Page 72

“Your cat is asleep on the guesthouse sofa,” Sofia says. “He watched me refresh his water, accepted two pieces of chicken, and returned to the cushion as if I were dismissed.”

“That sounds like him.” Cassie looks through the windows toward the path, caught between her brother and the animal she brought from home. “He doesn’t know you very well.”

Sofia’s expression softens. “Then we’ll use the afternoon to improve his opinion of me. Go find your brother, and I’ll call if he needs you.”

Cassie studies her for another moment before loosening her hold on the bag. “His food is in the container beside the refrigerator, and he’ll act like he hasn’t eaten if you go into the kitchen.”

“And I won’t believe him.” Sofia reaches out and closes her hand over Cassie’s wrist. “He will be here when you return.”

The promise is about a cat, yet Cassie’s eyes shine before she gives Sofia a grateful nod. “Thank you.”

I check the time while Drew speaks to Harris. Birdie left the estate five minutes ago with Cole, the officer newly assigned to her, and Harris is waiting inside The Book Corner. That places two armed men with her and keeps her from entering alone. It doesn’t eliminate the unease beneath my ribs. The gas station is one direction, the bookstore another, and someone has already learned that Cassie will pursue any hint of Connor without waiting for permission.

Cassie slides her phone into her bag. “Let’s go before whoever used the card disappears.”

I lead her to the black SUV in the courtyard. Drew and Benitez enter the vehicle behind us, and both gates open before I reach the bottom of the drive. More security officers are visible among the harvest workers. My people know how to blend into the vineyard, but today I want anyone watching to see them.

Cassie fastens her seat belt and opens the station location on her phone. “How likely is it that this is a trap?”

“Using Connor’s card after six days of silence is either a careless mistake or an invitation.” I turn onto the county road and check the mirror. Drew follows three car lengths behind us until another vehicle enters between us. “I don’t believe in convenient mistakes.”

“People make stupid decisions all the time.” She enlarges the map, then focuses on me. “You’ve met people, right?”

“Several.”

The corner of her mouth twitches, but the humor doesn’t reach her eyes.

I pass a farm truck and return to the right lane with Drew two vehicles behind us. A white pickup keeps pace for half a mile, then turns toward a feed store. A blue sedan leaves the road near the interstate entrance. The silver hatchback behind Drew contains one driver and two children, and its front bumper is dented beneath the left headlight.

Cassie glances at the mirror again. “You’ve been watching every car behind us since we left.”

“Four stayed with us long enough to be worth watching,” I tell her, checking the mirror again.

“Four?” Her eyebrows rise as she shifts in her seat. “I only noticed the pickup and the blue car.”

“There was also a silver hatchback behind Drew and a delivery van at the first intersection.” I keep my eyes on the road as we approach the next turn.

Cassie studies the side of my face. “What made you stop watching the van?”

“He followed us through two turns, but the driver was checking house numbers before he stopped.”

“You noticed that when you looked at him for half a second?” She leans closer, as if the answer might make more sense from a different angle.

“It was long enough.”

Cassie faces forward and folds her hands over her bag. “Most vineyard owners don’t study every driver behind them on the way to a gas station.”

“Most vineyard owners haven’t received threats for as many years as I have.” I check the mirror once more before returning my attention to the highway.

She grows still beside me and turns her head slightly. “Is that another answer that sounds complete until I think about it?”

“Yes,” I admit.

Cassie exhales through her nose. “At least you’re honest about being evasive.”

The highway takes us east between low wooded hills and open fields. Clouds hang above the foothills, but sunlight breaks across the wet road in pale bands. I keep our speed even and watch the traffic ahead as closely as the vehicles behind us. Cassie checks her phone twice, then presses Connor’s name without calling him.

“If he was there, why wouldn’t he call?” she asks, her voice lower now. “Even if he lost his phone, he could borrow one. He could walk into the store and ask for help.”