“That boy sure has wormed his way into your life very fast. Are you sure you can trust him?” Tom’s gruff voice causes my stomach to roll. He won’t understand, but I can’t fault him for being skeptical.
“I promise you, Bash is a great guy. He’s…” I sigh. How do I even put it into words? “He’s exactly what I need. You have nothing to worry about.”
Tom makes a doubtful noise in his throat, but drops the subject.
“Fine. At least let me walk you to your car.” When I open my mouth to protest, he sighs. “Let me do this. For me. It’ll make me feel better.”
“Okay,” I agree and loop my arm through his offered one.
After a few minutes, he lets out a hearty laugh. “You know Betty’s going to freak out when I tell her, right?”
“Do you have to tell her?” My whining is immature, but I really don’t want to deal with a worried Betty.
“I don’t keep secrets from my wife,” he grunts. “Honesty is the key to a healthy relationship. Be sure to remember that.”
His warning sounds targeted, but there’s no way he can know about my past, right? And even if he did, I already told Bash about it. We don’t have any secrets between us anymore.
I just nod in response, and we walk the rest of the way in silence. When we get to my car, someone on the far side of the parking lot catches my eye.
It’s the way he stands, so familiar in my memory. The slight slouch with his left shoulder scrunched higher than the right. He’s too far away for me to make out his features, and despite every logical neuron telling me he’s dead, all I can see is Vincent.
“Lizzy, are you okay?” Tom demands, following my gaze to the ghost across the lot. The one staring back at us. “Who is that?”
“I have no idea.” I pray that’s the truth. That it’s just a stranger. One who’s paying too much attention to us.
“I’m going to go talk to him,” Tom decides. Before I can protest, he’s marching away. But as soon as Tom steps in the man’s direction, he turns and disappears into the rows of cars.
Tom turns on me. “Lizzy, you need to be careful. Go straight to Sebastian’s. If at any time you don’t feel safe with him, call us. We’ll come get you immediately.”
The urgency in his tone has me throwing my arms around him. He’s so worried about me, but for all the wrong reasons. Bash isn’t my danger, he’s my safety. It’smypast that’s the real threat.
“I promise I will.” Even though I know it won’t happen, I still want to reassure him.
He comes back and opens my car door for me. As I back out of my spot, he remains there, watching me until I’m out of the lot. Only then does he turn away.
On the ride home, I rationalize with myself. Vincent is dead. I watched him bleed out. Caused it. Clearly, there’s aman that resembles him who frequents the zoo. He’s the one I keep seeing. There’s no need to tell Bash and worry him. I’ve already caused him enough problems.
Chapter 33
Sebastian
“Took you long enough,” Roman bristles as I walk into the warehouse. He’s been in and out of here for the past twelve hours, even though the men bolted to the chairs in the middle of the room are my catch.
The two men who broke into Lizzy’s home with the intention of kidnapping her stir at my footsteps. When they finally see me, one shrinks back. It’s good that they recognize me as the man who took them out in under five minutes last night. His blatant fear surges through me, doubling my size. But the other’s obstinance and disregard chips at my patience.
“I had to make sure Lizzy got to work before I could interrogate these assholes,” I grumble.
Their lack of notable pain fills me with regret. I should have made them suffer more, but last night my only goal was incapacitating them as quickly as possible so I could return to Lizzy. But that’s what today’s for.
“How’s she doing?” Ever since becoming a dad, Roman’s concern for others, especially women, has grown tenfold. Roman a decade ago wouldn’t even think to ask about Lizzy’s wellbeing. Cecilia made a positive impact on him.
“She’s a little shaken, but she’s tough. She insisted on going to work today, so that’s good.” I turn to face the men who’s names I need to research. There’s no point in destroying their lives because they’re not leaving this room alive. “I’m more concerned about who sent these men after her.”
I have yet to tell Roman about Lizzy’s past. She may not want others to know, but Roman won’t judge her, and he needs to know for this interrogation. But first, I want to see what they confess to and if their story corroborates with hers.
“Why did you break into Lizzy Lewis’s house?” I demand, punctuating my question with a kick to the obstinate one’s shins. The man jolts upright then glares at me.
“Elizabeth’s house,” he corrects me.
