Page 25 of Unbound

Do they happen to be shirtless? Maybe. But the more of him I saw, the easier he would be to identify, right?

Right.

Totally normal. Not at all creepy.

Except I would probably be a little creeped out if a man had pictures of me in a similar state of undress saved on his computer.

And now I feel gross.

Gross enough, I’m going to have to tell Walker the truth. Admit the full scope of my sins and hope he doesn’t hate me forever.

While everyone is out talking to Heidi about whatever she’s telling them, I rub my burning eyes. I was up really fucking late, and it’s starting to catch up with me. I’m exhausted. After burning the candle at both ends for days… Weeks? Months?

No.

Years. I’ve been running myself into the ground, completely obsessed with discovering the truth, for years. I thought I was on the homestretch when I came here, but what if this is only the real beginning? What if I have two more years of this—or even more—before I can find what I’m looking for?

I might collapse and never get back up again.

I sit up straighter when the Bradshaw boys file back into the office, trying to look more confident and capable than I am. Each of them still eyes me warily, but they seem to direct less animosity my way, so hopefully that’s a good sign.

Walker is the last one through the door, and he’s carrying a bottle of water. Probably because he was up as late as I was and needs to rehydrate.

Walker carries it to me, cracking the lid before passing it off. “Drink this.”

“Okay.” I take it from him, realizing after the first swallow that I’m severely parched. I down half the bottle in one go, sucking in a deep breath as the cold liquid shoots straight to my brain, making it ache.

I must make a face, because Walker takes the water from me, his lips pressing into a frown. “I didn’t say chug it.” With a sigh, he recaps the bottle. “You don’t do anything halfway do you?”

“Why would I do something halfway?” I wipe away the water clinging to my lips. “Then I would never actually accomplish anything.”

“All you’re going to accomplish is getting yourself hurt.” Walker closes my laptop. “Let’s pack up your stuff so we can go.”

My stomach churns around the icy liquid as dread creeps in. “Where are we going?”

I’ve been so focused on what was happening this morning, I haven’t really considered what would come next. Where I would go if the Bradshaws decided I wasn’t a threat to them and sent me on my way.

To be fair, even if I had considered it, finding out someone ransacked my former hotel room would have thrown an entire wrench in that. It confirmed my theory that yesterday’s gunman was aiming for me. Unfortunately, if he found me once, I’m sure he can find me again.

And I doubt they’ll miss me twice.

“Back to my place.” Walker slots my computer into its bag. “I need to figure out what to do next, and you need to take a nap.”

“But I’m not tired.” Just thinking about a nap brings on a yawn that shows what a big fat liar I can be.

Walker’s lips lift at one corner, bringing them into the closest semblance of a smile I’ve seen on his face so far. “I can tell.”

“Seriously. I’m fine.” I’ve done more on fewer hours of sleep. “I have work to do.”

“We’ll see.” Walker pulls the chair I’m in away from the desk. “Come on. Let’s go get your suitcase and head out.”

His response doesn’t leave me much room for argument, so I do as he says, following along as Walker grabs my rolling case, says goodbye to his family, and leads me out to where we left his side-by-side. He tips his head at my car as we pass. “We’ll come get that later. We can park it in my garage after Toby goes through it and makes sure no one put a tracker on it.”

My stomach drops. “You think they might have put a tracker on my car?”

I hadn’t considered it before, but with all the new information I have, it does make sense. It’s possible my location was known before they hit my hotel room, but hopefully that’s not the case. Because if it is…

I just led whoever’s after me right to Trevor and Maren’s front door.