Page 83 of Beautiful Exile

And I was running out of excuses to avoid them all. I needed to change. I needed to get Brutus water. I needed to check the horsesagain.

Nora filled my vision, crouching low like I was twelve years old again. “I made some soup. Do you want some? Or maybe some tea?”

“Only if you add a strong dose of whiskey,” Lolli called from the opposite side of the room as she watched the deputies combing the property. She glanced my way. “Or I brought my brownies. One or two of those, and you won’t even know what day it is.”

“Don’t tell Trace you brought them,” Fallon muttered from her spot at the kitchen island where she’d been put to work chopping vegetables for some other thing Nora was making.

Lolli turned back to the window. “I don’t know. Maybe I should tell him. Wouldn’t mind being cuffed by a few of those new recruits.”

Kye choked on a laugh. “Please, tell Trace that. But warn me before you do. I want to get it on video.”

Nora pushed to her feet and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Lolli, I really don’t think this is the time?—”

“This isexactlythe time.” She sent me a wink.

I appreciated her rescue attempt. Normally, I would’ve gotten a chuckle out of the back-and-forth, but the walls felt like they were closing in around me today. Fallon and Rhodes in the kitchen. Nora hovering. Lolli catcalling at the window. Kye’s massive form taking over my armchair. The knowledge that Trace was walking a crime scene with Anson right now to get his profiler take.

It was all too much.

A loud knock sounded on the front door. Linc squeezed my knee and then stood. “I’ll get it.”

I was pretty sure I’d sent him a panicked look because I wanted to bolt. Too many people. Too many possibilities for what this all could mean. He sent me his best reassuring glance, but it didn’t do much good.

A second later, voices rose, and someone was stomping down the hallway. Shep appeared, his Colson Construction hat still in place and jeans dusty from a jobsite. “What the hell happened?” he barked.

Linc stepped in front of him in a flash. “You need to rein it in. She’s been through enough today.”

A mixture of anger and respect flashed across Shep’s expression, but he struggled to take a breath. Then Thea was by his side. She squeezed his arm. “Linc’s right. You storming around all caveman-like isn’t going to help anything.”

Shep’s gaze dipped to her. “Caveman-like?”

She shrugged, a small smile playing on her lips. “If the shoe fits.”

He lowered his head to give her a quick kiss. “Thanks, Thorn.”

My chest tightened at the tenderness, the back-and-forth, the give and take. They were so in tune with each other. But what would become of either if something happened to one of them?

The walls closed in a little more, and my breathing grew shallow. Tiny dots started dancing in front of my vision.

I shoved to my feet. “I’ll be back,” I mumbled, bolting for the front door.

A handful of family members called my name, and I thought I heard Linc’s voice saying something. Maybe telling Brutus to stay? But the ringing in my ears was too loud to know for sure.

Tumbling outside, I tried to breathe, but people were everywhere out here, too. More pressure. No space.

I started walking, just trying to get away from everyone, everything. Someone fell into step beside me, not touching me but there. “Follow me,” Linc ordered.

His voice wasn’t gentle or harsh, but I heard the command in it. And that cut through the fog. My body listened on instinct. Apparently, it was an idiot. But I didn’t have it in me to come up with another plan.

So, I followed.

It took me a couple of minutes to realize that Linc was leading me toward the main house. “Aren’t Trace’s people up here?”

Linc shook his head. “They cleared it. No one got in. Camera feeds were checked, too.”

Camera feeds.

One of the things that was supposed to keep me safe. But they hadn’t this time. It was as if someone had known the system. They’d climbed a spot in the fence around the property where we had fewer cameras. They’d worn a dark hoodie and jeans that made it difficult to make out any distinguishing features beyond broad shoulders. But the creepiest part had been the mask.

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