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“It’s not stupid, Thea.” Leo dips his head at her. “Ben’s right. You should have been safe. And if this person was waiting for an opportunity—”
Cole chimes in. “If not that time, it would have been another.”
I’m not sure I feel any better hearing that. So some crazed person was stalking Thea, waiting for the perfect opportunity to abduct her? And they’re still out there?
“One more question,” Cole says gently, sympathy in his gaze. “Do you remember anything else suspicious? Something you may have disregarded, but now seems like it could be connected? Weird phone calls? Unfamiliar people around?”
Brushing her tears away, she takes a few steadying breaths. “I thought I saw a car going by a bunch of times one night, after the accident. But it was just a black SUV. And it was getting dark. I couldn’t tell if it was the same person driving. I just… I figured it was nothing.”
“Okay.” Cole nods approvingly. “Anything else?”
She starts to shake her head, then stops. “Well. My first day back at work, I was in the basement, and I thought I heard someone down there with me. But when I called out, no one answered. And then”—she dips her head—“I locked myself in the archive room. And I didn’t come out until one of the other employees came looking for me.”
Ah, shit. Why didn’t she tell me?
“Tell me if something like that happens again,” I grit out, nearly cracking my molars as I think about sweet Thea hiding in the basement, scared and alone. “And don’t go into the basement by yourself, either. Ever.”
Leo shoots me a look, his message clear. Calm down.
Sensing the tension, Cole wraps up the questioning. “Thank you, Thea. If we think of anything else, we’ll check with you later. But this gives us a lot to go on. So the next step is discussing our plan going forward.”
Thea sits up in her chair. “Like what?”
“Ideally, you should stay with someone else until the threat is over.”
She shakes her head quickly. “I can’t. If I’m in danger, I can’t put anyone else at risk.”
“Cash has excellent security,” Cole begins, but Thea’s adamant.
“No. Ari’s about to have her baby. I won’t bring this kind of stress to her home.”
Without even thinking about it, I say, “You could stay with me.”
Horror flashes across her face. “And put Laila in danger? No. I’ll stay at my place.”
“We can set up surveillance,” Leo offers. “Twenty-four-seven monitoring at your condo. And an escort whenever you need to leave.”
I hate the idea of Thea staying at her apartment alone. “Sweetheart, are you sure? I have excellent security, too. You know I do.”
“I can’t.” Tears start falling faster, sending a dagger into my heart. “I can’t, Ben. It’s not safe. I won’t let anyone get hurt because of me. And—” Her voice cracks. “I can’t afford all that surveillance. And bodyguards? I can’t pay you guys. Can you just help me set up some extra cameras or—”
“Absolutely not.” My tone is firm. I’m not going to argue with her about where she’s staying—not now, at least—but there is no way she’s staying at her condo with just some cameras and driving to work on her own and…
Shit. I thought I felt protective of Thea before, but that was nothing compared to now.
I pull her into my lap, tucking her face into my neck. Hot tears dampen my skin, and she feels so damn fragile in my arms. Over her head, I meet Leo’s gaze. “We can make it work. Don’t worry about the cost.”
“Ben,” she mumbles against my skin, trying to argue.
I know we haven’t talked about money, but contracting as a white-hat hacker for Fortune 500 companies pays very well. I might not be as rich as Cash, but I can afford to protect my girlfriend.
“We’ll work it out, sweetheart. Don’t worry.”
Cole nods at me, understanding.
She lifts her face to look at me, tear streaked and miserable. “But—”
“Trust me, Thea. I’ll take care of this. Okay?”
