Page 81 of Archer

I’m right here, Harper.

He was out there in the darkness, watching. And he didn’t like what he saw.

Chapter 25

Archer

My phone rang again before I could set it down. Colton’s name appeared this time.

Harper moved around her kitchen, unable to be still. I didn’t blame her.

Sitting around when there was work to do had never been my strength. Unfortunately, the work I had to do was on a seemingly perpetual hold until we located Jeremy Webb.

I answered the call with a chip on my shoulder, because how was one middle-aged man getting away with all this? “Stone.”

“I’m trying to get a location on Webb’s IP address,” Colton said.

Harper looked toward the device in my palm. “How long will that take?”

“Not long. He’s active right now, which makes it easier. Thought I’d get you on the line.”

Harper leaned her backside against the kitchen countertop, one hand gripping the marble top on each side of her. “He saw,” she whispered, gaze distant. “He watched us.”

Angry as I was at the invasion of privacy, my heart broke for hers, because this asshole kept taking more.

He’d locked in on a few moments that hadn’t been about him and found a way to ruin them.

I went to her and offered my hand. When she accepted, I pulled her against my chest and held her. Over the top of her head, I scanned the cottage. Every window was a potential vantage point. I wanted to pack her up and leave the country.

“Got him.” Colton’s voice carried an edge of satisfaction. “He’s using a marine Wi-Fi hotspot. Signal’s coming from offshore.”

My gaze jerked to the sliding glass doors at the back of the house. “How far?”

“I’m running the triangulation now. Signal strength suggests... maybe a quarter mile out. Hold on.” Keyboard keys clicked in the background. “Yeah. Definitely not nearby.”

Harper tipped her head back to look at me. “On the boat he rented.”

“Has to be,” Colton confirmed through the speaker. “With the right equipment, he’d have a clear line of sight to the cottage.”

“Binoculars?” she asked.

Colton made a noncommittal sound. “That’s possible. More likely a high-powered scope.”

“Telescope?” she asked.

I ground my teeth, because the only scope that came to my mind had a rifle attached.

“Ah,” Colton said, likely thinking the same thing as me. “I’ll check with the rental company to see what the boat was outfitted with. Maybe it was set up for dolphin watching.”

I rolled my eyes, thankful Harper didn’t see.

So, Webb had been sitting out there in the dark, watching Harper through her windows, when lurking near the scrub grass was no longer an option.

“I’m calling the Coast Guard while I’ve got his location,” Colton said. “They can intercept.”

“Do it. Send Knox and Nash our way when you’re done.”

I ended the call and tucked the phone into my pocket. I pressed a kiss to Harper’s crown, then moved toward the windows. I stayed off to the side, peering between curtain panels at the dark water beyond the beach. No lights visible. No movement. Just endless black water meeting a darker sky.