“Sorry, Mom. I’ve got to go,” Jude said as he got to his feet.
“See? Always duty.”
Ignoring her jab, Jude said, “Have a happy new year, Mom. And give my regards to Robert and the kids.”
He didn’t know Robert well, but he’d gone to their wedding. And his dad had done a background check on the man, just to be sure he was a good person.
Since the marriage, his mom and Robert had had two kids. A boy and a girl. There was a significant age gap between him and them, with the kids just barely out of their teens, so he didn’t know them at all either.
Putting thoughts of his mom’s family from his mind, Jude strapped on the weapons he always wore when out of the house, then headed for the door that led to his garage.
Once through it, he ignored the twenty-five-year-old truck that had once been his dad’s pride and joy, as well as his ownshiny, newer, bigger truck. He went straight to the rugged UTV that he used for driving on the estate.
After firing up the engine, he pressed the remote to open the garage. Bright late afternoon sunlight poured into the space, sparkling off the snow that lay on the ground and making him squint until he lowered his sunglasses over his eyes.
Within a couple of minutes, Jude was pulling the UTV into the brightly lit garage at the back of the security building. But rather than go further into the building, he exited it the same way he’d driven into it, through the large opening. He used his phone to close the garage door, then headed in the direction of the main house.
The cold air had him pulling up his collar, then shoving his hands deeper into the heavy coat he wore. He’d stupidly left his gloves back at the house. Thankfully, the walk from the security building to the main house didn’t take too long.
He let himself into the mudroom, then peeled out of his jacket and hung it on a hook near the door. After stamping his feet a few times to shake the snow from his combat boots, Jude ventured deeper into the mansion.
Stopping by the kitchen, he quickly greeted the housekeeper and her daughter before he headed down the hallway that would take him to Duncan Burke’s office. It was a walk he’d made countless times over the years since Duncan had moved his kids—and his entire life—from New York to Idaho.
The door stood open, so Jude stepped through the doorway.
“Good afternoon, Duncan,” he said, trying not to wince at the use of the man’s first name.
For too many years, he’d been Mr. Burke. It had only been when he’d been promoted to head of security that Mr. Burkerequested Jude call him Duncan. And though it had been several years since that had occurred, Jude still wasn’t completely comfortable with the familiarity.
“Good evening,” Duncan said as he looked up from his computer screen. He gestured to the chairs opposite him at the desk. “Please sit down.”
A knot formed in Jude’s stomach. After knowing the man for as many years as he had, he could read him quite well.
But right at that moment, he had no idea what was going on. Duncan’s emotions were hidden behind a wall of stoicism, which didn’t bode well.
“What’s happened?” Jude asked, wondering if Duncan was unhappy with something he’d done.
Of late, his two younger children—one an adult, the other in high school—had been rebelling more than usual against the restrictions their father had put on them. Jude had loosened their security a bit, but only after having a discussion with Duncan about ways to make things a little less restrictive for Benji and Annie.
Had something happened that had led him to change his mind?
“As you know, Cole Halverson is arriving shortly,” Duncan said as he sat back in his chair.
“Has something happened to him?”
“No. However, he sent me an email a few minutes ago detailing a phone call he’d received.”
“A phone call? Was it threatening Annie?”
“No, though it did have to do with those pictures that showed up online of Annalisa and Cole. Someone saw the photo and recognized Annalisa.”
There was one explanation that came to mind for Jude, but was that even possible?
“Angelica?” he asked.
“Well, her name is Angela Reynolds, but she thinks she might be related to Annalisa.”
“And she reached out to Cole with this information?”
