Page 23 of The Scenic Route
“Twisted ankle, but otherwise I’m fine.” Felicity tentatively flexed her foot, grimacing when the movement brought a fresh bolt of pain with it. “Bennett yanked me out of there in time.”
The whole close call with death hadn’t given Charlie pause, but obviously something Felicity just said had.
“Who’s Bennett?” Charlie finally asked.
“Oh, that’s right.” Their time at the coffee shop felt so long ago, although it hadn’t even been a full day. “You missed the big reveal. The B in PI B. Green stands for Bennett.”
For some reason, her answer caused an even longer pause. “So…Bennett Green, as in your stalker?”
“Yes, but he’s been promoted.”
“Promoted? From stalker to…?”
“Lieutenant.”
“Lieutenant.” Charlie seemed incapable of doing anything other than repeating what she said, and Felicity took a gleeful pleasure in her sister’s befuddlement. Normally, Felicity was the practical one, while Charlie was the wild card. It was fun to swap roles—at least temporarily.
“That’s right.” Felicity let her smile spread across her face, and she knew her amusement was obvious in her voice. “Lieutenant in my bounty-hunting army.”
“You had to replace me with an entire army?” Charlie asked. “I’m flattered.”
“Pretty much.”
Bennett cleared his throat. “I’d like to apply for another promotion.”
Felicity raised an eyebrow at him.
“General,” he said.
“You can’t just go from a lieutenant to a general.”
Charlie made a sound of agreement. “That’s a big leap.”
Although Bennett got that sulky look that Felicity found so stupidly attractive, he blew out a breath and said, “Fine. Colonel.”
“Captain, and that’s my final offer.”
After another deep sigh, he gave a resigned nod.
“I know he saved your life,” Charlie said. “But don’t forget he’s still a PI with his own agenda. If you need help, Moo or Cara could be there in three hours to watch your back.”
“Thanks, Charlie, but I’ll be fine.” Felicity knew she needed to change the subject before it turned into an argument she really didn’t want to have in front of Captain Bennett himself. “How are things? You get your hands on them yet?”
“Not yet, but I’m so close, Fifi.” A note of excitement lifted Charlie’s voice. “Mom and Zach are camped out in a Springs neighborhood, and Norah’s watching the State Patrol camera feeds to make sure they don’t sneak out. I’m looking forward to taking both of them down.”
Felicity felt a wash of the same mix of guilt, anticipation, and bone-deep weariness that dealing with their mom had brought on since she’d stolen the necklace and then disappeared. No, it was earlier than that—maybe since Felicity was a child and first understood that her mom wasn’t much of a mother at all.
“Fifi?”
Realizing she’d gone silent for too long, Felicity cleared her throat. “Sorry, Charlie. I was thinking about something.”
“Something like, oh, I don’t know, the fact that your stalker is suddenly a high-ranking officer in your bounty-hunting army?”
“I don’t know that captain is that high-ranking,” Felicity grumbled, but Charlie was already off on another tangent.
“Moo’s calling me,” Charlie said. “Better see what she wants.Cara and Nor didn’t find anything in their first search of the closet, but they were going to dig through it again. There has to be something in there for Mom to risk breaking in. Have fun but don’t die in the mountains, ’kay?”
“I won’t.” Although she said it with conviction, cold washed through Felicity at the thought of the close call they’d just survived. Staying alive in Simpson just got a lot more complicated.
