“Yes, sir.”
He gave her a serial number, then had her repeat it back to him. “Excellent. And here’s the information on the car. It’s two blocks away.”
“Got it.”
“Here’s your mom. Have a good flight, Maddy.”
“Thank you, Mr. Aston.”
He handed Jacquie her phone, then typed more quickly. “Excellent, Mack,” he murmured, reading that accommodation had been arranged, then picked up his own phone again. “Farah, you’re going to have a plus-one on this trip. Maddy’s the daughter of a friend.”
“Oh really?”
“She’s Jacquie’s daughter.”
“A friend?”
Pierce ignored that. “You’re going to keep your distance from each other because she wants to come home instead of quarantining with you. You’re all going into a suites hotel outside Boston. Mack will pick you up and take you there.”
“Mack! Mack is great!”
“She is. Gloves and masks all the way to the hotel, please. Let’s keep everyone safe.”
“Got it, Pierce.”
He gave her more instruction about washing up and keeping the chance of contagion to a minimum. He saw the video feed from the phone of the driver of the private car which showed Maddy coming out of her building. He beckoned to Jacquie so she could watch. Maddy stood for a moment on the sidewalk, checking details against a piece of paper she carried, then came to the back door of the car. He heard her verify the driver’s name, then she got in the back seat.
“I see you, sweetheart,” Jacquie said into her phone, her hand on Pierce’s shoulder.
“Hi Mom!” Maddy waved at the driver’s phone, showing Pierce that she was wearing her mask and gloves. Then she settled back to talk to Jacquie on her own phone.
The car pulled away and accelerated, and Pierce glanced at the elapsed time. “Well done. She packed quickly.”
Maddy said something that he halfway heard from the driver’s feed.
“You can thank him by doing what you’re told,” Jacquie said, meeting Pierce’s gaze when he looked up. “And following his rules.” She listened for a minute, smiling. “No, I don’t think it’s enough either. Maybe we’ll think of something.”
Pierce had an idea. He put out his hand and Jacquie gave him the phone. “Maddy, you’re a financial advisor, aren’t you? Farah, who is providing your ride home tonight, has recently come into her inheritance. She knows very little about money management, so maybe you could teach her a bit.”
“Oh! Absolutely!”
“Good. You can talk to her about it on the plane. Here’s your mom. I’ll talk to you again at Luton.”
Jacquie talked to Maddy about everything and nothing, her heart filled with relief and trepidation, until Maddy said they were at the airport. There was excitement in her daughter’s voice when Jacquie gave the phone back to Pierce.
Once again, he verified the registration number on the aircraft, then his own phone rang. He tossed Jacquie her phone and answered his, typing again on the laptop. He was clearly doing what he did well, and she was glad that he was using his superpowers to help one of her kids. He cast Jacquie a smile, but didn’t pause in his multi-tasking. She smiled back, aware of how well his team was pulling together. She saw the scrolling messages from Mack about arrangements and the other thread from Jimmy, arranging logistics. Jacquie wouldn’t relax completely until Maddy was home, but things were being solved—and she wasn’t the one making the arrangements.
It was nice to have someone else to count on. In that moment, she realized just how self-reliant she’d had to be all these years. It was wonderful to share the burden with someone else. She loved that Pierce was taking care of her daughter. Maybe they were all part of his team now. Jacquie could live with that.
“They’ve got clearance to take off,” Pierce said once Maddy was aboard. Jacquie wished Maddy a good trip. She could hear women’s voices in the background and felt nervous once the call ended. Pierce showed her a display of the plane’s departure on his laptop.
“How do you have access to this?” Jacquie asked, watching the small jet taxi to the runway, the jet that was bringing her daughter home.
“You don’t want to know,” he said, then smiled.
“Because then you’d have to kill me.”
He gave her a simmering look. “And I like having you alive just fine.”
“Thank you for that.”
The plane pivoted, raced down the runway, then lifted off, fading into the night sky.
Pierce put his hand on Jacquie’s shoulder. “Probably ten hours until she’ll be home,” he said and Jacquie turned into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning against his chest. “I’ll drive out to Teterboro for their arrival, let’s say eight hours from now.” She felt him check his watch. “I’ll have to book a car.”
“Thank you, Pierce.”
“Don’t relax too much,” he said into her hair. “We’ve got work to do.”
“How so?”
“You’re looking at fourteen days of quarantine with Maddy in your apartment. She’s coming home but you’ll be in it together. You need food; you need antiseptic; you need household supplies like toilet paper. You probably need a meal plan, and laundry detergent. Good thing your washing machine is in the bathroom, and that’s the first room inside the apartment door.” He was planning with dizzying speed, his gaze flicking as he made lists and prioritized them.
“She’ll need something to wear, if all of her clothes have to be cleaned.”
Pierce nodded.
“I need to tell the partners at the club and arrange to work from home. I can stop in there and pick up my laptop.”
“Good thinking,” Pierce said. They ate breakfast quickly, then went into the bedroom to dress. Jacquie wished she’d grabbed her flatter shoes from the office, but would have to make do.
She froze to see Pierce slinging a holster over his shoulder, then retrieving a gun. He loaded it when he returned to the kitchen, then looked up to
