Page 81 of Wicked Games

“She knows. I’ll call Gavin and tell him to send a couple guys out there.”

I sigh. She’s right. Winnie isn’t a guard dog, and she’s not ours. We can’t count on her to keep us safe. In fact, until this gets resolved, I should tell Lara to keep her inside. We were lucky those assholes didn’t hurt her.

“Okay. She said she’d go to Brooke’s funeral with me. That was a couple of days ago and maybe after this she’ll change her mind, but we’ll drive into the city Sunday. I don’t think there’s much of a choice. We’re not safe out here, no matter how many men Gavin sends out. Until we can figure out what this fuckhead wants with me, this could go on for years.”

“No, it won’t. Going after Avery was desperation on their part. You have many, many people in your life, Seth. No matter how much this guy hates you, he can’t hurt everyone you care about.”

I lean against the counter and sip my coffee. It’s lukewarm now. “My parents⁠—”

“I’ve had eyes on them since we heard about Brooke. They know what’s been going on, but you should probably call them too, and let them know you’re okay.”

“Thanks. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“I feel the same, so take care of yourself. I’ll see you Sunday then. Are you going to the house?”

“No. Avery said I could live with her until we get things figured out. I don’t know if she’ll take that back after all this shit, but that’s the plan for now.”

“Okay. When you know it, text me her address. We should meet up and talk.”

“I got it. I’m going up to bed.”

“I’ll call Detective LaSalle. Let me know if anything else happens.”

“I will. Talk soon.” I hang up and drop my phone next to Avery’s. It bumps into hers and wakes it up. A missed call from Darren pops up on the screen, and I sigh. I should just let him have her.

She’d be safer anywhere than she will be with me.

But as I step into the bedroom and see her lying in my bed, her hair drying in a tangle on my pillow, I know, deep in my heart, that I can’t ever let her go. It would kill me to watch her walk away.

I crawl in beside her, and sighing, she wiggles into my side and wraps her arms around me. I brush a kiss across her forehead.

I thought I’d fall right to sleep, but I lie there and listen to her breathe for a long time.

When I wake up, she’s sitting in bed, writing in her notebook, and I’ve never been more grateful that she knew if I woke up and didn’t see her in bed again, I’d probably have a panic attack.

I lift up on my elbow and brush my thumb over her cheek. “You doing okay? What time is it?”

“I’m all right. It’s a little after two.”

Only twelve hours have gone by. It feels like years and seconds at the same time.

“We need to talk,” I say, forcing the words out. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. That’s the motto Violet and I built our company on, and it’s how I’m going to be living my life for the next little while.

“I know, but I want to take a shower first. I need to shave my legs, and I didn’t wash my hair in the tub. I only rinsed it. Do you mind running over and grabbing some of my clothes? I wanted to while you were sleeping, but I didn’t think it was a good idea.”

I sit up and grip her chin in my hand. The shadows under her eyes, her bruised cheek, her trembling lips . . . I want to snap at her for even thinking it, but it’s me and who I am that put us in this situation to begin with. She sees the anger in my eyes and flinches. I crush her to me and wrap my fingers tightly in her hair. “Thank you for being smart. I thought I lost you, and I can’t do that again.” I pause to get a hold of myself. When I’m steady enough to speak, I say, “I would appreciate it very much if you moved in here, but I can’t tell you what to do.”

“For the summer?”

I clench my jaw and let her go. “I talked to Violet this morning. Brooke’s funeral is on Monday.”

“Right. Okay. I’ll go shower. I’ll be able to think more clearly. Pack up my things, I guess. My clothes and my laptop. I need my stuff out of the bathroom. Your shampoo smells amazing but it would kill my hair.”

That she can even say something like that after almost drowning mystifies me as well as humbles me. She’s so strong.

“Okay, but I can do that later. I’ll pack what you need to get through today, and your laptop. I don’t want to leave you alone for too long. Your phone’s downstairs. Darren’s been calling you.”

She grimaces. “Great.”