“Me?”
I nod. “Yeah, I guess they're both worried that you're going to start taking over contracts or something,” I say. “They're really concerned about it.”
“Huh,” he says and leans back in his seat. “Interesting.”
“You're not – are you?” I ask. “Going to be developing the town like they are?”
It seems like he hesitates for a moment, but then he quickly shakes his head. “No, I'm not doing what they're doing, Paige,” he says. “I've already told you that.”
“I know,” she says. “But, they were really worried about it.”
He shrugs. “My company has a far reach,” he says. “We're the eight-hundred-pound gorilla and all of these other development companies are trying to catch up with us. It's not surprising that they're concerned to know I'm in Port Safira.”
“It's what the developer guy said that really worries me,” I say. “He said that he was taking care of you and that he has the situation with you under control.”
A shadow of concern crosses Liam's face but dissipates quickly. He runs a hand through his hair and looks out the window, lost in thought.
“Do you know what he means by that?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “Not the first clue,” he replies. “I will admit, it sounds kind of ominous.”
“It sounds really ominous,” I say. “Especially given the fact that you were attacked not all that long ago.”
“That was Brittany,” he says, waving me off. “Totally unrelated.”
“Is it?”
He looks at me for a long moment and I see his eyes widen slightly. He cocks his head and I see something in his eyes – something I can't quite put my finger on.
“This developer,” he says. “The one with the mayor. What's his name?”
“Moore,” I say. “Damon Moore. And he's a real asshole.”
A shadow of anger ripples across his face again, but he manages to suppress it once more. But, I can see the tension in his body and the tightness in his jaw. Something I had said struck a chord with him and set off alarm bells in his head.
“Damon Moore, huh?” he asks.
I nod. “Yeah.”
“Interesting.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Liam
I get off the helicopter and make my way to the elevator. Swiping my keycard, I step in when the doors slide open, pushing the button that will take me downwards. Rather than go to the floors that ADE occupies though, I take the elevator all the way to the ground floor.
I'm not in town for work today. I had to schedule a quick meeting with Adam.
I get off the elevator and head through the lobby of the building, stepping out onto the street. A driver is there waiting for me at the curb, so I cross the sidewalk and climb into the car. The driver shuts the door behind me and walks around, sliding behind the wheel.
“Where to, Mr. Anderson?” he asks.
I give the driver the address and lean back in my seat. As the car pulls off, I pull out my phone and check my emails. Not seeing anything of any particular importance, I scan the news. Nothing grabs my attention, so I put my phone back in my pocket and drum my fingers on my thigh impatiently.
I probably could have done this with a phone call, but I thought a face-to-face meeting would be better. Call me paranoid, but if Brittany is looking to have me killed, she could very well have people tapping my phones and snooping through my computers remotely. Better not to chance it and tip them off that I'm on to them. Plus, being unpredictable in my movements and not having a set public schedule will make it harder for them.
If they don't know I'm in Seattle, they likely aren't going to be able to set anything up ahead of time. I'd used a prepaid phone to contact Adam, asking him where he was going to be at a specific time today and told him I'd meet him there. After that, I'd destroyed the phone.
Yeah. I'm getting paranoid.
But, at least I can take solace in knowing my paranoia isn't without cause. I mean, Brittany did try to have me killed once already. And until the change of beneficiary paperwork is complete, I'm not going to take any unnecessary chances.
The car pulls into a parking lot and the driver shuts the engine off.
“We're here, Mr. Anderson,” he says as he climbs out of the car.
A moment later the door is opened, and I step out. The day is sunny, yet balmy, and a cool wind is blowing in off the Sound, making it seem much cooler than it actually is.
“Thank you, David,” I say. “I shouldn't be very long. Please stay with the car.”
“I'll be here waiting.”
I walk across the lot and enter the outdoor mall. It's teeming with people, locals and tourists alike. I make my way through the crowd, and find Adam sitting at a table near an outdoor cafe. He's wearing a ball cap pulled low and sunglasses and is sitting in his seat casually with a cup of coffee and a book at hand. He's obviously working a case and gives me a nod as I approach his table.
“Sorry if I'm blowing your cover,” I say as I take a seat across from him.
“Actually, you're improving it.”
I give him a grin. “Yeah? How so?”
“Person's less likely to look at me twice if I'm sitting here having a conversation with somebody,” he says. “When I'm sitting here with a book, all by myself, it can sometimes get a little dicey. If the person I'm tailing has half a brain anyway.”
“And today's target?” I ask. “Half a brain or no?”
“Oh, he's smart,” he says. “He's also arrogant as hell. Probably doesn't even realize I'm here because he's too busy preening for the chicks he's with.”
“What's the case?” I ask. “If I'm allowed to ask.”
“Workman's comp,” he says. “He claimed to have suffered a severe back injury on the job and can't work.”
“And?” I ask.
“Blue jacket with black wool cap, five o'clock. He's the guy with a couple of blondes,” he says. “Be subtle, but take a look and you tell me how bad this clown's back is.”
I lean back in my seat and take a subtle look back. I see the guy Adam's talking about. He's standing at a table in front of a pair of busty blondes, dancing. Dancing pretty well and moving about like a man free of back pain as far as I can tell. I've personally never seen somebody with crippling back pain able to move about as freely as this guy.
“Yeah, I'd say you've got a pretty open and shut case,” I laugh and shake my head. “You got a camera on you?”
Adam points to a decorative pin on his hat. “High definition,” he says.
“You have the coolest toys.”
“That I do.”
I hear the blondes squealing with delight and I take another quick look back to see the guy Adam's watching doing standing back springs. I just shake my head.
“What an idiot,” I say. “If you're going to try to take advantage of your company, at least be smart about it.”
“If these morons were smart about it,” Adam says. “I'd be out of a job.”
“Good point.”
He takes a drink of his coffee and chuckles. “So, what's the emergency?” he asks. “I mean, I'm assuming that the only thing that can pry you out of your little peninsula hideaway and away from the lovely Paige Samuels is an emergency.”
I stare at him slack-jawed for a moment as I rack my brain. I know I never mentioned Paige's last name to him.
“I'm very good at what I do,” Adam says as if that explains everything, a mischievous grin on his face.
“How in the world could you have known her last name?”
“It wasn't hard, really,” he replies. “Do you know how many bookstore owners live in Port Safira who go by the name of Paige?”
I chuckle and rub the stubble on my chin. “I'm going to go with one.”
“You would be correct,” he says.
“So, you ran a background check on her, did you?”
“Nothing too deep or invasive,” he replies. “I just wanted a little information. I wanted to make sure there was nothing about her that sent up red flags for me. After what Brittany put you through –”
“Yeah, I could have used you back then,” I chuckle.
“Yeah, you could have.”