6
The next morning, after a quick shower, Mac ordered some food and much-needed coffee before heading across the hall.
She, Coop, and Trevor sat down and went through a list of anyone and everyone she could remember from her uncle’s organization who could possibly know about her and the money.
Given that her time with him had been relatively short, plus over eleven years had passed, the list wasn’t very long. In fact, it was easily narrowed down to two. Her uncle and Luca.
Since her uncle was dead…
The second she’d gotten the blackmail note, she’d known in her gut it was Luca. After talking with him yesterday, however, something felt off. She needed to figure out what.
After breakfast, Trevor used his laptop to set up a conference call with Jake to fill him in on everything up to that point. As predicted, their boss wasn’t thrilled that Coop had taken off after her, but only because Coop hadn’t given Jake a heads-up first.
Other than that, their boss had been surprisingly understanding, stating Coop’s actions were the sign of a good partner. Something in Jake’s eyes told Mac the man wanted to say more regarding Coop’s reasonings for coming here, but thankfully he didn’t.
Barely used to the thought of she and Coop becoming more than friends, she definitely wasn’t ready for whatever was going on between them to be Facebook official.
And after yesterday’s mini-tryst in Trevor’s room, she was one hundred percent certain the guy knew what was up. Thankfully he was too much of a gentleman to mention it.
Fast forward a few hours and she found herself finishing a delicious meal at a quaint café not far from Henry’s office. Coop had insisted he tag along, and Trevor was at a separate table acting as if he were there alone.
“Okay, one more signature and we’re done.” Henry flipped to the packet’s final page.
Mac signed her name—her given name—on the line at the bottom of the page.
“Excellent. Here you go.” Henry handed her the keys to her uncle’s house. “Congratulations, Abigail. It’s all yours.”
She stared at the keys. Keys that would take her back to the one place she’d sworn never to return to.
Just thinking about returning to that house caused a cold sweat to form on her skin.
“You okay, sweetheart?” Coop’s warm hand rubbed across her back.
To keep things simple, they’d decided to introduce Coop as her boyfriend. He played the part convincingly well.
“Yeah.” Mac offered him a forced a smile. “I’m fine.”
Though the boyfriend-girlfriend part was for show, she knew the concern shining in his beautiful, caring eyes was very real.
“The code to the gate and the alarm system is zero, seven, zero, two.”
Her eyes shot to Henry’s. “My birthday?”
The other man smiled and nodded. “You should also know, your uncle paid the mortgage in full years ago,” Henry informed her. “The only expenses you’ll have will be property taxes, utilities, and basic up-keep. When do you plan to move in?”
“Oh, I’m not moving in. I’m selling. In fact, if you have a realtor you can recommend, I’d love to get their number. I want to put it on the market before I return home tomorrow morning.”
Jake, Trevor, and Coop had all agreed making her visit here a short one was the wisest decision. Though she knew part of it was because they felt protective of her—which was both sweet and annoying as hell—Mac also couldn’t ignore the logic in their reasoning.
She’d been in town over twenty-four hours and hadn’t received a single message or phone call of any kind. Other than the shots—which she was convinced were nothing more than a warning—the only remotely eventful interaction she’d had was with Luca.
Problem was, he was the one man she’d suspected to be behind the threats, yet he hadn’t mentioned the money at all. At this point, Mac was beyond frustrated.
If whoever had sent her those damn pictures wanted her so badly, why hadn’t they contacted her yet? The waiting and uncertainty of it all was driving her freaking crazy which, according to Coop, was exactly what the bastard wanted to happen.
Mac hated to admit it, but he and the others were right. The longer she stayed in this Godforsaken town, the more time the asshole had to continue torturing her with their twisted game.
Truth was, she wanted to be back home. There she could almost pretend like everything was back to normal. If she was at home, maybe she and Coop could explore what was happening between them.
