Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 117574 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 588(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117574 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 588(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
“Of course, he can stay!” Tessa snickers. “Auggie can come and make you come, all week long. Have yourself a sexy little vacay at our place, girlie.”
Before I’ve replied, Auggie reaches me. As he hands me a smoothie, he says, “I asked for extra strawberries, exactly the way you like it.”
“Thank you.” I point to my phone. “Tessa. Hang on, girlie. Let me get Auggie up to speed.” I put Tessa on mute and explain the situation, and Auggie expresses excitement.
“I’ll need to bring Lucky,” Auggie says. “I don’t want to leave him with a friend, even a future vet. He’s scared of everyone besides you and me.”
I unmute the call, advise Tessa she’s now on speaker phone, and then deal with the Lucky situation. Not surprisingly, Tessa says she’d be thrilled for Lucky to come along. In fact, she says her dog, Rudy, will be thrilled to have a new friend to hang out with.
“Lucky might not feel quite as thrilled,” Auggie cautions with a chuckle. “The poor little guy is scared of any new creature, whether human or animal. I’m sure this week will be good for him, though.”
We talk a few logistics, at which point Auggie and I say we’ll head back to our building to pack a bag and then head over to Tessa’s place immediately after that. After disconnecting the call, Auggie scoops up Lucky’s rubber ball while I throw away our empty smoothie cups. Just as I’m turning away from the trashcan, however, I notice a stoic face across the large lawn that sends a chill racing down my spine.
“Auggie,” I whisper-shout. My heart thrashing, I bound to him and grab his arm. “Don’t look, but I think I see one of Mr. DiMarco’s bodyguards over there.”
“Where?”
“Don’t make it obvious when you look. He’s sitting on a bench, way on the other side of the lawn. Eating an ice cream cone. Black shirt.”
“I’ll throw Lucky the ball so I can look casually.” Auggie turns and tosses the ball, prompting Lucky to race after it. When Auggie turns back around to me, he looks dubious. “Are you sure that’s him? He doesn’t seem to be watching us.”
“I’m pretty sure.”
“How sure? What percentage?”
“Sixty percent?”
“That’s not that high.”
“I only flew once with the guy I’m thinking of, and we didn’t speak during the entire flight. He slept through most of it. It was my last flight before I got laid off—the one where I got that text from my friend in HR—so I wasn’t all that focused on my passengers. I was totally freaking out.”
“He was on the flight that ended with you doing the stupid thing?”
I look around, feeling paranoid, and then nod.
Auggie peeks over at the guy again. “He’s awfully far away to be deciding he’s some guy you only saw once and didn’t speak to. Up close, maybe you’d realize that’s not him. Actually, I think he’s here with that little girl there.”
“No, I think the girl is here with that woman in blue.” I point my chin about ten yards from where the man is sitting on the bench.
Auggie throws the ball and peeks again. “Would a paid killer get himself an ice cream cone before doing his job? That seems like a weird thing for a professional to do.”
“Unless he’s trying to blend in. And maybe he’s not here to kill us. Maybe he’s here to beat the crap out of us, as a warning.”
“A warning about what? We know our deadline, and we’re working hard to meet it. What’s there to warn us about?”
“Maybe he’s that nosy guy Carlo warned us about. Maybe he’s got a hunch, so he came here to watch us and see what we’re up to.”
“Or maybe he’s just some guy who reminds you of the sleeping guy on the plane. Maybe you’re just . . .”
“Paranoid? Yes, I am. I’ve been insanely, intensely paranoid, since the minute I got to my hotel room in New York and counted that money and realized what I’d just done. But just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean that’s not the nosy guy.” I shake out my hands to ease the sudden torrent of anxiety flooding me. “What if Mr. DiMarco found out it was me? What if he knows Carlo looked the other way, rather than immediately reporting me, and now he’s sent that guy—”
“Let’s not jump to conclusions here,” Auggie whispers hoarsely. “And let’s not panic. At least, not visibly. If that’s one of the bad guys, which isn’t for sure, then we don’t want him knowing we’ve seen him. It’ll be easier to ditch him on our way to Tessa’s house, if he thinks we’re totally clueless.”
“I’m scared, Auggie.”
“It might not even be him. In fact, I’d bet anything it’s not.” He hugs me and kisses my cheek, while I try to get my breathing under control in his arms. I feel Auggie’s lips press against my ear. His sweet, soothing voice says, “Pretend to laugh. I’m telling you a joke.”