Page 82 of Tango

“We’re at Zack’s now,” Ivy whispered, and I tuned out the flight attendant.

“Walk, don’t run.”

“We’re inside, and Zack is here.”

“Good.”

“Beckett, it’s Zack. I’m taking Ivy to the back office.”

“Thanks, Zack. I’ll be in touch.”

“Ty?” Ivy was back on the phone. “What now?”

“Now you stay there and wait for me.”

The flight felt like it took forever. Cole had the local police do a run-through of every nook and cranny of the town, but the truth was if someone was there already, they’d probably not be noticed. Redstone was a tourist town, and there were plenty of strangers.

We grabbed our luggage and ran for the chopper Cole had arranged for us. Once we touched down, we raced across the park. It was nearly two-thirty in the morning, and the town was quiet. I knew the locals wouldn’t be fazed to hear a chopper in the middle of the park. Blackstone had run drills here before. I led the race across the grass, down the street, and into Zack’s parking lot.

Zack opened the door as we got there.

“She’s okay. She’s in the back office with Doc.”

“Thanks, Zack.” I hurried down the hall and took a deep breath before I opened the door. There she was, sitting on the couch. She looked beat. When she saw me, she pushed to her feet and flew into my arms. I hugged her tight and breathed her in. I’d so missed the scent of her.

“It’s okay,” I assured her. I knew I was telling myself that more than her. “Are you okay?” I looked at Doc, and he gave me a nod.

“Just a little rattled, but nothing a good night sleep can’t fix.” Ivy smiled up at me, and I kissed her hard on the lips. “Can we go home now?”

“Doc,” Cole called, “a minute?” I looked up and watched Doc leave with Cole. Then I took her in my arms one more time. A few minutes later, I tugged Ivy along behind me as we went to join the others.

“Look at you causin’ shit.” Mark wrapped an arm around Ivy, taking over so I knew she’d be okay.

“Pot calling the kettle black much?” She rolled her eyes.

“Okay, fine, you got me there,” he gave in, “but let’s talk about how you let your phone die.”

She groaned, and I raised an eyebrow at her. Yeah, you broke a house rule.

* * *

Later that night, when we were finally alone and the fireplace was lit, I climbed into bed feeling mildly better after my shower. She curled into my side and rested her head on my shoulder. Her arm draped over my stomach as she mindlessly circled a finger around my side.

I leaned down and kissed her head as I relished the fact we were both okay. The logs in the fire popped and sizzled and gave off a nice warmth. I began to relax as I sat mesmerized by the flames.

“Can you tell me now?” she whispered.

“Pat Rose, a PI from Yellowstone.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, Hill hired him to watch you. Rose was under the impression he was hired to catch you in the act of cheating on your husband. Hill.” I nearly spat the name and felt acid prickle my tongue. “He’d been around for a couple days. We don’t think he ever attempted to follow you here, or it would have been noticed. The guys know to take different routes to the house, and with all our checkpoints, they’d have known if someone was following. He must have been watching for you in town.”

“I can’t believe someone followed me at all. At least he wasn’t dangerous.”

“He might not have been, but Hill was.”

“True.” She hugged me closer as she let that sink in. “Kind of gross he made up that we were married. Yuck. He’s really pathetic.”

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