Grace returned the puzzle box to a shelf and tidied the kitchen while Alicia let the dogs out for the last time before bed.Then they picked up their books and retreated toward the stairs, offering goodnights as they climbed.
Callum saluted them as they passed and settled onto the couch.They’d offered to bunk together and give him Grace’s guest room, but the living room was better suited for keeping an eye out, and more importantly, he needed all the space he could get between him and Grace.Sleeping in her bed?The chance of sleep would be next to zilch, even if she weren’t in it.
And the idea of what might happen if she were in bed with him?Jesus fuck, he didn’t need to think about that.
Callum squeezed his eyes shut.That did nothing to erase Grace from his wandering thoughts.Her lips had always commanded his attention.Not to mention the way she smiled with that silly, sassy mouth of hers.
The day washed over him like an ice-cold wave.Anything with her mouth was borderline inappropriate, considering the nervous way she moved through life.
The stairwell hall light switched off.Muffled bits of conversation floated through the air vents.Grace paced in her bedroom as the grandfather clock ticked.Finally, upstairs grew silent.He was alone in a dollhouse, on a couch with too many pillows, and hadn’t been more uncomfortable in his life.
Sleeping would present challenges.He eyed the pillow and blanket stacked at the end of the couch and would probably use them to make a bed on the pink carpet.
Callum didn’t move.His discomfort didn’t change because, hell, it wasn’t the sleeping arrangements that were the source of his problem.
Forty-eight hours ago, he hadn’t known Grace was alive.
Twenty-four hours ago, he hadn’t set eyes on her.
Now he had, and of all the women in the world, this was the one who made him wish things were different.Different ages growing up.Different circumstances with her ex.Different decisions on his part.
Maybe Grace wouldn’t have had Dominic as an ex if he’d asked her out first.Him and Grace.Hayden would have flipped his fuckin’ mind.At least back then.Would dating have been such a betrayal of their friendship, knowing what he had kept from Callum?
His phone chirped.He welcomed the distraction.The display showed an incoming call from the office.He answered.
“Ready for some good news?”Dean said with far more pep than the last time they’d spoken.
Relief settled in his chest.Callum moved to the large windows draped in a gauzy white linen and pulled back the poor excuse for privacy.“Absolutely.”
“I have the final report from the sweep team.”
Callum frowned.They hadn’t turned up anything inside Alicia’s.He’d assumed the same would be found outside.
“The external sweep showed the same thing as the one inside the house.Absolutely nothing.No cameras.No listening devices.Nothing transmitting outside the home.”
The anxious band around his chest loosened.“Good.Great.”But Callum worked the information over in his head and still wondered why Dominic had shown his hand.It had to be more than creating fear and warning Grace away from the feds.“What else?”
“Now for the bad news.”
His head dropped back.The modicum of relief vanished.“How bad?”
“On the surface, it seems like small potatoes, but…” Dean let out a deep sigh.“Considering Marino’s resources, I’d say we’re dealing with a problem.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“After Vivian asked me to find Grace, I tracked her down with the help of a client she’d submitted work to.Backtracked the IP address to the library, and you walked into a big shiny pile of luck.”
“If mace in the face is lucky.”
“Best we can tell, Marino didn’t have the same luck or access.How did he find her?Maybe he accessed her online accounts and tracked her location from there.But Grace uses a VPN, changes passwords almost daily, and has two-factor authorization or authenticator apps set up for everything.He could have installed malware once upon a time, and it’s embedded in an online account.He could—”
“Dean, man, don’t walk me through the possibilities.Just tell me how he did it.”
“That’s the bad news.I don’t have a clue.She doesn’t have a single dedicated device.She uses burner phones.No online presence except for her freelance work posted on aggregator sites—which were uploaded via freelancers she hired through a VPN.”He laughed.“Grace Willoughby had her location and online safety locked down like a pro.I wouldn’t have mapped her as quickly as I did if she hadn’t given us intel.”
“I thought she was just an artist.”
Dean laughed again in that way Callum could tell he was shaking his head.“She’s mastered the art of hiding online.”
