"The scary bodyguard dude?"
"Security specialist. He's going to keep you safe while we figure this out."
"Quin, I can't ask you to—"
"You're not asking. I'm telling you. You're my sister. I'm not letting Roman's family hurt you." His voice softened. "I already lost you once. I'm not losing you again."
She sobbed—relief and fear and love all tangled together.
"What do I do about Roman?" she asked. "He's been calling every ten minutes. If I don't answer soon, he'll get suspicious."
"Answer. Act normal. Tell him you're busy with work for the next few days. Buy us time to get Stone there and figure out what we're dealing with."
"What if he can tell I know?"
"You're a producer in LA," I said. "Lying is basically your job description."
A watery laugh. "Fair point." Then, quieter: "The thing is, I don't think I'll have to lie. When I talk to him, it still feels... real. Even now, even knowing what I know, part of me wants to believe there's an explanation. That maybe he's in as deep as I am and just as scared. Geeze, listen to me. I sound pathetic."
"You sound like someone who fell in love," I said gently. "That's not pathetic. That's human."
"Bianca," Quentin continued, "after Stone arrives, we're going to need you to come to Salt Lake. Can you do that? Can you leave LA for a while?"
"I—yes. Yes. Anything to get away from this."
"Good. Pack a bag. Just essentials. Leave everything else. We'll handle the rest."
"Thank you." Her voice broke. "Thank you, Quin. I'm so sorry I got you involved in this mess."
"That's what family does. We get involved in each other's messes." He met my gaze, and I saw everything we'd been through reflected in his eyes. "Trust me. We're very good at messy."
"I love you, big brother."
"I love you too. Now pack a bag. Wait for Stone's call. He'll be there tonight."
"Tonight? How—"
"I have a jet. Perks of the lifestyle you tried to escape."
"Maybe I'm not as escaped as I thought."
"Maybe. But we'll figure it out. Together."
She huffed out a breath. "Okay. I can do this."
"You can. Call me when you're somewhere safe."
“I will. Thank you. Both of you."
"We've got you, Bianca," I said. "Whatever happens, we've got you."
The line went dead.
Quentin immediately called Stone, putting it on speaker while it rang.
"Boss," Stone answered. "What's up?"
"How fast can you get to Los Angeles?"
