Open Life (Open Skies #5) Read Free Page B

own here.”
    They glared at each other, their almost-identical mint-green eyes flashing fire. Jake grinned when he saw that Dillon was at a complete and total loss about what to say or do next. Jake didn’t see this cold, bitchy side of his fiancée all that much anymore, but goddamn, when he did? It simultaneously scared and delighted him. Well, as long as it wasn’t directed his way; if it was, then he was just petrified.
    “Ms. Everett, Mr. Weston.” Dillon kept his voice level. “Look, I’m sure you have the best of intentions, OK? You all seem like people who care about Maria and that’s great. But do any of you have any formal training? Military or security?”
    Jake and Julie glanced at each other.
    “No,” Julie admitted. “But –”
    “But nothing,” Dillon interrupted. “These guys that are after Gabi are cold-blooded killers. You get me? They’ll hurt anyone who gets in their way, so you’d better be prepared to shoot them like the vicious animals that they are if they show up on your doorstep. You guys ready to do that?”
    “Yes,” Jake said.
    That stopped Dillon for a second. “You can shoot?”
    “Yes. Phil and Mattie too and any one of us would do it in a heartbeat. One of our guests arriving next week is a former cop from Houston and I know he’s still registered to carry. Believe me, Mr. Saunders – we’ve got this.”
    Dillon paused, wondering what argument to put forward now, and Maria came back in to the restaurant. She looked pale and Jake and Dillon both got to their feet, alarmed.
    “You OK, hon?” Jake said, gently grasping her elbow. “Come on, sit.”
    “Yeah. Yeah, I’m OK.” She took a breath. “I talked to Gabi. Everything Dillon says is true.”
    Dillon noticed that she’d used his first name and this pleased him, for some reason. “So…we off then?”
    “No.” Maria shook her head. “No. I’m really sorry, but I'm staying here.”
    “What the fuck ?” Dillon’s patience was now officially at an end. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
    “No.” She was shaking a bit, he saw, and he dialled it down a notch. “With all due respect – I know you've come all the way out here to warn me, but I don’t know you. I don’t know any of you people in Denver. I mean, I barely know Gabi and she’s my half-sister. But here, at Open Skies? There are people I trust and I know they’ll do whatever they have to do to keep me safe. They won’t let anything happen to me.”
    “You are damn right about that,” Julie said. “We’re going to get rid of Travis and install more cameras and I’m hiring you a personal bodyguard.”
    “Oh, no, Julie,” Maria protested. “That’s too much.”
    “No, it’s not. I’ll get on the phone right now and call this one place I’ve heard of in Denver – Dallas Foreman’s security firm. They do private stuff and they’re the real deal. I’ll have someone here by this afternoon.” Julie smiled at her. “And I’ll specifically request that he be smoking, crazy hot, OK?”
    Shocked out of her worry for a minute, Maria actually giggled. “OK.”
    “So, Mr. Saunders.” Julie tuned back to Dillon. “We’ve got things handled at this end. You guys do whatever you have to do in Denver to keep Gabi safe and let us know when the negotiations are over, please.”
    “No. No, wait.” Dillon was stunned at what had just happened. “Look… let me call Jax and King, OK? Get them up to speed?”
    “Sure,” Julie said.
    He got to his feet and went out in to the hallway. He found a chair away from the Reception area and he closed his eyes as he waited for his call to be picked up.
    “Yeah?” Jax’s deep voice sounded alert. “You got her, man?”
    “Uh, no. Slight problem.”
    “Hold on. I’m putting you on speaker. King’s right here.”
    There was a clicking sound and then some scuffling. Dillon assumed Jax was putting the cell on his desk at Curves.
    “OK, go. What do you mean ‘a problem’?”
    “Well, I