Willa didn’t feel bad about the fact there was a good chance Oliver wouldn’t ever be free again. She saw his name popping up multiple times as she looked at thousands and thousands of stolen items ranging from corporate intellectual property to blackmail pictures to lists of government agents.
“I’m saving it all,” Sebastian said.
“I’m planting a tracking device,” Roxie said. “The next time The Panther enters data, I’ll log his keystrokes and follow him online. Hopefully, it’ll lead us to his identity.”
Willa’s father kissed her cheek. “We’re closing in on him, honey. I have to get back to work.”
Porter put his arm around her and nudged her from the room. “Let them do their thing. We can grab dinner at the café and have a quiet night at home.”
“I’ll grab something for Tilly and the bodyguard recovery ward I have going on at my apartment,” Greer said with a roll of her eyes.
“You offered to take care of them,” Porter reminded her cousin of Willa’s injured bodyguards.
Greer shrugged. “It lets me leave Tilly behind safely when I want to do things. They’ll be fine in a couple of days. Well, except Barry. They moved him to the rehab center to start PT for his knee after surgery.”
“I think you’re doing it just to torture your brother,” Willa said, calling her out.
Greer smiled largely. “Maybe. It’s fun to torture Jackson. He deserves it. Now, torturing my bother is making me hungry. I think I want a hot brown and then I’ll tell Jackson I’m hand-feeding half of it to Deshaun.”
Porter shook his head at his cousin. Greer had a devilish streak in her that had gotten him and the younger set of cousins in trouble more than once as children. “This is going to end worse than the time you got us in trouble for stealing Jackson’s car.”
“You stole a car?” Willa asked in shock as they drove toward the café.
Greer chuckled at the memory. “When Jackson was seventeen, he worked all year to save up and buy his first car. I had just turned thirteen and was asked out on my first group date. Well, Jackson went and threatened my date that if he touched me he’d make sure my date swam with the fishes. He’d just watched The Godfather for the hundredth time.” Greer rolled her eyes.
“So you stole his car?” Willa asked.
“The date was horrible and to make it worse, my date told all the boys in the seventh grade what Jackson said and no one would ask me out for years. Porter, Parker, Jace, Colton, and Landon helped me get a little revenge.” Greer stopped and laughed at the memory before continuing with the story. “Colton and Landon distracted Jackson while Porter, Parker, and I stole the car. We drove it down to the lake and filled it with all the fish Jace had caught for the last two days. Then we left it for Jackson to find.”
“What happened next?” Willa asked.
“Uncle Marshall was the sheriff then, and he found the car. It smelled awful. Jackson was beyond pissed and knew it was Greer who had done it. But, there was no evidence of it until he planted a bug on her and caught us all laughing about it. Then our parents made us clean the car until there was no smell left,” Porter told her.
“The worst part was that Jackson didn’t get into any trouble for what he did to my date,” Greer said, clearly still bothered by this.
“Surely you didn’t let that go?” Willa knew Greer enough by now to know she wouldn’t sit back and take it.
Greer grinned as they pulled into a parking space down the street from the café. “Of course not. I told Jackson’s prom date not to worry about the sores on his penis. That they’d probably be gone by prom night.”
Willa started to laugh but then noticed a second later no one else was laughing. Instead, Porter and Greer were staring out the window at the couple a short distance ahead of them on the sidewalk.
“Who’s that?” Willa asked.
“The man is Henry Rooney. He and his wife are the town’s defense attorneys. Their daughter just married the King of Bermalia and now she’s a queen. There’s a rumor they’re going to retire so they can spend more time in Bermalia with their daughter,” Greer told her.
“His wife is stunning,” Willa said, taking in the Latina woman with legs for miles, silky hair, and breasts that would make any woman jealous.
“That’s not his wife,” Porter told her as he rolled down his window.
The woman ran her hand over Henry’s chest. “I bet a man like you knows every location in town.”
“I know I don’t need a map to read your body.”
Willa scrunched her nose up. “Is he cheating on his wife?” she whispered.
“No,” Porter whispered back. “Henry only speaks in pick-up lines. Neely Grace tolerates it, but only to a point.”
The woman’s hand faltered on his chest before she slowly began walking her fingers downward. “I bet you could give me a map right to Porter Davies.”
Greer, Willa, and Porter shared a look.
“You’re so hot you make habanero peppers look like candy. Look, you’re making my zipper melt.”
“I can do other things to your zipper if you tell me where Porter Davies is,” the woman practically purred.
Henry stepped back and looked her over. “You must be made of sugar because you have a sweet ass.”
The woman reached down and grabbed Little Henry. Henry sputtered for a second but regained his composure as he tried to disentangle himself to take a step backward. “Stop, drop, and roll. You’re so hot you’re on fire.”
The pick-up line didn’t have the same heat to it as the others, but the woman didn’t let go of Little Henry and Big Henry was starting to just spout random lines. “Looks like you are lacking in vitamin D.”
“Give me Porter Davies and I’ll give your D a pull.”
“I’m not feeling myself today. Can I feel you?” Henry asked, sounding a little nervous.
The door behind the woman opened and Porter and Greer cringed.
“Uh-oh,” Porter whispered. “That’s Neely Grace.”
Neely Grace took one look at the woman who had Little Henry in a death grip, raised her leather briefcase, and swung it hard against the woman’s head. The woman stumbled and went down on her knees.
“That’s one way to get her to go down on me,” Henry said with a big smile for his wife.
Neely Grace rolled her eyes. “Not one more word, Henry.”
“I think this is where we need to step in,” Porter said, pushing open the truck door. “What’s going on, Neely Grace?”
Willa saw all the heads turn their way. The woman on her knees had cartoon eyes that still seemed to be shaking from the impact. That didn’t stop her from trying to pull a gun, though.
Willa jumped back, but Greer and Neely Grace were already in action. Greer pulled her gun but Neely Grace bashed the woman with her briefcase again. “I always told Henry his pick-up lines would kill someone.”
Greer snorted as she reached into her back pocket and pulled out a zip tie. “She’ll have one hell of a headache when she wakes up. Nice shot, Neely Grace.”
“My lioness has claimed the king of the jungle, now let’s see how she can attack my snake.”
“Oh no,” Neely Grace said, shaking her head at her husband. “You’ve been ticketed for trespassing on your pants. You’re going to have to get on your knees and get the judge to give you a pass.”
Neely Grace strode off with Henry chasing after her.
“This town es loco,” the woman Greer was holding muttered, shaking her head and blinking furiously.
“And what country are you from?” Porter asked.
The woman closed her mouth as a black SUV with tinted windows pulled up. The window rolled down and Abby looked out. “Hello, Carmen.”
Willa shivered at the innocent tone that was anything but innocent.
“Dios Mio!” Carmen snapped out of her daze and practically leapt into Greer’s arms. “You’re law enforcement? You arrest me, yes?”
Abby got out of the SU
V and walked over to them. “I’ll take this little Venezuelan seducer off your hands. Did you try to seduce Porter so you could kill him? Didn’t work for you this time either. I told you the men in my life were smarter than most.”
“Did she try to seduce your husband?” Greer asked, making sure not to use their names.
“Tried and failed.”
“Well,” Porter said with a grin. “She tried to seduce Henry and Neely Grace took her out with a briefcase.”
Abby burst out laughing. “Was he giving her his best lines?”
“You know it,” Porter said as Abby hauled Carmen into the back of her car.
“That might be punishment itself. Have a good dinner. Carmen and I are going to have some girl time together.”
“Help me, please!” Carmen yelled before Abby shut the door on her.
“So, dinner to go?” Porter asked, turning back toward her as if the strangest scene she’d ever witnessed hadn’t just happened.
“That may be a good idea after how today is shaping up.” Porter reached for her hand and together they headed to the café as she hoped for a very quiet night at home. “Plus, maybe I’ll try some of those lines and see if I can get lucky,” she whispered to Porter.
“Men are simple creatures. Just get naked. We can figure it out from there,” Porter whispered back.
Willa laughed as they entered the café and knew no matter what, their lives together were going to be interesting in the best possible way.
29
“See, I told you all you needed to do was get naked,” Porter said, still breathing heavily. Willa rolled so that her cheek rested in the crook of his shoulder and her hand rested against his chest.
Willa laughed and he loved the sound of it. Making her laugh was one of his favorite things to do. Well, not number one. They had just finished his favorite thing. Making Willa laugh probably fell to number two.
“What would you like to do tomorrow on your day off?” Porter asked as he absently ran his fingers up and down her bare back.
“I’d love to go riding around your farm,” Willa told him.
“We can do that and have a sunset picnic,” Porter suggested. “There’s a great spot at the edge of the property. It’s a small climb up and then you can look out over the farm as the sun sets.”
“That sounds like the perfect way to spend my day off from the show ring. We can check on Apollo in the morning and then do that in the evening.”
Porter pulled Willa on top of him and brushed back her hair from her face. “Let me show you the perfect way to spend a night.”
Porter was happy. The computer crew was making progress. Last night with Willa had been perfect. Apollo was happy this morning and Willa looked gorgeous as they stood hand in hand, waiting to cross the street to the café.
“How do you feel about tomorrow’s championship?” Porter asked as Pam made a slow drive-by in her Hummer.
“Really good. I’m nervous, though. I’ve never been this highly ranked going into the last day before. I’m usually a solid fifth, but now I’m up in third. If I can get a top three placement, I’m going to be over the moon.”
Porter looked both ways, but before they crossed the street a large black SUV pulled into the lot and honked at them.
“Looks like the Desert Sun Farm crew,” Porter said, turning to smile at his friends.
The door opened and a clean-cut guy stepped out with a big smile on his face. “Porter Davies and Willa Aldridge, eh? “
“Do you know him?” Porter asked Willa. Porter was already suspicious of anyone asking after him, even if this man looked to be nice.
“I don’t think so,” Willa whispered back.
“Do we know you?” Porter asked him.
“I’m Jared Dales. I don’t want a kerfuffle, but I need you to come with me, eh?”
Porter blinked at the man with the Canadian accent who was still smiling at him. “For what?”
“I’m here to get the key, if you’d be so kind.” The man opened the back door to the SUV and indicated they should get in.
Porter just shook his head. “No. I think we’ll pass. But thank you for asking.”
The man’s smile slipped a little. “Please, I don’t want to mess aboot and have this turn into a real gong show. Let’s just keep this easy peasy.”
“I don’t know what a gong show is, but it sounds fun. Let’s go that route,” Porter said to him as he moved Willa behind him. “Run to the café,” he whispered to her.
Willa turned and ran as Porter was only a step behind her.
“Don’t be a hoser!” Jared yelled as he pulled a gun out and aimed it at Porter. “Stop or I’ll shoot, Mr. Davies. I have a clear headshot.”
Porter wasn’t going to stop, but Willa slid to a stop in the middle of the street and he was forced to stop or run her over. Willa raised her hands as she turned slowly back to face Jared. “Please don’t shoot him.”
Jared smiled again. “That’s what I’m talking aboot. Thank you for being reasonable.”
Jared reached into his pocket with one hand and pulled two pairs of handcuffs. He began to walk toward them as he held them out. “Please put these on, Mr. Davies and Miss Aldridge.”
Porter held out his hand for the cuffs. “Willa is too scared to move. She’s shaking like a leaf,” Porter told Jared. “Just hand them to me and I’ll put them on us.”
Porter watched Jared step out into the street and then pause in the middle of the lane. He tossed the handcuffs to land at Porter’s feet. Porter reached down and felt the street vibrate as an engine roared. A Hummer barreled down the street and even as Jared turned in surprise, Porter was shoving Willa aside.
“What’s this then, eh?”
The answer to Jared’s question was the grille of Pam’s Hummer slamming into him like the most powerful slap shot of all time. Porter watched Jared being punted into the air as Pam drove on. He got a good fifteen feet into the air before landing on Pam’s roof and rolling off the back. He landed hard on the pavement as Pam spun the giant Hummer on the street and put Jared’s body right in her sights.
The café door was flung open as people rushed out and Pam leapt from the Hummer. “I got him!”
“Are you okay?” Porter asked Willa, who was watching Pam now standing over Jared trash-talking him.
“Yeah, I’m great. He was the nicest hitman so far.”
“But not a good one,” Pam taunted. “Now that’s how you carry out a hit. Boom!”
Jared groaned and rolled over. “I was just trying to do my job and serve my country. I am sorry I got in the way of your vehicle. Are you okay, ma’am?”
“See, nicest hitman ever,” Willa said, looking down at the man Jace was running toward with a medical bag in hand.
“I’m fine, but you’ve been Hummered,” Pam tried to gloat, but her smile was faltering.
Jared groaned again. “I should have looked before I crossed the street. I sure hope there’s not much damage done to your vehicle.”
“Both legs are broken and I’m guessing several ribs, too,” Jace told them.
“Ma’am, are you sure you’re not injured, eh?” Jared asked Pam.
“Darn it!” Pam stomped her foot. “I finally get a good hit to save the day and sending him bouncing over my car. And I have to hit the only nice hitman.”
“I’m Canadian, sorry aboot that.”
“No! Don’t be sorry. You were going to shoot them, right?” Pam asked, bending down and getting into Jared’s face.
“Well, only Mr. Davies. And I would have hated every second of it.”
“Aha! I did save the day.”
Jared went to open his mouth but Pam shook her head. “Not another word. You were going to kill Porter and I stopped it. Bad guy down. Somebody get me a drink. We’re celebrating.”
“Your order is ready, Porter. Or do you want to eat in now?” Poppy asked as the onlookers began to file back inside. Cody and Luke were there. They could transport Jared wherever need
ed.
“To go, please,” Porter said, turning back to slip his hand into Willa’s. “I could visit Canada after this. Several of these countries are now on my do-not-travel list, but Canada seems nice.”
When they got inside, Pam was on top of a table reenacting the hit and using a spoon to demonstrate how Jared bounced over the Hummer.
Porter paid, and as they walked out Dylan was there with some Rahmi guards putting Jared into the back of a truck.
“They’ll be nice to him, won’t they?” Willa asked.
“Jace is going with them. He’ll help Jared’s injuries as best he can.”
“Goodbye, Jared!” Willa called out. “Hope you feel better soon!”
“Thank you, Miss Aldridge. It’s been a pleasure to meet you. I hope you’re still alive when I recover so I can bring you in,” Jared yelled back to her before he groaned again in pain.
Porter opened the door to his truck for Willa and then placed the food in the back. He had a blanket and a basket ready to go for when they arrived at the picnic site.
“Is it bad that I’m no longer scared when someone points a gun at me?” Willa asked as they drove out of town. “I almost corrected you when you said I was scared. How could I be scared of Jared?”
“I actually feel bad I didn’t let him shoot me,” Porter said with a laugh. They’d had tactical teams, snipers, hand-to-hand, seduction, and now Jared, who’d tried to kill them with kindness.
“Can you tell me anything about your company headquarters in Lexington?” Porter asked Willa. He turned into the farm but drove past his house and only stopped when he reached the small ridge between his house and the property he wanted to buy. The woods and land separating the two parcels of land weren’t quite a mountain but more of a hill range with limestone outcrops and thick woods.
Porter lifted the basket and blanket from the back of the truck. He slung them over his right arm before reaching back with his left and taking Willa’s hand in his as they entered the woods.
“Yes, I found this nice new office development in Lexington near the airport. I still haven’t learned my way around here yet, but I think it’s on the side closest to Keeneston.”
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