He had to suck in his gut to remove the tightened seatbelt, but he managed to disentangle himself from its boa constrictor embrace and open the door. Easing out, he found his knees weren’t as steady as they should be. He kept a hand braced on the open door, trying to act casual.
Behind Amelia, the cop said, “Ms. DeMarco has given me the basics, but I want to hear your story about what happened.”
“The part where someone tried to stop my car? Where a pickup came right at us? Or where we skidded down the embankment like a wheeled bobsled?” He bit his lip to stop babbling.
Luckily for his self-respect, another cop car came peeling into the lot, siren and lights going, and behind it, a blue SUV with Nolan in the driver’s seat. They both stopped with an excessive flourish, and the siren cut off. The cop got out first, but Nolan strode faster, crossing the pavement toward them.
Amelia said, “Boss,” but Nolan held up a hand to turn to Fynn.
“Are you all right?”
“Shoulder’s a bit sore.” He rubbed it. Wanting to throw himself into Nolan’s arms was weak and illogical, and he wasn’t going to do any such thing, but he couldn’t help a moment’s fantasy about being caught and hugged by someone that size. Well, not just someone. Nolan, who’d taken all of Fynn’s weirdnesses in stride so far.So let’s not scare him away now, amiright?Fynn hugged his arms around his stomach and leaned a hip on the car door, trying to look chill and unworried.
Nolan said, “Hang in there. We’ll get you inside the building safely, then talk.” He turned to the new cop. “We’re pretty sure these were kidnapping attempts, not assassinations, but I’d still like to get my client behind walls ASAP.”
Assassinations?Fynn let go of his stomach to clutch the door again.
Nolan put a hand under Fynn’s elbow. “Come on. Let’s go on indoors and sit down.”
Absolutely. Let’s.Fynn let himself be guided to the front door and peered into the new iris-scan sensor to get them inside.
One of the cops went back to his cruiser, but the other said, “Fancy security,” as they followed him in.
Nolan told him, “Dr. Dempsey’s company earns tens of millions a year. It’s appropriate.”
“I guess.” The cop looked around, spotting the logo on the wall behind the currently-unoccupied security desk. “Hey, my mom got a ’CadoBox for Christmas. She loves it.”
Fynn didn’t have the spoons to ask about what model and usage. He had a marketing department for research. Or at least, Micah did. Micah, who’d taken the threat seriously enough to insist on biometric locks and hiring Stone Security to protect Fynn. Which now turned out to be prescient. Money well spent, not wasted. “Has anyone told Micah what happened? He’ll be pleased.”
Nolan turned to him, eyebrows raised. “He’ll bewhat?”
Fynn reran what he’d said. “Oh, not that something happened, but that the money for increased security was appropriate. He’s always talking about justified expenses.”
“Ah. Sure. Would you like to call him now?”
He felt heat flush his skin. “I forgot my phone.”Again.Thirty-three years old and he still couldn’t get out of the house with all his stuff. School had been a nightmare of making lists and forgetting to check them. “Maybe I should post a picture of my phone on the inside of my front door. Or get a smart watch and never take it off. Although I’d have to, to shower, so that wouldn’t be foolproof.”Me-proof. I’m the fool.
“You can use mine.” Nolan dug in his pocket.
“I want to wait.” Fynn walked to the nearest stuffed-cube seat and dropped heavily onto it. “There’s nothing Micah can do now anyway.”Except say I told you so. Which he will.
“Sure.” Nolan surprised Fynn by coming and sitting beside him, although Nolan perched on the edge of his upholstered cube. “Let me know whenever.”
The second cop came up to the closed front door and waved. When Amelia let him inside, he said, “My supervisor’s sending a detective along to head up the investigation. We have a BOLO out for the pick-up with the plate you reported. Officer Royce and I will stay here until the detective arrives.”
Fynn glanced around the lobby space. He’d never spent much time in here, since he usually parked in the employee lot and used the back entrance. The space was open and sunny, although the seating was an unfortunate avocado green. A color he’d seen way too much of already.We should change that. Unless Micah picked green on purpose for some marketing thing. Would he have made that choice? Surely that color can’t be good for anyone—
“Are you okay?” Nolan murmured to him.
Fynn realized he’d been staring at the chairs.Crap, I need coffee!
He looked up. The cops and bodyguards stood awkwardly eyeing each other, resembling a really weird cocktail party, or one of those college events he’d occasionally gone to, only to find he didn’t fit in with anyone else there. Except this was his company, which made him the host. “Does anyone else want coffee? I’d bet Ulrich has some back in his office.” He waved at the open room behind the security desk. He was pretty sure Ulrich kept a pot going, because one time when Fynn had come down to meet a supplier and he’d been in desperate need, reduced to inhaling steam from the mug standing on Ulrich’s desk, the doorman had gone and fetched him a lifesaving cup. “Although it might take a minute.” Because Ulrich wouldn’t leave the pot running on the weekends.
“We’re fine,” Nolan said. “Try to relax.”
Easier said than done. Fynn had never had much physical hyperactivity, although his mother had insisted she thought he fit the label, but now he needed to pace. Or bounce on a trampoline. Or something. Maybe he should carry a stress ball like he had for a while in college, although it’d never de-stressed him all that much. He’d liked the cow one, not so much for the benefit of rhythmic squeezing but because the face would balloon out into bovine mockery that made him laugh. Laughter was good for stress. “I need an inflatable cow.” He jumped to his feet and tried pacing, because movement was more civilized than cows.
Chapter 6
