Love? I haven’t used that word since my mother died. Not according to my memories. Hmm?
She gets a bottled water from the refrigerator and hitches a thumb over her shoulder toward the exit to the garages. “Are we supposed to put the snowmobiles away?”
“The groundskeeper will take care of them. He made sure they were ready for Nathan and me this morning. Cool guy. A hunter. He offered to take us out.”
“What would you hunt?” She strolls toward me.
“Lots of things. Beaver, bobcats, mink, muskrat, otters, mountain lions.”
“Mountain lions? Like inTwilight?”
“I never saw that movie.” I rest my arms on the back of the couch, curious to see where she sits. Next to me?
“You saw it. I made you watch it with me when we lived in Scotland. We were still in Protective Custody, so our outings were limited. That and it was cold and rainy like every day.”
“Can’t say I’m sad that I don’t remember that movie.”
She shakes her head and giggles, choosing to sit on one of the chairs near the fireplace. Is she cold?
“Where are Nathan and Kensington?”
I shrug and drink more water. “Their bedroom, I assume; unpacking, fucking, who knows?”
Her eyes widen with the word fucking, and her cheeks heat. Such an innocent reaction. I like it more than I should. Hell, I liked—loved—everything about her enough to go into hiding and ask her to marry me.
I text Nathan.
Me: Where are you and the fiancée?
A private number shows on my phone with a message.
Private: This is Antoine. Nathan gave me your information and said you wanted to talk. Call me at this number and use a burner.
Another text has the number.
Me: Got it. Will call soon.
This is what I’ve been waiting for. I stand. “Nathan hasn’t replied, which tells me they’re fucking. Let’s plan for dinner around seven. We can all get to know each other then.”
She tenses. “Where are you going?”
“To make a call.” I hold up my phone and drift from the room. Xavier should be in the command center, a safe room that contains all the technology.
In the office on the other side of the house, I trigger the bookshelf door to open by touching a button hidden under the mantle on the fireplace. Wood paneling and brown leather sofas and chairs are more cigar and wine bar than any safe room I’ve seen, and I’ve seen plenty. Hunting guns hang on the wall and in a display case.
Xavier nods at me from where he sits at the far end behind a long desktop that faces a wall filled with more than a dozen monitors. Live feeds of rooms in the house and the grounds show on each. I spot Ainsley’s golden hair as she moves about the kitchen, checking the refrigerator for what to serve for dinner, I’m sure.
I text her.
Me: We can order food if you don’t see anything you like.
She reads her message and stiffens, her head turning left, then right in search of me.
I chuckle.
Xavier shoots me a confused look, his fingers flying across the keyboard of a laptop.
I shake my head. “Do you have the burner phones?”
