“Fine. Not a bad idea.”
“Just don’t kill any tourists. That won’t be good for the family reputation.”
“I’m not certain we’re well liked in Stowe.”
Alexander laughed. “Little known fact. Pops gave a lot of money to various organizations in town.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“If you’d spent more time around him, maybe the family history wouldn’t seem so foreign. Pops met our mother in Vermont. Hevacationed in Stowe decades ago. Fell in love with the place. You don’t know any of this?”
Snorting, I continued pacing the floor of the office, constantly glaring at the security monitors. “Pops and I didn’t share the same views about many aspects of life. We weren’t into casual conversations. You know that.”
“Oh, yeah, another wild child in the family. Well, he wasn’t the asshole you believed him to be. At least not all the time. I bet you’ll find a few plaques on several businesses our parents kept afloat over the years. He set up a grant for new businesses as well.”
“A regular philanthropist. Who knew. Why are you telling me this?”
“To remind you to be kind to the people in town. You never know when you might need them.”
As soon as he spit out the words, my thoughts immediately shot to Fleur. She’d only been gone a few hours and I’d thought about her at least a dozen times. Damn it. I’d even fucked up on some accounting paperwork, forced to redo several entries. “You’re suggesting if I go to war that I use the townspeople as soldiers?”
“You know what our father always told us. The most dangerous people are those you’d never guess were hiding machetes behind their backs.”
“Ha. I’ll keep that in mind. I’m going to do some digging of my own.”
“That’s fine. Just don’t do anything stupid like fire off a bomb at any Russian mafia you find on your doorstep.” Alexander half chuckled. He knew I wouldn’t let it go.
At least my brother could allow me a smile once and again. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“How’s the leg?”
“Actually, it’s feeling better.” It had been feeling better, although a muscle ache was inching its way into becoming painful. Between the snow and the distance, the hike had pushed muscles I hadn’t used in months. Maybe I’d pop a few Tylenol. While my brother gloated, I rubbed my thigh. Why did I have a terrible feeling I was about to get a cramp?
That was the last thing I needed.
“What did I tell you? Exercise is good for the soul.”
I had no intention of divulging my particular choice of calisthenics consisted of rough and wild passion and not run of the mill exercise. It was none of his business. Besides, he’d never let me live it down if I shared the truth. “Maybe.”
“Don’t worry. If I hear of anything on the dark web, you’ll be the first to know.”
“Right. Why don’t I believe you?”
“Because I know what you’ll do and you’re still recuperating.”
“To hell with that.” The call hadn’t gone exactly as I’d planned, but at least Alexander did have a good idea. I could booby-trap the perimeter; that would buy some time if anyone had interest in attacking me inside my own house. Now I’d just need to make a list of items needed before heading into town.
If I was lucky, I could get everything set up before dark. When I twisted, ready to walk out the door, my leg almost gave way. I fell against the edge of the desk, falling directly on my ass.
Disgusted, I glared at the cane I’d left angled against the veneered side. The ache was more intense, enough so I gritted my teeth and took a few seconds to massage the area. With numbness settling, I was forced to realize that walking the entire perimeter again so soon wasn’t in my best interest. Fuck. This wasn’t how I’d planned my day.
It took more effort than I cared to highlight even to my own brain to rise to my feet. Still teetering, I snatched the cane, hobbling from the office.
At least I would manage to purchase what I needed.
After grabbing my coat, I noticed a reflection, the sunlight casting a glow on something on the floor. Carefully, I bent over, snaking the object into my fingers. As soon as I held it in the light, a smile slowly crawled across my face. Fleur’s necklace. Unfortunately, the clasp had been broken, likely the reason it had fallen off.
It was obvious how special the piece of jewelry was. The decent thing to do would be to return it. I couldn’t lie and say that the idea of seeing her again, even under the pretense of returning an item, didn’t shove aside the clouds from the events of the day.
