Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 67144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
“This is, at the end of the day, your decision,” I say, as much as it pains me. “But if you don’t go with me, I’m going to have to follow you around. And while I’m sure that would be entertaining, it would be a lot easier and more comfortable to let me take you to Lincoln’s house until Ford figures this out.”
“Oh, so you’re gonna stalk me, too?”
“Yes.”
She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. She just stares at me.
“Dahlia, I wish you would’ve called one of us last night,” Ford says.
“He doesn’t mean me,” Lincoln says. “I’m not good in these situations.”
Ford shakes his head. “But now that we know what’s going on, we’ll get to the bottom of it. In the meantime, we’re going to keep you safe.”
“I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You don’t have to,” I say, silently begging her to challenge me. “It’s done.”
She holds my gaze as Ford lists action points.
“I’ll have Hoda get you a new phone,” he says. “Turn yours off before you leave the office. Forward me the email you received. If you want, I can have someone from the office accompany a friend or a neighbor to your house to get a few things for you. We’ll have them sent to you tonight. Don’t tell anyone where you’re headed. If asked, say you’re taking a work trip and don’t know when you’ll return. Try to keep it vague.”
Dahlia nods, her eyes still on mine. The longer she watches me, the less fear I can see in her eyes.
“Talk to as few people as you can,” Ford says. “We need you off the grid as much as possible.”
“I got her,” I say, returning Dahlia’s ghost of a smile. “Just get us out of here.”
“I’ll call Jason now,” Ford says. “Lincoln, is everything good to go at your place?”
Lincoln clears his throat. “Yeah. It’s good. I should let you know, though, that we’ve been renovating. There’s only one working bedroom at the moment.”
Oh. Fuck.
Dahlia sucks in a quick breath.
“But I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” he says, flinching when Ford fires him a look. “What?”
“One last thing,” Ford says carefully. “You mentioned your ex and that makes sense. But do you think this could have anything to do with your father?”
Dahlia’s face darkens, her chest rising and falling. She turns slowly to Ford.
“I know you must think this is related to him,” she says slowly, having told our boss about the parental situation shortly after she found out. “But I don’t. He has no motive. We’ve established a pretty good rapport.”
“He might not have a motive,” Ford says. “But the cartels might. Someone he does business with might. There’s a lot of activity surrounding your father. I know you know that.”
Lincoln’s brows pull together, but he stays quiet. For once.
Dahlia takes in a shaky breath. “I feel really bad that you’re getting involved in this.”
“You’re a part of our family,” Ford says. “We won’t let anything happen to you. I know Troy will have your back.”
She looks at me from the corner of her eye. I stand as stoically as possible.
“Troy, if you need anything from home, grab it now,” Ford says. “Dahlia, do you have anyone that can get anything you need from your house?”
“Yes. My friend Morgan.”
“Okay. Let’s get with Hoda and make those arrangements,” Ford says. “We’ll have you out of here as soon as we can.”
Ford and Lincoln chat quietly, leaving Dahlia and me a moment to talk.
“Hey,” I say, pulling her attention my way. “I’ll be back in a little bit. Is there anything you want me to grab while I’m out?”
She looks around the room, unanchored. “Troy, I don’t know. I’m overwhelmed.”
“It’s going to be okay. I’m with you every step of the way.”
The smile on her face sets off a myriad of emotions through me. On the one hand, the consolation in her features settles me. On the other hand, the mere fact that she’s dealing with this lights a fire deep in my soul that might be the death of me.
If she doesn’t kill me first.
Chapter Nine
Dahlia
With my eyes closed, I lean my head against the side window, relishing the warmth of the sun caressing my skin. Did I apply sunscreen this morning? I have no clue. It feels like a lifetime ago.
The day has been an absolute blur. Between arranging for Morgan to meet Theo at my apartment to gather a few of my things without telling her why but insisting everything is absolutely fine, calling Burt and letting him know I’ll be gone for a while and asking him to keep an eye on my house, having long, hard conversations with Ford and the police, and boarding a private jet, it’s been a hell of a day.
The only silver lining to the flurry of activity is that I’ve worked out some of my feelings. It turns out that when you go through things in explicit detail, a cathartic response follows. And when Ford Landry makes it his mission to find out who’s threatening you, there’s a sense of security that comes along with it.