“You slept well,” the guy next to me says. “And now we’ve landed.”
I blink at him a few times and bite back the comment I want to make. I’m sure he’s a nice guy and I’m just in a crap mood. Once we stop at our gate, everyone unbuckles their seat belts, and suddenly Logan is next to my aisle.
“I’ll meet you at the gate,” he says.
I nod. He can’t move forward any farther because most of those in the aisle seats are now standing. I glance back and spot Duke near the back of the plane.
Logan is standing tall with his eyes focused on the front of the aircraft. I want to ask him if he received any warning messages, but I can’t do that here. Not in front of everyone.
Finally, the crowd moves, and we get off the plane. Logan is waiting for us, as he said he would.
“Stay close to me at all times. There is a car waiting for us,” he says.
As we follow him, he is glancing in all directions, scanning everyone. My heart is pounding so hard that it’s all I can hear. We finally make it outside, and he leads us to a large black SUV.
“Get in,” he says.
The three of us get into the back seat, and the car immediately pulls out.
“Good to see you, Coff,” the driver says.
“You too, Ozzie. Will you be staying with us?”
The driver shakes his head. “I’m just delivering you.”
As we make our way out of the airport, my attention is focused on the sights. Or lack of them.
“Where’s the Statue of Liberty?” I ask.
“You won’t see it on the route we’re taking,” Ozzie says.
Even though we are running for our lives, I’m disappointed that I won’t get to see a famous landmark. Perhaps I’m in denial about my situation.
“Coff, have you heard about Stacy’s latest move?”
My ears perk up. Who’s Stacy? Is she an ex of Coff’s?
“No, did she get out or something?”
Ozzie shakes his head. “Thankfully, no. She’s suing Reed and Stormy.”
Coff leans forward. “For what?”
Ozzie takes an exit that puts us on a new highway. “She’s claiming she was pressured into selling Hawthorne’s share of the business and that Reed and Stormy gave her fraudulent information.”
Coff leans back. “That’s bullshit.”
I glance at Duke, who shrugs. “Who’s Stacy?”
Ozzie glances back at us in the rearview mirror but doesn’t answer. Coff doesn’t, either, and I wonder why they are ignoring my question. But then Coff turns toward Duke and me.
“She was our former boss’s wife. He died, and she agreed to sell his share of the company to another man. It was all legitimate. But what we didn’t know at the time is that this woman conspired to have her husband killed, then tried to kill her stepdaughter in order to get more money, and all around, she’s a nasty person we all wish would go away. She’s in prison now for all she did.”
Wow, that’s a lot. “I’m sorry about your boss. That sounds horrible.”
“What does she want? The business back?” Coff asks.
Ozzie laughs. “What she always wants. Money. Apparently, Reed and Stormy signed a high-profile client, and Stacy filed her lawsuit a week later. Part of her claim is they knew this deal was in the works, and they pressured her to sell her share fast.”
