My mind quickly supplied the glimpses of the future I’d created in my dreams. A future where Sean somehow conducted his business from the ranch, and we made an incredible life together.
Mom would live with us, and I’d do some work on the house to make it more comfortable for all of us while providing Sean and me with as much privacy as we needed. It was a pipe dream that burst when Sean got into the passenger seat of Congressman Ben’s SUV and Wallis got into the stolen truck.
The one thing I planned to do was try to track down Heath Palmer to find out more about the Defenders of the Faithful and his missing cousin. If I couldn’t have Sean Fitzpatrick safe at myfarm, I’d at least make certain those radical bastards didn’t hurt him in DC.
Chapter Thirteen
Sean
Wallis and the congressman dropped me at Potomac Place, the building where I resided. It didn’t feel like home anymore. I knewwherehome was, and it was nowhere near the nation’s capital. It was a small town in Maryland on a beautiful horse farm where the sun’s rays made the green pastures plentiful for the horses to graze.
I went into the building to find two men standing at the front desk—a tall, slender man who was laughing with Ralph, the concierge, and a tall, muscular man, reading something on his phone. They were both handsome, and when the muscular one tapped the other man on the arm, they both turned toward me.
“That’s him,” Ralph said, pointing to me.
“Mr. Fitzpatrick, I’m Austin Torrente, and this is my husband, Dominic. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person. We’ve spoken to you and Mr. Hess before, but we didn’t actually get to meet. We’re sorry you had to evacuate the Bethesda condo in such quick fashion. The police got a good picture of one of the three men in the drive-by so they’re looking for him, and we’ll definitely let you know when we hear anything about identifying them.”
Austin Torrente was a beast of a man with shoulders like Atlas and thighs like tree trunks. His husband was exceptionally good-looking with a sexy smile. They made a stunningly handsome couple.
“Thank you for your help. No doubt, it’s some radical religious group dead set on ridding the world of those of us under the rainbow flag as fast as possible. I’ve been stalked by those kinds of fanatics before. I’m not worried. They get sloppy and show their hand soon enough.”
My false bravado only caused the two men to trade coy expressions, indicating they saw through me. I approached the reception desk and offered Ralph my best attempt at a warmsmile. “Hi, Ralph. I’m sorry I took off without notice. It was an unusual situation.”
Ralph stood and smiled. “Detective Compton and Officer Mathers came by looking for you yesterday and asked if I’d give you a message to call them. These gentlemen are private security that Mr. Wallis sent to meet you. I’ll need you to execute the paperwork to supply them with passes for the garage and a key to the elevator.”
He opened the desk and pulled out a clipboard, securing some documents under the clip before handing it to me.
I picked up the pen from the desk and began filling out the paperwork. After signing them, I handed the clipboard back to Ralph. “If you’ll wait a moment, Mr. Fitzpatrick, I’ll get your mail.”
Ralph stood from the chair and went to the back. Dominic Torrente stepped closer and whispered, “Do you trust him, Mr. Fitzpatrick?”
“I’ve lived here for ten years, Mr. Torrente. Ralph’s been here for fifteen, so yes, I trust him.” The taller man nodded.
When Ralph returned, his hands were full, and there were a few boxes. He put everything on the desk and went about scanning the stickers on the boxes to update the package log.
“Ralph, these boxes? Did they come in the mail or were they delivered? Did you get a signature?” Dominic asked as he began sorting through the boxes, the junk mail, and the letters.
“Oh, uh, let me check. I was off for a few days, so Adriana was on duty,” Ralph answered.
He leafed through the book and found the appropriate pages. “They’re all from Mrs. Gloria Lambert at The Fitzpatrick Group. The delivery person was named Todd Brown. His driver’s license number is—”
“It’s okay, guys. They both work for me. Those must be my briefing books. Let’s take this mess upstairs.”
I reached into the pocket of Jeri’s sweats that I’d commandeered and found I’d forgotten my wallet at the farm. My face flushed. “Ralph, I’ll need to tip you later. I left my wallet at my friend’s house. Thank you for all of this.” I pointed to all the crap on the desk.
“Sure, Mr. Fitzpatrick. Do you want me to help you carry things up?”
I sighed. “If you wouldn’t mind. I don’t have my keys either. Can you let us into my place?”
“Of course, Mr. Fitzpatrick. Give me a moment to get you a replacement key and card.” Ralph went into the back room again, returning a moment later.
He picked up a couple of boxes from the desk and led us to the elevator. We went to my floor, and when the door opened, the three of us followed Ralph down the hallway to my place.
After Ralph opened the door and put the boxes on the dining table, he turned to me and smiled. “Will that be all, Mr. Fitzpatrick?”
I placed my hand on his shoulder and escorted him to the door. “Thank you, Ralph. I’ll make this right, I promise. I’m not expecting any visitors, so say I’m not in, please.”
He handed me the card and key to get into my home and nodded. “Glad you’re back, Mr. Fitzpatrick. Will you go to the office tomorrow?”
