Ozarks Witness Protection by Maggie Wells

Author:Maggie Wells
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2023-03-30T00:51:37+00:00

Chapter Ten

Ryan kicked a rock and sent it tumbling across the leaf-strewn ground. It came to rest at the base of a spindly pine tree, and so did he. Planting his hands on his hips, he turned to survey the property from ten feet beyond the invisible perimeter protected by the new security system installed at the Powers’s lake house. Truthfully, he was happy to be out of the frilly B&B.

It was too close, as far as he was concerned, but there wasn’t much he could do to secure the exterior.

The interior, on the other hand...

He smirked, recalling Kayla’s furrowed brow as she tried to follow the directions for accessing the smart home features. She made the technician repeat the various voice prompts three times. On the last attempt, she made the man turn on the voice-recording feature and run through each option. Then, she cross-examined the poor guy on the capabilities of each and every application.

Ryan had tossed his duffel into one of the upstairs guest rooms. It was two doors down from the primary bedroom. Far enough to give her the privacy she craved, but close. Maybe not as close as he’d like, given the massive scale of the place. But close enough.

Cutting through the woods, he circled the house, heading for the lakefront. When he broke from the trees onto the neatly maintained stretch of lawn, he made a mental note to see if he could get hold of an aerial view of the estate. If he was going to try to keep her safe out there, he needed a feel for the entire property from every possible angle.

Things had been quiet since the night of their intercepted food delivery. Too quiet.

Ryan had the uneasy feeling their every move had been watched and noted, but for the life of him, he couldn’t pick up any trace of Del Powers in the area. Huffing from frustration more than exertion, he crossed the sloping expanse of grass, half-wishing he had at least one more rock to kick. He’d stepped onto the native stone pavers leading down to the swimming dock and boat slips when his phone rang.

“Hastings,” he said in a brusque, business-like bark, even though the name on the screen informed him the caller was Ethan.

The lieutenant must have been in a similar mood because he didn’t bother with even the most cursory greeting. “What do you think about leaking the fact Senator Powers’s son might be a person of interest in the deaths of his uncle and cousin?”

Ryan stopped in his tracks and let out a low whistle. “I think you’re a braver man than I am. Why not try poking the hornet’s nest before yanking it down and wearing it as a hat?”

“Can’t be any worse than the heat I’m getting from the inside. I swear, the only person not calling to badger me about this case daily is Kayla.”

Both men fell silent for a moment, unspoken questions and hypotheses as to why the victim’s widow

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