Page 61 of Trust

“My sister’s in the hospital, but you know that.”

He nodded.

“I was going to hire a PI until Autumn told me about you.”

“Well, Ian will take you to her safe house, but I want to discuss what has happened since you left. You might want to take a seat.”

Lani sipped her tea as she gazed out at the trees below, feeling trapped. When they first arrived at the safe house, she had been elated. It was off the beaten path, tucked away in the forest. Each morning, Birds singing just outside her window woke her. She spent her days in the gardens down below. It was on the third day that she started to get antsy.

Now that she was on the fourth day of confinement, she was ready to scream. She didn’t have her phone. They had taken itfrom her when she’d started getting nasty texts and DMs. They all seemed to come from the same person—they could not track.

She wanted to talk to Jakob. She needed to hear his voice. How had she gone from being annoyed by him to needing him after one night in his bed?

“Stop looking so depressed,” Emily said as she stepped out on the lanai.

Lani glanced at her protector. Emily was just as quirky as she remembered, with an irreverent sense of humor and a colorful vocabulary.

“I’m not depressed. I’m annoyed.”

“Not at me, because I’m your bestie.”

Lani’s mouth curved. Yeah, it had only been a few days, but they had clicked. Maybe it was the yin and yang of their personalities.

“Just at the situation. Also, at the person pulling this crap.”

Emily nodded. “I get it. I totally do. I would hate to be confined.”

“You’ve been stuck here with me.”

“It’s my job, plus that last job was a pain. The number of tourists who think they can grab ass with the help is astounding. Getting a break from men is kind of nice.”

She took the seat next to Lani at the little table.

“You act like Aaron isn’t a man.”

“Aaron is my brother, so he doesn’t count. We aren’t from Arkansas.”

Lani snorted just as Aaron—known as Mad Dog from his days as an MMA fighter—stepped out on the lanai.

“He’s here. And Mix is with him, so be nice.”

Then he was gone. If Emily was loud and hilarious, Aaron was quiet and stoic.

“Is Conner coming?”

“Naw. It’s someone you want to see.”

“Who?”

“Hollywoodis on his way up the drive.”

Her heart leaped, then plummeted down into her stomach.

“Don’t look like that. I have it on good authority that Hollywood stormed into Conner Dillon’s office and read him the Riot Act. That man is hot to see you.”

She heard the front doorbell chime.

“And he’s here. Let’s go see him.”

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