Page 68 of Relentless
“Of course,” Sabina replied, instantly. “If you want to give us the name of the law firm you’re using, we’ll pass on whatever we find.”
One of Cody’s brows inched up. “I like how you’re pretending you don’t already know in order to appease my ego by subtly communicating that you trust my ability to pick good lawyers. Lawyers that are up to HICC standards and ones with whom you’d be willing to work.”
Sabina blinked, then laughed. “I guess it didn’t work?”
Cody shrugged. “Maybe a little, but not because you agreed to share information with them. If you didn’t trust them, you would have told me months ago.”
“It’s true, you would have,” Chad said.
Sabina bobbed her head in agreement, then turned serious. “I’m sorry that this is happening to you. It’s hard working with people you don’t trust.” Her gaze flitted to Chad. There had been a time when her sister had given her husband no reason to trust her. She hadn’t ever done anything to intentionally hurt him the way Alex was. But she’d kept secrets from him. And those secrets had made it impossible for him to trust her.
“Can we restrict her access when we get to Tahoe?” Cody asked Tia.
“We can. You can also just send her home,” she replied.
“And throw fuel on the fire?” he countered.
“Tell her you’re thinking of selling the Nashville house and you want her to start organizing it,” Tia suggested.
Cody gave this some thought then slowly nodded. “It’s not a bad idea. That house has nothing personal in it. I wouldn’t have to worry about what she might find or take.”
“Are you really thinking of selling it?” Ethan asked.
Cody looked out the window and answered. “I’ve been considering it. I need to keep a place there. But I was thinking of downsizing and spending more time in Mystery Lake.” Then with a grin, he added, “I suspect the next generation of Warwicks will start coming along within a few years, and I’d like to be around.”
Sabina blushed, and Kara eyed her sister speculatively. She knew Chad and Sabina wanted kids. But the last time Kara asked about it, Sabina had said they’d decided to wait a while. That they wanted some time to themselves. Cody’s comment, and Sabina’s reaction, made her wonder if they’d pushed that timetable up.
“It’s not a bad idea,” Kara said, drawing attention away from Sabina’s rosy cheeks. “If nothing else, it will keep her out of your orbit, so to speak.”
Cody’s gaze lingered on her, then softened. “I’m sorry she did this to you,” he said.
“I wasn’t the target, but I appreciate your concern,” Kara replied. She was just the collateral damage.
“Now that it’s public that you’re traveling with me, will you leave the tour?” Cody asked.
Kara shook her head then raised a hand to stop both Ethan and Tia from speaking. “Not yet,” she said. “I think we need to feed Peter more information first. We need to give him a target to come after.”
“No,” both Tia and Ethan said at the same time. Kara glanced at her sister and Chad. Both watched her with similar, uncertain, expressions.
“Holding yourself out as bait is cliché and rarely works like people think it will,” Ethan said.
“And you know this how?” Kara pressed. He narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m being serious, Ethan. If you can demonstrate several examples of people being used as bait, and then show me the number of times it’s failed versus succeeded, I’ll listen. But if you can’t do that, then at least be honest and say you don’t like it because it puts me in danger.”
The helicopter dipped with a wind shear then rose as they started climbing over the Sierras. Kara glanced out the window to see the golden fields transitioning to hills dotted with evergreens the farther east they went.
Pulling her attention back to Ethan, she held his gaze. Silence stretched, then he sighed. “I don’t like it because it puts you in danger.”
She interlaced their fingers together before turning to Tia. “I know you don’t want me to act as bait because then Cody is in the sphere of danger. And I respect that. But there’s a way around it. Do you have any press conferences today before the show?” she asked, directing the question to Cody.
He nodded. “At one this afternoon.”
“Can we make sure someone asks about me?” she asked. Again, he nodded. “Good. Then you can answer that while I have been traveling with you—with my fiancé—that it was a short vacation for the both of us and we’re headed back to our lives now.”
“If Peter takes the bait, he’ll be looking for you at Ethan’s place in Mystery Lake,” Chad said.
“Fine,” Ethan said. “Bring it.” Kara’s brow went up at his abrupt attitude shift. “On one condition,” he added. She sighed and gestured for him to continue. “My house is secure. It also happens to be on the same street as two of my cousins and my brother.”
This she knew. Ethan, Ryan, Asher, and Mitch all lived on the same street. They weren’t exactly neighbors—it was a long street. But they weren’t far from one another.
