Page 2 of Axel (Reed Hawthorne Security #6)

Savvy

I’ve spent more time than I want to admit over the past couple of months thinking about Hunter and what he said at the cabin.

He’s still angry with me because of what I said when we met.

I didn’t mean to insult all military guys.

Really, I didn’t. He just caught me on a bad day. And my ex really hurt me.

The next time I see him, I’ll apologize. Although I may not see him again. I haven’t yet, and it’s been months. Huh, that makes me sad. Do I want to see him again?

It doesn’t matter. I need to find Bob and give him the good news.

I finally got both sides to agree to the sale of the old furniture store and can’t wait to tell him.

Bob is not only my boss, but he’s also the reason I’m a successful real estate agent today.

And we were working together on the furniture store.

The seller is Bob’s dad. He’d want to hear that this deal is finally going through.

I walk into Bob’s office. He’s not there.

“Maggie, do you know where Bob is?” I ask his assistant.

She smiles. “Oh, hi, Savvy. Yes, Bob is at his warehouse on Diamond Street. He told me he’d be there all morning and to take messages if anyone called.”

“Okay, thank you!” I say as I head toward the door.

“Savvy, wait!”

I turn back.

“He told me not to let anyone bother him today. I shouldn’t have said anything,” Maggie says, frowning.

“Oh, okay. Thanks for letting me know. I have another errand I’ll run instead.” The last thing I need is Maggie trying to stop me. I know Bob better than her, and he would want to hear this.

She smiles. “You’re glowing. Did you get good news?”

“Yes, both sides finally agreed on all the terms. It should close in a few weeks.”

“That’s wonderful! Congratulations.”

I give her a nod and push the door open with my back. It’s late summer, and the weather is perfect. It adds to my sunny mood.

The short drive to Bob’s building is scenic, with views of the ocean from a bridge. It’s very different from where I grew up in northern Connecticut. I’ll never get sick of the ocean.

Bob bought his building several years ago.

It’s near the docks, and Bob mentioned starting a side hustle of renting fishing gear.

I’ve been to his building a couple of times, but I’ve never been inside.

But on those occasions, Bob was expecting me and met me outside. I wonder if he’s renting out gear yet.

The parking spots in front of his building are all taken with a few large delivery trucks, so I park a block over. As I walk up, the front door is wide open. I step in and hear voices. Following them, they become clearer.

“Bob, I give you my word,” a man says.

“If that truck doesn’t come in today, I’m giving him your name,” Bob says.

His voice stops me in my tracks. I’ve never heard Bob angry. He’s always happy. Something must be wrong.

“It will be here,” the first man says.

A loud thud. “Dammit! Why didn’t you stick together as planned?” Bob asks.

“He didn’t tell me he was pulling off at the rest stop. Don’t worry. He has no idea what’s in the truck,” the man says.

“He better not. If he has any idea of the value of those weapons, he might sell them to make a fast buck,” Bob says.

Weapons? I swallow back a wave of bile. I shouldn’t be here. Bob can’t know I’m here.

I turn and slowly make my way out of the building.

“What’s that? Who’s here?” Bob asks.

I pick up my pace and run out the door and across the street. I duck behind a dumpster and peek out. Bob and another man step outside and look around. After a moment, they go back inside.

I must have misheard. Some guy is driving a truck of weapons to Bob’s building. What would Bob need with a truck of weapons?

Before I am able to leave, another car pulls up, blocking the road. I scoot back down out of sight.

A man in a suit gets out of the passenger side, and another man wearing a dark coat and carrying a gun gets out of the driver’s side. They walk into Bob’s building.

Oh no. I don’t know what Bob has gotten himself into, but I don’t want any part of this. I run back to my car and get as far away from there as I can.

Even though I don’t want to go to the office, I have to. Maggie thinks I’m out running an errand. I can’t have her believing I went to Bob’s. That’s when the idea hits me. I drive straight to Maria’s place. Then I call her.

“I need a favor,” I say when she answers her phone.

“Well, something must be wrong since you called. You never call.”

That’s not entirely true, but I don’t have time to argue.

“I really need you to come with me now to my office and walk in like it’s urgent. I can explain more on the way. I’m parked out front.”

I’m met with silence.

“Maria?”

“Yes, I’m here. I was checking my calendar to make sure I have time. All right. I’ll be right out.”

“Thank you!”

Five minutes later, Maria is in my car, and we are driving to my office.

“I can’t go into details, but I need Maggie to think I went straight to your house once I left the office. You called me because you saw a listing and insisted I come get you. We are swinging by the office to check on the listing before we drive out to see it.”

Maria smiles. “And where did you really go once you left?”

I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter. She thought I was going to see our boss, but I didn’t, and I don’t want to get into trouble.”

“Okay, I got you.”

I met Maria a couple of years ago through another friend, and we meshed instantly. Since then, we talk several times a week, and she’s been there any time I’ve needed someone.

I park in front of the office, and I’m nervous. “Follow my lead,” I say.

We step into the office, and Maggie spots us. “Back so soon?”

I smile. “Yes, Maria called as I was walking out the door to discuss a property. I picked her up, and after I check on some details, we will be going to see it. Maria, let’s go to my office.”

Once inside, I close the door. “I’m going to print some information about a property, and then we can leave.”

Maria nods. “Sounds good.”

We don’t talk again until we are back in my car.

“Thank you. I’ll drop you back home.”

“And where will you be going?”

I glance over at her. “Home.”

She shakes her head. “You are not going to convince me that you did all that so you could take some time off. You don’t need to do that. Besides, what if Maggie realized who I was? Hunter and I just bought a cabin last month.”

She’s right. Maggie might remember because I work in commercial real estate and usually don’t touch residential deals. I used to dabble in residential real estate and kept the license, so I was able to help out my friend.

“Hopefully, she doesn’t remember,” I say.

Maria stares at me, and I know she won’t stop asking.

“Look, I saw something I shouldn’t have, and now I need to make sure no one knows I saw it. Sorry to be vague, but trust me, it’s better you don’t know.”

“Wait, are you in danger?” Maria asks.

I shake my head. “As long as no one finds out I was there, I’ll be fine.”

“Where is there?”

“It’s better that I don’t say.”

“Okay, but what if someone did see you?”

That is something I’m worried about.

“Does he have security cameras?” she asks.

“I don’t know. I didn’t think to look.”

Bob does have a security system at his house. Why wouldn’t he also have one at the warehouse?

“He has one at his house. If he saw me, he might send someone for me.”

“Oh my God, Savvy! I’m calling my brother.”

I pull over and grab her phone from her hands. “No, we are not involving Hunter.”

“But he protects people for a living. He’d know what to do.”

“No!” I shout. I close my eyes and grip the steering wheel. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. What I need right now is time to think everything through.”

Maria takes my hand in hers. “Then stay at my place. Please don’t go home. I’ll worry about you.”

I shouldn’t have said anything to her. Maria will worry. “How about this? I’ll drive up and stay at my cabin. As far as Maggie’s concerned, I’m out showing you a house, so I’ll say I was close and plan to stay there for a couple of days.”

Maria nods. “Okay, but I want you to text me when you get there and every hour.”

I laugh. “I’m not texting you every hour.”

“Then I’ll text you, and you better respond.”

I lean over and hug her. “Thank you for being a good friend. Now let me get you home. I’ve disrupted your day enough already.”

The rest of the drive is quiet, and thankfully, she doesn’t insist on coming with me. I swing by my place and grab a few things before hitting the road to my cabin. It’s actually the perfect spot to think over everything that has happened.

Bob, what the hell did you get yourself into? And why? He has a great real estate business. It’s not like he needs the money. None of this makes any sense. Maybe he was threatened into helping those guys. And now he’s in so far he can’t get out.

No, the why doesn’t matter. I can’t work for him. But I can’t afford to quit. Dammit!

On the way to the cabin, I stop and grab some groceries. As I’m carrying the last load into the cabin, my phone rings .

It’s Bob.

My hands shake, and I hurry to set down the grocery bag before I drop it. Did he see me and now he’s trying to find me? Only one way to find out.

“Hello?”

“Savvy, hello! It’s Bob. Look, I have a potential buyer coming in tomorrow, and I’m hoping you can show him a property out near Croton Falls.”

I sigh in relief. That’s actually not too far from where I’m at. “Yes, I can do that.”

“Great. Try to get there early. This client is very particular about promptness,” Bob says.

“I’m always early.”

Bob chuckles. “That’s true. A word of warning.”

My heart is beating so hard that I almost wonder if Bob can hear it through the phone. “Warning?” I ask.

“This client, Clinton, has a history of making offers and then retracting them after I’ve gone to all the trouble of filling out all the forms.”

That doesn’t sound like a good client. “Why are you still working with him?”

Bob sighs. “He’s a good guy. Unfortunately, he’s not as thorough as he should be. Tomorrow, make sure he looks at every aspect of the property, all right? I don’t want him second-guessing himself again.”

“Okay.” I can’t imagine ordering a client to look harder at a property, but I guess that’s what I’ll be doing.

A horn honking comes through the phone. Bob is on the road.

“Oh, and Clinton may seem creepy, but he’s harmless. ”

Harmless? That’s not comforting. “Are you sure about that?” Now I’m worried about Clinton.

Bob laughs. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll be fine. Pretend I never said anything. I’ll text you his contact information. Thanks for this.” He ends the call before I can ask any more questions.

I pull up the address for the property. It was once an auto shop, but I’m not sure what it is now. Based on the map, there appears to be a diner across the street. I dial it up.

“Hello, Main Street Diner,” a woman answers.

“Hello, could you tell me if there is an auto shop across the street from you?”

A bell dings, and I can imagine a bell above the door of the restaurant.

“There used to be.” She doesn’t say more.

“Can you tell me what business took over that space?”

She laughs. “None, it’s abandoned. I’m guessing you haven’t been to this town. We’re about the only business left. But not for long if things don’t change.”

Abandoned? My heart rate picks up. Is there really someone meeting me there, or is this a way to get me alone somewhere?

“Oh, sorry to hear that. Is there a for sale sign on that building?”

“Just a minute.” She sets the phone down with a clunk. About thirty seconds later, she returns. “Nope. No sign.”

“Okay, thank you for your time.” I end the call.

No sign. Is the place even for sale? I grab my laptop and log in to my office. I want to know the layout and history of this place. If I’m walking into a trap, I need to be prepared.

I read through all the notes. The building has been on the market for years with no takers. The more I read, the more unsettled I am.

I notice a missed text on my phone.

Maria: Hunter is going to be at the cabin this weekend. You should talk to him. Let him decide if you need protection.

Hunter is close by. My stomach flutters. No, why am I reacting this way? Because I’m scared. That has to be it.

Maybe Maria is right, and I should talk to Hunter. I could convince him to come with me. Well, maybe after I apologize. That is assuming he will even talk to me at all. I have to try. I have a bad feeling about this building.