Page 94 of His to Possess

I sag in relief. I’d been expecting much more of a fight from her. “Thank you, Veronica.”

She clears her throat. “Whatever is going on with her, you better fix it, Philip. I’m counting on you.”

That gives me pause. “You’re not mad about this? That I want to have a relationship with your friend?”

She’s quiet for a moment. “Honestly? I’m not sure how I feel about it. If Lilah came to me and told me she was dating a guy your age, I’d be scared for her. But…”

“But?” I press.

She sighs. “But it’syou, Philip. You’re the person I trust most in the world. Not to mention the fact that you’ve never once told me you had feelings for any woman. You’ve never brought a girlfriend home. As far as I know, you don’t even date. So the fact that you’re admitting all this to me says something.” There’s a pause. “You really love her?”

“I do.”

“Does she know that?”

I’m already in motion, grabbing keys and my wallet as I head for the door. “No, but I’m going to make sure that she does.”

“You better take care of her, Philip. Big brother or not, I will kick your ass if you hurt her.”

“I promise, V. Thank you for helping me. I love you.”

I’m halfway to my sister’s apartment when my phone rings again. Jane. I answer immediately. “She’s staying at my sister’s place,” I say, not bothering with a greeting. “Veronica just told me. I’m on my way now.”

“Did your sister say whether she’s there right now?”

There’s something in Jane’s tone I don’t like. “No. Why?”

The slightest pause has my hackles going up. “Jane?”

“The source I had tracking the stepfather just called. He left Raleigh this afternoon.”

“Why the fuck are we just finding out about this?” I demand.

“The guy has clients of his own, Philip. He was doing me a favor checking on Worthington. Besides, it doesn’t matter. One of my sources saw him enter Club Rendezvous ten minutes ago.”

A shock of icy cold slithers through my veins. Lilah’s stepfather ishere?“He’s at Rendezvous? He’s not a member there, right?”

“He’s not,” she agrees. “We definitely would have found that.”

“Then why the fuck would he be there?” I groan. “I don’t like this. Can your guy follow him inside?”

“He did, but he lost him in the nightclub.”

I curse, pounding my fist on the steering wheel. “He needs to find him. Now. I don’t like this, Jane.”

“He’s on it. And I’m heading in that direction myself.”

That only calms me a little. There’s no one I’d want keeping an eye on things more than Jane. But the fact that she thinks it’s necessary to go over there herself means she’s as worried as I am.”

“Go to your sister’s apartment as planned,” she instructs, as if sensing the indecision in my head. “If she’s there, you can make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid. I’ll go to Rendezvous and be in touch.”

“Jane, if she’s at that club—”

“I’m not going to let anything happen to her, Philip.”

Then she hangs up without another word. I try to calm my nerves as I speed toward Veronica’s apartment like a maniac, probably breaking a dozen traffic laws. Whatever reason her stepfather has to be at Rendezvous doesn’t matter right now. I can let Jane worry about it. Right now, I need to see Lilah in the flesh.

I’m still a good ten minutes from my sister’s place when another call comes in. This time, the screen says Christopher, and I nearly hang up on him in my haste to answer.