“I’m here for you,” Hawk said. “You know that. I’ve got your back too. We’re brothers.”
“I do. Thanks.” Cole snatched up his keys and headed for the door.
“Dude, where are you going?”
“To check out the area around Jo’s house. Make sure there aren’t any anomalies. I would have suggested that she stay somewhere else, again, but I suspected that she wouldn’t listen.”
“Does she know?”
Cole sent Hawk an incredulous look. “No. I mean ... I went last night. Did you not even know?”
Hawk shook his head. “You think she’s been compromised?”
“Most definitely. I’m not sure who was driving the Sequoia that tried to run her off the road. On the other side of the country, whoever tried to harm her in Michigan has probably seen the images of her on the ferry. They could already be here. Reporters could be digging and searching, and they could put out information about where she lives.Or that information could somehow have been leaked from the police report from the ferry incident.”I hope not.“Call me paranoid.”
“I call you cautious.”
“And I prefer to be overly wary.”
“Have you considered that the murder on the ferry is related to her father’s sudden disappearance somehow? He mentioned he hadn’t wanted to lead trouble to her. Trouble has found her. Could it be connected?”
“Right now, everything is on the table.”
“You want to stake her place out tonight, protective duty? I’m all in,” Hawk said.
“Oh yeah?” Cole put on his coat. “I thought you had a hot date with your future wife?”
“I do. But I can cut it short if you need me. Remi would understand. She wants Jo safe too.”
“I hate to see you ruin all that hard work you’re doing cutting vegetables for a salad. Besides, I need to be gone so you can have time with Remi. If I had known you had plans, I could have made plans to crash somewhere else.”
“You’re making sure Jo’s safe, and that’ll take you time. But you’re welcome to stay for dinner before you go. I’m sure Remi would love for you to join us.”
“Why, so she can grill me too?”
Hawk moved his head like he was hemming and hawing, dancing around what they both knew to be true. Finally, he said, “I’ll tell her not to grill you.”
“But Jo is her friend, and Remi thinks I hurt her.” The thought that he’d inadvertently hurt Jo jabbed at his heart, and he winced.
“She doesn’tthinkyou hurt her. Youdidhurt her, Cole.”
“Wasn’t my intention.” He couldn’t catch a break. He couldn’t take more of this, so yeah, he was out of here. “I’ll let you know if I need any help tonight.”
He stepped out the door and got into his Yukon and steered over to Jo’s, driving slowly by the house in front until he’d passed it completely, then navigated through the neighborhood. Jo’s tiny house was up against Olympic National Forest—the rainforest—which could be a deterrent and, then again, depending on who wanted to harm Jo, could be a perfect cover.
But those woods were as dense as he’d ever seen, and he wasn’t driving his vehicle into that. He steered through town and then found the forest road he’d used last night that followed the Pulsap River. Turned down a side road and parked in the woods.
With a round in the chamber of his Glock 19 semiautomatic handgun that he gripped, as well as the handgun at his ankle, he hiked through the woods behind Jo’s Spruce Hollow, making sure no one was already here. Then he would make sure that no one decided to come after her. A full moon shining behind the clouds illuminated the night. He trudged forward, pushing through the lush greenery, slogging his way over and around thigh-high sword ferns and every imaginable kind of foliage, along with plenty he couldn’t begin to identify. He made his way around a significant swath of the forest near her home but saw nothing suspicious, and he hoped it would stay that way. But the quiet seemed too quiet.
A sixth sense told him that he should be worried. Very worried.
He trudged deeper. To get here from the north, a person would have to traverse a ridge or cross the unsafe logging bridge over the Pulsap River that Jo had shown him before he left.
Before he left...
He shook off the depressing thoughts.
To come from the east, they’d hike in from the road likehe’d done. The west was the ocean and the south was Forestview, so the north or the east he had to watch. He’d prefer to talk her into letting him just sit on her porch. He had plenty of experience in VIP protective duty, and sometimes it was just standing at the door. Instead, he was out in the elements, and sure, working on operations in special forces, he’d gotten his fill. Still, right now, the cold, wind, and rain were not his favorite part of this venture.
