Page 92 of Somebody's Watching Me
“What else needs to be done?”
Adjusting the small butterfly clip in her hair—a whimsical touch to her girl boss attire—she powered down the register. “I think that’s it.”
With the shop closed on Mondays, there had been no need to come in yesterday, which worked well for Rowan. When the police arrived at Sinclair’s location, the man was gone, but they did manage to capture two Zanmi members hiding in the building. Both long-time followers of Tobias Miller, the men had a track record for stalking the family previously but had never been caught.
And Rowan discovered why late yesterday afternoon when he took a deep dive into the men’s backgrounds. “One of them is an ex-Port Michaelson cop,” he’d told Liam. “He left the force about a year after Toby’s arrest.”
Digging further, they learned the man not only hung around his old work buddies, but also visited the station regularly. His social media accounts took them down a rabbit hole of revelations, exposing how vulnerable they actually were.
“I passed this guy on my way inside the house this morning. He’s over on the side lawn as we speak,” Rowan had said as he showed Liam the photos plastered on the guy’s personal account. “Here’s another of two cops who worked Jamison’s kidnapping. They’re all friends with him. Hollingsdale PD made the arrests last night, but I have a feeling ifit had been Port Michaelson arriving first, we would have walked away completely empty-handed.”
Liam had not taken the news well and called a retired Port Michaelson detective named Frank Mathis. After they spoke, the Port Michaelson detail was politely asked to leave.
They didn’t tell Ben until the cops were gone, and he lost his temper as expected. “Have Klausen increase his people and get more of ours here. Pull everyone we have that isn’t already assigned.”
A feat easier said than done. With Liam not having had much time to hire more than a handful of people when he took over at Fairweather, they didn’t have many options. Klausen and members of his team wouldn’t return for a few days, leaving them in a vulnerable position for tonight.
At least Izzy and Holden had arrived. Liam immediately sent Holden to Samuel’s house, while Izzy was to remain at Haven, much to Jamison’s annoyance. She was still pissed over what went down on the lawn, and Izzy’s presence only added fuel to the fire.
“I have an idea, and I want you to think about it before you say no.” Rowan stood from the couch and nodded at the window facing the gulf behind Annabeth. “Take a walk with me on the beach.”
It was a bold request, but he wanted to see if she felt secure enough with him to try. They had hardly been alone together since Sunday, and while he was still trying to figure out how to proceed, he thought a walk on the beach might be a good start. The Firewater event was set to start around sunset, and with the cooler air and businesses around the square closing early, there weren’t many people hanging out on the sand.
Her shoulders sagged. “I can’t get past the dunes before I panic.”
“What if I carry you?”
“What do you mean, carry me?”
Rowan grinned. He was winning her over. He could feel it. “Like on my back, and if you start to panic, I’ll turn around.”
She chewed on her bottom lip, staring at the wooden counter. The very one he had secretly built. When the store was finally coming together, and she couldn’t find the type of counter she wanted, Rowan had done what any other man stupidly in love with his best friend would have done. He snuck around to find out exactly what she wanted, created the thing using his own two hands, and then claimed to have discovered it in a store.
Not insane at all.
His brother was the only one who knew the truth and constantly gave him shit for it. Speaking of which, he needed to call his family and let them know he would be out of pocket for a while. Last night, he decided it was time they switched all communications to burners. Phones, laptops, everything had to be new and refreshed constantly.
“Come on.” He pouted, and it earned him a smile. “Just try.”
“Okay, but if I pull your hair because I get scared—“
“I’ll say thank you, please do it again, but then turn us around to go back.”
Grabbing the shop keys from the drawer under the register, she rolled her eyes with a smile. “Let’s go.”
They drew the shades and shut off the lights. Since Annabeth’s place wasn’t one of the hosting venues, all they needed to worry about had been some outside decorations.
“The spiderwebs might not hold up with this wind,” he said as she locked the door. “But at least we have the severed head.”
“I don’t want to know where you got that.”
“The storage cottage. I found a mask to wear tonight, too.”
Pocketing her keys, she stared up at him. “How are we going to do this?”
Damn his height.
“Um, here.” Rowan dragged over one of the chairs she kept on the shop’s outdoor covered patio. “Get on this.”
