“Keaton.” Her shaky voice instantly sends me into protective mode.
“What’s wrong, fy seren?”
“They found me.”
Shit. “I’ll be there in a few. Stay away from the windows.” I want to tell her to make sure her doors are locked, my need to do something while I’m unable to do anything urging me to, but I don’t. Lily is an adult. What I can do, however, is say, “Pack a bag. Bring enough for at least a week. We can get more later.”
“Okay.” I expected her to argue and was prepared to debate the reasons why this is the safer option for her. The fact she agrees without one tells me how shaken up she is. I can only imagine the scene outside her home.
“Do you have a back door you can sneak out of?” I’d rather not go through the crowd, but I will if I have to. Should I get hera bodyguard until this dies down? The likelihood she’ll need that barrier is marginal at best, but I also didn’t think they’d find her this soon.
“There’s an alley.”
“Can you be ready in ten minutes?”
“Yes.” I approach her street and see the swarm of people on the lawn and curse again. It’s more than I expected and less than I feared. Not ideal but I know it could be worse. I slow down as I search for the alley entrance and debate whether my truck will fit. Thankfully, it’s larger than it looks and I make it with plenty of room. Lily texts that she needs another five and I assure her she’s fine. I don’t want to rush her, knowing this is a tricky situation and she’s being forced to leave her home, but I also don’t want the vultures to start poking around and find us.
While I wait, I send a quick message to Beck, letting him know they’ve located Lily and I’m taking her to my place. I’ll see to her safety personally, of course, but Beck needs to be aware of this new development.
Boss Man Beck: You know how that will look.
Me: I do.
Like she’s moving in with her fiancé, which will only add fuel to the engagement news and the attention on us.
Boss Man Beck: Be careful.
Not sure how to respond, I simply give his message a thumbs up emoji to acknowledge it. Physically, I will be. Emotionally? I’m already so invested in Lily that I can’t bear the thought of her deciding all this is too much and walking away from me.
The Mrs.: Coming down.
I stash my phone in my pocket and pull as close as I dare to the door. I wish I could’ve backed in to put her side of the truck closest to the exit, but I was trying to be as stealthy as possible.
Knowing Beck has the other under control, more specifically the department he and his brothers employ for such a task willsoon, I focus on maintaining my calm. Perhaps if I portray the emotion, it’ll help her feel it, too.
It takes a lot of people to run an empire the likes of which the Decker brothers own. All Decked Out is the initial company they created from nothing and it grew into a multimillion-dollar business within its first five years of inception. Rather than rest on their laurels and enjoy the life of luxury their newfound wealth allotted them, they approached the governor of Michigan, their home state, and mine, and explained their plan to create three expansion teams in the city of Midland. Once the logistics of it were worked out, they sought an audience with the WSL, Warrior Sports League, and gave their presentation of adding a football, hockey, and baseball team.
It was a lengthy process, but they never complained about the hoops they had to jump through to receive approval, threefold.
I know the number isn’t a coincidence but a well-thought-out choice.
They’re triplets. Identical at that.
Beck is older than Brock and Burke by five and ten minutes, respectively.
Football is Beck’s passion, making him the majority owner of the Mavericks.
Hockey is Brock’s, so he controls the Marauders.
Burke is all about baseball, giving him the top position in the Magics.
Each has a minor share in the other two teams, proving they’re not only business savvy, but also a solid unit.
All three teams are housed in Emerson Stadium, a compound in the true sense of the word. As the seasons only overlap for a brief period of time during the months of September and October, it works quite smoothly for allinvolved. It helps that, during them, they try to schedule only one home game a night, rotating who gets it.
The door handle jiggles, letting me know Lily is about to step out, so I meet her there, using my body to cover hers as much as possible.
Snagging her suitcase and duffle, I take her hand with my free one and lead her toward our escape vehicle. I don’t want to release her, nor prolong our visibility, I tell her to open the driver’s side and I help her inside. She scoots into the middle and I’ve never been more thankful I had a bench seat installed. I want her snuggled against me.
