Page 14 of Unspoken Lies

The shitty thing is, those drugs never came up in our blood tests, and I insisted on being tested. Every move was planned to viciously steal Rachelle from us. Fucking Jared and his pharmaceutical background.

I have so many regrets that they could fill the hole they dug for her, there are that many.

I appreciate that Mr. Emil and my father thought to provide a solution to my many fears about living alone, but I’m still notsold that it’ll help my anxiety. Fuck it, I can just make that room my bedroom.

“How big is the panic room?” I ask finally, blowing out a breath.

“You can go and see for yourself, Lili,” Dad says impatiently.

Shaking my head, despite the fact that he can’t see me, I say, “No. Tell me.”

“It’s large enough to set up a bed in it,” he sighs.“I already have everything in the panic room, including the fridge, emergency cell phone booster that’ll override anyone attempting to cut you off from calling out, video camera footage and feeds, and an emergency generator to power it all.”

“Thank you, Daddy,” I say weakly, collapsing fully against my seat. I never call him that and a small sob escapes from my lips before I clamp them together.

“Liliana,” Dad says softly. “Mijita,please. You don’t have to do this if you don’t think you can. I thought you were being a brat about the house, but it’s more than that, isn’t it?”

“I just keep thinking about how they took her,” I whisper, tears flowing down my cheeks. “It could have happened to me. I tried to grab my gun, but Theo overpowered me.”

“No matter how much we train, we aren’t invincible,” he reminds me. “I heard he had scratches all over his face that no one bothered to question. What are the odds that your girl did that?”

I love that he acknowledges that she was mine, because she was.

“I didn’t know that. She probably fought like hell,” I rasp. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I don’t know,” he says honestly. “We’ve all been in survival mode since she died. Pieces of information bubble up here and there, and that’s what I remembered.”

“Okay,” I say. It’s clear he wasn’t just keeping it from me. The last couple of months have been fucking rough. “I’m ready to go inside. There isn’t a driveway. Did you know that?”

“It’s at the back of the house,” he says. “The gate faces the street, but if you go around in your car, you’ll find a driveway is there with a garage. The backyard is a courtyard filled with flowers and has a swing. It separates the driveway from the main house.”

“Wow,” I mutter, looking around to make sure I’m safe to get out of the car. It just reminds me of how easily Ignacio found me since my car is so easily spotted. “On second thought, I’m going to go around with the car. I also think that I may need a more low key vehicle.”

“You admit that your car is a little much?” he teases me. “There are a lot of people with nice cars in Santa Barbara, but if you’re trying to lay low and not be spotted, that would be a good idea. I’ll have an SUV delivered to your new house. Don’t tell me no.”

“Gracias,” I murmur obediently instead as I pull around the corner. There is the driveway just as he said, and as I drive in, the garage door begins to open as well. “Why is the door opening, Dad?”

“I’m watching you from home on the cameras,” he explains. “The entire outside of your property is wired for security. The fob for the garage is inside on the kitchen counter, and the door from the garage into the courtyard has your great grandfather’s birthday as the code to enter. It’s the same for the back door of the house as well.”

A snort escapes, because that’s just random enough to work. My father is a mastermind, and no one can tell me otherwise.

“That’s a nice touch,” I tell him, parking in the garage and startling as it begins to close behind me almost immediately. “Dad?”

“That’s also me,” he says apologetically. “Whenever you come home, you close it behind you as soon as you’re clear, okay?”

“Yeah,” I say, breathing out the scared breath I was holding. “Fuck, that scared me.”

“I’m sorry,” he states. “Okay, now go ahead. The overhead lighting should have turned on as well.”

Opening the door, I see the light is on. I get out and go around to unload my one suitcase and weapons case. That’s how much I’m bringing with me on this new adventure. My nerves are sparking, my heartbeat reminding me of the sound of a drum.

Clicking the key fob to close and lock the car behind me since my hands are full, I walk to the door that’ll allow me entrance into the courtyard. Releasing my rolling suitcase, I enter the numbers for the code, and the lock makes a satisfying beep.

Somehow, that helps my anxiety as I open the door and shove my bags inside of the courtyard. I’m holding my phone against my shoulder, but instead I pull my Bluetooth out of the pocket of my suitcase and connect it so I can shove my phone into my jeans pocket.

Hands now free, I pull closed the door behind me and lock it before drawing my gun. I trust my father enough that he wouldn’t lead me into a trap, but I also am in the habit of clearing a space of any danger.

There’s still light in the sky since it’s barely three in the afternoon, and the sun is shining brightly. It’s warm, the trees in the courtyard offer lots of shade, and there’s also a small covered area that’ll offer me a place to hang out when it rains.