Mr. Big Deal (Mr. Big 4)

I made eye contact with Jeb, and he nodded and went to stand outside on the patio, giving Alexa and I some privacy.

We sat on the sofa and Alexa sat next to me while I held Leif on my lap.

“How’s my little man?” I said and handed him the stuffed Baby Yoda, which he promptly jammed into his mouth. “Did you remain unaware through all the commotion?”

Alexa finally smiled and focused her attention back onto Leif. “He did, of course. He was playing in his playpen and never once made a fuss. Jeb came and told me to go inside as a precaution, so we came in here and waited.”

“See? There’s nothing to worry about. There will always be someone in the yard and house just in case.”

“I’m glad,” Alexa said. “Until they convict Blaine and put him in jail, I won’t feel totally safe.”

“I know,” I said and squeezed her hand. “They will put him away. Maybe he’ll accept a plea bargain and accept a lesser charge and will go to jail. Then, he’ll be out of our hair for a while.”

“I hope so,” Alexa replied, her tone doubtful. “If he does go to jail, he’ll be even more resentful of me and you.” She shook her head. “Why couldn’t he just get a life and leave me alone?”

“He’s one of those guys who can’t let go,” I said, remembering what I’d read about stalkers. “He’s obsessed. Don’t worry — they’ll put him away. I have faith in the justice system.”

“For how long?”

“He raped and assaulted you and stalked you and posted that video, plus he assaulted Candace, so if they could nail him for that, it would be attempted murder. He’d go away for life.”

“He has nothing to lose then, does he?” Alexa glanced at me, her eyes wide. “That makes him even more dangerous.”

I leaned over and kissed her. “Like you said, we don’t need to worry. We have the very best in personal security. You’re safe. As safe as you can be.”

She sighed, and I could tell she was spooked and wasn’t really convinced by what she said but was putting on a brave face. “Maybe we should move to Brussels and get away from the US.”

I frowned, for I really didn’t think the move to Brussels was best for all of us. Before I could speak, she held up a hand.

“I’m kidding,” she said. “I don’t want to go to Brussels. It’s just that I highly doubt Blaine would make the effort to follow me there.”

“Look,” I said and kissed her knuckles. “You’re safe. As soon as the guard thought there was the slightest risk, you were brought inside, and the place was locked down.”

“How is that any way to live?”

“Alexa,” I said and shook my head, angry that Blaine was ruining things for Alexa. “The Prosecutor will send him to prison. Until then, you’re safe. Today should prove that to you.”

She forced a smile and nodded finally, but I knew she still didn’t feel completely safe. I knew that there was really nothing more I could do to convince her, so instead, I intended to spend as much time with her and Leif as I could and keep the trips to the city at a minimum.

Luckily, we could always do FaceTime calls if anything important came up. Other than our trip to the city on Saturday for the meeting with Hanson and the other investors, we had nothing major on the agenda for Astra and anything that did come up could be handled via conference call or video.

Once the police had finished their work and had carted the two hoods off to the local police station, we spent the rest of the evening sitting on the patio, discussing the deal and how it would be structured so that we created a new entity that would invite even further investment from other players in the aerospace industry who wanted to get in on the future.