And they definitely followed her. She slowed, absently looking like she was window shopping. They’d close the gap and drop back, keeping her within distance. She entered the bust stream of traffic that always surrounded the resort and began zipping in and out of the parking lots. She knew them. They didn’t. She lost them in the slower, crawling traffic and headed back toward the office and home. They might know her, and they might have found where she worked, but they wouldn’t find where she was sleeping.
Paige drove quickly through the gates, waiting while they closed behind her. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who was watching the office. But they’d never seen her, she thought, carrying her pack into the house and dropping it by the door after taking her phone from inside and slipping it into the pocket of her jeans. She went to the alcove, nodding in approval at the set up SeaTac Software had installed for her. She sunk into the chair and quickly made what she wanted, leaving it up before going to their living area. Boxes and a few pieces of furniture were in the room now that hadn’t been there before.
She figured she was safe as she shoved things where she wanted them and positioned the book shelves before she began opening boxes. Half way through the boxes, she went and found a soy milk in the fridge. More interested in getting her computer online and up and running than she was hungry. Their tech had done a really good job, the internet and router up and ready within the hour. She broke down the boxes and set them by the door before going to change clothes for a long run.
She leaned on her knees an hour later, staring out at the water and slipping the phone from the little pocket.
“Hello?” She couldn’t stop the smile when his voice came through to her.
“Good evening, gorgeous. You’re breathing heavy and I’m not there?” Sebastian chuckled. “Must be out running.”
“I am…and the run back up the hill is a lot worse than the downhill one,” she admitted with a laugh. “So how’s Vancouver? You and the cruise people making nice?”
“Please…I ooze charm,” he told her warmly, leaning back on the bed in the sterile room and sighing. “I miss you. I miss being with you. Sounds corny, but let me finish,” he said when he heard her start to speak. “There aren’t going to be a lot out of town trips with this or anywhere down the road because I’ve decided I don’t like it.”
“Sebastian…” Paige laughed and slid onto the wall of the patio and laid back on the fading heat in the stones. “I think we’re old enough and mature enough to survive a day or two apart. But I miss you, too. It’s a funny feeling in my stomach…thought it was indigestion…”
“You’re so good for my ego, Miss Andrews,” he chuckled deeply.
“And you also sound really tired. It’s a long ride and you probably had an equally long day talking to those people.”
“All true,” he admitted slowly. “Did your things get moved?”
“Yes, Lewis and Marta did a great job. I was setting up my computer and desk before I went for a run,” Paige told him, going on and talking of nothing things for the next half hour before telling him to get some rest and she’d seem him tomorrow evening. “Good night, Sebastian…” she said to the closed phone, sighing and going inside for a sandwich, a shower and an early night.
Freshly showered and slowly chewing on her sandwich without tasting it, Paige sat before her computer, half paying attention to the game before her. Where did the little niggling hint of guilt come from?
“You didn’t tell him about the guys checking out the office or following you,” she said out loud, her hands moving a little more forcefully on the keys as she went about the game business of killing, hunting and finding things.
She looked at her phone and frowned. Waking him to tell him something that was going to make it hard for him to sleep wasn’t a smart thing and she refused to think about him trying to break the sound barrier in an attempt to get back home because he was worried about her. She left the phone on the nightstand when she turned in for the night, her gun resting just above her head on the large, oversized bed.
Paige had tossed a pair of boots down the steps when the noise began ripping through the house. Now she knew what the alarms sounded like, she thought, grabbing up the gun and running down the stairs, pulling the main door open and finding nothing there. She watched the couple running from the stairs that led to the second floor over the garage, alert, dark eyes sweeping the area with frowns. Lewis said something sharp to Marta and continued on to check the gates and walk the fence line.
“He says it is probably an animal,” Marta said quietly, a thick shawl of ivory around her shoulders. “Come inside, Miss Paige. Please…inside…” she saw the small gun and said nothing, walking with her into the kitchen area. “Let me make you something for breakfast.”
“Thanks…but I’m good. I don’t really eat in the mornings,” Paige tucked the gun into her back beneath the jacket and collected her boots.
“A smoothie,” Marta said with a firm nod. “Mr. Sebastian told me what you like in the mornings. I can make those. Do you like coconut? And pineapple?”
Paige felt her stomach threaten her with harm if she complained. “Alright…that would be great, thanks, Marta. I set this computer up for you,” she walked to the small alcove and waited for Marta to join her, moving the mouse and showing her the note board she’d set up for the house communications. “I’ll show it to Sebastian so he can leave notes, too, if he wants. But this way you can send me notes and I’ll check it and leave notes. I’m lousy leaving stickies and wouldn’t want to do that to you.”
She decided she liked the musical way she laughed and continued. “You can put anything else you want here. It’s for you to use, Marta. It’s attached to the printer, so you can print notes or lists or…whatever. It has cool games, you can add more and chat programs.”
“This is good. Very good, thank you,” she set a tall glass of something decidedly tropical before Paige. “This is better than going back to the apartment all the time.”
“You spend a lot of time here, so you should be…oh, my…this is really good,” she looked over the rim, ignoring the frothy gold touching her lips as she found her travel cup and poured. “Thank you. I’ve got to go. Enjoy your day!”
Chapter Twenty-Four
She didn’t know why she was surprised that her phone rang seconds after she sunk into the car, the readout making her inhale deeply.
“Good morning,” she chirped, working to keep her voice light and cheerful. “Marta just made me the most amazing smoothie…”
“Huh…I’ve been replaced already,” came the low, sexy voice. “Good morning.”
“You’re awake early,” she looked at the clock, barely a little after six-thirty.
“I’m guessing you didn’t sleep any better than I did,” he returned easily.
“I lost my heater somewhere…” She murmured, slipping the phone into the slot and putting the earpiece in place. “Do they have a nice gym there?”
“And just how did you know that’s where I was headed?”
“Oh…just a lucky guess. I set up a computer in the house for Marta,” she began, idly thinking of the woman’s surprise. “She seemed very pleased. I’ll show you where the bulletin board is so you can leave notes, if you want. I’m lousy with stickies and wouldn’t wish that on her.”
“I noticed,” Sebastian chuckled at the multi-colored pieces of paper she had dangling from everything around her desk. “Did Lewis clear the alarms?”
“How’d you know…” A little frown creased her brow. “It notified you.”
“Smart alarm,” he answered simply.
“I guess he did. He was returning to the house when I was leaving. Thought it was an animal, but I really haven’t seen any around us,” Paige said with a casual shrug in her voice. “You go enjoy your workout. I’ve got work to do. I miss you…”
“I’ll be back sometime this afternoon. Bye, Paige.”
“Bye,” she broke the connection and dropped
the phone into her pack, turned the car off and sat for a minute in the parking lot.
If they were watching the lot, watching the office, that meant they believed what they were searching for had been found. Kind of slippery thinking, she thought, opening the office and absently beginning her day. Or wishful thinking. They knew Sebastian owned the property from all the signs, but why would they think he’d know anything about what they were searching for? That part made no sense.
It was possible they’d seen her, she thought with a tiny wince. She hadn’t hid her car, hadn’t tried keeping her presence secret. No one should have cared, other than Sebastian Hartley. She pulled up the security cams and found a clear photo of them and their nicely visible tag. She shot the photo to her friend on the force with her concerns before settling down to her work.
It was almost lunch time and she was going to go out to grab a sandwich when she looked up from a file as the door opened. Paige sighed. This was going to get seriously old.
“Marietta, don’t you have a job? Won’t they miss you?” Paige asked, a trace of amazement in her tone.
“He has to come to the office sometime,” she returned, looking around and striding to one of the chairs and sitting, long legs crossed and hands on her lap.
“Oh good grief…” Paige shook her head and turned to her computer screen. Chase wasn’t even in the office, so she couldn’t count on him for a rescue. “Sebastian said you used to work for your father.” She glanced over and saw a look of surprise on her face. “We talk, Marietta. Do you still work for him? Are you still modeling?”
“My life is not your business,” she stated loftily, lifting a magazine and thumbing through the pages.
“Marietta, you’re sitting here with me in the office waiting for a guy who won’t be back until sometime late this afternoon,” Paige said with a wildly sweeping arm. “YOU have made it my business, don’t you see that?”
“Where is he?”
“None of your business,” Paige threw back instantly, the growl in her stomach reminding her she had intended to go out. “You’re going to have to leave,” she gathered her pack and keys, came around the desk and gestured to the door. “I have to go out and you can’t stay here, sorry. I’ll be back in an hour or so.”
“I…you can’t…” Marietta looked at the open door and raised eyebrow of the redhead.
“I can put you outside, Marietta.”
“Please…now you’re being unrealistic,” she recrossed her legs and put her arms on the rests of the chair.
Paige sighed, slipped both hands into her backpack and tucked her keys into the pocket of her jeans. “I can’t leave you alone in our offices. You can wait in the parking lot, if you want.” She moved to open the door, setting the stop down.
“He doesn’t want children.”
Paige felt her stomach kick at her spine.
“Marietta…”
“That doesn’t bother you?” The blonde stared at her.
“With the world full of lunatic humans? No, it actually doesn’t bother me.”
“You don’t want children either?”
“I…” Paige left the door open and went back to her desk, dropped her pack and strode to the kitchen, pulled the fridge wide and accessed her options. Soy milk was better than nothing because the alternative was a hole in her stomach. She shook the bottle as she walked back to her desk, sinking down with a resolute sigh. “Now…you want to talk? To me?”
A pale blue silk covered shoulder rose and fell. “My father would have liked children. Grandchildren, actually.”
“You weren’t married long enough for kids,” Paige let her personal opinion out after draining half the bottle of chocolate.
“It might have helped,” she said quietly.
“Kids aren’t born to fix your mistakes,” Paige said flatly. “They won’t fix your relationship with your father or a husband.” Where the hell was Chase? Someone. At this point she was willing to settle for a fire alarm. “Why did you get married, Marietta? Why not just…just live with him until you see if it’ll work?”
“Is that enough for you?”
“Honestly, yes.”
“Well, it wasn’t for me,” she announced airily.
“You or your father? Sebastian told me you worked for him. As his hostess.”
“He remarried last year,” Marietta said, the shrug she offered negligent. “We’re leaving for Hawaii in a few weeks.”
“Vacation?” Paige asked casually, turning to her computer and going back to work with a sigh.
“No. He’s relocating his business. She’s too old to give him a son,” she said quietly. “That’s what he always wanted. I thought maybe a grandchild…a boy…”
“You married Sebastian to get a baby?” Paige choked on her soy milk, cleared her throat and turned a very strange look at the woman casually discussing her life. “You won’t tell me why you want to see Sebastian so desperately but you’re talking about this stuff?”
“He’s intelligent and handsome,” she shrugged. “I thought he would make a good…”
“Donor?” Paige choked out, almost laughing but losing to the absurdity of the whole thing. “Did you bother to mention this project to Sebastian before you married him?”
“No, of course not. Men don’t understand. And yes, a good donor,” she said coldly. “I knew he’d always take his responsibility very seriously.”
“You didn’t divorce because of that,” Paige said, her head shaking in disbelief.
“He’s more interested in work than anything else,” she waved a palm through the air. “You’ll find out.”
“Marietta, how do you support yourself? Wait…wrong question…do you support yourself? Do you have interests that…that are vital to you?” Oh, god, she groaned inwardly, please don’t let her interest be shopping! She felt her head start to hurt when no answer came. She was feeling sorry for her. “Why are you moving to Hawaii?”
“That’s where father and Jeanette are moving.”
“What about your life? Your friends here…or where ever you live. You don’t live here, do you? I mean…in Seattle,” Paige knew her voice rose a little at the end. She thought she heard a little of the Midwest accent, or was it wishful thinking?
“We live in Kansas City at the moment. I’m…visiting for a few days.”
“And you want something from Sebastian,” Paige circled back around with a sigh. “And we’re going to seriously know it’s not having him help you make a baby, because he’s much smarter than that.” She laughed at the glare from Marietta.
“Tell him to please call me. It’s very important,” she informed Paige as she stood up, meeting face to face with Chase as he came into the office.
“Marietta,” Chase looked quickly from the blonde to the quiet amusement on the face of his admin. “Just leaving?”
“Yes. You never wanted him to marry me,” she accused childishly.
“No, I didn’t. But he did,” Chase shrugged. “And he learned from it. Is there something I can help you with?”
Paige watched her tip her head back and stride out the door before draining her soy milk and aiming for the recycling bin.
“Welcome to my world,” she said with a chuckle.
“She’s been here every day?”
“Yep. Persistent little thing,” Paige commented, holding her hand up for the folders he was pulling from inside his briefcase. “But for some idiot reason, she won’t tell me why she HAS to talk to him. Weird. I still think it’s about money. What did she get in the divorce?”
“Nothing. They each parted with what they brought into the marriage,” Chase stopped just outside his office. “No…Bastian gave her stock in his company. Five percent, I think.”
“What’s it worth now?”
“At least easily five times what it was then,” Chase commented, continuing to his desk. “It’s the only thing that has them connected as far as I know.”
Paige was up rummaging in the fridge and fo
und the other half of her sandwich. She put it in the microwave for a minute and sat to sort, type and eat. She frowned at the note from her friend on the police force. Evidently the owner of the truck was just recently released on parole. Now there’s a surprise, she thought with a sigh as she locked up the office a little after four. She went through a few back streets, making sure she wasn’t being followed before going to the gates and sliding home.
She left her car next to the front door, climbed the stairs to the bedroom and striped. Intentions were to find her running clothes and take a reviving run along the waterway. She took the small gun from her bag and laid it on the bed as she stretched out. Five minutes, she told herself, bare but for panties as she pushed into the blankets and snuggled down across the large bed.
Sebastian stood in the bedroom staring at the unconscious woman. Pretty much the way she slept, he thought, with the exception of the gun on the bed. He frowned and walked around, lifting it and slipping the safety in place before carrying it to the pack she had on the vanity seat. He tossed clothing toward the laundry, still puzzled at her sleeping with the gun as he stepped into the shower.
He didn’t know where her mind was when she came out of the sleep, but his palms held tightly to her shoulders when she jumped and reached toward where she’d left the gun lying.
“Paige! Wake up…baby, it’s me…” He held tightly until she blinked, clearing out the sleep and her body slumped against him, her arms out to circle his waist.
“Sorry…sorry…not sure where…god, I’m starving…”
“Forget lunch again?” Sebastian content himself with a long, slow kiss before pulling her to sit up with him. “Marta left us food.”
Paige dropped a top over her head and pulled pants up her legs. “I did not forget lunch. I had really good intentions to go get something. Then Marietta showed up and refused to leave. I was this far…” She held up two fingers half an inch apart. “From pitching her to the parking lot.”
WindSwept Narrows: #18 Paige Andrews Page 18
