Page 14 of Maverick

“K-kill me?”

“Katelyn, let me explain,” said Doug.

“Explain? Explain how you’re going to take me to my death? Give me details about how you’ll murder me?”

“Katelyn, we’re going to fake the death,” said Doug. She stared at the screen then at the men on the plane. “We wouldn’t go to all this trouble to rescue you only to kill you on our property. We’re going to find a way to fake your death and satisfy the agency.”

“How? They’re going to want to see my body. They’ll want to perform an autopsy!” she cried. Mav moved toward her, taking her hand and pulling her in for a hug.

“That was fast,” smirked Hiro.

“Not a surprise,” smiled Montana. “They’re perfect for one another.”

“I can hear you, you know,” said Katelyn.

“We know, honey,” said Montana. “Katelyn, we’ve worked together for a while now, and we kept telling you that you’d need to come and live here eventually. If they thought the technology was coming from the group, G.R.I.P., they would have no recourse. But one person not protected by our team is vulnerable.”

“So, I have to stay with all of you indefinitely?” she asked.

“Katelyn, can I ask that you withhold judgment until you’re here,” asked Doug. “I just want you to see the property, see your cottage, which is being prepared as we speak, and meet the people here. I promise that you’ll feel this is the right thing.”

“And the agency? What about them? What if they come after all of you because of me?”

“Oh, there’s no doubt they’ll come after all of us,” said Pax. “But let us worry about that.”

Katelyn took a seat as Saint set a cup of hot tea in front of her. She looked up at him, her brows furrowed.

“In your apartment, there wasn’t a coffee pot, only a tea kettle. You had tea bags in a jar on the counter and pretty little teacups lined up. It was easy to figure out.” She laughed, shaking her head.

“And here I thought I was the smart one. Maybe I should write out what’s in my head. I mean, if it’s in a plan or schematic and I patent and copyright it for G.R.I.P., they can’t legally touch it.”

“Are you sure you want to do that?” asked Doug. “We understood that you were very careful about these things. I don’t want to ask you to do anything that you’re not comfortable with.”

“The only thing I’m not comfortable with is placing your lives in danger. Not just your lives but your livelihoods. What if the government ceases to do business with you?” Montana actually laughed, and Ryan smiled at her.

“Katelyn, we’ve restricted how much business we’re doing with the government of late. We discovered some things in the last few years that we weren’t happy with. For instance, the bird you’re on right now is ours. No one else owns one or knows of the technology. No one. We’ve got hundreds of inventions used only for us. The government doesn’t like that. They feel they have the right to everything we develop, and so far, we’ve been able to prevent that from happening.”

“But how do you make money?”

“That’s a longer story,” said Hiro. “Once you’re here and settled in, we’ll be sure to give you the full rundown of how things work around here. The good news is we don’t have to rely on anyone to survive.”

“Must be nice,” she muttered under her breath.

“You’re going to be okay,” said Mav. “I’m not going to let anyone get to you, and neither would anyone else.”

“I’m not sure how you can make that promise, but I feel as though I don’t have a choice but to believe you right now. I know this is asking a lot, but is my cottage near the water?”

“It’s not only near the water,” said Montana, “but you have a full view of the bayou and the fountains behind the cottage. The girls are taking care of everything.”

“The girls?” frowned Katelyn.

“You’ll meet them all soon,” said Mav. She looked at those around her and nodded.

“I guess I will.”

CHAPTER NINE

Katelyn felt the Osprey begin to descend and looked out the window. She saw nothing but trees. There was no clear landing space. She felt the eyes of the men on her, and she looked at them, then back out the window.

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