Chapter Six
The morning sun filtered through the cabin's pine-covered windows, casting dappled shadows across the kitchen table where Holly sat with her sketchpad.
She'd been awake since dawn, unable to sleep, her fingers moving across the paper in rough strokes that captured the angles of Jonah's face as he stood by the window, scanning the treeline.
The continued isolation had settled into routine. Almost comfortable. If she ignored the gun on the counter and the tension that never quite left Jonah's shoulders.
"Coffee?" she asked, already reaching for the pot.
"Please."
She poured two mugs and brought one to him. Their fingers brushed as he took it, and the contact sent a familiar spark through her system. They hadn't talked more about what happened yesterday—the confessions, the tears, the fragile understanding they'd reached. Some things needed time to settle.
Jonah took a sip, his gaze still on the trees. "Your father called my phone twice this morning."
Holly's hand tightened on her mug. "What did he want?"
"I didn't answer." Jonah glanced at her. "But I'm guessing it's about the verdict. My contact at the courthouse said the jury's still deliberating."
"This could all be over soon.”
"Could be hours. Could be days." He turned back to the window. "The longer they take, the better for us. Means the Popovs are still in limbo."
Holly returned to her sketch, trying to ignore the knot of anxiety in her stomach. Every phone call, every sound outside, every shadow in the trees could be the beginning of the end. The waiting was worse than the fear.
The sound of vehicles approaching made them both freeze.
Jonah's hand went to his weapon in one smooth motion. "Get in the bedroom. Now."
Holly didn't move. "Who is it?"
"I don't know yet." His voice was clipped, professional. "That's why you need to—"
"It's multiple vehicles. If it were the Popovs, would they announce themselves like this?"
Jonah's jaw tightened, but he didn't argue. They both moved to the window, staying back from the glass. Through the trees, Holly could see three black SUVs rolling up the dirt road.
"Shit." Jonah's voice was flat with anger.
"What?"
"It’s your father and his security team."
Holly's stomach dropped. "How did he find us?"
"He's the one paying the bills." Jonah holstered his weapon but the tension in his body didn't ease.
The vehicles stopped in front of the cabin.
Car doors opened. Men in suits emerged first, scanning the area with the kind of alertness that screamed federal security.
Then her father stepped out of the middle vehicle, his silver hair impeccable despite the rural setting, his suit pressed and perfect as always.
The old familiar tightness in her chest was back. Three years. Three years of freedom, and here he was, invading her space again.
"Stay here," Jonah said, already moving toward the door.
"Like hell." Holly followed him outside. "What are you doing here?" She spat out at her father. Her voice came out harder than she'd intended.
"The jury came back an hour ago." Her father moved toward her, his security detail fanning out around the cabin. "Guilty on all counts. Sentencing is in two days. You need to come home. Now."
Jonah stepped between them, his stance protective but not aggressive. "With all due respect, Judge Reese, you just led anyone watching you straight to this location."
Her father's gaze flicked to Jonah with barely concealed disdain. "My security is the best money can buy. No one followed us."
"That's what amateurs think right before they get people killed." Jonah's voice was cold. "Do you have any idea what you've done? This location was secure. Was. Past tense."
"Don't lecture me about security, Mr. Bauer. I've been dealing with threats for twenty years."
"And in twenty years, how many times have you personally been in the field during an active threat? Because I've spent twelve years keeping people like you alive, and rule number one is you don't compromise safe houses by showing up with a parade."
"I'm not here to debate tactics with you. Holly, get your things. You're coming home."
"No." The word came out stronger than Holly expected. "I'm not going anywhere with you."
"This isn't a negotiation." Her father's tone shifted into the one he used in the courtroom, the one that expected obedience. "The Popovs know they've lost. They're going to make a desperate move, and I won't have you out here playing house with the hired help."
"Playing house?" Holly's anger flared hot and bright. "I'm hiding from people who want to kidnap or kill me because of your job.”
"Don't be dramatic. You're safer at home where I can protect you properly."
"Like you protected me before?" The words burst out before Holly could stop them. "Like when you put cameras in my apartment? Or sabotaged my career? Or had Ethan arrested for unpaid parking tickets?"
Her father's jaw tightened. "Everything I did was for your safety."
"Everything you did was for control." Holly took a step forward, years of suppressed anger rising to the surface. "You couldn't stand that I had a life you didn't manage, so you destroyed it. And now you're using this threat as an excuse to trap me again."
"I know you're angry with me. We can discuss that later. Right now, your safety is what matters."
"My safety is fine here."
"Here?" Her father gestured at the cabin with obvious contempt. "In the middle of nowhere with a mercenary?"
A muscle ticked in Jonah’s jaw.
"He's doing his job," Holly said. “The one you’re paying him for.”
"His job is to follow my orders." Her father turned to Jonah. "And I'm ordering you to pack her belongings and escort her to my vehicle. Now."
The silence that followed was heavy with tension.
"No," Jonah said finally.
Her father blinked. "Excuse me?"
"I said no." Jonah's stance didn't shift. "She's an adult. She said she's not going. That's the end of it."
"I'm not asking your opinion. I'm giving you an order. You work for me."
"She stays." Jonah's voice was calm, matter-of-fact, but the weight of what he'd just said hung in the air like a grenade.
Her father cycled through disbelief and fury. "You're refusing a direct order from your employer?"
"I'm refusing to force an adult woman to do something against her will." Jonah's tone was even. "There's a difference."
"You're fired." Her father bit off each word. "Effective immediately. You'll receive your final payment minus penalties for breach of contract. My security will take over from here."
He moved toward Holly, reaching for her arm. "Come on. We're leaving."
Jonah stepped between them again, and this time the threat in his posture was unmistakable. "Don't touch her."
Her father's hand dropped. "Get out of my way. You’re no longer needed here.”
"He works for me now." She stepped forward, her heart hammering but her voice steady. "Jonah doesn't work for you anymore. He works for me. I'm hiring him. And I'm telling you to leave. Now."
Both men turned to stare at Holly.
Her father's face went red. "Don't be ridiculous. You can't afford him."
Holly crossed her arms. "That’s none of your business. He’s my employee now. Go away.”
"Holly, you're not thinking clearly."
"I'm thinking more clearly than I have in years." Holly's voice shook but she held her ground. "You've spent my entire adult life trying to control me under the guise of protection. It ends now. Leave."
"You're making a terrible mistake."
"Then it's my mistake to make." Holly met her father's gaze without flinching. “Get out. Before I call the police and tell them you just tried to physically force me to leave against my will."
The threat landed. Her father's eyes widened slightly. She was using his own world against him, turning law and consequences into weapons he'd understand.
"You'll regret this," her father said, but he was already backing toward his vehicle.
"I won't." Holly's voice was cold.
She turned and walked back into the cabin without watching him leave. Her whole body was shaking—adrenaline, fear, triumph, all mixed together in a cocktail that made her dizzy.
The sound of engines starting, vehicles pulling away. Then silence.
Jonah came back inside, closing the door behind him. For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
"That was—" Jonah started.
"Necessary," Holly finished. She sank onto the couch, her legs suddenly unsteady. "God. I actually did it. I told him to leave."
"You did." Jonah sat beside her, close but not touching. "How do you feel?"
"Like I might throw up." Holly laughed shakily.
"For what it's worth, you were magnificent."
"You quit your job for me."
“Technically, he fired me.”
“No. You quit when you told him no.”
"I quit because he ordered me to do something I wouldn't do." Jonah said. "Forcing you to go against your will. That's not protection. That's kidnapping."
"He's going to make your life hell. Blacklist you, ruin your reputation—"
"Let him try." Jonah's mouth curved slightly. "I've survived worse than an angry federal judge."
Holly hugged him fiercely. He'd given up his job, his income, potentially his future career prospects, because she'd said no. Because her choice mattered more than the paycheck.
"Thank you," she said.
"Don't thank me yet. We still have to deal with the fallout.
" Jonah stood, moving to the window again.
"Your father may not have been followed, but he could have been tracked without knowing it.
GPS on the vehicles, surveillance on his house, any number of ways.
And even if not, the Popovs have resources.
They could have had people watching him, saw where he went. "
The brief moment of triumph faded as reality reasserted itself.
“I’ll call in my team and circle the wagons.”