Sight Unseen(62)
After the quick ride home, Kendra was surprised at what Lynch considered “little things” he wanted to discuss with her security guard.
“Nelson, until you hear otherwise, your services will no longer be needed,” Lynch said to Agent Nelson the moment he reached him.
“What?” Nelson and Kendra said in unison.
“Thank you for your service,” Lynch said. “You’ve done a fine job.”
Nelson was obviously blindsided. “Uh, I’ll need authorization from Griffin for this.”
“Then get it. Or don’t get it. Whatever. In any case, Kendra won’t be here.”
“And just what makes you think that?” she asked.
“Colby. You wouldn’t let me in the room with the two of you, but that was good. From behind the glass, I was able to watch the two of you as if you were on a movie screen. Every expression, every nuance. His promise of making you suffer was all the inspiration I needed.”
“Your inspiration, not mine. I don’t recall any discussion about my leaving my home.”
“That’s because there wasn’t any. I just thought of it a little while ago.” Lynch opened the door and walked with her into the condo and closed the door on Agent Nelson’s troubled face. “Go pack a suitcase. Bring enough for at least a few days.”
“Wait. Hold it. Where am I going?”
“The safest place I know.”
“Where’s that?”
“My house.”
“Like hell.”
“Trust me, there’s no place safer. The house was designed from the ground up to withstand almost any kind of assault. It’s the best place for you right now.”
She gave him an incredulous look. “Your house is designed to withstand an assault? I knew you had a habit of making enemies, but seriously…”
“I’m being very serious. But you’ll never know that you’re in an impenetrable fortress. You’ll be staying in a nice, cozy guest room. It’s very comfortable. More to the point, it will throw off any plans that Colby and his psychopathic friend might have for you. It’s a contingency they wouldn’t have planned for.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“Well, you sure didn’t plan for it.”
Kendra thought for a moment. “I can’t argue with that.”
“You can’t do anything predictable. That means you don’t stay with friends or family.”
“A hotel?”
“Not safe enough. Too many people coming and going. At my place, you’ll have me and the house defending you.” He grinned. “You’ll be impressed. We’re a formidable team.”
“I have no doubt.” She made a face. “But I value my privacy, dammit.”
“More than you value your life?”
She hesitated, and he took the opportunity to nudge her toward the condo’s back hallway.
“Start packing. It’s safer for you and safer for the people you care about. I’ll wait in your living room and take the call from Griffin that’s surely on the way.”
At that moment, the phone vibrated in his pocket.
Lynch smiled. “Right on cue.” He pointed to the hallway. “Pack.”
CHAPTER
9
FORTY MINUTES LATER, Kendra found herself in Lynch’s car exiting I-5 toward Carmel Valley Road.
She turned toward him. “I thought you lived in Riverside.”
“I did. I just moved here about eight months ago. This place took over two years to complete.”
“I guess that’s what you get when you build a fortress in suburbia.”
“Building a fortress is easy. The trick is to make it not look like a fortress.”
She shook her head. “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.”
“I didn’t talk you into anything. You can’t be talked into doing anything you don’t really want to do. Just like Griffin didn’t really talk you into traveling to San Quentin. As you said, deep down, you know what needs to be done. You know you’ll be safer here than at your place.”
“I’ve seen you work your Puppetmaster routine on a lot of people, Lynch. First you identify their buttons, then you press them. You found my button.”
“Which is?”
“Logic. Common sense.”
He chuckled. “There are worse weaknesses.” He glanced at her. “But that wasn’t the button I pushed. I slipped in one sentence that tilted everything my way.”
“What?”
“I told you it would be safer for the people you care about.”
She stared at him thoughtfully. “Mind and emotion. You’re very, very intimidating.”
“Why do you think I need a fortress?” He didn’t wait for an answer but gestured up ahead. “It’s to the right, around that bend.”