Chapter 35
THIRTY-FIVE
Pulling through the elaborate wrought iron gates at the end of Blaine’s driveway in Lachlan’s truck felt a bit like coming home. The beautiful oceanfront estate had become a place of refuge for her when she’d needed it most.
Except she was already missing Lachlan.
She parked next to Blaine’s black Audi and entered the combination into the pad on the front door. “I’m here,” she called out as she walked in, though he would’ve received an alert on his phone when she’d pulled up to the gates.
Blaine emerged from the kitchen with a smile. “Hey. I’m glad you changed your mind. I’m bored as hell.”
“You’re welcome. What do you feel like doing?”
“It’s too windy to sit on the deck even with the heater on. Movie and snacks?”
Hell yes. “That sounds perfect.”
“Great. You go pick one out, and I’ll get the snacks.”
“You sure you don’t want a hand?”
“I can’t cook, but I think I can handle making microwave popcorn unsupervised. Avocado oil and low salt,” he added, knowing her preferences.
“Excellent. You care what we watch?”
“Nope. Whatever you feel like.”
There was a huge flat screen TV mounted over the fireplace in the living room. It was a good spot to watch a movie, but the room felt huge and too open with the vaulted ceiling. She preferred the enclosed feel of the theater down in the basement.
She smelled the popcorn before Blaine came through the theater door, and her mouth watered. “I thought I was full, but that smells amazing.”
He handed her a bowl of her own and sat beside her with his popcorn, aware that she didn’t like to share because it meant someone else’s fingers in her food. Ick. Though she wouldn’t mind if Lachlan did it. “What else’ve you got there?” she asked.
“Peanut M&Ms.” He dumped half of them into the front pouch of his hoodie and handed her the rest of the bag so he wouldn’t touch her candies. “And a sparkling lime water each. It was all we had in the fridge other than almond milk and white wine.” He handed her a can. “Cheers.”
“Cheers,” she said with a grin and tossed the other end of the fuzzy throw blanket over his lap. She didn’t mind sharing that.
“So, what are we watching?”
“Top Gun Maverick.”
“Great pick.” He lowered the backrest of his electric recliner and elevated his feet, getting comfy. “Want the seat heater on low?”
“Sure.” She loved how at ease they were together. “Things are good with Xanthe?”
“Things are great.” He smiled and popped a few M&Ms into his mouth. “She keeps me on my toes. Her mind’s always going, and I never have to guess what she’s thinking or feeling because she just tells me straight up.”
“That sounds refreshing.” She wished everyone was like that so she wouldn’t have to figure out what they were really thinking.
“It is. And she’s fucking amazing with my mom.” He shook his head, his smile turning thoughtful. “I fall for her all over again every time I watch them together.”
Aww. “That’s great.” His mom lived in Seattle and had battled serious mental health issues for most of Blaine’s life. It had all come to a dangerous head several weeks ago. Luckily, she was on the correct meds and dosage now with a new doctor in charge of her care and was doing much better.
“What about money? Any friction there?” Blaine didn’t mind her blunt questions. She’d been waiting for the chance to ask him in private.
“Thankfully, no. It’s been a big adjustment for her, but she would never take advantage of me in any way.
She’s dedicated to her work and made it clear she wants to maintain her own finances as much as possible.
She doesn’t expect or rely on me to pay for anything.
I respect her for that, but I always pay when we go on dates or whatever. ”
“I respect it too.” It would have been so easy and maybe even tempting for someone to take full advantage of his wealth after entering a relationship with him. Maddy was proud of Xanthe for wanting to stand on her own, would’ve hated Blaine to be used that way.
“She’s definitely the one, Mads.”
“Yeah?”
He nodded. “I’ve already looked at rings.”
Whoa. Those were words she’d never expected to hear coming out of Blaine Slater’s mouth. Definitely not this soon.
He chuckled at her shocked expression. “I know, right? I won’t ask her yet, but I’m thinking maybe Christmas or New Year’s.”
“Or maybe a date completely unrelated to a holiday so she won’t ever suspect it’s coming. And I hope the ring has an orca on it somewhere.”
“I’ll take all that into consideration. Anyway, what about you?” He nudged her arm. “You doing okay?”
“As okay as I can.” She gathered a little handful of popcorn, still warm. “I told Lachlan about Syria.”
His eyebrows shot up. “That’s good, Mads. Really good.”
“I trust him.” She stuffed the popcorn into her mouth, chewed while the movie loaded on the wide screen. “How did you know you loved Xanthe?” Her feelings for Lachlan were conflicted but intensifying fast, and she wasn’t sure how long she would stay on Skelly.
They’d made no promises to each other. It might be that she was too damaged to have a real and meaningful relationship. And for all she knew, she was just a temporary fling for him.
But it felt much stronger than that to her. It felt real. And the bits of inner peace he gave her were addictive.
Life would be so much easier if people just said what was on their mind. No guessing required.
“When our plane went down,” he said without having to think about it, “we got to shore, did what we could for Charlie. And as I’m looking at Xanthe across the fire, seeing the incredible strength and determination as she’s freezing and scared but holding it together…
I knew right then because it scared the living shit out of me how close I’d come to losing her forever. ”
“So I’ll need to have a near death experience to tell for sure. Got it.”
Blaine laughed. “God, I’ve missed having you around.”
“I’ve only been gone a few days.”
“Still. One sec.” He pulled his phone out when it beeped. His expression turned serious.
“Everything okay?” she asked, something inside her tensing automatically at that look on his face.
“It’s my contact.” He met her gaze. “She’s one of the best hackers in the world. She hit a wall and stopped digging to avoid triggering a breach. But based on the information she’s already found, whoever’s been looking for you from Turkey was and might still be on the CIA’s payroll.”
The house was still empty.
Maddy’s car was still parked in the driveway, but there was no indication that she had come back yet. My initial search hadn’t located what I’d been looking for.
It was in there somewhere. I knew it. It had to be. Maddy was obsessive about keeping things like that.
The burner phone rang on my passenger seat as I drove past the cottage through the rain. I ignored it. I was done reporting my plan and movements to the man on the other end every damned day, tired of operating on his timeline.
Besides, the plan had changed.
I would still get what he wanted. What we both needed. I would take Maddy. Force her to give up the encrypted file and make her decode it.
But that was no longer enough for me. Not by a long shot.
I was going to make her suffer. Hurt her in the same way I’d been hurt and make her feel what real pain was before she died.
What I’d learned in town had given me the perfect weapon to use against my target.
I turned onto the main road and headed back to town and the little apartment I was renting above one of the shops along Harborview Drive. I’d made enough acquaintances to blend in now. No one suspected me as I went through the motions of being part of the community. In reality, I was hunting.
As expected, the cops hadn’t been able to identify me on the security cameras at the cottage. The force here was tiny, and word on the street said they were overstretched as it was, dealing with an influx of drugs or whatever. I would continue to use that to my advantage.
But the patch I’d left would send a message. Once Maddy saw it, she would know someone from her past was watching her. That she was no longer safe.
I loved being able to fuck with her head. To drag this out and implement more layers before I sprang the trap.
I knew exactly how to twist the knife—and who I would target first. Lachlan McCaffrey, a local guy who operated a whale watching company out of a marina in Whalebone Cove. He’d never see me coming. Or if he did, not until it was too late.
It was the perfect opportunity to get everything I wanted. Almost divine intervention, if I’d believed in that sort of thing.
Maddy Krause would know the true definition of agony before I killed her.