He was accepting the keys to a mid-size SUV from the employee at the rental place. He wrapped his arm back around her waist and the three of them walked out of the small airport. The weather was cooler than it had been a month ago when they’d been stranded, but snow had yet to start falling in the area. Zoey was glad for that, as it would make it easier to get around.
They got settled in the car and Mark headed out of the parking lot.
“Are we still going to the factory first?” Zoey asked.
“Yeah,” Mark replied. “I’d like to see it, and I’m guessing that’s where we’ll find Sean and Malcom. I want to get a meeting with them nailed down as soon as possible. The sooner I take care of this, the sooner we can get back to California.”
“Are you really that concerned something will happen?” Zoey asked.
“I can’t explain it, but there’s just something about being back here that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up,” Mark said. “Not to mention that after we’d landed and I turned my phone back on, I had a message from Tex. He said that he finally found Eva Dawkins. I didn’t want to mention it until we were out of the airport.”
“He did?” Zoey asked with wide eyes. “Holy crap. What’d she say? Who hired her? Why’d she leave us in the wilderness?”
Mark squeezed her hand. “Easy, Zo. I don’t know. He said he’d found her, but he hadn’t had a chance to talk to her yet. He was sending someone to pick her up then he was going to question her.”
“Pick her up? What does that mean?”
Mark chuckled. “Not what you think. Just that Tex knows people everywhere. He’s getting a retired military guy he knows who lives in Anchorage to head to where Tex last pinpointed her. Once he convinces her that nothing’s going to happen to her or her kids, he’s going to connect her with Tex. Once that happens, and he finds out, finally, who was behind all this shit, he’ll let me know. Until then, we just need to be extra careful.”
“Do you think going to the factory is a good idea then?” Phantom asked from the back seat. “If someone’s pissed that they didn’t get a piece of your old man’s pie, seeing you could make them act. The last thing we need is for someone to bring a weapon to the factory and start shooting up the place.”
“We just landed. And although I know word travels fast, I think we’ll be okay for now. Tomorrow might be a different story. I’m just going to meet with Sean and Malcom real fast, set up a meeting for tomorrow, probably at Kenneth Eklund’s office, sign the necessary papers, then we’ll be out of here.”
Mark sounded wary but calm, and that made Zoey relax a little.
“I just need you to keep your eye on Zoey. If anything does go down, get her out of there.”
“Of course,” Phantom said, brushing his friend’s words away as if he were annoyed he’d even said them. “Just watch your back.”
Shivering at the conversation, and not wanting to think of anything happening to anyone, Zoey did her best to put it out of her mind. Mark reached over and turned up the heat in the car, and just like that, Zoey’s mood was lifted. He was always so considerate of her. It was hard to believe that he was hers.
They pulled up to the large factory on the outskirts of town and the three of them walked inside the building. After checking in with the security officer at the front, Zoey and Phantom were shown to a small room off to the side of the lobby, and Mark disappeared into the depths of the building.
“Will he be all right?” Zoey asked after she and Phantom had been left alone.
“Of course,” Phantom said, but she could see the worry in his eyes.
Not able to sit still, Zoey paced while they waited for Mark to return.
“It’s good to see you,” Sean said as he shook Bubba’s hand. “This is a surprise.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve been talking to both you and Malcom every day for the last few weeks, I decided I needed to get up here and see to things in person.”
“I wish you would’ve let us know you were coming,” his brother said.
Bubba shrugged. “It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing. Zoey wanted to get some more of her stuff and see about getting the house on the market.”
“Things are going well between you two then?” his brother asked.
“Very well,” Bubba said with a smile.
“Seems as if your adventure in the wilds of Alaska was good for your love life,” Sean joked.
Bubba stared at his dad’s friend incredulously. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
As if he realized how horrible his words had been, Sean blushed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just so relieved that things turned out all right and the two of you are okay.”
Bubba eyed the man suspiciously. He knew Sean was pissed that his pop had left most of his part of the business to someone other than him. He’d put his blood, sweat, and tears into the company, and it couldn’t have sat well that Colin wasn’t leaving him the business.
“Anyway, I’m assuming you didn’t come all this way to talk about inventory and about changing the shift times, like we talked about in the last phone call,” Malcom said.
“No, you’re right. I’m happy to sign any papers you guys have for me while I’m here, but I wanted to see if you were both free tomorrow to meet with me and Kenneth.”
“The lawyer?” Sean asked. “Everything all right?”
“Yeah. So tomorrow? Maybe sometime in the morning, so I can help Zoey with her house?”
“Sure,” Sean said, nodding. “Ten work?”
“Ten’s perfect,” Bubba said. “Mal?”
“I guess so. You’re being mighty secretive. Why don’t you just spit it out now instead of being all dramatic about it?”
Bubba shrugged. “I want to sell my shares back to you both. Zoey does too. It’s more than obvious that the two of you know what you’re doing here, and having to stop and talk to me about it and get my approval is just slowing things down. It’s only fair.”
Both men simply stared at him for a long moment. Bubba couldn’t tell what either was thinking. “I’m going to talk to Kenneth about the details and how it’ll work. I figured you guys would be happy about this…but by your reactions, now I’m not so sure.”
Sean was the first to recover. He shook his head. “Sorry, Mark. It’s just…this is a surprise.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I just don’t have the time or energy to devote to the business like I should. I know Pop left part of it to me, but the two of you will do a much better job than I ever could. It’s just not in my blood like it is yours.” Bubba looked at his brother and waited for him to say something.
Eventually, Malcom frowned. “This is really coming out of left field, bro. I’m not sure what to say.”
“Just think about it,” Bubba said. “We can talk about the specifics and details tomorrow.”
“All right.”
“I’ll see you both at ten then,” Bubba said and turned to leave. He almost turned back to tell them about Tex, and how he’d found the pilot who’d stranded them, but something held him back. He could get into that tomorrow at the lawyer’s office.