Page 49 of Unraveled Love

“You okay?” I scanned her green eyes, seeing nothing but sorrow and guilt that pinched at my heart and burned in my chest. I could be there for her, but I couldn’t fix it.

And I hated it.

“Yeah.” She sniffed and looked over my shoulder. “Just need a minute.”

“Take all the time you need.” I brushed my lips over hers in a whisper of a kiss, and even then, she let out a soft sigh of pleasure.

I stepped back and gave her the space she needed. Once she was up the stairs, I pulled out my phone and ignored missed messages from my parents and my cousin, Hudson, back in Des Moines.

I’d barely talked to any of them since Addi, which meant they were owed a call. Later, when I could talk to my mom without her catching the worry and stress in my voice. I might have been over thirty, but she’d hear it, and she’d worry. There were only so many women I could take care of at a time.

“Maxim,” he stated as soon as he answered.

I didn’t bother saying hello. Maxim was a get-to-the-point kind of guy, and I was too impatient for pleasantries anyway. “How’s Rachel?”

“Cops are still here, talking to her, but she’s holding up. Doesn’t seem all that upset, to be honest, which has a few cops giving each other looks.”

“Of course.” A woman not sad her husband and provider is dead? Obviously suspicious. Too bad they wouldn’t find anything. I had no doubt she had nothing to do with this, and if I could get her to us safely, I’d bring her. “Addi wants to call her.”

“I can get them out in less than twenty and do a sweep to make sure nothing is planted. Give me thirty?”

That might not be such a bad thing anyway. It’d give Addi more time to process what she’d seen. “I’ll hold her off. Thanks.” I blew out a breath and ran a hand through my hair, scrubbed my jaw I hadn’t yet shaven, and started pacing my living room. “Any thoughts on what happened?”

“I have no damn idea.” Maxim sounded just as frustrated as I currently felt. “We’ve kept attention on his office in case he showed up, but even we didn’t catch this. Won’t know for sure until we can see him if at all possible, but he’s been off radar for weeks, and the first thing he does is go to his office to take himself out? I’ve already got a call in to Jaxon to get someone in the local PD to give us their report. But my thoughts…someone got to him, took him out, and planted him there. How they did that while getting past the tracking we have beats the hell out of me though.”

“Shit.” So we still had nothing. When this was all said and done, I was going to need a two-week vacation and a bottle of bourbon to unspool all my twisted and knotted muscles.

“Seems that way.”

I stood near the sliding glass door and looked out at my small, fenced-in yard. “All right. Keep me updated if you find anything, and can you text me when it’s safe for Addi to call?”

“Will do.”

The only good thing about this was it meant one more player off the board; too bad it would only create more leads and questions.

A knock hit my door and I spun toward it, adrenaline beating a wild thump against my rib cage. Any of the guys who took turns guarding the outside always texted to let me know they were on their way.

I scanned my texts, looking for the alerts I received once they were outside letting me know they were in position, and came up with nothing. I grabbed my firearm from the table I kept by the front door. Addi’s footsteps thumped on the stairs as she made her way back down right as I checked the magazine on instinct after years of training and slammed it back into the grip. “Who’s here?

“I don’t know.” I pointed to her before she reached the end of the stairs. “Stay there. Do not move a muscle. You have your phone?”

“Yeah. Of course.” She held it up.

“Get 911 pulled up but don’t call unless you need to.”

Her head whipped toward the door and she white-knuckled the banister.

“It’s probably nothing. Just be prepared.” Once she nodded, I pulled up Mason’s name and called him.

“I’m two minutes out, what’s up?”

“Shit. There’s someone here. Knocking on the door.”

“I’ll make it sixty seconds.”

It’d been a minute, maybe less since the knock came, and a quick peek through the security hole told me nothing was there. Still, I opened it slowly, leading with my gun drawn and ready, and scanned the small front porch.

“Fuck.” No one was there, but a white piece of paper was folded, taped to the door. I grabbed it, ducked back inside, and texted Mason do a perimeter check before he came to the door.

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