“Where is this lab?” he asked.
“Oh, it’s in the garage at Books and Beds by the Sea for right now,” I laughed. “It’ll do until we actually have production to worry about.”
He took us in for a moment, then his eyes settled on Jada’s. “Amateur labs are prone to accidents, aren’t they?”
My heart seized up. Was it a threat? To me? To Jada? Was all of this putting Mandy and Leena’s place at risk as much as myself? My stomach flipped over, and I thought I might lose the lunch I’d stupidly eaten.
Jada laughed. “We’re not dealing with anything that sensitive,Otosan. Don’t worry.”
She looped her arm through mine, and we headed to the door.
“You’ll be back this evening,” he said. It wasn’t a question, but Jada treated it as such.
“Oh, I don’t know. We have a lot to do. It might be easier for me to stay withBaiorettofor a few days. At least until I need to come back to oversee the arrangements for the engagement party.”
To an outsider, it wouldn’t have seemed like more than a casual conversation, but to me, it was a battle. And Jada had just given in. She’d made a huge concession by agreeing that the party would be for her engagement. I held my breath and forced my smile to remain on my face as he read both of us. I had a pretty lousy poker face, but I was doing my best.
He inclined his head. “I’ll pass your plans on to your fiancé. Shall I send him to fetch you on Sunday?”
“I can find my way home,” she said.
She pulled me toward the door.
“I am counting on it,” he said to our backs.
In the entryway, Jada picked up a suitcase, and I picked up a bag she’d set with it. We made our way to Leena’s ancient minivan I’d driven over. When we got inside, I let out a huge sigh of relief. I reached over to hug her, and she shook her head, glancing in the direction of the house and the windows that stretched as far as you could see.
I drove down the drive and back toward town.
“Are you?” I started, and she shook her head again at me, waving her phone and pointing to it as if it was the devil.
Instead, she started asking me about the latest set of scents I’d supposedly put into a face cream I hadn’t even invented yet. We chatted makeup and skincare all the way back to the B&B.
There, we went to the room Nolan was in with the instruments he’d used to scan the house for listening devices and cameras. He repeated the process with all of Jada’s belongings, pointing to the phone’s jewel-encrusted phone case.
“I’m going to put my stuff in my room,” Jada said. “I’ll be right back.”
“You’re in The Austen suite,” I told her.
She left, coming back empty-handed just as the secure phone they’d given me rang. It was the same number Dawson had called me on earlier. My heart leaped. It had leaped for joy when I’d first heard his voice this morning before I’d realized why he was calling. Before the fear and anguish behind his words had brought me right back to being sixteen and trying to figure out a way to help save him. But now…now he was trying to save others.
“Dawson, she’s here. We’re safe,” I said.
“I know. I was listening. You were incredible.” My stupid heart danced with pleasure at his words just like they had the night we’d gone off a cliff.
Jada stuck out her hand. “Can I talk to him?”
I handed the phone over, and she said, “I’m sorry, Dawson. I’m so sorry.”
I couldn’t hear what he said, but it made Jada tear up. Her eyes flicked to me, to Nolan, and then down to the floor.
“He’s letting me stay for now,” she told him. “But I’m sure they’ll have us watched. My phone is bugged. I’ll have to keep it with me so they don’t get suspicious, but we’ll be careful. How pissed is Malone?”
She waited for his response, grimacing. “Okay, well. Thank you for sending the rescue crew. I promise I’ll be good. Here’s Vi.”
She waited for him to say something else before handing me back the phone and leaving the room again.
“How is she really?” Dawson asked.
