Page 90 of Cold Silence
“Mwahahaha.” He rubbed his hands together. “Now you’re ready to experience my compound according to my rules.”
She and Travis laughed with him. It was hard to believe just a month ago she was in danger and these men were protecting her. Now she got to see the softer side of both guys and to witness the strong bond Travis shared with his buddy.
Travis had retired from the team as he’d said he would do and would start work in Orlando after they got back from this trip. They’d decided to take Gage up on his offer to visit him as a way to put an end to the terrible nightmare. She especially needed to let go of Julie’s betrayal. The bloody tissue and Band-Aid wrapper matched back to her, cementing her guilt. Claire could hardly believe it, but the facts didn’t lie.
And maybe let go of the betrayal by Mike, Warren, and Eric. They were in jail awaiting trial, as was Julie. The DA thought all four would be found guilty and serve max sentences for their crimes, and Claire now felt safe to go about her life again.
“Ready to go?” Gage asked. “You’ll have plenty of time to come back this week.”
“I wouldn’t want to deprive Travis of seeing all your toys, so lead the way.” She winked at Travis and jogged to the vehicle.
She sat on the side to brush off her feet and dry them, but Travis took her towel and knelt in front of her. He rubbed her feet until they were toasty warm and slipped her flip-flops on.
“Oh man,” she said. “If this is the kind of treatment I get at the beach, we need to move here.”
“This is vacation Travis,” he said, humor in his tone. “Not work week Travis, so don’t get used to it.”
“Or plan a lot of vacations.” She laughed and slid her legs into the vehicle. He closed the door and cleaned his own feet then climbed in the back.
Gage got them on the scenic road again. She looked up at the majestic evergreen trees and enjoyed seeing ferns bigger than she’d ever seen. Gage passed through the town with souvenir and antique stores, a bakery, other dining establishments, and a candy shop.
“I’ll for sure be spending a morning exploring here.” She looked over the seat at Travis. “Don’t worry. You can stay at the compound and play with Gage’s toys.”
He flashed her a surprised look. “You know I’ll come with you if you want me to.”
She reached back and gave his hand a squeeze. “I appreciate that and love you all the more for your thoughtfulness.”
Gage mocked gagging.
“Hey.” She released Travis’s hand. “Get used to it. You’re going to see a lot of it this week.”
Gage groaned, but Claire could see he was happy for them. She wished he could be happy again too. She’d seen moments of sadness when he didn’t think anyone was watching. Claire couldn’t be sure if it was due to the loss of his wife or the ongoing challenges his daughter faced with her brain injury. Either way, he was suffering, and she wanted everyone to experience the same joy that Travis had brought to her life in just a short time.
Gage turned off the road through a stand of tall evergreens that masked the drive so well that if you weren’t looking for it, you would miss it. He pulled onto a secluded driveway, and a short way in, he stopped at a tall secured gate where a keypad was mounted on the post along with a camera and speaker. He lowered the window and tapped the keypad. The gate groaned open.
He pulled through, heading down a drive that led to an opening with a large house to the left and a driveway to the right.
He glanced in the rearview mirror. “Settle in or check out those toys?”
“Toys,” Travis said. “I mean, if that’s okay with you, Claire?”
“You could always go to the house and hang with my housekeeper and Mia if you don’t want a tour,” Gage said.
“I want to go wherever my sweetie goes,” she said to get a response from Gage.
He rolled his eyes and laughed. “You’re right. It’s gonna be a long, painful week.”
He turned down the drive to the right. “Ahead, you’ll see the staff cabins and cabins for guests who sign up for our training workshops.”
Down the road sat five cabins, all a different design, each one unique. “I assume the personalized cabins are for staff.”
Gage nodded. “Each person designed and built their place. You can tell a lot about them by the structure they built.”
One was a traditional log cabin. One super modern. One A-frame. One a stark, no-frills cabin. The last a contemporary square box. She hoped after she got to know all of them this week that she could pin the cabin to the person.
“The plain log cabins are for the trainees.” Gage pointed at a large barn-like building opposite the line of simple log cabins. “On the left is our training facility and weapons lock up. We’ll come back to that after we tour the rest.”
“Looks like a first-rate place you got here.” Travis’s tone held his ongoing excitement.
