Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 100853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
We were milling around, waiting for the gong to ring, calling us all to the table, when a knock sounded on the front door. I turned to see Hawk striding that way, anticipation lighting his dark eyes. Quinn followed, her massive guard dog Ginger next to her, her hand on the dog’s head.
Hawk swung the door open, his usually somber face splitting into a wide grin. “Ryder Vale! Good to see you again.”
They leaned in, slinging an arm around each other’s shoulders and patting backs.
“You too, man,” Ryder said.
The three newcomers entered, shutting the door behind them. The one Hawk had called Ryder was taller than Hawk, with broad shoulders, his short black hair in a cut that made me think of the military, and clear gray eyes that swept the room, leaving me with the feeling he’d cataloged each of us and filed us away.
Beside him stood a petite woman. She barely reached his shoulder, slender, with sandy blonde hair in loose waves around her face and greenish-hazel eyes. She looked delicate, but something about the way she stood—hands in her pockets, eyes scanning the room the same way Ryder’s had—made me think, despite her size, she was just as dangerous as the others.
And then there was the third, standing slightly behind the woman and Ryder. He was a little shorter than Ryder, with chocolate brown hair and eyes of the exact same shade. Unlike the other two, his stance was more relaxed. He looked easygoing—the kind of guy you’d drink a beer and shoot the shit with. But if this was the team Griffen and Hawk were expecting, I knew that was as much an illusion as the woman’s delicacy.
“We’re about to eat dinner,” Hawk said. “You guys get anything on the way?”
“Nope,” Ryder said. “We figured we’d get here in time.”
“You did,” Griffen said, striding up. “Good to see you again.”
He went through the same hug ritual Hawk had and then turned to the other two, shaking hands with a nod. Turning, he let out a loud whistle that had the entire family coming to attention.
“It’ll take a minute for these three to learn all your names, but we’ll go through it anyway. Sawyers, this is Ryder Vale.” Griffen indicated Ryder, then the other two, as he said, “Eli Bishop and Wren Calder. They’re going to be here to help us out with the Haywood situation. If they tell you to do something, you do it the same way you would for Hawk and anyone on his team, got it?”
I nodded along with everyone else in assent. I hated that we needed this, but I was glad as hell that my family was safer for them being here.
Griffen turned to the newcomers. “There’ll be a test on this later, but I’ll go around. This is my wife, Hope,” and he began the introductions.
I had a feeling Ryder, Eli, and Wren would pass the name test with flying colors if they were challenged to identify any of the people they’d been introduced to. But Griffen didn’t ask—just led us all into the dining room.
Paige met my eye and sent me a short smile before she and Miss Martha herded the kids to the breakfast table. We rarely used it, but we’d left it just in case. Every once in a while, it came in handy.
Finn and Savannah had set up the evening meal as a buffet, similar to breakfast, making it easier for them to haul everything up in the dumbwaiter and join the family for dinner. The meal was half family talk and half strategy, though there wasn’t much to the strategy at this point—at least nothing they’d shared. The plan was for Hawk to show Ryder, Eli, and Wren through the systems he had in place. They were going to run scenarios and try to figure out the most likely ways people trying to claim the bounty would come at Heartstone to get to me.
Ryder said at one point, with a heavy look at Griffen and then Hawk, “What you need is to neutralize Haywood.”
“Easier said than done,” Griffen replied.
“True,” he agreed. “But we talked to Emmett and Lucas before we left. I have some ideas.”
Griffen nodded instead of asking for more explanation. I could have asked myself, but I was distracted by the prospect of talking to Miss Martha after dinner, and I knew there would be plenty of time to learn the plan. They were the experts; I was not.
I did catch Hawk saying, “Any word from Silas?” and Ryder’s solemn head shake in response.
“No. He didn’t explain what pulled him away,” Ryder said. “And he’s been out of contact more than usual.”
“What do you think’s going on?” Griffen asked.
“We don’t know. I still can’t believe he sold the unit to Sinclair,” Wren said, her voice as clear as a bell, dripping with indignation. She let out a short huff of breath. “Nothing against Sinclair—they’re a great company, solid—but we’ve always operated on our own.”