She hesitated a brief moment, then gave him a small smile. “I’d love some.”
While she fixed herself a plate, he looked at the girls. “Go over and tell Aunt Martha we’ll leave in about ten minutes, will you?” He stood at the window while the girls scampered out the kitchen door, across the connecting overhang, and into Martha’s living area. He’d kept the two wrought iron gates shut last night, minimizing the access to the back of his house via the drive. It also ensured added protection for Martha. The girls could go back and forth between Martha’s apartment and the main house without him worrying about someone snatching them. He shuddered at the thought and waited for Olivia to seat herself opposite him.
She wore dark blue jeans and a black T-shirt with a long-sleeved denim shirt over that. He figured the overshirt was to cover the shoulder holster. She looked professional and capable. And somehow vulnerable. She ate slowly. “This is good.”
“You didn’t eat breakfast?”
“I didn’t have time.”
“Slept in, huh?”
“Actually, yes. Figured I’d take advantage of the opportunity while I could.” She rested her fork on her plate. “Tell me about this church.”
“What do you need to know?”
“How big is it?”
“It’s a big church. About eight thousand people.”
Olivia winced. “Would you please consider staying home?”
“Amy’s in a play this morning. She’s been so excited about it, I can’t take that away from her unless you can give me a very good reason.” Amy might not care—in fact, she would probably be relieved—but after their last conversation about it, he didn’t want to give her any excuses to back out.
“Someone trying to kill you twice isn’t good enough?”
He sighed. “I hear what you’re saying. I tossed and turned all night as I thought about what to do. I considered not going. But the more I thought about it, the madder I got.” He met her gaze. “I won’t become a hermit,” he said softly. “I won’t live in fear or let Amy see me hiding. I can’t. There’s no telling what that would do to her.”
She stared at him like he had no common sense. “There are too many people, Wade. I won’t be able to effectively protect you and Amy.”
“No offense, but what’s the point in having you around if that’s the case?”
She sighed. “The point is, my presence lessens the odds of something happening. But in a crowd that big, it’s easy for someone with evil intentions to hide—then strike when the opportunity presents itself. Anything could go wrong. I’ve got two more people to add to the team, but they can’t start working until tomorrow. If you can just lay low until then.”
He narrowed his eyes and gave it some thought. Then he echoed her sigh. “You have a valid argument, but this is what we do on Sunday morning.” He held up a hand when she opened her mouth. “I know what you’re going to say. It’s too predictable. Maybe so, but with her anxiety issues, Amy needs consistency. She’s been practicing for this play for weeks. If I tell her she can’t do it, it may throw her into an anxiety attack that will last all day. She’s looking forward to going and I have to take her.”
“What about at a different time. A church that big has got to have more than one service.”
“It has four, but this is the time we have to go so she can be there for the play. If we change on her, a panic attack will ensue and it won’t be pretty. I can’t do that to her.”
“What happens if she’s sick and can’t go or something happens to throw her schedule off?”
He shook his head. “Like I said, it’s not pretty. But usually when she’s sick, it’s not as bad because she’s too sick to care.”
The door to the kitchen opened and the girls rushed back in. “She’s almost ready,” Amy said and shut the door behind her. “Are we still taking the boat out today?”
“Of course.”
Olivia blanched. “What are you talking about?”
He frowned at her reaction. “I promised to take Amy out on the boat and let her go swimming after—”
A knock on the front door brought Olivia to her feet, her hand on her weapon. Wade tensed when she moved on silent feet to look out the window. He noticed her movements mimicked Katie’s from earlier. “It’s a woman on your front porch,” she said. “Come here and tell me if you recognize her.”
Wade stood and made his way to stand beside Olivia. She parted the curtains and he looked out. And relaxed. “That’s Joanna.”
“Joanna Clement. I recognize the name.”
“She’s Martha’s best friend and like another aunt to Amy.” Joanna stood at a statuesque five foot ten inches. Just about three inches shorter than Wade. “You can open the door,” he said. He liked Joanna, but even after all this time, her presence brought back memories of the past. He’d gotten used to them popping up in his mind whenever she was around and knew it was just because when Martha and Joanna were together, he kept expecting to see Pamela with them.
His dead wife, Pamela.
Joanna, Martha, and Pamela had been inseparable in high school. When he and Pamela had married the day after high school graduation, they’d been so young nothing much had changed for the three friends. He’d been happy to hang out with his guy friends while Pamela did the girl thing. And sometimes they gathered as couples. Always fun. Sometimes trouble. And then Amy had been born and Pamela had resented the intrusion of the baby. Taking care of an infant didn’t figure into her life of parties and nonstop fun. He frowned, not wanting to go down that path of thought.
“I remember her name, she’s on the list.” Olivia’s words shook him back to the present.
“The list?” he asked as she opened the door.
“Of people in your life who we did a background check on.”
“Compliments of my father?”
“Indeed.”
Joanna stepped inside, brows raised. “Hi?”
Wade gave her a brief hug. “Hi. What are you doing here?”
“Martha and I are going out after church, so she told me to bring my car over here and just ride with her.” Her curious gaze landed on Olivia. “Are you the bodyguard I’ve heard about?”
“One of them,” Olivia said and held out her hand.
Joanna shook it. “Nice to meet you.”
“And you.”
The kitchen door shut and footsteps sounded behind him. The girls hurried to him and Martha was right behind. She spotted Joanna. “Oh good, you’re here. Is everyone ready?”
Wade looked at Olivia. “So how does this work?”
“We can take your car, but it would be better to let me drive.”
“So you’re a chauffer too?”
She shrugged. “Comes with the territory.”
Wade considered telling her he would handle it from here on out, then looked at Amy. He gave Olivia a tight smile. “Then we’re ready when you are.”
[16]
Olivia pulled into the parking lot of the Celebration Community Church. Her stomach knotted at the thought of going inside. She always felt like such a hypocrite when she had to do “church duty” with a client. Shana had loved church, and for six years, Olivia had been a faithful attender with her foster family, had even gone some while she was in college. But once Shana died, she’d stopped going. The nagging knowledge that Shana would be disappointed often rose up to haunt her. Like now. She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. This was her job and she’d do it.
Haley pulled in beside them and climbed out. Whenever there was an active threat, when her clients were in public, Olivia preferred to have another member of her team with her as backup. Preferably two. And since Maddy was still in the hospital fighting for her life, they were all putting in extra hours until Charlie and Lizzie could join them on the schedule.
She stood beside the Armada and waited for the girls and Wade to exit the vehicle. “You take the girls. I’ll stick with Wade.”
Haley nodded and shoved her earpiec
e in. She looked at Olivia, who’d already placed hers in her ear. “Can you hear me?”
“Crystal clear.”
“Excellent.” She turned to the wide-eyed preteens. “Why don’t you girls show me where you’re supposed to go?”
Amy eyed her. “We go to the youth room.” She glanced at her dad, then at Olivia. “But I . . . I think I want to stay with my dad.”
“No you don’t,” Stacy said. “They’re having donuts and stuff, remember? And we’ve got one more rehearsal for the play this morning, then all the parents are coming in.” She looked at Olivia. “It’s so cool. We’re up on the stage and they play a movie behind us and we interact with the characters in the movie and—anyway, it’s cool.” She turned her attention back to Amy. “Let’s go.”
“We just ate. I’m not hungry and I don’t want to be in the play anymore. My part is so small, it won’t matter if I’m in it or not.” Amy edged closer to her father.
Wade placed a hand under Amy’s chin and tilted her face up to his. “Hon, you were really looking forward to this. Do you remember what we talked about?”
Amy shifted. “I remember.” A shudder went through her, followed by a look of rising panic.
“It’s okay. Hold my hand and breathe. We’ll go inside and you can think about it.”
“I don’t need to think about it. I don’t want to be in the play now. I want to stay with you.”
Stacy frowned. “Come on, Amy. I’ll be with you. And the youth room is right across the hall from the auditorium if you want to leave and go sit with your dad.”
Amy looked like she might change her mind and go with her friend, then shook her head and leaned against Wade.
Stacy shrugged. “Okay, I guess I’ll see you later then. If I wasn’t in the play too, I’d stay with you.”
“It’s okay. I might come later.” Amy watched her friend walk away and took two steps to go after her, then stopped and reached for her dad’s hand. Stacy disappeared through the double glass entry doors just ahead. Wade looked pained but didn’t say anything, just clasped his daughter’s fingers and started for the same glass doors.
People streamed in from the parking lot, and Olivia kept her eyes on everyone who waved or spoke to Wade and his family. The news reports had downplayed the story, thanks to the intervention of the mayor. No one seemed intent on trouble or overly interested when expressing their concern. And that was the problem with some stalkers. Sometimes they just weren’t obvious. She stepped up next to Wade. “Any word from Stacy’s mother?”
“No. Not even a text. It’s got me more than a little worried.”
“I can ask Quinn to see if he can locate her.”
“Let’s see if she shows up for church. If she’s not here like we’d planned, then I’ll definitely be concerned.”
She nodded. “When we get in there, could you please sit on the end of a row? I don’t want you to have to step over people if we have a reason to exit quickly.”
His jaw tightened and she thought he might say no as he opened the door for Amy, Martha, and Joanna. They stepped through and into the lobby area of the church, and he gave a short nod.
“Vicky!” Amy called as soon as she crossed the threshold. A young girl about Amy’s age turned and the two girls hugged.
That middle spot between Olivia’s shoulders tingled. She stayed alert. She wished she’d insisted Wade stay home this morning, but that was one of the whole points in hiring personal bodyguards. So one didn’t have to stay behind closed doors, so one could carry on with life feeling confident that someone had his back.
Still. Someone had tried to blow them up yesterday.
Olivia kept her eyes on Wade and the people around him. Martha and her friend Joanna stood about a foot from Haley, speaking with two other ladies. Amy and the girl she’d called Vicky moved to a stand serving coffee and other treats.
“Apparently the donut lovers aren’t limited to the youth,” Olivia said.
Wade nodded. “We have about ten minutes before the service starts. It should start clearing out in here pretty quickly.”
“I’d feel more comfortable if you would go find a seat. It’s too hard to keep an eye on everyone with so many people around. Haley’s going to be in the balcony watching the crowd throughout the service. I want a bird’s-eye view of this place.”
From the corner of her eye, she saw Martha disappear into the auditorium and Joanna keep walking until she disappeared into the room at the end. “Where’s Joanna going?” Olivia asked.
“She volunteers to count money the first and third Sunday of the month.”
Olivia nodded. “All right. She’s taken care of then.”
Others followed Martha into the auditorium, and to Olivia’s relief, she saw Wade was right. The crowd thinned considerably.
“Wade?”
He turned at the voice. With a subtle step, Olivia placed herself in between Wade and the woman heading toward them. A quick glance behind her showed Amy still in the line. Her nerves twitched. She didn’t like Amy and Wade being so far apart when she was the only one to watch both of them. She turned back to see the woman still coming. Olivia could see both hands, one at her side, the other clasping her purse. Olivia’s gaze traveled upward. She made a mental note of the smile on the woman’s ruby red–glossed lips. Five seven or eight, slightly overweight, but with a graceful stride and a mane of gorgeous red hair, she didn’t slow her approach or seem to take note of Olivia’s protective stance.
Wade reached out his hand to the woman and Olivia did her best to hover without being suffocating. The two clasped hands, and while the woman gave Olivia a dismissing glance, she kept her smile wide, revealing perfect white teeth—and her pleasure at seeing Wade.
“Erin,” Wade said. “I’m so glad you’re here. You really had me worried when you didn’t answer your phone all weekend.”
“I’m so sorry. I had turned my phone off for the conference and never turned it back on all weekend.”
Olivia eyed her. What mother turned her phone off and didn’t call her children for days? A slack one? One who was overworked and overtired? It rankled her, but she stayed silent. The woman had made sure Stacy would be taken care of during her absence. It was a lot more than some parents bothered with. “I was just leaving the hotel for the drive in this morning when I saw your calls,” the woman said. “Is everything all right? Is Stacy really okay?” Her shadowed eyes conveyed her worry.
“Stacy’s fine, it was just an exciting weekend, to say the least.” He gave a brief explanation of what was going on with him, leaving Olivia’s part in the incident out of the telling. Erin’s eyes widened to about three times their normal size. The woman placed a hand over her chest. “Oh my goodness. That’s awful.” She hugged him, then stepped back. “I’m so glad you’re all right!”
“I am too, thanks.” Wade gestured toward Olivia. “This is my . . . um . . . friend, Olivia Edwards. Olivia, this is Erin Abbott, Stacy’s mother. In case you hadn’t figured that out yet.”
“I did.” Olivia nodded and Erin gave her a brief smile. Speculation sparkled in her suddenly narrowed eyes, along with a coldness that gave Olivia a slight shiver. Now the woman wasn’t quite so dismissing. Olivia noted she was being sized up. Erin thought she was competition. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too.” She heard the insincerity in the greeting and couldn’t stop the sudden surge of compassion for the woman. Wade would never be interested in her romantically. Which immediately put her on the suspected stalker list.
Erin then air-kissed the area around Wade’s left cheek. “Again, thank you so much for keeping Stacy this weekend. And I apologize for not being more in touch. I’ve just been overwhelmed with work, not to mention having my hands full with the younger ones.” Her lashes fluttered a bit in a flirtatious expression that made Olivia bite the inside of her cheek. Underneath the makeup and overbright expression, she could see faint shadows beneath the woman’s eyes. She didn’t have it quite as together
as she wanted everyone to believe, with her well-packaged body and perfectly made-up face.
Wade smiled. “No problem. Stacy and Amy would be inseparable if we’d let them.”
“I know.” She pursed her lips and gave a mock pout. “I listened to your show Friday night. It sounded like you were live, then it went to a recorded one. Is that when everything started happening?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I just hope they catch whoever is doing this. That’s just wrong. And quite frankly, I don’t know what I’d do without you on the weekends. Just listening to you talk and handle all those crazy callers makes me see that my life isn’t nearly as wretched as others’. It gets me through my week, so you be careful, you hear?”
“I hear.” Wade shifted, and Olivia caught the embarrassed hunch of his shoulders and the heightened color in his cheeks. Yet he stayed cool and kept the smile on his face. “And I’m glad you find value in the show.”
“Oh I do. And I know I’m not the only one.”
Olivia let her gaze roam, moving from person to person, watching facial expressions, body movements. She let her eyes land on the donut stand, searching for Amy.
Who wasn’t there anymore.
Neither was Vicky.
“Stacy went to the youth room. She knows to meet you at your usual spot after church,” she heard Wade say. Again, Olivia panned the area.
No Amy. Or Vicky.
Olivia frowned. Erin Abbott walked off with one last wave to Wade and a short nod for Olivia. Olivia touched Wade’s arm. “Amy’s wandered off. Where would she go?”
“What?” Wade turned.
“Amy, I don’t see her. Where would she go?” There were simply too many people. She should have insisted they forgo church. But the client was the boss and she had to work within the limits of that fact.
Wade frowned and made a beeline for the donut stand. He started asking the people near him if they’d seen Amy and her friend Vicky. Olivia stayed near him and kept her gaze roaming in an arc. From the door to her right, to the area in front of her and around to the door to her left. No Amy.
“No one remembers seeing her,” he said.
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