Page 50 of Stone Coast (Tyson Wild Thriller)

“ Y ou don’t listen very well,” Tyson said.

“We’ve already established my propensity to ignore good advice,” I replied dryly.

He just shook his head.

“I thought you had an obligation in Europe.”

“I should have never left you here by yourself.”

“I’m a grown woman. I can take care of myself.”

“How’s that working out for you?”

I sneered at him.

We drove in silence for a moment, listening to classic rock on the radio.

“Where are we going?”

“I’m taking you back to Coconut Key. You’re going to stay with me until I can sort this thing out. ”

“Oh, no! I’m staying right here. And I’m sorting this out.”

He gave me a look. “Like I said, how’s that working out for you?”

I frowned at him again. “You’re not the boss of me!”

“I’m trying to look out for you. Which is a difficult thing to do.”

I couldn’t argue. I had become a handful.

We rode for a while in silence.

In a meek voice, I asked, “Was I always this way?”

He gave me another look like I needn’t ask.

“Take me to my boat.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I haven’t been home in a day, and there are things I need.”

“Where’s your bug-out bag?”

“At Olivia’s.”

“How much does she know?”

“A little, but she’s mostly in the dark.”

My phone buzzed with a call from Preston. I answered, “What’s up?”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“He didn’t seem too thrilled,” he said, referring to Tyson.

“He’s getting over it. ”

Tyson looked at me, knowing the conversation was about him.

“I wanted to tell you Sierra was killed last night.”

“I heard. How?”

“Mugged. Don’t worry, you’re not a suspect. The whole thing was captured on video.”

“Who’s responsible?”

“Unknown. Two masked assailants attacked her at dusk in a parking lot. Took her suitcase of pharma samples and her purse.”

“I find it hard to believe that’s a coincidence.”

“Given your current predicament, I would steer clear of this one.”

“Both Grayson and Sierra were killed. I think it’s safe to say somebody wanted them silenced.”

“I don’t think your mugging was an accident, either,” Preston said. “I think you need to consider the fact that you know something, or more likely, someone is afraid you’re going to remember something. Perhaps something Grayson told you.”

I racked my brain, trying to recall my interactions with Grayson before the incident, but everything was still a blank. “Thank you again for everything.”

“That’s what I’m here for. Stay out of trouble, and call me if you need anything. Day or night.”

“Thanks, Preston.” I ended the call and caught Tyson up to speed. “I was beginning to think I was the target. But clearly it was the three of us. Maybe Ross isn’t behind this.”

“Whoever commissioned the hit is trying to cover their tracks.” He paused. “I need access to Grayson’s cell phone, computers, tablets. There has to be something in there.”

“His phone is still in the property department, as far as I know. They won’t release anything to me. I tried reaching out to his sister, but I’m not getting any cooperation on her end.”

“Do you happen to know Grayson’s cloud ID and password?”

I shook my head.

“No worries. That can be hacked.”

We pulled into the parking lot at Pelican Point. There were more than a few media types loitering around, but not quite the sizable horde that was at the Pineapple Bay Police Station.

"What do you want to do?" Tyson asked. "It's your call."

I took a deep breath, then steeled my resolve to face the vultures. "I'm not going to let anybody run me out of my home.”

Tyson found a place to park. We hopped out and made our way toward the dock. It took a second for the media to recognize us. When they did, they rushed in our direction. Soon, I was engulfed. Tyson fought them off as we pushed our way through the crowd. They shouted more of the same questions .

We hurried down the dock and boarded the Intrepid as the camera crews followed.

The boat was just as I'd left it. Nothing looked disturbed, but at this point, I couldn’t be sure.

I checked the fridge. There wasn't anything to eat. Tyson called his intel contact at Cobra Company, but he couldn't get hold of her.

"Do you have the key to Grayson's house?" Tyson asked.

"Actually, yes. He gave me a key before he…

" I still didn't want to say it, even though it seemed like an abstract concept.

Even after all this, Grayson was still a stranger to me.

"I'm not sure if his sister got the front door fixed after the invasion. She may have changed out the locks in the house.”

"Doesn't matter. There are ways around that. Does he have an alarm system?”

"You want to break in and rummage through his stuff?”

"I’d like to see what we can find.”

"You want me to violate a crime scene?”

Tyson chuckled. "You've done worse lately. Besides, you’re with a Coconut County deputy, and I have jurisdiction in this county, whether Scarborough likes it or not.”

I smiled. Tyson wasn't beyond bending the rules when it served his needs. I just didn’t know how far he was willing to go.

We left the boat and faced the mob once again .

I stood on the dock and gave them all an incredulous look. "You know I can’t answer any questions that pertain to my case. That would be foolish.”

"Did you commit the murders?” Tessa asked.

"If I give you a sound bite, will you leave me alone and give me a little privacy?"

They all hesitated and exchanged dumb looks.

Tessa took the lead. “I’ll ask one question, then I'll leave you alone, provided you agree to do a sit-down interview with me when your case is over."

"Deal,” I said. I waited on the dock in anticipation of her question.

“Who are you? Because you’re not Savannah Stone.”