Page 56 of Stone
All four men conceded the point with shrugs or nods. “We’ll find something concrete tomorrow when we dig into the officers,” Philly said.
“Can you do that?” she asked. “Seems like you’d need to hack into bank accounts or interview people or, well, I don’t know, things like that.”
Philly grinned. “Leo’s coming back over tomorrow. We’ll hit him up. We can send folks out to talk to people, but we’ll talk to Leo first.”
“In the meantime, you guys should get out of here,” Viper said, gesturing with his head to the door.
“Before we do, what about the two men sent to Mystery Lake? The ones who put the cameras in my house?” Juliana asked.
“They left town after installing their gear,” Viper answered. “The tracker I put on their cars says they’re in San Francisco.”
She let that information sink in, then glanced at Simon in silent question. He nodded and they both rose, Sherman jumping to his feet with a startled yelp before plastering himself to her leg.
Simon reached down and ran his fingers through Sherman’s mane. “I don’t think we’re going to have to worry about him wandering off.”
“Ungluing him, but not wandering,” Monk said.
She didn’t mind. Maybe she would in a few years, but she suspected that he’d eventually grow to trust that she wasn’t going anywhere, that she was his person. Or one of them. But even if he did stay a Velcro dog, his warm body leaning against her leg and his silky fur teasing her skin wasn’t a hard thing to live with.
A few minutes later, Simon opened the back door of the truck and Sherman hopped in, his back feet scrambling on the frame before Simon boosted him the rest of the way. Once he was secure in his dog harness, she climbed into the passenger seat, and Simon slid behind the wheel.
“It’s too early for dinner,” she said. “What do you want to do?”
“I have a plan,” he said.
“One you’ll share?”
He glanced at her as he pulled onto the main road. “Depends. Do you like surprises or not?”
She considered the question, never having been asked before. After a beat, she answered. “With you, I like them.”
He smiled. “I like that answer.”
They drove in silence the rest of the way, the late-afternoon sun rays casting shadows across the road and fields. There weren’t many people heading in their direction, but a steady stream of cars flowed toward town. Not as many as there would be in a few days; with Labor Day weekend coming up—the last hurrah of summer—the hotels would be full, the lake packed with boats, and the trails filled with hikers.
When they arrived home, she hopped out of the cab and unhooked Sherman. “Do I need to do anything? Get ready? Pack anything?”
“Change into shorts or a summer dress or something,” Simon said, ushering them into the house.
“And shoes?”
He glanced down at her Chuck Taylors and smiled. “Those are perfect for where we’re going.”
27
Stone stood on the deck watching Sherman frolic in the grass as he waited for Juliana. He had no idea what was taking her so long, but he didn’t mind. It had given him time to pack what they needed without her seeing, which helped keep their outing a surprise. He also liked the idea of her moving around in his room, in his home, as if it were her own.
He poked and prodded at that thought. He shouldn’t be so comfortable with her after only a few days. It was even more than comfort, though—he wanted her to feel at home, he wanted her where he could care for her. She wasn’t a woman who needed looking after—it wasn’t that—but what she wanted, what she needed, was important to him in a way it had never been with other women.
“Sorry,” she said, joining him. “My aunt called,” she added, making a face.
The corners of his mouth tipped down. “You okay? What’d she want?”
She cocked her head in thought, her long blond hair falling over her shoulder. “I don’t actually know. She usually calls me when she expects something from me. More often than not,when my uncle has some campaign thing or bill that he’s arguing for and she wants to stress that I’m not to make waves of any sort.”
He refrained from commenting on that. “Not this time, though?”
She shook her head, then shook it again more vigorously, as if to clear it. “It doesn’t matter,” she said, then smiled. “What’s the plan?”
