Page 61 of Roark
She shrugged. “I like what I do, so I try to do it well. Anyway, I came up to tell you Roark wanted to see you before everyone got into the cars to leave.”
“Oh, okay. I’m ready.” Tamika finally moved away from the mirror. She walked over to the chair where she’d put the brown leather purse she’d dumped all her stuff into earlier this morning and picked it up. At the door, she took a deep breath and released it slowly. “I can do this.”
Lily chuckled and touched her shoulder, giving her a little nudge out the door. “Of course, you can.”
Downstairs, Roark was talking to Jack and two other guards in the foyer. He looked devilishly handsome in a navy-blue suit, light-blue shirt and pink tie. “Good morning,” he said when he turned to see her standing just a few feet away from him.
“Mornin’. You look really good in that suit, Mr. Donovan.”
He grinned. “You look even better in that skirt, Ms. Rayder.”
She picked up the sides of her skirt and did a frilly little turn. “Why thank you, kind sir.”
When her gaze rested on him, Tamika admitted she’d never felt as happy and excited in her life. Right now, there was nothing better than standing here being stared at and complimented with obvious appreciation and adoration. It felt good, and she wanted to revel in it forever. In addition to that feeling, there was something else she’d been pushing aside for the past two days since Roark’s sister and aunt had arrived. Despite the circumstances, a comfortable feeling had settled over her. Knowing that her mother was safe and healthy just a couple of doors down from her, seeing Tuppence healing and thriving as she enjoyed the gardens, and sitting in the kitchen talking with Dorianne was great. Even listening to Aunt Birdie tell stories about the Donovan Seniors and her brothers before them after dinner each night was enlightening and entertaining. Not to mention the fact that she’d felt like she’d known Roark forever, like they’d been a couple for…a very long time.
“You’re going to ride with me,” Roark was saying when she snapped herself out of those thoughts. “Suri’s going to ride with Aunt Birdie, and your mother and Tuppence will be in the middle truck.”
“Trucks? We’re not taking limos this time?” Her question was meant as a joke, but Roark answered seriously.
“These are specially equipped tactical vehicles made to look like any other truck on the road. There’ll be three guards in the truck with your mother, two in every other vehicle. Once we get to the church, the guards will hang back a bit, but we’ll have half a dozen positioned inside the sanctuary and half a dozen outside.”
And this right here brought her soundly back to reality. This wasn’t a family vacation on the English countryside. It was a dire situation where her mother’s life was in danger. “I thought about this all last night, wondering if it was a smart move to let her go to church,” she said and then sighed. “But she doesn’t want to act like a victim, and I can’t blame her. Hiding from a problem has never been my mom’s thing, and I get that from her. I like to face my issues head-on.”
Roark moved closer to her then, touching her shoulders. “None of us are going to hide from this bastard. We’re going to be prepared for him, and we’re going to win.”
“Watch your mouth, Roark. It’s a good thing you’re going to the house of the Lord this morning. I’ll say a few extra prayers for you.” Aunt Birdie walked past them wearing a lavish church hat in royal purple.
Roark never looked away from Tamika. “Good morning, Aunt Birdie.”
“Let’s get moving—we don’t want to be late,” was his aunt’s reply as she headed for the door.
A few seconds passed, and Tamika grinned. “We’d better get going before she yells for the guards to pick us up and dump us into the vehicles.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Roark said, laughing. He extended his elbow, and Tamika laced her arm through it before they took the first step toward the door.
Detectives Gibbons and Pennington walked in before they could exit. Gibbons held up a piece of paper. “Search warrant.”
That was it—no good morning, no nothing, just back to business.
Roark reached for the document and opened it. While he read, Geoff and Lily appeared.
“Is everything alright, sir?” Geoff asked.
“Yes.” Roark’s response was terse. “These detectives have a warrant to search the clubhouse.”
“Why?” Tamika asked.
Roark refolded the paper and looked at Gibbons. “Because now they think I planted that bomb at Suri’s flat.”
“I’ll stay here to make sure nothing’s disturbed, sir,” Geoff said immediately.
“And I’ll have a guard come into the house as well.” Roark handed the warrant to Geoff. “I’m going to call Burrows from the truck.”
“Where will you be in case we need to contact you?” Pennington asked.
Roark smirked. “You’re the detectives—if you want me, you’ll find me.”
“They won’t find anything,” Tamika said ten minutes later when they were seated in the backseat of the truck and on their way to church.
