Page 19

Riley

“ A ll right. Ready?” I ask as soon as we’ve stepped outside of the large house.

Jules is standing beside me, staring out at the entrance to her father’s gardens.

She’s struggling with being back here, and I’d offered to get two hotel rooms instead so she could stay there rather than here, but she’d refused.

Even as painful as it is, she wants to be here. So I don’t press the issue.

“Let’s do this.” She takes a step toward the gardens.

Romeo lets loose a warning bark, and I turn toward the drive as a dark SUV rounds the turn in the drive, heading our way.

Adrenaline surges through my veins as I go over every possibility in my head. I scan the distance, ensuring it’s the only vehicle on the way. “Get in the truck,” I tell Jules. “Driver’s side. If anything happens, start the truck and take off.”

She hesitates a moment but finally climbs in and closes the door, locking it behind her.

“ Bleib , Romeo,” I order, and my dog sits alert at my side. “ Braver hund. ” Good dog.

Through the SUV’s tinted windows, I can’t see who’s in the backseat, though the man driving is wearing a black suit and dark sunglasses. I reach behind me and grip the firearm holstered at my lower back.

Just in case.

The SUV comes to a stop, and the driver steps out then opens the back passenger door. Odie Landers, wearing a gray pinstriped suit and a grim expression, climbs out. He buttons his suit jacket then crosses toward me.

“I didn’t realize we had a meeting, Mr. Hunt.”

“That’s because I didn’t make one.” I remove my hand from my firearm and cross my arms.

The driver’s side door of my truck opens, and Jules climbs out, coming to stand beside me. Her demeanor has completely changed, her shoulders slumped as she stands in front of her brother.

“Jules.” He says her name as though it’s a foul word, and I ball my hand into a fist. I knew I didn’t like this guy.

“Hey, Odie.”

“What are you both doing here?” He asks her the question, but his attention is on me.

“Riley is going to stay here with me until after the funeral. We wanted to see if there was something here that would tell us who killed Grandfather.”

“You’re not staying here.”

“Yes, I am,” she replies, a bit more sternly this time. “This is my home.”

“This was our grandfather’s home. And until the will is located and read, you can’t remain on the premises.”

“Are you planning to enforce that?” I ask. “Because I know of a few laws that prevent you from keeping her from entering her place of residence.”

“It’s a crime scene.”

“It was a crime scene,” I counter. “I checked. The residence was released back into the custody of the family.”

“Exactly. The family .”

“Meaning Jules has every right to be here.” Even more so than you.

“Riley, it’s—” Jules starts.

“You asked me to find her and bring her home. I did that. She’s decided to keep me on as private security until the threat against her life is over.

Do you have a problem with that?” I demand because I’m sensing that his problem is more with me than her staying here, though I’m not sure why. Lack of control, perhaps?

Now, he turns to Jules. “I have private security, Jules. He’s search and rescue, not a bodyguard.”

“Actually, I’ve been known to do both,” I reply.

He glares up at me. Actually glares, as though he can do anything at all. It only fuels my fire.

“Tucker pulled all of the information on this house,” I say. “Meaning I know exactly whose name is on the deed to this place alongside her grandfather’s, and I’m happy to provide a copy of that documentation if you need it to refresh your memory.”

Jules has gone completely silent at my side.

“That won’t be necessary,” Odie replies, his tone cool.

“Good. Glad to hear it.”

“Jules, can I speak with you alone?”

“Uh, yes. Sure.”

Unease climbs up my spine as Odie leads Jules away from me and toward the house. They don’t go inside, something I’m fairly certain only happened because she chose to stop on the porch.

I watch them carefully, seeking any sign that he’s upsetting her. But she keeps her expression neutral, her arms crossed. Her body language is screaming discomfort, yet she remains steady where she is.

The strength of this woman astounds me. The fact that she wants to stay in the place where she nearly lost her life, as well as treat someone with respect when they clearly don’t feel the same.

It’s definitely a skill I lack, that’s for sure.

After a few minutes, he awkwardly hugs her then heads down the steps, pausing just in front of me.

“My sister is insisting on retaining your services as her protector. I don’t feel like I need to impress upon you just how much I want her safe.”

“You certainly don’t show it.”

“We have a strained relationship, Mr. Hunt, but that is none of your business. She’s my sister, my only remaining family, and if I’m entrusting her to your care, I want to know she’s safe.”

“I will protect her with my life,” I tell him. “It’s what we do.”

He looks less than impressed. “Fine. Then I suppose I will be seeing you at the funeral tomorrow.”

“I guess you will.”

He purses his lips and offers a curt nod then turns and climbs back into the SUV. Within minutes, they’re driving away, disappearing around the curve in the estate’s long driveway.

“Are you all right?” I ask Jules as she crosses over toward me.

“I’m fine.” Her tone is short, her expression masked. “Let’s get this over with.” She starts walking, though I note her movements are strained.

“You’re hurting. We can do this tomorrow after the funeral.”

“No. I want to get it over with. I’ll be fine.”

“Jules—”

She whirls on me, fury in her gaze. “I said I can do this, Mr. Hunt. I don’t need to be babysat or treated as though I’m made of glass.

Okay? Not even a little bit. So stop. You’re here to keep me alive and help me find the truth.

So do those two things.” Tears shimmer in her eyes, and I realize it’s not anger that’s causing this—it’s hurt. What did he say to her?

I swallow my pride, not allowing myself to dwell on the fresh anger burning in my chest. “Fine. Lead on.” I gesture straight ahead.

“Thank you.” She begins walking, following a dirt trail into sprawling gardens with blooming roses.

I begin walking, too, with Romeo at my side. I’m only half-focused at the moment, though, because I desperately want to chase after Odie and find out exactly what he said to upset her.

“I ran through here then headed into the tree line.” Jules’ voice rips me from my thoughts as we walk the path just as she described, heading into a grouping of tall oak trees.

A few seconds later, she stops and points to a hole at the base of an old tree.

“That’s where you hid?”

She nods. “The tree is hollow. It’s been that way for as long as I can remember, but my grandfather never had it cut. I used to hide in it whenever we played hide-and-seek. No one ever found me.”

“I can see why.” I kneel and study the dirt at the base. There are a bunch of leaves moved around, though recent ones indicate that it’s not been freshly disturbed. “How long were you in here?”

“Until just before dawn. As soon as I thought it was safe, I slipped out and ran back to the house to check on my grandfather. Since I was worried the killer might still be here, I climbed up the trellis leading to my bedroom instead of using the front door.”

“So you checked on your grandfather, and then what?”

“I grabbed the jewels the killer left behind, packed a bag, and headed out the same way I came in.”

Straightening, I survey the grounds. She had to have been moving fast in order to remain out of sight. There’s not much cover here, but since the killer didn’t follow her out the window, my guess is her quick escape bought her just enough time to keep her out of his sights.

“Okay. Anything else you can remember?”

“No.”

With Romeo at my side, I make my way back through the trees, trying to think like a killer. I follow the fastest path from the house to the trees then take a more roundabout way. “You heard his voice that night and in the hotel, are you sure it was the same man?”

Her gaze levels on mine. “I’m positive. It’s a voice I’ll never forget.”

Thirty minutes later, we’re back at the house. She’s already started cleaning up the kitchen. I can hear her in there, moving about—albeit slowly. She’s unable to sit down, to settle. Is that a new development? Or is she someone who always has to be moving?

I should have insisted she take it easy. But even as I think it, I know that it wouldn’t have been possible. Aside from tying her to a chair, there’s no keeping Jules down. She’s a fighter, and they always bounce back onto their feet even in moments when they aren’t ready.

I should know. I’m a stubborn fighter, too. Even fighters need protecting sometimes. With that in mind, I step out onto the front porch then withdraw my cell phone and call up Tucker.

“What’s up, Riles?”

“Can you check a home security camera feed for me? Jules said the footage is stored for ten days on their home network.”

“Sure thing. Are you on the home network now?”

“Yeah.” Jules had given me the Wi-Fi password right after we’d gotten back to the house. Before she’d gone into full-blown reset cleaning mode.

“Awesome. Hold, please. What exactly am I looking for? We already pulled the footage from the night her grandfather was killed. There wasn’t anything.”

“I want to know what her brother said to her when he was here.”

“Ooh, intrigue. When was he there?”

“About an hour ago.”

“Looking now.” He begins to hum, so I pop a piece of gum into my mouth as I wait. “Okay. I got the feed. Sending it your way now.”

My phone dings, letting me know whatever he sent arrived. “Great, thanks.”

“No problem. How’s she doing?”

“Not great. Do you know if we have any crime scene cleanup contacts here in Seattle?”

“I can look into it. Check the files and all that.”

“That would be great, thanks. Talk soon.” I end the call then open up the file he sent me. The footage is grainy, but the audio is clear enough.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Odie asks.

“I’m back for the funeral.”

“But you’re here. You shouldn’t be here.”

“This is my home, too, Odie.”

He shakes his head angrily . “I don’t care what that deed says. This stopped being your home when you ran out that night. How dare you come here before coming to me? Are you that afraid of your own shadow that you can’t come check in with the only family you have left?”

The hurt on her face is evident enough even through the grainy footage . “I needed to see it all again.”

“Why? So you can find yourself back at the bottom of a bottle? We both know you aren’t strong enough for this. You’ll crack, and then what? I’m not our grandfather. I won’t bail you out of rehab, Jules. Your mistakes will be your mistakes. Not my burden.”

“I don’t need you to get me out of rehab. I’m doing fine. It’s been ten years.”

“Sure,” he scoffs . “And what are you thinking, hiring him as protection? They track people down. Not protect them.”

“He’s done a pretty great job so far,” she replies.

“So far? You were stabbed, Jules. According to him, you nearly died.”

She inhales sharply enough I can hear the intake of breath. “I’m not changing my mind, Odie. You don’t control me.”

“No,” he replies . “I never was able to lead you through the trouble, was I? You never trusted me enough for that. Good luck, Jules. I truly hope you’re not making yet another mistake.”

The video ends as he turns to leave.

My hand tightens around my phone, and I have to force myself to put it into my pocket before I snap it. The anger in my veins is nearly unbearable. How dare he speak to her that way? Caring brother? I’d never speak to Lani that way. Not in a million years.

I turn back toward the door.

No wonder she looked so hurt. He threw her past mistakes back into her face and claimed it was because he cared for her.

Has this woman ever known unconditional love? Or did most of her life consist of Odie telling her all the ways she wasn’t good enough?