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Her heart thumped quicker.
Easton smiled at her. “He is whooped over you.”
She only smiled back. It made her heart soar to think Hays was gone over her, but they had no future together.
They heard a splash, and she hurried toward the edge of the river, searching for his body in the powerful current.
The sun sparkling on the river made it hard to see, but she caught a glimpse of him down low. With quick, precise breast strokes, Hays progressed through the river current, so deep she could barely make out his strong form.
He cleared underneath the fence and kept going up the river. She and Easton walked along the riverbank with him until he angled for the bank and finally popped up at the edge. His body glistened. He was beautiful.
“That was insane,” Easton called out. “I’ve never seen someone swim like that or hold their breath that long.”
“Thank you.” He grinned and looked at her.
“Absolutely impressive, Superman,” she said.
“He’s Aquaman not Superman,” Easton interjected.
Elizabeth smiled. She’d never seen either show but had glimpsed magazine articles and ads during the news. “No. Hays is too pure and kind for Aquaman.”
Hays met her gaze and she hoped he knew that his purity and kindness were the best qualities a man could possess.
Easton’s phone buzzed. He answered it as Hays climbed up the bank and approached them. His lean and impressive build appealed to her, but his thoughtfulness and diligence in protecting her was even more appealing.
“They didn’t see you on the cameras,” Easton said to Hays.
“And if I can make that swim, guaranteed her father will find mercenaries who can too. And let’s not forget hand-held propellers and scuba tanks like we use on missions. They could get all the way to the lake without us knowing they’ve breached the property.”
Easton’s jaw was slack. He rubbed at it. “A metal grate extending to the bottom of the river, then?”
“As soon as you can install it,” Hays said. “And more cameras angled at this spot and upriver and at the lake. They could exit anywhere.”
Easton nodded. “Do you two feel up to doing a perimeter walk with me? Assessing any other spots we can beef up?”
Hays looked to Elizabeth.
“I’d like to keep walking,” she said. She wanted to be close to him no matter what.
They walked for over an hour. Hays found other security gaps. Most of them involved trees that could be utilized to get over the fence and a couple spots where the fence butted up against the mountain that could be a worry with good climbing gear.
After their walk, they went back to the main house to shower and have lunch. Hays and Jared spent time in the security office discussing different weak points and how to address them. Elizabeth sat in on the meeting, impressed by Hays’s knowledge. The man was a wealth of hidden talents. Everything about him made her feel safe.
They talked with Quaid again. Elizabeth had been searching her mind for any other information that could help him and shared some more people associated with Father for Quaid to relay to his FBI contacts and some other offshore properties Father owned through shadow companies.
Nothing had been said to the media about Elizabeth’s disappearance yet. There were a couple of obscure articles mentioning Benjamin Oliver attending events without his daughter for the first time in years. Her father lied that she was dealing with some health issues and asked for prayers to restore her health soon.
Smart. As always. Health issues could last as long as he wanted, and he could even kill her off with them. She knew he wouldn’t. The one mistake her father had made in his life was pinning all of his hopes of a presidential win on her. If he killed her, he’d have to groom another candidate or run himself. Either option would take years he didn’t have.
Elizabeth pitched in to help with dinner and Easton and Walker teased her when she didn’t know how to cut something properly, proclaiming she was ‘just like Jacey,’ an ultra-wealthy beauty who was willing to work. Hays didn’t say much about that, but his gaze said he appreciated her willingness to help.
Sheriff Clint came to eat and after dinner they went ‘target shooting’. It was impressive to watch all the men shoot bulls’ eyes with different shapes and sizes of guns. She’d never heard a bullet retort without feeling deaf and horrified for days. The ear protection Clint had given her to wear muffled the sound and the goodness of these men eradicated the usual feelings of fear.
Hays walked toward her as the men continued to shoot. He tugged her a fair distance away and pulled out one of the plugs in his ear, lifting off the heavy muffs she wore. “Would you like to shoot?” he asked.
She could only stare at him. Her? Shoot a gun? She’d never been allowed power like that. Staring into his deep brown eyes, she wondered how many gifts Hays was capable of giving her. Freedom, safety, exhilaration, joy, fun adventures, and now the ability to protect herself?
“I would love to,” she said.
