Once in a lifetime, p.13
Once In a Lifetime, page 13
“He can’t be any busier than you are. Each time I come here, the store is full of people.”
Brooke sighed. “Sometimes I feel as though I’m juggling so many things that nothing gets done.”
“What kind of things don’t you have time to do?”
“Marketing and promotions and online sales. I want to sell candy from my website, but I haven’t found anyone who can help me.”
“What if I told you I might be able to help?”
“Caleb said you’re a computer genius, but I don’t have a big budget.”
Sam grinned. “Depending on what you want, we could trade fudge for computer advice.”
Brooke shook her head. “Your time is more valuable than my fudge. But if you want to help, I could tell you what I need, and you could let me know how much it would cost.”
“That sounds like a good idea. Is it okay if we talk about it in a week or two? I need to make sure Caleb is okay before I start a new project.”
“That’s fine. I’ll be back soon with my house keys.”
While Brooke was gone, Sam watched the people in the candy store. Caleb wasn’t the only person who wanted to change their life. Brooke seemed like a nice person, and if they became friends, it would be even better—even if it only lasted for as long as Sam was in Sapphire Bay.
Chapter 11
“Watch the concrete path,” Sam warned. “It’s slippery.”
Caleb was tempted to tell Sam it was his arm that was damaged, not his eyes. But he didn’t. Instead, he carefully walked along the snow-covered ground toward Brooke’s house.
This was the fourth day that Sam, Jeremy, and Connor had looked after him. Finally, after a marathon discussion with his surgeon, the hospital’s physical therapist, and a wound nurse, he was allowed to leave Polson. The catch was that he needed to go back to the hospital in a week to check on his progress.
A week he could handle, especially if it meant being away from the constant noise of the busy ward.
Sam unlocked the front door. “Connor brought a few of your things from your home. We thought it would make you feel more comfortable.”
“I’ll thank him later. Where is he?”
“In town, picking up some supplies.”
Caleb stepped into the living room. He’d been to Brooke’s house a few times, but he was still surprised by what he saw. “I didn’t realize Brooke was leaving her furniture here.”
“Most of it was stored in her garage. Brooke knew we’d look after it, so she asked if we wanted to use it. I guess she bought new things for her apartment.” Sam pointed to the sofa. “Sit there for a minute. You look tired.” When he didn’t move right away, her eyebrows rose. “I’m only trying to help.”
“We’ll have to talk about that.” Caleb sat on the sofa because he was tired. But he didn’t need Sam looking after him. “You aren’t my nurse. I can look after myself.”
The front door banged open.
Jeremy stumbled inside with three suitcases. “Where do you want these?”
Caleb glanced at Sam. If he knew her half as well as he thought he did, she’d already decided where everyone was sleeping.
“You’re asking me?” The mischievous gleam in her eyes worried him.
Good Lord. He’d never win an argument with her. “Go ahead. Tell me what you’ve decided.”
“The bedroom on the ground floor is the best one for you. It has its own bathroom and we can get you out of the house quickly.”
He looked at Jeremy. “Ground floor it is.”
“Don’t worry,” Jeremy said with a grin. “She babies everyone when they aren’t well.”
“I do not,” Sam said stubbornly. “We need to keep Caleb safe and that’s what I’m doing.”
Caleb liked the idea of her caring about him, even if he was her client.
While Jeremy delivered Caleb’s luggage to his room, Sam pulled out her cell phone. She was probably consulting her list of things to do.
“I spoke to Brooke yesterday,” she said. “Do you know she used to be a nurse?”
Caleb nodded. He didn’t know where this conversation was heading, but he had a feeling he wouldn’t like it.
“She has lots of experience with gunshot patients. She said she could help you with the exercises you were given in the hospital.”
“She’s busy with her store. I’ll be okay.”
“Brooke wants to help you get better.”
Caleb sighed. “Just like your bossiness is your way of telling me you care?”
“Exactly. In a couple of days, I’ll back off. But for now, you should listen to me.”
“I can tell you’re the eldest child.”
Sam sat beside him. “My sisters don’t listen to me, so being the eldest child makes no difference. If anything, they’re worse than I am.”
“Has Shelley been telling you what’s wrong with your life again?”
A blush stained Sam’s cheeks. “She needs to take her own advice and stop telling me what to do.”
“It might be her way of coping with what happened.”
Sam sent him a withering look. “Her ex-fiancé is a great person. She ended the relationship and now she wants to fix everyone else’s life. I love her, but she’s crazy.” She looked at her cell phone and sighed. “Telling you about my family issues won’t make you any safer. I have something for you, then I’ll show you the security system Fletcher Security installed.”
“They’ve been here already?”
“You were in the hospital for four days. A lot can happen in that time. And talking about what’s happened…” Sam picked up her backpack and pulled out a silver chain. “This is for you.”
He held the necklace in his hand. Why on earth was Sam giving him jewelry? “Is it a get well soon present?”
“It’s a GPS tracker. Don’t take it off.”
He handed it back to Sam. “I’ll wear it as long as you clip it around my neck.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You’re not going to kiss me again, are you?”
“Haven’t you noticed that I’ve been on my best behavior?”
She looked at the necklace, then into his eyes. “I have noticed and thank you.” She undid the clasp and knelt on the sofa beside him. “You’ll need to lean closer. The technical development team made this for you. We’re hoping the terrorist group don’t realize what it is.”
“In case they kidnap me?”
Sam’s fingers brushed against his skin. A spark of electricity zipped down his spine and pooled in places he didn’t want to think about. He was doomed.
“Something like that.” She rested her hands on his shoulders, surveying his new tracking device. “Not bad for a bunch of James Bond wannabes. We might have stumbled on a new line of personal protection merchandise.”
“That makes me feel special,” Caleb murmured.
Sam rolled her eyes. “It should make you feel safe.” She wiggled out of harm’s way and consulted her cell phone.
Caleb would have preferred her to stay close, but fate was being unusually cruel to him. “I’ll make everyone coffee.”
“I’ll do that,” Jeremy said from the doorway. “Sam can show you the alarm. If you thought the one at your house was top of the line, you should see this one.”
“Why do I get the feeling you’re trying out new gadgets on me?”
Sam slid her phone into her pocket. “Maybe because we are.” She grinned at his disbelieving stare. “I told you you’re special. Come on. Let me introduce you to Xion, the world’s first fully integrated artificial intelligence personal protection system.”
If Sam was looking for something to take his mind off the hole on his arm, she’d found it. “There are other AI security systems on the market. What makes this one unique?”
Sam sent him a knowing smile. “Not only does facial recognition software identify who should be on the property, but a full body scan assesses any changes to your health. Depending on what parameters you’ve entered, Xion will send the police, the fire department, or security staff to your home. And if that’s not enough to make you drool, it will change the lighting, heating, and entertainment options to suit your biometric readings.”
“What entertainment options have you added?”
Sam grinned. “Don’t get your hopes up. The only options you’ll see are the sound system and television.”
“You’re no fun.”
“That’s what all my clients say. Are you ready for the computer to scan your body?”
It was his turn to grin. “Should I be naked?”
Sam’s cheeks turned crimson. “You’ll short-circuit the system if you do that. Fully clothed is fine.”
He kissed Sam’s hot cheek. “Maybe next time.”
“Or maybe not,” she whispered back.
Caleb wasn’t a betting man, but he knew when the odds were stacked in his favor. Sam was attracted to him and, at some point, they would definitely be naked.
Later that afternoon, Sam’s cell phone rang. She looked at the caller display and frowned. “Hi, John. It’s Sam.”
“Where’s Caleb?”
“He’s with Jeremy and me at the house we rented in Sapphire Bay.”
“Stay there. I had a call from the FBI. Someone tried to kidnap the woman we think is Caleb’s sister.”
Sam left the office and ran along the hallway. “Hang on a minute.” She rushed into the living room. Caleb wasn’t there. “Caleb!”
Jeremy ran out of the dining room. “He’s in his bedroom. What’s happened?”
“Someone tried to kidnap the woman who could be Caleb’s sister. Don’t let him leave the house.”
A sleep-tousled Caleb appeared in the doorway. “Is she all right?”
“I don’t know. I’ll ask John.” She held her cell phone to her ear. “Did you hear Caleb’s question?”
“She’s okay. The FBI has moved her to another location. If anyone from the Al-Nusra cell contacts Caleb, let me know straight away.”
“I will.” Sam silently mouthed, “she’s okay,” to Caleb.
“We haven’t heard from the DNA lab. I’ll let you know when we get the results.”
“That would be great. I’ll send through an update tonight from the FBI.”
“I’ll look out for it. Take care.”
After John ended the call, Sam held her phone against her chest. “We have to be extra careful.”
Caleb leaned against the doorframe. “Does that mean no trips to the candy store?”
Sam appreciated his attempt to lighten the mood, but they were in a serious situation. “We can’t risk anything happening to you.”
“I don’t want anything happening to me, either.”
Jeremy looked through the window at the quiet street. “I’ll let Connor know what’s happened.”
Caleb winced as he moved his arm. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Go back to bed and get some rest,” Sam said gently. “We’ll let you know if anything else happens.” After Caleb left the room, Sam stood beside Jeremy. “What do you think?”
“From what I’ve heard about the Al-Nusra organization, they don’t attempt to kidnap someone without it being successful. They’re putting pressure on Caleb, forcing him into a difficult situation. I can almost guarantee he’ll receive another email from them in the next couple of hours.”
Sam didn’t want to ask the next question, but she had to. “Do you think he’ll give them the program?”
“If you push the right buttons, most people will eventually crack. We need to make sure he isn’t put in that position.”
Sam looked over her shoulder. If Caleb heard what she was about to say, he would leave. “I need to make sure he doesn’t see any emails from the Al-Nusra Nuclei.”
“I’ll get his laptop.” Jeremy moved toward the office.
Sam wasn’t happy with what she was about to do. But if she didn’t get access to his emails, more than his life could be in danger.
“Is anyone home?”
Sam looked up as Brooke knocked on the front door. “I’m coming.” She closed the lid of her laptop and walked into the hallway. They’d been living in the rental property for more than a week. During that time, Brooke had seen Caleb twice. She made sure he did his arm exercises correctly and helped with anything else they needed.
“Hi, Brooke. Caleb’s in the kitchen. Come on through.”
“I haven’t met Connor before. He seems like a nice person.”
The worst thing about being a bodyguard was not being able to tell people what you did. Brooke thought they were working on an important IT project. Which they were, only it was more complicated than she thought.
“He is a nice guy. I’ve worked with him for more than two years now.” Sam opened the kitchen door and smiled at Caleb. With one chocolate cake already in the oven and another being made, the house smelled like a bakery.
Brooke looked through the glass in the oven door. “You didn’t tell me you could bake.”
Caleb blushed. “It’s one of my hidden talents.”
“If you want another job you can help me in my candy store.”
“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll stick with my day job. Would you like a cup of coffee before we start?”
Brooke shook her head. “Not right now. I had one before I left work. Are you ready for our exercise session?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Sam knew how much effort it took for Caleb to move his arm, but he was determined to regain full mobility. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ll finish the second cake.”
Caleb handed Sam the recipe book. “Follow the instructions.”
She sighed. “That’s what you always say.”
“If you listened, I wouldn’t need to repeat myself.”
Working for a successful security company meant nothing when you were baking—especially when her best cake effort ended in disaster.
She scowled at Caleb. “You still ate the cake.”
“It tasted great, but it looked like a pancake.”
“I can’t help it if the self-rising and plain flour look the same.”
Caleb sent her a sympathetic smile. “I feel your pain, but relying on the color of the wrapper won’t help. You need to read the label. Luckily for us, the flour you’ll need is already in the bowl. Just add the cocoa, an egg, and milk.”
Sam looked in the bowl. If she could fix the code on one of the most complex programs she’d ever seen, she could make a cake rise. “By the time you’ve finished with Brooke, a fluffy cake will be sitting on the counter.”
He tapped the end of her nose. “I’ll look forward to it. See you soon.”
Brooke smiled at Sam. “Don’t worry. The first batch of fudge I made was horrible. All you need to do is keep practicing and eventually you’ll create a wonderful cake.”
Sam knew she was being kind, but what Brooke didn’t know was that she’d been trying to perfect her baking skills for a long time. And they weren’t getting any better.
“Enjoy your therapy session.” Sam’s forced enthusiasm must have been a little too much.
Caleb’s eyebrows rose. “If you get stuck, ask Connor.”
Her smile disappeared. There were some things her work colleagues didn’t need to know, and her baking issues were one of them. Especially when everyone complimented her on the fancy cakes she brought into work—the ones she told them she’d spent hours creating in her kitchen.
While Caleb went through his exercises with Brooke, Sam added the ingredients to the mixing bowl. She remembered to fold, not beat the batter, and at the last minute added a few drops of vanilla essence. If this cake didn’t work, nothing would.
Hot air blasted out of the oven as she opened the door. In forty minutes, she’d have an amazing chocolate cake to show Caleb. Her days of pretending to know what she was doing in the kitchen would be over, and Caleb’s patience would be rewarded. Or maybe not.
Her cell phone beeped.
She quickly slid the cake tin into the oven and looked at her phone. Someone had sent Caleb an email.
After checking the hallway, she closed the kitchen door and opened her laptop. Unlike most hacking programs, Sam wasn’t directly logging into Caleb’s email account. She’d created a gateway account on a different server. It collected all of Caleb’s incoming emails, only releasing them after she’d checked them. As long as she marked them as unread, Caleb wouldn’t know what she was doing.
She bit her bottom lip. The email was from someone called Harry Blake—the same name the Al-Nusra cell used to send their emails. The FBI already knew it was a fake account but, so far, they hadn’t managed to find the original sender.
She double-clicked the message, holding her breath as she opened the attachment.
A photo of the woman they claimed was Caleb’s sister appeared on the screen. But this time, she had a little blond-haired girl with her. If the image wasn’t enough to send chills down Sam’s spine, the message was. If Caleb didn’t send them the program he’d created, the little girl would be killed.
With a trembling hand, she forwarded the email to her boss and deleted it from Caleb’s account. If the terrorist group’s intention was to force Caleb into handing over the program, they were doing everything right. She just hoped they never realized their emails were being intercepted. If they did, no one would be safe, including the little girl in the photo.
The next morning, Caleb finished reading the report the chairperson of the EMP project had sent through. So far, the program was passing all of its testing parameters. The team had solved three technical issues and streamlined another part of the program. All in all, everyone was happy with their progress—but that didn’t stop Caleb from wanting to be in Washington, D.C.
It was nearly two weeks since he’d been shot and he was going stir crazy. He hadn’t left the house in five days, eight hours, and forty-one minutes. His life was slipping through his fingers and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it.
A light tap on the door pulled his attention away from the sorry state of his life.
