Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“Hannah, just carry the backpack to the car,” Sam commanded.
“Is that an order or a suggestion?”
She knew her father well.
I wanted her home with me because I’d nearly lost her, but I also felt like her life had been out of her control earlier in the evening, and reclaiming some of that by fussing over George and making sure, with her own eyes, that he would be all right was exactly what she needed to get some of her power back. More importantly, she would pace like a wild animal in a cage if she was not allowed to hover over George.
“Let’s go,” Sam rumbled, gentle as always with his daughter, heading toward the open front door Ian and George had just left through.
“Yes,” she squealed, dutifully holding the backpack, waiting for him but almost squirming with the need to be in the same car as the two men.
Sam ran over to me, gave me a quick kiss, barked several commands in jargon at Eli, and ended with a “thank you” that clearly didn’t happen often, judging from the startled look on the man’s face. He was gone seconds later.
“She always has to go with George,” Jake grumbled from the kitchen, as annoyed over Hannah’s departure as, I was guessing, he was the whole potato debacle.
“He’s hurt,” Harper reminded him.
Jake shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.”
“Lemme take a look at your potatoes,” Harper suggested, joining Jake at the stove.
“Shall we all go to the office?” Eli asked the two detectives.
“Mr. Hunt killed two men in a matter of seconds,” Ochoa informed Eli instead of answering. “He would have put a bullet in the third, but he ordered the man not to get up, and the guy swore on his mother’s life that he wouldn’t.”
“What’s your point?”
“My point is that we’re not going to charge him, as both men threatened the life of all the kids, but deadly force, as you know, is not something we condone.”
“He was hurt in combat,” Eli stated quickly. “On his return, instead of reporting to the hospital, he checked on the whereabouts of Hannah Kage, went to her location, and found her and others fighting for their lives. What would you have had him do differently?”
“He could have ordered them to drop their weapons.”
“He’s not a member of law enforcement, he’s a soldier and a bodyguard, and as such is allowed to exercise lethal force in the discharging of his duties,” Eli apprised the detectives before he turned to Callahan and Redeker. “Is Ms. Ricci’s lawyer here?”
“In the car,” Callahan answered even as he smiled over at me. It wasn’t the time for us to be introduced, but my nod, I hoped, thanked him for being there. “We’re ready to transport Ms. Ricci, if she’s good to go.”
Gianni tipped his head toward the door, and Carlo bolted out the front, no doubt to check to see if Callahan was telling the truth.
“Are you ready, Ms. Ricci?” Eli asked her.
The young woman in question was holding on to Kola’s hand. “You’ll call me, right? You promised you would.”
He nodded and smiled, but I saw, because I knew him, that it didn’t reach his eyes.
“You saved my life, Kola,” she reminded him, and her voice cracked. “I’ve never seen anything so selfless in my life, and that tells me what a great guy you are.”
He patted her hand.
“I need a great guy in my life,” she said with a sigh as Carlo opened the front door and stepped back into my house.
“Bailey is out there,” he told Gianni. “We’re all set.”
“Okay,” Gianni affirmed, turning to Alessia. “We need to go now. Your father is blowing up my phone. He’s going to meet us downtown, and he’ll sit in with you and Bailey and the marshals and the cops.”
Leaning sideways, she kissed Kola’s cheek, and he eased her into his arms and hugged her before she finally stood up, and Gianni put his arm protectively around her and began to lead her toward the front door. She stopped suddenly and looked over at me.
“I’m so sorry that I put your family in danger.”
“Not any part of this was your fault,” I assured her. “Stay safe, Alessia.”
She nodded.
I glanced at Gianni. “I’m sure you’ll make certain she has better protection going forward.”
“You can count on it, Mr. Harcourt.”
I smiled at him, and wonder of wonders, he smiled back. I liked how careful he was as he led Alessia out our front door, with Callahan and Redeker right behind them. Eli came over and shook my hand.
“Thank you for everything,” I told him. “I appreciate you being here right as everyone showed up. I’m not great with things that affect my kids.”
“Of course,” he assured me. “I was glad to be of service.”
“And thank you for taking care of the rest of the video. I wouldn’t have wanted anyone to see Hannah. It’s bad enough everyone saw Kola.”