Rhett shoots me a look. He didn’t realize we’d slipped up either. Does that mean he’s not a liar? I mean… more than he was by not opening up with this stuff from the start. He leans close, lowering his voice just for me again. “I’m going to get a look at the security footage.”
“But you’re not a cop anymore, right?”
“She’ll show me,” he says, matter of fact. “If he followed us here…”
He takes us all to the security room after a brief conversation with Marjorie. Rhett checks the footage, always standing beside us, always moving to make room for us like he wants us near. He’s alert and protective… and I like it. Even if I hate this situation overall.
Find the light.
He shakes his head. “Nothing,” he murmurs. “So how did he…” His eyes snap wide open. He grits his teeth, then offers Marjorie his hand. “Thank you for this, ma’am. My advice would be to forget this ever happened. It had nothing to do with you, but I’m sorry you were caught in the crosshairs.”
He hurries us outside, shaking his head.
“What is it?” I ask.
“He didn’t follow us,” Rhett grunts.
I keep one arm over Mira’s shoulders as we hurry across the parking lot.
As soon as we reach the car Rhett leans down and starts patting it down.
“What are you doing, brr-Rhett?” she asks.
“Checking if there’s something stuck to my car. Like a magnet.”
“Can I help?”
Rhett looks up at me as his handthunksbeneath the car, clanging the metal as he searches.
“Sure, sweetness,” I say.
Mira darts to the other side of the car, reaching around for it. I scan the parking lot and the surrounding stores. He could be hidden in any of these cars, watching and waiting.
Online, in chat groups about stalkers, they say you can’t blame yourself. It’s something in the stalker, not the victim, and even if you think you’ve done something to attract them, it’sstillonthem. Because no matter what you did, they would’ve always found a way to warp it into something else. I try to remind myself of that as my baby sister pulls out a big metal block and waves it like a trophy. “I got it! I got it!”
Rhett strides over and reaches for it. Mira shakes her head and offers her other hand for a high five first. He laughs and slaps hands with her, and again, that little something in me melts.
Rhett takes the device and studies it in the light. “Yep.”
“It’s a tracker?” I ask.
“Whoever did this worked fast,” Rhett says. “Followed us here, searched the surrounding area, anticipated that you’d go into the gallery and got the owner’s number.”
I chew the inside of my cheek. It’s exactly ew what Lucian loved to do, big, stupid schemes that made him feel like some villain out of a Saturday-morning cartoon. Too ridiculous for reality, but unfortunately, this asshole’s real.
“Elle,” Rhett says, tapping the roof of his car to break my trance. “We’re going home, and I’m installing that security system. We’re going to be okay. I promise.”
“I know,” I reply. “Of course we are.”
I say that for Mira’s benefit, obviously, but I’m not so sure. Maybe I should’ve stayed on the West Coast. Buying this place was a disaster waiting to happen. But I thought I would have years, not days...
We pile into the car, and Rhett begins the drive home. Mira hums and looks out the window. The sight of her being a normal kid will never stop being a miracle to me.
Rhett reaches over and takes my hand, the other confidently on the wheel. I hold tightly to him, brushing my thumb over his knuckles. This isn’t perfect, but at least he’s a good man.
“What are you thinking?” He asks softly.
I glance in the rearview mirror. Mira has stopped humming and her eyes are closed, but I’m not sure she’s fully asleep yet.
