Page 80 of Spotted at Lighthouse Bay
“You’re probably right,” Rick said. “But what can we do?”
“I don’t thinkwehave to do anything.” A grin spread across her face. She stood. “I feel like we’re in a James Bond movie.”
He laughed. “Oh?’”
“Yes! Aren’t you a fan of Daniel Craig’s Bond?”
“I have a hard time watching those movies,” Rick said with a shrug. “It’s too stressful.”
“Oh, that makes sense.” She nodded. There was nothing stressful to her about Daniel Craig’s beautiful face, but she could see how that might not transfer to a war veteran. “Well, there’s a running theme of the importance of work on the ground versus what you can get from behind a computer screen. Old verses new. You get the idea.”
“Sure.”
“And you just proved it! Mia’s hacker was able to find a lot, but you found out more just by showing up at the IronClad office and seeing Cliff’s stupid face.”
Rick narrowed his eyes. “He does have a stupid face. Didn’t like it from the first time I saw it.”
“If we tell Mia’s hacker what you found, I’m sure he can figure out even more. He can get to the bottom of all this.”
“What do you think is at the bottom of all this?” Rick asked, tilting his head.
“I have no idea, but I can feel it’s big.” She bounced her shoulders with a squeal before practically running up the stairs.
“Hang on,” Rick said. “I’m coming with you.”
Addy spun around. “You don’t have to be my bodyguard anymore. Sit here and relax.”
“That’s going to be a hard habit to break.”
Her heart sank into her stomach. They were getting close to something. That she knew. She also knew that by unraveling this knot that had been around her neck, she would lose Rick forever.
Maybe she didn’t want to talk to the hacker after all.
“You ready?” Rick asked, nodding toward the stairs.
It was no good to be selfish. He needed to move on with his life. She’d meant what she said. He was extraordinary. Kind, protective, considerate.
Handsome. She could admit it.
Just because her heart beat for him didn’t mean she had a right to keep him here. There was more for him beyond her little world. He’d saved her life. Wasn’t that enough? What more could she ask?
Addy knew the answer. Her little boring self had gotten far more than she’d bargained for. He’d opened her eyes. Called her bluffs. Made her question her own wrong ideas about herself.
She was lucky to have crossed paths with him. Most importantly, he made her feel like there was a chance she could be loved again.
“Yeah,” she said weakly, taking the first step.
Thirty-one
One week. That was all Rick got before Addy connected all the dots and brought the whole operation crashing down.
The last panic attack felt like it had happened to someone else. He connected with a new therapist and had his first session virtually, the ocean at his back. He gave Addy more freedom, not insisting on following her around, but they still spent most of their time together. Drinking tea. Going to dinner. Going kayaking, again, this time trying to catch a wild orca pod swimming by. They were too slow, or maybe scared them off with their laughter booming across the water.
With the information Addy had found, the hacker was able to link Cliff to an organized crime family in California.
Rick wasn’t shocked by this. Flex Knock and its underlings seemed shady from the first moment he laid eyes on them.
The rest of what the hacker uncovered shocked even Rick’s weary soul.
