Jace remained exactly where he was. “I can do a hell of a lot worse than kill you. Stay. Away. From her.”
He shoved Casper hard before stepping away and storming back to Sugar and Spice, where Elle and Harper were now standing out front watching.
CHAPTER 28
“Are you sure you don’t need me to tail you home?”
Elle smiled up at Kayden. It was midafternoon and usually Jace drove home with her after she finished at the café, but today Eastern had called him into the office, hopefully because he’d found something on Boyd or Alice. Another week had passed, and there’d been no signs of Alice or any kind of danger, but Jace was still on edge.
Before he left, he’d asked Kayden to walk her the short distance to her car. Kind of overkill in her opinion. “I’m sure. I’m going straight to Jace’s house.”
Kayden stopped beside her car, his gaze moving over the parking lot. “I only have one tour left for the day. I can ask one of the guys to—”
She touched his arm. “Kayden. It’s fine. Thank you for walking me to my car.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw before he nodded. “Straight home.”
“Straight home.”
With a goodbye, she slid behind the wheel. Before starting the car, she hooked up her phone to the car charger. It had died about an hour ago. Usually, she brought a spare charger in herbag, but today she’d left it at Jace’s house. With half her things at her place, and the other half at Jace’s, life felt kind of chaotic right now. Not so much in a bad way, just an everything-is-everywhere way.
Pulling out of the parking lot, she waved to Kayden as she went.
Today hadn’t been busy, and usually that meant her day dragged by, but Molly had filled a lot of the silences with talk and laughter. She’d joined the dating app that Elle had used, and while the awkward dates made Elle cringe, Molly found humor even in her worst ones, making for some hysterical stories.
Thank God she had Jace, because shewas notcut out for online dating. Or any kind of dating in this day and age, unless it was with a certain man she’d known and been in love with since she was a kid.
Her mind flicked to Jace and what his meeting with Eastern may involve. It had to be about Alice, right? Either that, or they’d finally figured out why Boyd had targeted her.
A shudder coursed down her spine at the thought of Boyd. At least she didn’t have to worry about him anymore.
She was almost at Jace’s house when she realized her phone had turned itself back on, and she’d missed a call and voice message from her aunt. She frowned. Her aunt had also texted her just before her phone died, asking for Jace’s address. Something about delivering a package.
Using the car Bluetooth, she hit play on the voice message.
“Elle…”
Her fingers tightened around the wheel at that single word—at her aunt’s high-pitched voice. She didn’t sound like herself, and there was a shake in her tone as she said Elle’s name.
A few heavy breaths sounded across the line before Jewel spoke again. “I should be calling the police or an ambulance, but I think I’m going to pass out again and I need you to be okay!”
What the hell was she talking about?
“Someone broke into my house. A woman. She…” Her aunt paused to breathe, and Elle’s skin chilled. “She was asking questions about you. I refused to say anything, and she pulled out a gun and hit me in the head.”
Elle’s heart started to pound, her attention barely on the road.
“I woke up and she was gone, but Elle, I’m scared for you. Find Eastern Walker. Now!”
Her hands shook, fear rushing the blood in her veins. She turned onto Jace’s long driveway, cutting the wheel toward the lawn so she could turn back around and head toward her aunt’s house to check that she was okay—
When a car suddenly slammed into the back of her, sending her straight into a tree.
The airbag exploded, and she hit it hard. A buzz blasted between her ears, so loud it was all she could hear. Almost numbly, she reached for her seat belt. She’d just tugged it off when her door was opened and rough fingers wrapped around her upper arm. She cried out as she was yanked from the car, groaning at the tight squeeze of those fingers.
“Elle fucking Marshal.”
Casper?
