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CHAPTER ELEVEN

Vera was proud that she hadn’t thrown herself at Hop when he’d stepped into the kitchen this morning. He was so sexy, but he hadn’t invited her to live with him because he wanted her. She was in his space because she had nowhere else to go.

She spent the morning catching up with email, placing the outgoing messages in a queue that would go out in the morning at eight Eastern time. She’d learned early that other employees were upset when she sent emails on the weekend. She didn’t expect them to respond, but they couldn’t understand why she liked catching up on work on the weekends so during the week, she could do things like spend thirty minutes doing yoga in the middle of the day and not feel bad about it.

While she was in the middle of a yoga session, she heard Hop come in. She almost abandoned her session and headed into the kitchen to help him put the groceries away, but that was an impulse from her old self. Logan demanded that she serve him at all times. If she even tried to do anything for herself, he got angry. Hop didn’t seem like the kind of guy to get angry about stuff like her doing yoga instead of going into the kitchen to put up groceries that he could put up on his own.

After her yoga and shower, she headed into the main room. It was close to two, and she found Hop reading an article. He glanced up, his lips spreading into a warm smile.

“I made up the meat, so the patties are in the refrigerator, just waiting for me to cook.”

“I’m looking forward to having burgers.”

“I met up with a group of SEALs, and we did a huge workout this morning. I’m probably going to eat two burgers.”

“If you’re hungry, we could go ahead and cook. I could eat.”

He glanced at the tablet he was reading on, then back at her. “Okay. I’m good with that. I’ll get the grill heated.”

“I can cut the tomato and wash lettuce.”

“Cool.”

She worked in the kitchen while he was outside grilling. The window over the sink looked out into the backyard right where the grill was set up, making it impossible to not stare as he cooked the burgers. She needed to talk to someone about the crush she had on Hop. Frizz was the last person she needed to tell. Maybe she could talk to Ellis or Remi so she could get over this crush.

He was doing her a favor, and he didn’t need her doing something stupid like falling for him. She had to find a way to pull back so she didn’t embarrass herself.

Hop had to find a way to keep busy on the weekends. He’d spent too much time with Vera over the last few days. They weren’t dating and weren’t going to date. She was here because her life was in danger. The least he could do was respect her and not hit on her.

After they ate, they cleaned the kitchen, which didn’t take long since she’d cleaned as she worked in the kitchen. He noticed that at some point she’d dusted so he didn’t even need to do his weekly clean up routine.

“I’m going to take a nap.”

She nodded. “I’ll be quiet.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle. “I can sleep anywhere. You don’t have to change anything you were planning on doing.”

“Oh. I guess that’s a military thing.”

“Yeah. I have to be able to drop off anywhere.”

“That’s interesting. I’ll see you later. I might go for a walk.”

“Take your phone and call if you need anything.”

She nodded. “I will.”

He woke, not hearing Vera. Maybe she was taking a nap. He rolled over and checked the time, seeing he’d slept for about two hours. The nap had been decent, giving him plenty of rest.

When he opened his bedroom door, he didn’t hear anyone else in the house. Where was Vera?

Panic rose as he stepped into the hall and had a good look into her room. It was empty. He grabbed his phone, not seeing any notifications.

He was ready to go searching for her when he noticed her outside in the backyard. She was on the phone, a worried look on her face. He stepped out, fearing what she had to say.

She glanced up and frowned as she held up her finger. He moved closer and heard the words that made him freeze.

“Frizz, Ben just stepped out. You need to tell him.”

Hop closed his eyes, praying that his sister was safe. “What happened?”

“Hey, Benny, it’s not bad.”

He sighed as frustration built. He squeezed his fists tight so he didn’t yell. “Just tell me.”

Vera winced and reached out, squeezing his arm. He tried to let go of the stress and just listen but worry had him.

“I was out at a mall, and that shit, Logan, recognized me.”

“Fuck!” He wanted to shake off Vera’s hold, but he knew she was trying to keep him grounded, so he didn’t yell at Frizz.

“I was smart. He doesn’t know my real name. I took off, not giving him a chance to snap a photo of me. I made sure all my social media were set to private, I don’t have any photos of myself visible to the public. I’m smart, Benny, I’m not out there letting people see my life.”

He drew in a slow breath and then counted to four before releasing it. Being angry and throwing a fit wouldn’t help anyone.

“How many cameras do you have on your house?”

“Just the one.”

“Get another one for the backyard. Also, your alarm should be set even if you’re home.”

Frizz sighed, and he knew she was probably rolling her eyes. “I know, Benny.”

“I need you to stay safe.”

“I took a shared ride to a hotel and had my friends get my car. I was smart. He didn’t get my license plate or anything. He doesn’t know where I live.”

“Don’t go back to that mall. Maybe you and Justin should take a vacation or something. There’s the cabin in Colorado.”

Frizz sighed. “Maybe. I don’t know if it has internet.”

“It probably doesn’t, but this guy is dangerous. If he figures out where you live, he could cause some real problems.”

“I know. And I’ll be careful. Justin isn’t happy, and he might be willing to leave.”

“I’ll call him later.”

“Please don’t. We are safe now. The jerk doesn’t know who we are or where we live.”

“Get the other camera for the back.”

“I will. And don’t worry.”

A bark of laughter escaped his lips. “Frizz, of course I’m going to worry about you.”

“I’ll keep you updated. But we’re okay for now.”

He sighed heavily. “Okay. But be vigilant. He’s probably going to start hanging around the mall area, looking for you.”

“Well, it was a mall across town, so he’s going to have a hard time finding me. I’ve gotta go. I’ll call on Wednesday.”

“Bye. I’ll chat with you later,” Vera said before the call ended.

He ran his hand over his face as fear and worry collided. Vera had pocketed her phone and headed inside, leaving him alone. He hated that his sister was in danger. He needed to find someone in that area who could help, but there were few Navy guys in Austin. He might have to rely on retired SEALs. It sucked that Frizz had to deal with this.

Once inside, he heard Vera in her room. He made his way down the hall to her door, seeing her taking items out of her drawers.

“What are you doing?”

She glanced up, and he could see that her eyes were shiny, like she might cry. “I have to go back. I can’t have him looking for Frizz.”

He moved before he had time to think about his actions. His hands were on Vera’s shoulders, forcing her to face him.

“No. You can’t go back. Frizz and Justin can go to the cabin. If you head back to Texas, you could end up dead. The police aren’t doing anything to protect you there. We’ll figure something out.”

She lifted her hands and shook her head. “What can we do?”

He pressed his lips together, trying to calm his racing heart. “The less you know, the better. Trust me, we’ll figure something out.”

She shook her head. “I can’t let you do something that could get you in trouble.”

His smile was automatic, and he might have laughed a little. “If we do something, no one will figure out who did it.”

She narrowed her eyes as she stared at him. “How does that work?”

“Like I said, it’s best you don’t know. I should have done something when you showed up. I thought getting you out would stop him, but obviously, he’s not the type of guy who is smart.”

With Frizz at risk and this Logan guy not giving up, he had to do something to stop him. He didn’t want to break the law, but sometimes extreme measures were necessary. Some guys learned lessons quickly, but this Logan creep seemed like the type of man who wouldn’t ever learn.

Logan couldn’t believe he’d seen Vera’s friend. God, if he could only remember her name. The woman had some stupid name, like a nickname, but he didn’t remember it. He would have to spend time in this shitty mall looking for her. She would return, he knew it. Women were stupid, and they liked to shop. She would forget he’d been here and show up.

He couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen Vera. Where had she disappeared to? He’d watched her hotel for a while but never seen her leave. What had happened?

Burning her out of her apartment had been a mistake. Before the fire, he’d been able to track her with the software he’d put on her phone and computer. Now, he had no clue where she was.

He hoped she was miserable. When he found her, he would make sure she never left him again. They would have to move somewhere else to live. He couldn’t have her yelling for help and someone hearing. They would need space. Maybe he could find a ranch or somewhere in the mountains.

People were nosy. Stupid people at the apartment had told someone that he’d set the fire. They didn’t have proof, just someone saying he’d done it. He’d deflected the questions from the detective, and acted like he had no clue what the guy was talking about. He was sure the heat would die down, but he had to be smart. Holding Vera in an apartment wouldn’t work.

What was worse, his dad wanted him to get a job and start working to earn money. His old man said he had to have experience if he wanted to take over the company when he died. Stupid prick, it wasn’t like it was hard what his dad did. He could probably do it with his eyes closed. Maybe he would help his dad along on the path to dying and get the money now. Then, he could buy a ranch house and keep Vera locked up for his pleasure. He needed more time, though, and he had to find her first. She was around here somewhere. He just didn’t know where.