Page 117 of The Widower
“I promise.”
“Okay then.”
“Tomorrow you can move back in, Isabelle.I’ve got other things to handle—more serious ones.”
“I’m guessing you mean the people responsible for what happened at my house.”
“That’s right.” He nodded. “The police haven’t found a single lead, and it’s driving me insane. Until we have something concrete, I’m assigning two of my security guards to stay here full time.”
“Colin, that’s not necessary…”
“Don’t start.” He cut me off. “That wasn’t a request. I’m informing you. They’ll stay within ten meters of the house and report anything unusual directly to me.”
Sometimes Colin cared so deeply it caught me off guard—and other times, he barely seemed able to stand under the weight of his past. It was contradictory, maybe even confusing, but somehow… I admired that about him.
“And saying no would change anything?”
“I think you already know the answer.”
“How can I even thank you? I mean it—I’m not doing anything to deserve this.”
“Actually, you are.” I knew exactly what he meant. “But that’s not why I do it. I like you, and only God…” He stopped mid-sentence, shaking his head. “Only I know how hard that is to admit. Your mom and Hanna mean a lot to me too, and I just want the best for you all. I’m not a man who shows feelings—hell, I don’t even know if I ever will—but I try. You three deserve it, especially for putting up with me, since even I can barely do that.”
“You shouldn’t be angry at God.”
“I don’t want to be, but I am. Furious, actually. I’ll never accept what happened in my life.”
“‘Never’ is a pretty strong word.”
“I know,” he said quietly. “Let’s go. Tomorrow you can come back and settle in.”
I looked around and realized it was just the two of us in the room. Then I kissed him—really kissed him.
“Isabelle…”
“What?”
“Don’t pick the worst moments to do that. I might not be able to control myself,” he growled, clearly fighting something inside him.
“Then control yourself.” I winked. “We can’t do anything here—you know that.”
“You say that, and two seconds ago you were teasing me.Women are impossible…”
CHAPTER 27
“The moment of revelation has come—and with it, the pain that’s haunted us for so long...”
ISABELLE CAMPBELL
There were dozens of missed calls on my phone.
Jefrey, my friend, had left a message saying he needed to talk to me urgently. We agreed to meet by the mansion’s gate, and about thirty minutes later, we were standing by the sidewalk, talking.
“You’ve become really hard to find lately,” he said. “You weren’t at your house the day before yesterday or last night.”
“I’m sorry. There’ve been... some problems with my house.”
“Problems?”
