Page 105 of Smitten with the Single Dad

Everyone visibly exhaled in relief.

“Sorry,” Isaac apologized, “she’s very much alive. She just bought a house on the Oregon Coast and makes beach glass mosaic art now. She was paid off, and no longer needs to work.” Isaac’s lips twisted. “She is our very best bet.” His eyes were sad. There was something about this Evie Sanchez that he wasn’t saying.

“You think she will talk?” Vica asked, hopeful.

Isaac shrugged a big shoulder. “It’s worth a shot. But you can bet your assshe’s being watched. Her house is also probably bugged. Her emails are being monitored. You’re the first person tonotaccept the hush money. And you’ve been vocal about bringing Track and Wyndham to justice. Wyndham’s lawyers will have warned him about the previous victims potentially being contacted. So he’ll cover his butt by dispatching watchdogs.”

“Won’t these women be in violation of a gag order?” Clint asked.

“If it never went to court, there’s no gag order. I couldn’t even find a record of settlements. The payoffs were all done off the books. Wyndham wanted no record of his baby boy being a multi-convicted predator. It reflects badly on him.”

“Disgusting,” Clint said, shaking his head.

Vica brought everyone’s coffees over to them and they thanked her.

“So how do we even get in touch with this Evie Sanchez without alerting Wyndham’s goons?” Wyatt asked.

Isaac gingerly sipped his coffee, then his dark-red brows shot up. “This is really good coffee.”

“Italians just make better coffee,” Wyatt said, shaking his head. “I can’t figure it out, but they just do.” He winked at Vica, who did a cute little shoulder wiggle and smile.

“So, I know some guys who are good at this kind of thing. All former military. One actually lives on the Oregon Coast. He’s the friend of a friend. His wife is a billionaire heiress and scientist with access to a private jet. So I’ve reached out to Barnes, and he and his wife, Brier, are going to go pay Evie a visit. They’re going to pretend that they’re interested in purchasing some of her art and he’s going to communicate the situation to her. I think if we could get her here and protected, that might be best.”

“Of course,” Wyatt said. “Anything. She’s a victim of Track’s too. Anything we can do to help.”

Vica nodded. “That poor woman. Raped, impregnated, forced to have an abortion—because who would want to carry their rapist’s baby—and then theonly option is to take the money and run because vindication is not an option. Shut up and run, or die.” She bunched her fists on the table as her face became flushed and tears brimmed in her eyes. “This world is just …”

“I agree,” Isaac said. “It’s fucked up.”

“When is all of this with your friend taking place?” Wyatt asked.

“Today or tomorrow,” Isaac replied. “He’ll keep me posted though.”

“Depending on the size of the jet, we could talk to Mal Ernie about using his airstrip,” Clint offered. “It’s worth a shot.”

“Gonna have to bribe him with a lot of beer,” Wyatt said, unenthusiastically. “Man hates people and starts threatening to shoot if you step on his property.”

“Who is Mal Ernie?” Isaac asked.

“Oh, he’s a retired endodontist,” Clint added. “His parents were OG islanders, had like six kids, but only Mal wanted the property. The rest got as far away from this life as possible. Mal is divorced and has adult kids. He owns like four little prop planes that he likes to fly, and built an airstrip on his property. It also serves as his driveway. He just cleared a bunch of trees and made it really freaking long and straight. It’s honestly like the biggest chunk of residential property on the island.”

“But he likes beer,” Wyatt said. “A lot. So if we rock up with a few cases of beer, maybe he’ll cooperate and not shoot.”

“Sounds like a really nice, community-minded fella.” Isaac rolled his eyes and sipped more coffee.

“Cream of the ol’ crop,” Clint scoffed.

“Well, if Mal doesn’t cooperate, we can see about landing at SeaTac and just having her escorted by security to the island. Or a helicopter can bring her over. Barnes is a helicopter pilot. I’m assuming there’s somewhere one can land?”

“Bonn Remmen’s land is open enough,” Vica chimed in.

Clint and Wyatt both nodded. She was right.

“Okay, so we have a bit of a plan,” Isaac said. “In the meantime, what can you tell me in about the attempts on Vica’s life here?”

“How much time do you have?” Vica asked with a sarcastic snort.

By the time Isaac left, and Wyatt’s kids woke up and he got them fed, he was actually forced to run out the door, otherwise he’d be late for his chiropractor appointment with Wolfe.

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