Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 85569 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85569 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
“They’re there. Paganini’s men are already in Bison Ridge,” she said urgently.
“I know. When did they arrive?”
“This morning.”
“Can’t be. They must be working in teams because one lot already arrived here yesterday. They were asking the locals about me.”
“How did they know to go there, though? Yesterday, they suddenly stopped following the good schools lead and instead they went straight to your town. Which means the town must be crawling with them. At least two teams.”
“You're sure they are Paganini’s men?” I asked, more out of hope than anything else. Of course, Leila was sure. She wasn’t the owner of one the top private detective agencies in New York for nothing.
“Pretty certain. Just got a message from Tom. He couldn’t believe it either. They must have some new information. You haven’t done anything out of the ordinary, have you?”
“No, nothing.”
I hurriedly put Anya into the passenger seat and went around to the driver’s door. As I did so my eyes spotted two men who had just arrived at the festival. Something about them caught my attention. My eyes connected with one of the men and a cold shiver ran down my spine. They were dressed like the locals to blend in and they had done an excellent job, they looked local, but I recognized the stone-cold look in the man’s eyes. I had grown up with it. He was wearing my father’s eyes. Instinctively, I tapped my side to feel the gun I had in my holster.
“Shit, they’re here. At the fucking festival,” I said to Leila. “Where are Tom’s guys?”
“Well, if they are already at the festival, then so are Tom’s men.”
“Get them to stay close to Montana Moore. She's Anya’s teacher. Don’t let her out of their sight. I’ll send you a photo.”
“No need. I know who she is. I’ll call Tom now.”
“Keep me updated,” I said and got into the car.
They didn’t come towards me. They just stood watching us. As if they were not in a hurry. As if they had all the time in the world.
I turned around to look at Anya and saw her watching me. I had been too sloppy. I had not hidden my fear well enough. She was filled with alarm and on high alert. “What’s going on, Daddy?”
“Nothing’s going on. Put your seatbelt on, honey. Everything’s going to be fine.”
I drove home as fast as I could.
“Go to your safe room, honey. I need to sort a few things out, then I’ll join you. We’ll watch a movie together and relax, okay?”
“Daddy, come with me.”
I smiled at her. “Don’t be scared, honey. I’m just going to make sure all the video surveillance feeds are working, then I’ll come, okay? There’s no one here. Go and choose the snacks you want.”
She frowned. “Hurry, Daddy.
“Of course. Go on. I want to see if you remember how to do it.”
“Okay,” she said and ran towards the kitchen.
I called Leila. “What’s going on with Montana? Is she still there?”
“Yeah, she’s here. At the Waffle Eating Competition stand. Tom’s men have eyes on her.”
“What about the men I saw? Where are they?”
“No sign of them. They could be heading towards you.”
“Do you think they’ll follow Montana Moore?” I insisted.
“I don’t think so,” she said. "I don’t think she’s the target. They may not know you have a special interest in her.”
I winced with regret. “If they were already at the festival they will. I did something stupid. I think everyone knows how I feel.”
“Shit!”
“I know.”
“Regardless, they are heading for you.”
“I’ve sent Anya into the panic room, and I’m about to activate all the booby traps before I join her.”
“Your panic room is blast-free, right?”
“Even if they burned down the house or threw a bomb on it, she would be fine. I’m prepared for anything. Paganini is insane. He could do anything to get to me, but if I know him well, taking my daughter is his plan. Once he has her, he can get me to do anything he wants. He can keep me going for as long as he wants.”
No more running. I hated running. I did it to buy myself some time so I could take him on, on my terms, but it was not to be. Paganini proved to be more resourceful and relentless than I had given him credit and I had given him plenty. But so be it. I would meet him head-on and we would see who walked out of the battlefield alive.
“Good luck,” Leila wished grimly.
“I’ll call you later.”
Chapter 49
Montana
“That was weird,” Natalie muttered.
“I know,” Pearl agreed, her eyes massive in her stunned face.
“Ten freaking thousand dollars!” Kelly screamed. “What the hell was that all about?”
“He’s rich, isn’t he? That story Tiffany told me about his daughter’s designer Gucci shoes is real. He’s rich, but he’s pretending to be a poor accountant driving a beat-up car. The question is why is he doing it? What’s actually going on?” Natalie turned on me. “Well, do you know?”