“Yes, thanks,” Kendra added. “We’ll be in touch again soon.”
“Kendra . . .” Raine sighed loudly. Then she added, “Please call for backup if things go bad. You shouldn’t be handling this on your own.”
“We’re safe here,” Kendra said firmly. “I promise there is no way we can be electronically tracked to this location.”
“Okay, then. I’ll call you later if I learn anything more.” Raine sounded resigned as she disconnected from the call.
“May I see the Krugerrand?” Kendra asked. She leaned forward, close enough that he caught the flowery scent of her skin.
“Sure.” He handed it over. “I feel a little silly knowing I made it into a key ring when it’s worth so much.”
A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. When Smoky shifted and sighed at their feet, he gave in to the urge to stroke the dog’s fluffy fur. “At least you didn’t bore a hole through it. It looks like it’s glued to something.”
“I glued it over an old key ring I found.” He shook his head, wondering again why his father had told him it was worthless. “It never occurred to me it might be made of real gold.”
“Not just gold, but into a currency that is no longer made.” Kendra took the key ring from his fingers, examining it closely. “I must admit, it doesn’t look like anything special. Certainly nothing that’s worth several thousand dollars.”
“Yeah.” He thought again of how they might have been tracked to the hotel. Had the gunman figured out he was with Kendra? Maybe they’d seen her dog in action and assumed she was with him?
Not just her K9, he realized. But because they’d been in contact. And because her parents had been killed in the same plane crash.
“Keep this safe,” Kendra advised, handing it back. “I don’t know if you want to part with it, but you don’t want it stolen or lost either.”
“I will.” He turned the coin he’d glued to the keychain over in his fingers. Thinking of the way they’d been found, he inspected it more closely. There was no way a tracking device could be embedded on the coin.
Deep inside his key fob? That seemed extreme. Yet his paranoia was such that he unhooked the Krugerrand coin from his truck’s key fob just in case. Granted, they were already at the cabin, so getting rid of it now seemed silly.
Setting the key fob aside, he tucked the Krugerrand into his wallet, then scrubbed his hands over his face. He might be losing it. Maybe this was only about revenge, getting rid of his father and now coming after him because Gunther Volter was still behind bars.
“Hey, it’s going to be all right.” Kendra’s soft hand on his arm had him glancing up at her. Her beautiful blue eyes reflected compassion. She was pretty, not as flashy as Shari had been, but in a wholesome way. “We’re going to figure this out. You’re the smartest computer whiz on the planet, right?”
“Right.” He managed a reluctant smile and did his best to push the despair aside. Mentioning his tech skills made him frown. “That reminds me, I left my team leader in charge of the office in my absence. I just now realized that without my phone, Jake can’t contact me if he runs into trouble.”
She shrugged. “I’m sure he’s smart enough to figure it out, or he wouldn’t be your team leader. But if you want to check in with him, you can. I’d wait until tomorrow, though.” Kendra glanced around the cabin. “Maybe we’ll head into town for you to make that call. Just to be extra cautious.”
He couldn’t blame her for wanting to stay off-grid. “Okay, that works.”
Smoky rose, stretched, then trotted over to stand by the door. Kendra noticed and stood with a rueful smile. “That’s my cue to take her outside.”
He nodded, watching as she shrugged into her coat, then headed into the cold. Alone, he dropped his head into his hands.
Both his parents had been brutally murdered, and now someone wanted to make sure he was eliminated too. He appreciated Kendra’s support, but keeping her close was likely to get her killed too.
Tomorrow, he’d insist they go their separate ways.
Hunching her shoulders against the cold wind, Kendra scanned her surroundings the way Chase had taught her. The snow beyond the area around the SUV remained undisturbed. While that was reassuring, she also knew that anyone with a weapon could fire at them from the safety of the woods.
Handguns weren’t as accurate as a rifle for long distances, though. Still, she studied the foliage, searching for an intruder. She was glad she’d turned the SUV around so that the front was facing the driveway in the event they needed to get out of there quickly.
Smoky romped and played, clearly loving the snow. Shaking her head, Kendra called, “Get busy. Come on, Smoky. Get busy!”
Her K9 turned to look at her for a moment, then sniffed the ground to find the perfect spot to do her thing. When Smoky had finished, the dog ran back toward her, curvy tail wagging madly.
Normally, Kendra loved spending time outdoors with her dog, but she needed to get back inside to talk to Dom. The poor guy was still reeling from the information Raine had shared.
“Let’s go, Smoky.” Kendra turned and trudged back to the front door. “I need you to help cheer Dominic up, okay?”
Smoky brushed past her, going into the warm cabin. Then the K9 stood and shook herself to get rid of the excess snow. Dominic was still sitting in the spot where she’d left him, and he chuckled as he swiped water from his face.
