Chapter 12
Chapter
Twelve
Wilt stared at the computer screen. “Where are you?” he muttered and typed in more code to see if that would pinpoint the exact location for him.
The moment the message had come in, he’d pulled his laptop from his bag and set to work. He’d cloned Indigo’s social media accounts, so all her notifications showed up on his phone, as well as hers. She’d been fine with it when he told her.
He glanced over to where she stood amongst the vines. She and Louella were having a quick conversation. The photographer’s assistant had a light meter in her hand, and they shared a laugh before Vincent snapped out loud, and the young girl rolled her eyes but went back to her position behind him.
If the photographer’s words annoyed Indigo, she didn’t show it.
Her expression changed into professional mode, and she posed in a way that elongated her neck, accentuating the gorgeous necklace she wore.
It was a large sapphire, and the chain it was attached to looked plain, but when you got close to it, it had numerous delicate strands of gold twined around each other so it looked like a vine.
He imagined the price of the necklace would require him taking out a second mortgage on his house if he wanted to purchase it.
Not that he did, but he had to admit it looked stunning on Indigo. Then again everything did. And the dresses she wore were simple but breathtaking at the same time.
Wilt redirected his thoughts from the beauty that was the center of the situation he was in, to the task at hand.
Indigo didn’t know about the new threat.
He planned to tell her on the drive to Busselton, where they would catch a flight to Broome for the next leg of their trip.
He didn’t want to give her any reason to worry while she was working.
He was aware of how important this job was to her.
If anyone was a diva on this trip, it was Vincent, the way he spoke to Indigo grated on Wilt’s nerves and he’d had to bite his tongue on numerous occasions to stop himself from saying something he shouldn’t.
Indigo wouldn’t appreciate it if he did that.
Louella, Vincent’s assistant, was sweet, and Wilt wondered how she put up with him. But it wasn’t his place to question what someone did. Louella had talked a few times to Indigo when Vincent had been particularly cranky.
His phone rang, and he quickly answered it, not wanting to disturb everyone. “Hey Damon, what’s up?”
“Checking in to see how things are going.”
Damon contacting him for a status update wasn’t unusual, he was Steve’s second in command, as he had been when they’d been in the Army. Not wanting to be overheard, he found a quiet spot under a tree where he could still observe and be ready to spring into action should he need to.
Kyle was lurking around as well. Not in a creeper way, but also as a backup if needed.
He’d been appraised of what had happened on Rottnest. Not only because it was his property, but because his and Jeffrey’s kids were also around.
He and Jordan had been very accommodating with regards to allowing Rick to prepare all the food.
In fact, he thought Jordan was enjoying the break from cooking.
The kids, well, Wilt had been super surprised at how well they all respected the boundaries their parents had set with regards to everything that was going on.
They kept their distance, and Teddy had been very respectful with his questions about weapons and the Army.
Wilt wasn’t sure if he’d take up a career in the armed forces, but if he did he’d be more than happy to advise the kid.
Although Teddy had a few years to go before he’d be eligible to join.
“Another threat came through today.”
“Fuck, how bad?”
“Pretty much the same message as before, but they’d added that they always know where she is. In the DM thread, they posted photos of the Rottnest shoot, from both locations. They were taken from above, like the person was using a drone, but I didn’t hear anything to suggest that was the case.”
That’s what was bothering him about the photos. The person used something that he hadn’t heard and he should’ve. It didn’t matter if there were many people around, drones weren’t exactly quiet.
“Where you are now? Is there anyone out of the ordinary hanging around? Or coming up to talk to you?”
“Nope, because we’re on private property. The general public have no idea what’s going on here. I don’t think even the people in the nearby town are aware of what’s going on. Plus, you know I wouldn’t engage with anyone.”
“You don’t think the owners would’ve told anyone in passing what was going on at their house? It’s pretty exciting. The reclusive and world-famous jeweler, who was taking photos for his much-anticipated collection, had chosen their property.”
“Never, they’re not that type of people.”
“You seem pretty confident about that,” Damon said.
Was his friend and colleague questioning him? Doubting his capability of doing his job? He had a sore shoulder, not a head injury.
“Something you want to say?” He noted that Indigo and the others were about to move to another location.
He walked back to where he’d been, grabbed his laptop, tucking it under his arm, and followed them, while still maintaining a distance so his conversation didn’t bother them.
His lips pursed and an irrational shaft of jealousy burst through him when he noticed the way the photographer placed his hand on Indigo’s back, guiding her down the path.
“Just covering all bases.”
“Doesn’t feel like it. I know what the fuck I’m doing.
You don’t think I didn’t look into their background?
Jordan and Kyle won’t say anything, because they’re all friends.
Their kids play together. Kyle is as wealthy as Jeffrey Courteux, he doesn’t need to puff out his chest at the people in the town. ”
“I’m sure you did, but I got a vibe from you that you didn’t want this job when they all came in for the initial meeting. I know this isn’t easy for you, knowing we’re about to leave and you aren’t with us.”
The reminder wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but over the last few days, he’d come to terms with the fact that he had limitations, and he accepted them. “I think it’s going to be more than one trip.”
He could imagine Damon straightening. “What do you mean? What’s going on?”
“My shoulder’s not healing like it should.
I think there’s something wrong with it more than we first thought.
I can do this assignment, so don’t even think about telling Steve to remove me from it.
There’s no one else. Plus, Rick is here if I need some help.
He may be in his late forties, but he’s still as sharp as he was when he served.
” He took a deep breath and let it out before saying what he knew he had to.
Even knowing how it would affect his job and his team.
“I’m going to have to go back to the doctor after this assignment is over.
I have a feeling I’m going to need surgery. ”
The very thought of someone else watching over Indigo had his gut churning.
He didn’t like the idea of anyone else being close to her.
He didn’t know how to deal with the jealousy still raging through his body as the photographer continued to have his hand on Indigo’s lower back.
He wanted to go over there and slap it away.
He wouldn’t though, nothing good would come of it, and the last thing he wanted to do was cause a scene.
“Fuck, Wilt.” This time Damon would be running his hands through his hair. After working and practically living with the guy while they’d been in the service, he’d gotten to know all his little tells.
“I know, but it is what it is. I’ll deal with it when I have to.” Everyone stopped and were setting up. “Look, I’ve got to go. But don’t worry, I’ve got a handle on this. I’m doing everything I can to find this fucker, but they’re good with the computer too, so it’s a little challenging.”
“Just the sort of task you like to sink your teeth into.”
“Yeah. Before I go, when do you guys head out?”
“According to Bayden, it will be in the next couple of days. We’ve also got a couple of the Alliez guys joining us. They want to see if the scumbags are associated with the person they’ve been watching.”
Hearing this only made Wilt wish he was going with them. Sex traffickers needed to be eliminated with no mercy.
“Right. If there’s anything I can do, you know all you have to do is call.”
“I know, and that’s the real reason I called.
I got a little sidetracked. I’m going to send you the location of where we think the guy is.
Bayden finally got some satellite footage of the area today.
It’s not great, but if you can work your magic and see if there’s any chatter on the dark web about the area or him, anything that you can help us with will be great.
The guys Bayden uses are good, but they’re not Wilt-good. ”
“Stop blowing smoke up my ass to try and make me feel better about missing out,” he joked, but he was glad that he was going to be able to help his friends out. “I’ll see what magic I can conjure for you.”
Damon laughed. “You do that. Later.”
“Later.”
Wilt disconnected the call and went over to where Indigo stood getting her makeup touched up. Vincent had finally left her alone. “You good?” he asked, noting the weariness in her eyes.
“Tired, but okay. This is the last shoot of the day. Are you okay? Your phone call looked intense.” The other woman moved away, leaving them alone, which Wilt was grateful for.
The words were on the tip of his tongue to tell her about the message, but he swallowed them down.
As she said, this was the final portion of the day, they could get through this, then he would tell her.
The drive to the airport was less than an hour.
That would be ample time to tell her, and he may have some good news in terms of where the fucker was hiding.
“It was the office, checking in. No big deal.” He didn’t want to give her anything to feel concerned about.
“Is everything okay? Do you need to go back?” There was a hint of desperation in her expression, as though she didn’t want him to go anywhere.
“No, but I’ll need to look over some stuff for their trip when we’re on the plane. Or when we land in Broome,” he hastened to add when he saw the way her face fell.
Suddenly, he didn’t want to work on the flight, either. He wanted to spend it talking to her. And after what he had to tell her in the car, she would likely need the reassurance that he had things under control.
“If you need to work, that’s fine. You don’t need to change your schedule for me.”
Right at this moment, Wilt wished they were anywhere but surrounded by people.
He wanted to be able to pull Indigo into his arms and hold her, like he had that night on Rottnest. He settled for taking her hand between his, aware that there were many people around, and not wanting to draw too much attention to what they were doing. Or saying.
Their gazes locked, and he found it impossible to speak.
He became hyper focused on Indigo. This close, the gold flecks in her eyes seemed brighter, more prominent than usual.
He itched to touch her face, to brush his fingers down her cheeks, but he didn’t want to ruin her makeup.
Her lips were coated in a pale pink lipstick, and the necklace gleamed against her lightly tanned skin.
“I want to change it,” he said huskily. He went to lean in to sample her lips, but pulled back at the last minute.
Now wasn’t the time.
“I should—um—I should get back to it.” But Indigo didn’t move. She didn’t attempt to pull her hands away, almost as if she didn’t want to break the connection between them either.
He was crossing the line between personal and professional again. It was getting harder and harder to remember why he needed to stay on the professional side.