“Pao, tell our guest why she’s here,” Hannah said, giving him a cocked brow look.
“She’ll be safe here.”
“And just why does she need a place that’s safe?” Hannah pressed
“Don’t be nosy, Han.”
“You are here, aren’t you?” Her lips dipped into a frown, a warning that she wouldn’t back down easily.
“I don’t have all the information myself.” He grabbed an apple from the bowl on the kitchen island and bit into it, swiping the back of his hand across his mouth before sitting down to join them at the table. “I guess you should tell me what you know.” He met Novah’s gaze. Now that both Pao and Hannah were sitting next to each other Novah could see the shared resemblance of the brother and sister pair.
Folding her hands on the table, she thought his words over carefully then told them the events that led her there.
“That was very brave of you,” Hannah said with a reassuring smile.
“Or very stupid.” Pao smirked. Hannah darted a narrowed gaze his direction. “What? I’m just being truthful.”
“No, you’re being rude. Ignore his foul attitude, Novah.”
“It’s okay. I was being stupid and now not only is the woman’s life in danger, but so is Egan’s. I-well…I just couldn’t leave Lindsay’s fate in the hands of those men.”
“I for one would have done the same thing,” Hannah added. The cat had jumped onto her lap and was purring so loud it reminded Novah of a train in the distance.
“Why do you think she was brought to the resort?” Pao tossed his apple core into the open trashcan in the corner.
“I’m not sure. I didn’t have time to ask a lot of questions. I had met her once in Mr. Langley’s office.”
Pao nodded. “She could be Mr. Langley’s lover.”
She nodded. “Maybe. Yes. At least I think so too.”
Hannah stood, putting an end to the conversation. “Enough for now, Pao. It’s late and I think our guest needs some rest. After a few hours of sleep we’ll feel refreshed.”
“I won’t be sleeping.” Pao stood and downed his tea, squinting as if it burned his esophagus. “Thanks for the tea, sis. If you need me,” he said to Novah, “I’ll be on the porch.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“Would you like to take one of the guest rooms?” Hannah offered.
“If it’s okay, I’d like to stay out here and wait. I don’t think I can get much sleep.”
“That’s fine. Try to catch a few winks. I find that even fifteen minutes can help the mind rejuvenate. I have an early morning date with the farm animals, so I better turn in. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Novah finished her tea, paced the rustic planked floor until her feet started to hurt then finally sat down on the couch. Reaching for a magazine from the coffee table, she flipped unseeingly through the pages.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
EGAN LOOKED ACROSS the seat of his SUV at the resting stranger. She’d fallen asleep some twenty miles back and he was glad to have some time to toss around the events of the day in his head.
He had no clue who in the hell she was, but saving her could have cost him his case, and possibly his career. He hoped she wasn’t just some disgruntled lover of Langley’s.
Yet, Novah had told him a bit of what she saw, and it didn’t sound like “just” a disgruntled lover and the response from Langley’s security team didn’t appear like “just” an intruder they were trying to catch. If so, Egan would have every law enforcement officer up his backside by now.
He rubbed his sore jaw, but it could have been a lot worse than a few bruises and cuts.
Egan had contacted Pao and was relieved that Novah was safe at Noel Farm, not that Egan had doubted for a second that Pao wouldn’t get her there unharmed.
Hitting the gas pedal, the diesel engine rumbled, eating up the cracked asphalt of the back road. He gripped the steering wheel as a mirage of emotions fled through him, incapable of getting to Novah fast enough. This was supposed to be a simple job, but sometimes the simpler ones turned out to be the most complicated.
Now that he was certain they didn’t have anyone in hot pursuit of them, he reached for his cell and clicked a button. After four rings, Novah’s mother answered, sounding groggy from sleep. “Rita? It’s Egan.”
“Egan? What’s wrong? Is Novah okay?” The alarm was obvious in her high-pitched voice.
“She’s fine, but we’ve run into a little situation. Listen carefully. I’m having someone I trust come get you and Finley. His name is Justice.”
After explaining as much as he could to his ex-mother-in-law who took the news that she and Finley would be whisked away in the middle of the night as well as expected, he hung up and placed a call to his buddy and co-member of VK. Justice would keep Rita and Finley safe.
Once the immediate concern for his family was taken off the table, some of the tension released from his brow. The wheels of the SUV bounced over the unkempt country road as his tense thoughts hit every nerve along the map inside his head. He’d witnessed a lot in his military career and in VK, but this was a fucked-up situation if ever he’d seen one. Langley had a far and deep reach into a sinister world of crime. Where did this woman in the passenger seat fit into all that?
What did she know? She hadn’t said more than a few words to him. Eventually he’d have to ask the hard questions because not only had Egan put a lot on the line, so had Novah.
Staring
