Page 67 of Family Bonds- Jarrett & Andi

Sometimes she had atwo-hourappointment in the morning and then not another one until four in the afternoon. Now that she had a life outside of work it might be good to sit down and play with her calendar some and see if it made a difference.

One more day off a week was the first step. She had appointments for a lot of January already so she could take a day that might be open now.

Blocking out some nights would help too. Maybe starting later and just working one to two nights.

It would work out, she knew. She’d been told it’d be slower in the winter anyway. Come summer people would walk in or schedule last minute on vacation.

She’d figure it out then. The summer was a long way away in her mind.

“You’re not too bored there?” Jack asked. “Not feeling isolated? I know the ferry schedule isn’t as much and winter is just getting started. Any snow yet?”

“Some flurries today but nothing major. I’m not bored. You know me. I don’t require a lot. A nice quiet life and that is what I’m getting.”

“I’m still thinking of the transfer,” Jack said. “I’m nervous.”

It was not like him to be this way.

Yes, this was the first time she’d been away from him and maybe she really scared him with her fall, but that was almost two months ago.

Something had to be going on.

“Jack, is there something I need to know about?”

“No,” Jack said.

“Don’t lie to me. I can hear it in your voice. What is going on?”

“I don’t want you worried. There is no reason for you to be. There is a bit of talk that some of the Dustin Family is trying to set up shop again.”

The family that called the hit on her father. The successful hit.

Her heart was pounding. “Where?” she asked. “In the Northeast? Is that why you want to come here?”

“No,” Jack rushed out to say. “New Mexico.”

“Close to the border,” she said. “Guess they aren’t working with the Russians anymore?”

“Oh, they are,” Jack said. “But why not build their empire? Most are behind bars, but those that didn’t get caught or there was nothing concrete on them, they are expanding.”

“I thought you’d want to get your vengeance,” she said. “You don’t want to go there?”

“No,” he said firmly. “I can’t draw attention to myself for fear they’d come after you again.”

“And you think moving closer to me isn’t going to do that?” she asked. Even though she never got any personal threat herself. Jack had said it was sent to him. She didn’t know what to believe, but she was scared enough and after what happened with Leo it was best to hightail it out of town and start over.

“It’s more about getting away from them. If they think I will go after them, they will look closer. They had it out for your father. It was something he was working on that he should have let go and you know that. I’d rather they know that I’m not picking up where Luke left off.”

She did know. It hadn’t been her father’s case anymore, but he couldn’t let it go and even hid it from his partner. That secret cost her father his life.

“Nothing we can do about it,” she said.

If she hadn’t found that damn USB in Pillow’s bed, most of them wouldn’t have been caught.

Her father had more than enough evidence but continued to push and shouldn’t have.

She’d found it cleaning out her father’s house with Jack. Her father’s place had been broken into and trashed after his death.

It was so hard to go in there and pack up what she could. The cat had gotten out and was hidingattheneighbor’s. She tookPillow home with her, but the older cat couldn’t live without her father.

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