Page 24 of Flynn

Especially Flynn.

“Maybe I need to go away. Like out of state.” She didn’t have a lot of money in her bank account, most of her nanny income was centered on paying off her student loans. “Far away where this guy will never find me.”

“I understand why you would think that, Taylor.” Flynn’s voice was soft but held a note of urgency. “But it’s not a practical solution. You’d have to find a job, which would lead the killer right back to you. It’s not easy to stay completely off-grid, but we’ll find a way to do that here where we can protect you.”

She shook her head, more because she didn’t like what he was saying. And suddenly she was mad. “I hate this.” The words burst from her throat. “I hate that this guy is looking for me! That he wants to kill me!”

“I know.” Flynn drew her into his arms. “I don’t blame you. I’m not happy about this either.”

His calm demeanor wasn’t helping. She wanted to punch someone, preferably the big-nosed man, but of course, that was a foolish thought.

Blowing out a heavy sigh, she relaxed against Flynn, absorbing his strength. She knew running away wasn’t the answer, no matter how tempting. “I don’t want you to get hurt,” she whispered against him.

“I won’t.” He surprised her by pressing a quick kiss to her temple. “Don’t worry about me. We’ll get through this.”

She desperately wanted to believe that. But thinking back to how things had gone with Sienna, how she’d been kidnapped and Zeke had been shot while trying to save her, wasn’t reassuring.

As terrible as that situation had been for them, it wasn’t close to the one she faced now. The man hunting her had no heart and the soul of the devil. He seemed intent on letting nothing get in the way of killing her.

And as things stood, there was little hope of finding him.

“Flynn?” Cassidy’s voice penetrated her thoughts. She drew in one last breath, filling her senses with Flynn’s scent, then pushed away. Her knees wobbled a bit, but she managed to stay upright under her own power.

“Did you talk to Gabe?” Flynn asked. He kept a hand on the small of her back as if sensing she still needed support. Oddly, his sweet gesture made her eyes sting with tears.

She blinked them away, annoyed with herself. She might not be tough and strong like Jina and Cassidy, but it wasn’t like her to cry over things either.

“Yes, why don’t you come and see what your options are?” Cassidy gestured toward an office not far from the breakroom. “Gabe has identified a few possibilities.”

“What about the safe house?” Flynn asked, gently urging her forward. Together they headed toward Gabe’s small office. “We could really use those bullet-resistant windows as this guy seems to like taking shots at Taylor.”

“Unfortunately, there’s a family staying there.” Cassidy grimaced as she made room for them to crowd around Gabe.

“Cass is right; the safe house is being used at the moment.” Gabe turned in his chair to face them. “Hi, I’m Gabe Melrose. I hear you’re in some trouble.”

“Taylor Templeton,” she said. “Yeah, trouble is one way to put it.”

“Thanks for allowing us to use your name on the rental car and the property,” Flynn added. “I owe you big time.”

“Nah, it’s the least I can do.” Gabe waved that off. “Okay, I found three options. They’re all relatively small homes, which are cheaper obviously than larger ones. I figure you would rather be outside the city limits with a little more space between the houses.”

She had no idea if that was better for their needs or not, so she remained silent, letting Flynn take the lead.

“Right on all counts.” Flynn leaned over to see the screen past Gabe’s shoulder. The office might be small, but there were three computer monitors mounted on a frame on his desk.

“This one is in Timberland Falls.” Gabe tapped one screen. “I only included it because the price was so reasonable. I know you guys tend to avoid Timberland Falls.”

“The cops weren’t too bad when we worked with them last month,” Flynn said with a shrug. “I think we’re growing on them.”

“Okay, so that’s one option. Here’s the second option, a two-bedroom house in Peabody. It’s on the lake, but it’s November, so the price is reasonable.”

“Hmm. That’s a good choice,” Flynn said. “At least we’d be close to Jina’s husband, Cole Roberts.”

“Exactly what I thought,” Gabe said with a grin. Then he tapped the keyboard bringing a third home up on the third screen. “This is the most expensive place. It’s farther from other homes, though, so I figured you might like it. Oh, it’s in White Gull Bay.”

Any of the places looked more than reasonable to her. She’d probably choose the least expensive of the bunch, considering the damage to the rental car.

“I like the one on Peabody Lake,” Flynn said. “It’s not that much more than the place in Timberland Falls, and we have the added plus of friendly cops nearby if anything happens. Not that it will,” he quickly said, darting a glance at her. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

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