to his beloved sister. I know that sounds snarky, but it’s how I feel. But in the end, everyone believed her, and she got it all. We need to go back to the farm and show all of this to the girls. We need to be on top of it, so she doesn’t pack up and hit the road,” Bella said. “I’m going to send a text off to Alexis so she can alert the men who are stationed out at Sara’s house. Their guy might need to add more people, and he’ll probably want to see all these papers with his own eyes before he does anything. Mr. Snowden was an MI6 agent. A superspy for the queen. He retired and relocated here to work for Charles, who is married to Myra. He was also a spy for the queen. Martin and the queen were childhood friends. Fergus is Annie’s significant other. He used to head up Scotland Yard. The three of them worked together over the years and now work for . . . the ladies. Annie de Silva is Countess Anna de Silva, one of the richest women in the world. Myra, I’m told, is no pauper either when it comes to having money.”
Paul whistled. “You do travel with some impressive people. I had no idea.” His voice and his expression were so full of awe, Bella burst out laughing.
“That’s how I felt when I found out. You’ll get used to it. For the most part, all of the women are pretty normal and ordinary.” She laughed again when she said, “Just don’t ever turn your back on any one of them, even Maggie, the reporter.”
Paul nodded because he didn’t know what else to do. “But one of them said that the house Sara is living in is under surveillance by your people round-the-clock. If she gets spooked and takes it on the lam, they’ll catch her.”
“There are just two of them out there now. Front door, back door, side door, basement door. Various windows. From what I’ve been told, Sara is a remarkable escape artist, and she also excels at various disguises.” Bella talked nonstop until the pizza arrived. They ate and guzzled until everything was gone. Then they cleaned up, checked all the windows and doors, set the alarm, and left the town house. Paul tossed the pizza box and the beer bottles in the Dumpster in the parking lot.
“Back to the farm, right?”
“Yes, we need to bring this to a close as soon as possible. Not us but the Sisters. You do understand there is no way we can interfere in any of this going forward. That’s how they work. We can voice our opinions, but that’s it. Tell me you understand, Paul. Otherwise, I cannot take you back to the farm,” Bella said.
Paul looked down at her anxious face. He wanted to cup her face in his hands and kiss her. He had never wanted anything more in his whole life. He jammed his hands in his pockets and looked down at his feet. “I understand. Remember, I’m ex-army. I’m trained to follow orders whether I like them or not. Right now, I’m just here to do whatever I can. I won’t botch it up. I know who’s in charge. And it is not me. Okay, let’s go now that we have that all cleared up.”
“You look upset,” Bella said quietly. “You don’t agree, is that it? I think we need to clear that up before we leave here, or there are going to be problems. Or is it that you resent taking orders from a bunch of women?”
“What?” The single word exploded out of Paul’s mouth like a gunshot. “Good God, no! I . . . just . . . I’m fighting with myself here not to grab you and kiss you till your teeth rattle.”
“Then maybe instead of thinking about it, you should do something about that thought.” Good Lord, did I just say that out loud? I guess so, she thought, as she felt hot lips crushing her own.
Paul was the first to pull away. He stepped back to stare at the woman whose world he had just rocked out from under her. He needed to do something, say something, but he was frozen to the floor, his tongue glued to his teeth. He was mesmerized as he watched Bella lick at her swollen lips. She said, in a harsh whisper, “I think we should head back to the farm.