He knew deep in his bones that Goshen would eventually make a play, and despite the fact she was hiding out at his house, he was worried.
“Thorne, are you going to actually pay attention to what your trainee is doing this time?” Clancy asked. “Or are you going to let his ass get blown up by the other team?”
Law carefully considered his teammate’s question. Truth be told, the idea of Roger getting taken out by Red Smoke had some serious advantages. He could send Roger back to the barracks and focus for the rest of the time they had left. It would make his life a hell of a lot easier, and they could wrap this game up tonight with a win.
“Law?” Clancy’s voice was closer. He’d sidled up next to him in the low grass. “You’re not actually considering letting him go, are you?”
Law looked over his shoulder at his friend.
“Shit, you are. What has gotten into you? I know you’re in love and all, but seriously, this is un-fucking-acceptable.”
“Clancy, shut your mouth.
