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I leaned back, affronted. “I don’t know which offends me more, that you think I couldn’t afford this or that I don’t have any friends.”
“I never said you couldn’t afford it, just that I hadn’t expected you to. And I’m not surprised that you have friends, only the kind that don’t bat an eye at kidnapping.”
“Oh, they batted an eye all right. Will nearly batted me with his fist. But I convinced them I had it all under control.”
Her gaze remained in the distance as well. “All under control, huh? How’s your plan working out for you now?”
I breathed a long breath through my nostrils and out. “Fucking terrible,” I admitted.
She laughed. This time, it was real.
“Yeah, I’ll say.”
She crossed her legs and leaned back against the chair with her hands clasped on her stomach.
“Was I really that difficult that you felt you had to go to such extreme lengths?”
“Well, you did try to lose me in traffic, and jumped out of a courthouse window. So, yes, I thought extreme lengths were necessary.”
She smiled, and my breath hitched. I refocused on business.
“I received some information last night that pressed me to act sooner rather than later.”
“What information?”
“Jager, one of my business partners, found evidence that this man followed your mother from D.C. to New York. This guy has also been inside her office and this morning he tried to get inside her apartment building. He’s not letting this go.”
She sighed and pushed back her hair with both hands.
“My poor mother.”
Finally, some concern. I may have regretted scaring her, but I was glad to hear her taking this seriously.
“Don’t worry. Your mother is protected. But she won’t be safe until we catch the guy. We have the police on it now, but he’s still out there.”
“When we get back, I’ll check if any civil charges have ever been brought up against him. Do you have a name?”
“Yes, Norman Fields. But it could be an alias.”
She nodded, lost in thought. Her skin glowed from the water’s reflection. Despite it being November, the sun speared a soft ray through a thick gray cloud. Her lips pouted as she considered something.
I smiled as a thought popped into my head. “I probably should have just invited you on my boat to get your attention.”
I saw her smile in my periphery and my pulse kicked up a notch.
“Yeah, you should have. It would have been a lot more impressive than the white van and balaclava.”
I chuckled. “Right. I tend to have these brilliant ideas after my really bad ones.”
Her eyes twinkled with mischief. “That’s unfortunate.”
I laughed louder, this time from my belly. I knew she hadn’t forgiven me yet, but at least she could tease me. And that felt pretty damn good.
“How long until we get to shore?”
I glanced down at my watch. “Probably another hour or so.”
She nodded. “Well, since I’m here. Can you show me around?”
