She lifted a brow and put her hands on her hips. “For one thing, Addy can’t talk to Zane or Trey because DAPS is guarding the house tonight and they aren’t there. For another, no teenage girl on the planet is going to talk to a bunch of guys about her parents’ impending divorce. And lastly, the clown isn’t going to make an appearance as long as I don’t think about him and stay calm. That seems to be the only time he shows up.”
That whole speech might have constituted the equivalent of whistling past the graveyard, but it was either believe she had at least some control over her life, or check herself into a mental facility.
Going into the bedroom, she picked up her small backup weapon and strapped the holster around her ankle underneath her jeans, then grabbed her jacket, slipping it on as she walked into the living room.
Knox looked dubious, trading yet another glance with Diego. “Are you really willing to take a chance on that with Addy in the room?”
Rachel sighed, knowing Knox meant well. Reaching out, she caressed his stubble-covered jaw. “I agree that I’m better when I’m around you, but I refuse to let this thing—this fear—control my life. Addy needs me, so I’m going to go to her. And before you ask, no, you don’t need to come with me. I’ll run over there and talk to her for a while, get her calmed down, then come right back. I’ll only be gone a couple of hours.”
When Knox looked like he still wanted to argue, she stepped closer. “Knox, I need you to trust me on this because I need to be able to trust myself. Okay?”
Knox finally nodded. “Okay. But if you start feeling weird, call me. And please, text me when you get there so I know you arrived safely, okay? And let me know when you’re on your way back here, too.”
“I will.” Rachel leaned over to kiss him, stunned at how touched she was at his concern. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
* * *
Rachel’s phone chirped again as she pulled out of the parking lot of Knox’s hotel, so she checked it at the next stoplight. As she suspected, it was Addy.
Are you almost here? A bunch of men from that security company my dad hired are walking all over the house, including the jerk who owns it. He keeps staring at my butt and totally perving me out. Why couldn’t that cute one, Ethan, be here tonight?
Rachel snorted at the comment about Ethan. She hadn’t really noticed, but she supposed she could see why Addy would think he was cute.
I’m on my way, but it will be at least 20–25 minutes. If any of those DAPS guys bother you or you don’t feel safe, find a place to hide, okay?
Addy sent back a thumbs-up emoji.
Rachel put her phone away, then waited for the light to turn green, hoping she hadn’t made a mistake in leaving the hotel room. Maybe Knox was right and she was putting Addy at risk by meeting with her. Rachel knew she was prone to episodes where she lost time and became violent. Now, here she was going to help a teenager whose parents were having a nasty marital spat. This was probably a really dumb idea. But the moment the thought popped into her head, she dismissed it.Screw that noise. She was stronger than this and refused to let fear keep her from helping a friend.
The drive over to the Lloyd mansion didn’t take quite as long as expected, and she got there in little more than fifteen minutes. But as she approached the front of the property, her inner wolf stirred, telling her not to pull into the driveway, so she drove past it. As she did, she couldn’t help but notice the large number of guards at the wrought-iron gates, ones she didn’t recognize from DAPS at all. She couldn’t put it into words, but something told her asking them to open the gates wouldn’t go well, even if she flashed her badge.
She drove several blocks down the street until she found a place to pull off. Killing the engine, she hopped out of her Fiat 500X SUV and moved quickly toward the house, wondering if she was being silly. But the closer she got to the Lloyd property, the more unsettled her nerves became. Her gums and fingertips tingled like they were on fire, and she couldn’t help thinking something was wrong. Even so, she didn’t mention her suspicions when she texted Knox to let him know she’d made it to the Lloyds’ safely. There was no reason to alarm him.
Rachel stopped in the shadows of the high stone wall along the south side of the residence to text Addy and let her know she was almost there.
Hurry up. The fighting is getting worse.
Rachel cursed. This was obviously what had her inner wolf so restless. It sounded like this potential divorce thing was turning nasty.
Where are you now?
Under the bed in the last guest room at the end of the hallway upstairs.
Stay put. I’m coming to get you.
Switching her phone to vibrate, Rachel slipped it into her pocket, then moved along the wall to a place where she knew the security cameras couldn’t see and hopped over. Dropping into the shadows on the other side, she knelt there for a moment, waiting to see if there were any guards on this side of the house. She wasn’t sure if she was happy or concerned there was no one out here at all.
Where the hell were the DAPS guards that should have been roaming the property?
She moved across the side yard, keeping to the dark shadows until she reached the house. She dipped down and headed to the back of the mansion, using the hedges for cover. She slowed when she heard voices, poking her head up carefully to look in a window.
The first person she saw was Conrad Lloyd. Jennifer’s husband looked tense as he stood talking to a group of half a dozen men dressed in suits. Rachel glanced around the room—as much of it as she could see—but she couldn’t see Jennifer. She swung her gaze back to Conrad when it occurred to her that several of the men were pretty big guys. She did a double take.Crap. Those were the men who’d been at the courthouse yesterday—with Alton Marshall.
She dropped to the ground under the window, her head spinning.WTF?Why would men involved with a dirtbag like Marshall beatthe Lloyds’ place? If they were talking to Jennifer, it might be one thing, but these men were obviously acquaintances of her husband.
Rachel was still trying to work it all out when she heard the sound of leather shoes on stone floors. Peeking over the windowsill again, she saw Theo walk into the room.
“My guys have your wife secured in a room near the garage,” Theo told Conrad. “Your call on what we do with her, but if you need help getting rid of the body, let me know and we’ll take care of it.”
