“Still not much. He’s out of state, so I shouldn’t even be looking into this, but I’m allowed because he was from here. The office in Tennessee is aware. They're watching his crew and trying to get someone on the inside. So far, they haven’t been successful. People have seen his crew with drugs, but there is no direct evidence linking them to Patrick. The office there isn’t interested in the lackeys; they want Patrick's boss. We still don’t know the name of his boss either.”
“Should I hire a bodyguard?” Zander asks.
“I dunno if I should be around more or less,” I tell them.
“What about the rest of the guys?” Troy asks.
“Safe.” I know him well enough that he’ll go for my strongest connection. Given the choice, he’ll always use a woman. “I can go back to him,” I offer.
“No Nick. You don’t deserve that. We worked too hard to get you out,” Troy says.
“If it’s me or Summer, it'll be me.”
Troy looks sad, but knows I’m serious. He nods, acknowledging my words.
“I'll update my contact in Tennessee about Summer and the new photos. Call if anything changes,” Eddie says before hanging up.
“How do I realistically protect my daughter?” Z asks. “I can hire a full-time bodyguard. Maybe homeschooling? Or I can fly her back to Virginia to stay with Sue? Or to Savannah with Sarah?”
“He’ll find her. We're her best protection,” I tell him, shaking my head.
“Okay, let’s talk to Summer about this. Make sure she understands she's the target and what will happen if they take her. Z, what about Nick moving into the guest room for now? We can talk to Ceres about guarding her. He’s the most well-trained, besides us and Nick, and he can carry,” Troy says.
“Okay. I’ll talk to her tonight. I won’t force her to do anything, but I will push her if I need to. Nick, if you’re willing, you can stay here until we resolve this issue.”
“I’ll be over later tonight,” I tell him as he hangs up. “You know it may end with me going back to him,” I tell Troy.
“I know, but I don’t like it. You do everything you can to avoid going there. I mean everything,” Troy says. “Let me get the Tennessee contact from Eddie, and we can place you undercover if you end up there. That way, you’re protected and can at least help them put him away again.”
“Fine, but I’m killing him this time, Troy. No jail, just death.”
“I don’t want that on your conscience, Nick.”
“My conscience will be clear. He won’t stop, you know that. I’m surprised it took him this long to come for me.”
“I want you carrying outside of school. Z has a safe you can use. What do you think the timeframe is?”
“A month, maybe less.”
“Okay. Let’s have everyone over at Z’s tomorrow after school.”
Nodding, I get up to leave. Time to grab my gun from the armory, then pack up to move in with Summer.
Summer
Zander asks to talk to me after he comes out of the office. Judging from the tension rolling off him, it’s nothing good, so I take a seat in the sofa’s corner. “What’s wrong?”
“Darling, things have escalated with Nick’s father. He found another set of pictures on his Jeep after MMA class. Most were of you from homecoming with a message written on the back saying ‘tick tock.’ Nick is certain that Patrick is after you and not the guys now.”
Oh crap. Not good. Not good at all. My previous kidnapping’s horrifying scenes flicker across my mind as an involuntary shiver races across my skin. Based on my knowledge, being captured by Patrick would be a far more terrifying experience than what Ben put me through. “What do we do?”
“I suggested sending you to Virginia or Savannah, but Nick thinks Patrick would find you there and you’d have less protection. He is moving into the guest room tonight. We were thinking of hiring Ceres as your bodyguard.”
Wow, a bodyguard? A knot forms in my stomach; this is serious. Needing a bodyguard feels like a whole new level of danger. If Nick and Zander think it’s necessary, though, then I’ll do it. Ceres reminds me of Nick. He’s quiet and reserved, but nice, and we got to know each other a little over the summer while he was working with Finn. “Okay.”
“Really?” Zander seems surprised at my easy agreement. “That’s great, darling. The goal is to let you live your life, but in the most protected way we can. Troy, Nick, Ceres, and I will carry from now on too. I would like you to learn how to use a gun. Are you comfortable with that?”
“Sure. I don’t mind. It’s a little scary, but I want to be safe.”
