The reality was that they needed to hire someone, because he couldn’t simply move here. His life was in Lost Harbor. But every time he suggested it, his mother came up with a hundred reasons why it wouldn’t work.
This was probably a job for Toni, he decided. Tomorrow, he’d call her and see if she had any ideas about the situation. Toni knew how to deal with their mother from all those years of swimming in the harbor and fishing and breaking all of Mama’s gender conventions.
Instead of going back to bed, he joined his mother in the kitchen. She stood at the counter with a rolling pin in one hand and a piece of notepaper in the other.
“I’m so sorry, mi hijo. I forgot this message,” she cried. “That day you left your phone here. I picked it up because I thought it was mine. I’ve been so distracted. I took the message three, no, four days ago and I put it in the freezer with my empanada dough. Here.” She thrust the piece of paper at him.
“It’s okay, Mama. Don’t cry. No harm done.”
“Are you sure? I intended to make empanadas days ago. If I hadn’t waited, I would have found the message before today. And we would have had empanadas,” she added woefully.
“Mama. Mi amor. It’s all right. What could be so important, anyway?”
Only Lulu and Toni were really that important, and possibly Lucas, who was looking after his boat. And he was in regular touch with all of them, most especially Lulu.
But when he finally looked at the message, after reassuring her with plenty of hugs, he went cold.
The message was from Raul. He’d left a number and a request to call immediately about Seb Antonov.
“I’m using the phone you gave me. Remember? When I left the polizia in Alaska? You programmed your number in. I wanted to call Lulu but I didn’t have her number. My mama doesn’t want me to have a phone yet, even for emergencies. Doesn’t that seem unfair, especially after I had an emergency?”
“Raul. Focus.” He spoke in Spanish, since why not? He was in Chile, the boy was in Colombia, and Alaska had never seemed further away.
Full morning now, and the smell of empanadas filled the little condo. He stood on the tiny balcony overlooking the busy metropolis of Santiago. Storeowners were opening their shops, washing the sidewalks with hoses. Delivery trucks squeezed into tight alleys. Kids in backpacks made their way to school.
“The message said something about Seb Antonov.”
“Si. He escaped from the jail.”
“In Colombia?” Tristan doubted that escape was the right word. He wouldn’t be surprised if a payoff was involved. An experienced criminal like him knew all the tricks.
“Yes, in Colombia.”
“Be careful, kid. Go ahead and program another number into your phone. What’s the emergency number in Colombia?”
“No, I’m not worried for myself. I have a bodyguard all the time. He’s such a pest. I’m scared for Lulu.”
Tristan froze, his hand tightening on his phone. “For Lulu? Why?”
“Because I think he might take her next.”
“Why? Why would he do that? She’s thousands of miles away.” Seven-thousand eight hundred, to be exact, but right now felt even further.
“He knows she’s related to the royal family of England. When she started talking to me on the cruise ship, he searched for her on the computer. He told me what he found out. Once he even said that he should forget about me and kidnap her instead. I think that’s why he kept coming after us in Alaska. Because he wanted us both. Two for one.”
A two-for-one special. That certainly did explain why the bastard hadn’t just skipped town once Raul and Lulu had escaped from the cruise ship. It would have been well worth his time—and the risk of getting caught—to continue to pursue them both.
Or at least he’d believed so. Would Lulu’s distant royal connection actually produce a ransom payment? He had no idea. She’d never mentioned any wealthy family members. In fact, he’d gotten the opposite impression.
Maybe Antonov knew more than he did.
“How do you know he’s going after Lulu now?”
“I don’t know. But when my bodyguard told me he escaped, I wanted to warn her about it. She should have a bodyguard too.”
She should. Him. He ought to be there to fill the role. “Thanks, Raul. You watch your back, okay?” he added in English.
“How can I watch my back? My head doesn’t turn that far.”
He chuckled a bit, realizing that he’d missed the boy. “Call me anytime, Raul. Take care of yourself.”
After he ended the call, he stared blankly at the streets down below. If only he could transport himself instantly to Lost Harbor, to Lulu’s snowy front deck, or her cozy bed. It would take him a minimum of a day to get back.
But going back was the only option. He had to be with Lulu. He’d never in his life felt such an urgent need. It screamed through his every cell. Lulu. I need to get back to you. Now. Now. Wryly, he wondered if this was how salmon felt when they were swimming thousands of miles to where they’d spawned. Now. Now.
He called her and got her voice mail. She was probably still sleeping, snuggled under her blankets while the snow gently fell around her cabin. “Lulu, call me as soon as you get this. Be careful, Antonov might be coming after you. He’s out of jail. Call me. Immediately. I need to know you’re okay.”
Then he called Maya and filled her in on the situation. “I’m coming back as soon as possible, but in the meantime, can you send someone out to check on Lulu?”
“Yeah, I just got a call from Agent Melbourne too.” She sounded harried. “I’m short-staffed again, I had to call in some help from the state troopers. As soon as I can get away from here, I’ll check on her myself.”
“Okay. Thanks. I’ve been trying to call her but I keep getting her voice mail.”
“I know she’s been rehearsing a lot. The Harbor Hotties, The Nutcracker. She might have her phone off. And Tristan, keep in mind that he doesn’t want to get caught again. Why would he take the risk of boarding a plane? He’s probably laying low in Colombia.”
Good point. A bit of relief eased the tension in his body, but it didn’t change anything. He still needed to get back as soon as possible.
He called his sister next. “Toni. I need you down here. I have to get back to Lost Harbor.”
“What’s going on?” He could tell she was trying to shake off her sleepiness. He explained the situation, which went a long way toward waking her up. “Mama’s still a little shaky. She started crying this morning over her empanada dough. Dad’s going to get released from rehab soon, but they’re going to need more help. I’ve been trying to talk Mama into it but she insists it’s not necessary and—”
“I’ll take care of it.” When his sister used that badass tone—the one that had kept all the fishermen in line at the Olde Salt Saloon—he could take it to the bank. “You’re too sympathetic, Tristan. She starts to cry and you just want to hug her. You have to be tough. But don’t worry about it, I’m on it. I’ll get a ticket right away. Bash and I will spend Christmas with them, we already talked about it. I’ll come right away, and as soon as he finishes this first training camp, he’ll fly down.”