Page 65 of Pick Yourself Up
Gray’s finger traced circles over her shoulder. “It’s impossible to cover all the possibilities. And we can’t understand the criminal mind. All we can do is take our best guess and follow through.”
Knox nodded. “After we’re done with supper, I’ll put a call into Marcus Ramirez. If Allard shows up there looking for us, we’ll have a heads up.”
She knew the police chief had helped her family with a few situations and was glad to have more help on their side.
Knox continued. “We’ve got Marcus’s entire military team in Phail, and the former FBI agents living at Midnight Lake. They’ll all help.”
But they couldn’t live with them here on the farm until Allard made a move. Not for the first time, she wished the Wells party had booked a different hotel back in Chicago. Although then she wouldn’t have met Gray and fallen in love.
They talked around the situation for several more minutes, but couldn’t reach any consensus or solution. Without knowing what Allard was doing, they couldn’t prepare a plan.
Leaving for a week or two wouldn’t help. Depending on the severity of his injuries, Allard could wait for months before trying to find them. They couldn’t stay away forever. No matter where they went, the possibility existed that he could find them. Short of changing their names and disappearing from their family, there was no way to ensure he didn’t find them.
And leaving didn’t ensure he wouldn’t hurt her family instead.
She didn’t want to live always looking over her shoulder, constantly worrying where he was. Why couldn’t the man have stayed in jail? Why couldn’t his boss order him to stay put and leave them alone?
Was that a possibility? Could they somehow get word to the Lauzon family that their thug was going to make things worse?
Doubtful. It wasn’t like a criminal mastermind was going to listen to her.
Still, social media worked both ways. With a bit of research, she should be able to find the Lauzons and get a sense of their public-facing persona. Could they use that somehow?
Gray squeezed her shoulder. “What are you thinking?”
She shrugged. “Probably nothing. I’m just trying to figure out if there’s a way to use the internet to let the Lauzons know it would be better if they left us alone.”
There was silence as everyone thought about her idea. It might not go anywhere, but thinking about potential actions made her feel better than just waiting for a criminal to show up. Acting felt more proactive than reacting.
Eventually, they wrapped up the conversation and cleaned the kitchen. She wanted to spend the night in the newly fixed-up owner’s suite with Gray, but tonight it would be better for everyone if they stayed in the farmhouse with the security system in place.
After putting the ducks in the coop, Jolie and Ford would bring Hemsworth inside for the night. Another layer of protection. Even though he wasn’t a protection dog like Boomer, he was extremely well-trained and had proven he could help take down the bad guys. Fox, too, but he was happier outside.
With everyone inside, they locked the doors, checked windows, and set the alarm. She and Gray followed Boomer up to their room.
When they locked their door, Gray wrapped her in his arms. “That was a lot tonight. How are you feeling?”
She shrugged and snuggled in. “Overwhelmed. Scared. Angry.”
“Angry?”
She nodded. “How dare this asshole try to ruin our lives again? He deserves to stay in jail. He’s got no right to threaten us and make us uncomfortable in our home.”
Gray smiled and traced a finger over her jaw. “Feisty. I like it.”
That made her smile for the first time in hours. “Thanks.”
His eyebrows shot up. “For?”
“Being you and being so steady that I’m able to stop myself from having a complete meltdown. The fear is like a living thing crawling inside me, but with you and Boomer here, it’s not taking complete control of me. I’m able to breathe.”
His arms tightened around her, and he kissed her hair. “We’re going to keep each other safe from this asshole. We’re going to keep everyone safe. It’s not even a sure thing that he’ll come here, but if he does, we’ll be prepared. We’ll be ready.”
She hugged him hard. “Let’s hope he doesn’t come.”
Gray grunted but didn’t respond with words. She knew he believed Allard was on the way or would be soon.
She swallowed the fear and clung to Gray, needing his strength and confidence.
