Page 33 of Last Chance

“Hartman, so she can check in on her shop,” he said. Janie was having enough trouble accepting the need for protection instead of returning to her normal life. If she was in her hometown, at least she would be more accepting of the precautions.

Soon, though, Sawyer figured the hometown solution would give way to something more drastic. Vatos Locos wouldn’t have difficulty locating Janie if she returned home. When they did, he and his teammates would move Janie to a more remote location unless he found out she was being targeted by someone else.

Janie smiled at him. “Thanks, Sawyer.”

“We can’t stay long. I know you’ll want to help with the stock. It’s not safe for you or them to stay for more than an hour or two. We’ll work as fast as we can to solve this problem and bring you back home.”

Brent glanced at his watch. “I have another meeting in ten minutes. Brody, you need a place in Hartman to protect Janie. Figure out where is safest for her. Zane can help with safe house arrangements if you need the assist. Let me know if I can help.” He looked at Janie. “We’ve got you covered, sugar. Do what your bodyguards tell you to do.” Brent pointed at her. “Don’t make their jobs more difficult.”

“Yes, sir.”

He stood and looked at Sawyer.

Yeah, he got the unspoken message. He gave a slight nod. He would take care of Janie no matter the cost to himself.

“Zane, report to me when you and the team finish.”

“Yes, sir.”

With that, Brent left the conference room.

“I’ve never seen this side of him. Is he always like this?” Janie asked.

“At work, yeah, he is.” Brody turned to Zane. “What options do we have, Z?”

“Hotel near Interstate 40, one house inside Hartman town limits, and two outside of town.”

“Not the hotel,” Janie said. “Too many people around.”

“Agreed,” Sawyer said. “Let’s try a house outside Hartman first. How many of us can it house at one time?”

“All of you. However, I thought since you were in your hometown, the five of you would switch off on watch shifts.”

“Not me.” Sawyer glanced at Brody and received a nod of approval. “I’m permanent until the danger is gone. Everyone else can rotate in and out. How close are our houses to the safe house?”

“Farthest is fifteen minutes.”

Brody nodded. “We can work with that. Who wants the first shift with Sawyer?”

“I’ll take it,” Jesse said. “I’ll be able to keep tabs on my patient that way.”

“That’s settled. Has everyone restocked their Go bags?” When each man indicated they were stocked and ready, Brody stood. “Let’s go. Traffic is picking up as we speak. Sawyer, you stay in the middle of our caravan. We’ll separate when we reach Hartman. Move out.”

“Wait,” Janie said. “What about my shop? When can I go to my shop?”

“Tomorrow morning. I know you want to go sooner, but we need time to evaluate the security risks and make plans to deal with problems that might come up. Also, by going tomorrow, we’ll give Sawyer a little more time to heal before he steps into full bodyguard mode.” He smiled. “And as much as you won’t want to admit it, you probably have jet lag. Call your shop. Meet your employees tomorrow morning, and we’ll go from there.”

“What will you do in the meantime?”

“Arrange an appointment with Ian McGregor and hunt for the people who have a target on your back.” He glanced at Z. “Access to the safe house and address?”

“Stop by the comm center and I’ll get you everything you need.”

They followed Zane down the hall to his domain filled with computer screens and keyboards and a high-tech communications setup. This was the place where Z kept the teams out in the field connected and informed. Sawyer knew for a fact that his friend had a similar setup in his home office. He’d wondered more than once when Z slept. He seemed to always be on duty.

In the comm center, Zane zoomed to a set of cabinets and drawers. He opened one and pulled out a small packet, which he tossed to Sawyer. “Codes and keys, plus an address. The house is fifteen minutes outside of Hartman. Security system is top of the line. You won’t have any close neighbors, so no nosy questions.”

“Clothes?” Sawyer knew Janie didn’t have her luggage, and he didn’t want to take her by her own home in case someone was watching the place.

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