Page 27 of Rowe

Outside, the city lights came on in orderly rows. Far to the south, beyond highways, cane fields, broken bridges, and roads that changed their names, Belle Fleur settled around the woman it had chosen to protect.

Victor slipped the photograph into his inside pocket.

No more black uniforms. No more borrowed authority. No more men announcing his arrival before they understood the room.

He would go himself. He would find Belle Fleur Clinic.

And when he found the clinic, he would find Mara Guillory.

CHAPTER NINE

“I’m going to bet they’re chasing their tails right about now,” smirked AJ. “We got all the holograms, security, dome, alarms, everything up the minute the men left the clinic. It’s all functioning perfectly and the re-routes on the common GPS locators are going like crazy. Someone is trying desperately to find us.”

“They can try all they want but they won’t find us,” said Ham. “Send the cousins to the General Store. That’s the only structure anyone might be able to reach.”

“Will do,” nodded Jethro.

“Oh, and Jethro?” Jethro stopped and turned to Ham. “Tell the cousins to use whatever methods necessary.”

“Can I stay with the cousins?” he smirked.

“More the merrier,” nodded Gator. Jethro was thrilled to have the option of kicking ass. If Rossi and his men returned, they would find themselves in more trouble than they believed possible.

While the men were ensuring that everything on their grid was working as needed, Rowe, Sonny, and Kai were at Rowe’s cottage with the legal team and Cowboy, Rush, and Patrick.

“She’s still sleeping but Kennedy said she should wake soon,” said Rowe.

“Did she sleep well?” asked Cowboy.

“As well as can be expected,” he said shrugging. “I heard her crying a few times. I ended up just sleeping beside the bed on the floor holding her hand.”

“Sometimes that’s all they need, Rowe,” said Patrick. “She just needs to know someone is there. What we need to know is what the fuck Victor Rossi wants with her.”

“I know,” said Mara hobbling down the hallway. Rowe was on his feet before anyone could move. He gently lifted her, one arm beneath her knees, the other around her back, gently holding her waist. He sat her down on the comfortable sofa, covering her with a warm blanket.

“I’m fine, Rowe,” she smiled.

“You remembered my name,” he said with a smirk.

“You’ve been hovering over me for days. You should be offended if I didn’t remember your name,” she said with half a grin.

“What does Rossi want with you?” asked Cowboy. She looked up at the big men in the room and let out a long breath. “Sorry, Mara. That was rude. I’m Cowboy. That’s Patrick, Kai, Sonny, and Rush. We all work for Shadow Warriors, and we all live on this compound.”

“I remember that as well,” she said nodding. “Not all your names but the rest of it. Mike came to see me and told me I was in good hands. As for Rossi, he won’t stop until he finds me.”

“Why?” asked Rowe.

“I have a bad habit of being early for everything. Too early,” she said calmly.

“I don’t think that’s a bad habit,” smirked Kai.

“Trust me. It is. If you’re late for a party, it’s called fashionable. If you’re really late, it’s rude. If you’re early, you’re disrupting the host who may not be ready. I was raised by two parents who were both military. Dad was in the Army; mom was in the Coast Guard.”

“Impressive,” nodded Rowe.

“They were amazing. It’s why my sister and I relied on one another so much. We had to. Anyway, when I had to switch jobs and find something that had only day shifts, I was thrilled to find Pelican Insurance so quickly. I had no experience at all.

“Little did I know that the lack of experience is exactly what made them want to hire me. I kept thinking, it’s steady work, be grateful. But all during training they were skipping sections of the policy information sheets. I would raise my hand, ask a question and they’d glare at me.”