Page 45 of Blake

He pulled away with a growl and looked up at her. “That’s how we should start every morning.”

Pax smiled and looked around. “Any news?”

Blake stood and started packing his laptop away. “Your father had a good night and is stable. He came around briefly but is sleeping a lot. Your mum has gone home but is coming back later to be with him. Do you want to go and see him before we head back to the hotel?”

Pax frowned and pursed her lips as she contemplated that. “No. Let’s get moving. I want to try and see Sally today.”

Blake moved to the door, his arms rippling as he carried the bag in one hand and opened the door with the other, keeping his body in front of hers again, always protecting her.

Once in the car he drove to a coffee shop on the way back to the hotel and picked up a caramel latte and a pastry for her and an Americano with cream for him.

“Have you heard from the others?” she asked as she chewed the apricot pastry and ignored the fact it was probably going straight to her hips along with the muffin from last night.

He glanced across at her with a grin twitching his lips at the enjoyment on her face. “Yes, Waggs called me earlier. Decker has Lopez working on the background checks and he has an appointment with Clark Baker for the fake magazine article later today.”

Pax looked at him as she brushed the crumbs from her legs. “Doesn’t that seem odd to you? Him being so available at short notice.”

“I thought so too, but Decker is damn good at what he does so we’ll have to leave that to him. Waggs is working his angle too, so we’ve arranged to meet tonight after we get new accommodation. I don’t want us going back to the hotel except to collect our stuff.”

“Do you think they’ll try again?” she asked a shiver going through her.

“I think they don’t want us to find out something and will do anything to protect it,” he said tone serious. “How do you want to play the meeting with Sally? Make an appointment or just turn up?”

Pax considered it for a moment as she watched people skating on the sidewalk. “Just turn up, I think. Catch her off guard. It might reveal more.”

“Good call,” he said with a slight nod of pride which made her happy inside.

Pax was quiet then as she considered things. Soon they reached the hotel’s car park and Blake parked as close to the door as possible. He ushered her out and quickly moved to the lift that sped them to their floor where he proceeded to check out the room before letting her in to gather her things.

Pax shoved everything into a bag which didn’t take long as she hadn’t unpacked a lot. Once done, he did a final sweep of the room, his eyes locking on the glass that had the bullet crack in it and ushered her out.

Once back in the car she asked the question that had been playing on her mind. “How come nobody called the police when we were shot at? I mean, I understand why we didn’t, but I would have thought someone would have called 911.”

Blake’s face was grim as it met hers. “Whoever was shooting knew enough to use a suppressor. There wouldn’t have been that much noise.”

“Oh! I guess I hadn’t thought of that.”

“It happened in a second, so you wouldn’t have necessarily taken in the fact that it was quiet. The sound of the glass being hit would have been loud to us but not necessarily enough for anyone else to hear it.”

The sun was shining bright and Pax was desperate to change into clean clothes, feeling dirty in the ones she had worn all night. “Will we go to the new place first or to Sally Nixon’s home?”

“Let’s get to the new digs so we can shower and change. My guess is Sally is at work, so we’ll have more chance of catching her tonight when she gets home. I also have a few emails from Lopez I need to check, and I need to call Jack.” He eyed her; his face gentle. “Have you told Evelyn or Roz about the attack or your father’s heart attack?”

Pax shook her head. “No.”

“You should, they would want to know. They care about you.”

Pax sighed. “I know. I will later.”

The truth was she didn’t want to tell them. She already felt weak. Admitting to these strong women her family was trying to kill her, and she still gave a shit about them was embarrassing to say the least. She knew they would have cut Robert Paxton’s head off rather than still care about him if they were the ones he had betrayed.

Chapter Twenty

Just over an hour later they pulled up at a beautiful suburban home that looked like an advert for a modern-day ‘Leave it to Beaver’ home. It was gorgeous and Pax instantly loved it.

“Where are we?” she asked turning to Blake.

She’d been too pre-occupied with the shit going on in her head to ask earlier. She saw a Ford truck and black SUV parked in the drive, neither of which she recognised.