“Florida,” he said.
How had they gotten the Mustang to Florida? She halted the question before she asked. She really didn’t want to know. Ignorance wasn’t just bliss, it was protection for her and for Shadow Watcher, the troops and whoever else they recruited to assist them.
“You ran off the road and down a steep embankment, clipped a massive pine and ended up in a shallow creek.”
Her breath staggered.
“Disconcerted?”
“Well, yes,” she admitted. “Honestly, I am.”
“I know this part is hard, and I’m sorry. But considering Medros is involved . . . Well, dead is your best defense. For what it’s worth, the troop vote was unanimous, and Justin agreed.”
Medros had a long reach. “It’s a good call,” she admitted. If she had been voting, she’d have voted with them herself. “I just have to get used to it.” That was a remarkable understatement.
“Logically, it’s the best option. Emotionally, it will take a little time.”
“Yeah. I’m discovering that already.” She sighed. “So, what happens now?”
“Now, you build a life.”
It sounded so easy. So liberating. But how did she go about it, especially without resources? Thinking of all the money and assets she’d left behind soured her stomach. “I need a plan.”
“For once, do something radical.”
“Radical?” Wasn't what she’d just done radical enough? To her, she’d had a bellyful of radical.
“Plan a life you really want,” he said. “It’s your turn now. Grab this chance with both hands.”
She thumbed the edge of the envelope, sipped at her tangy orange juice. “That’s a whole new mindset for me.”
“It is,” he said. “That can be a bit overwhelming. Having so many choices to make on so many things.”
“A bit.” Actually, she was drowning in decisions that had to be made, and she likely hadn’t yet thought of all the questions.
“May I make a suggestion?”
“Please.” She tilted the phone, wiped at the counter with a dishcloth. “I’m sort of reeling.”
“Anyone would be.”
No judgment. No ridicule. And no pity. Just the facts. That made her feel a lot better. Calmer. “What’s your suggestion?”
“Ditch all rules except one.”
She paused, leaned a hip against the cabinet. “Which one?”
“This is your life. Only include things in it that you love. Forget everything else.”
She dragged her teeth over her bottom lip. Impractical, but exciting. “That is radical.”
“Yes, and it’s also overdue. It’s time to have a little faith in yourself, Gabby. You’ll settle into it, too.”
She hoped he was right. Boy, did she hope it. “I think it’s going to take a while to get over the fear of being found.”
“Why? No one looks for a dead woman.”
“They don’t if they know the woman is dead.”
“Oh, they’ll know. Troops are seeing to that. Actually, Agent Bain will be finding out in about half an hour. We notified the good detective who warned you to run—he’ll get the word out.”
Detective Marsh. “He’ll suspect I followed his advice to vanish.”
“If he acts on that in any way, we’ll know it. Then we’ll know which side he’s on, too.” Shadow Watcher’s voice dropped, hardened. “Medros will be informed before the morning is out.”
So that would end it. They’d run checks to see if she’d communicated with anyone in Florida—she hadn’t—the case would go cold, and that would be that. Gabby Blake would be dead and gone and forgotten.
Her life being so effortlessly erased both elated and bothered her. It should be hard to wipe out a life, shouldn’t it? Granted, it hadn’t been much of a life—her work at Handel, with Troop Search and Rescue, her semi-annual visits with her father—but it had been her life. After a few moments of shock at Handel, she really would be forgotten. It was pathetic really. The person who would most miss her would be Fitch. She wouldn’t be there to cover for him at work when he ran late.
“I wouldn’t waste time being worried about anyone coming after you. You’re protected.”
He, the troops and Justin Wade had seen to that. They’d had her back. And here she worried about a life she hadn’t been crazy about while living it. She shuddered. Realigned her thoughts. No more fear of being followed or watched. And no more emptiness, meaningless life. She wanted better. More. She wanted to matter to someone. “Thank you, SW. And thank Troop Search and Rescue for everything. I expect all this has had them in a whirlwind.”
“It has been busy. But every single one knows if the shoe were on their foot, you’d be right there for them.”
She would. And that they knew it made her feel a lot better about her old life. “I don’t know how I would have managed alone. Obviously, I couldn’t have—”
“You’re not alone. Those days are gone. Never again will you be alone, Gabby. That’s a promise. Got it?”
Her eyes stung. Such a good man. She smiled. “I’m seeing a shiny halo above your head.”
He laughed. “Hardly.”
The sound warmed her, and she actually smiled. “Whose home is this—in case someone asks?”
“Just say Plumber’s cottage. Everyone in the cove knows Plumber, and no one uses addresses there.”
“Does he live in the farmhouse?”
“When he’s in town.”
“Is he in town now? I should speak to him about how long it’s convenient for me to be here.”
“Not at the moment, no. But you’re welcome to stay in the cottage indefinitely. Already arranged that. The cove is a friendly place, so long as you’re not anti-Christmas. They love Christmas there.”
“I love it, too,” she confessed. She’d made ornaments, put up the scraggly tree no one else wanted, listened to Christmas music, and started her own tradition of attending a different church service every Christmas morning then bingeing on Christmas movies. “I have zero experience celebrating it with other people, but it’s a wonderful—“
“Well, you’re in the right place to celebrate it now. Look forward, not back. Oh, and you can trust Plumber. He’s away at the moment, but his sister is there.”
“Can I trust her, too?”
“Yes and no.”
“Not tracking, SW.”
“Yes, she’s a good person, and if you need anything, you can contact her. Kelly Meyer. Her info is taped to the inside of the cabinet door near the fridge. But, no, she doesn’t know your story.”
“Okay.” That thought was comforting. She had someone here and someone who would be here. “Why Johnson?” She wasn’t opposed to the name, but she was curious. Was there significance in it?
“Why not?”
“No reason. I just wondered.” So, was it his name, or Plumber’s real name? Or one picked out of thin air?
“Justin had an emergency package put together. He kept Gabby because you shouldn’t have to lose that, too. Not after giving up everything else through no fault of your own.”