“You think I can stop her?”
Paul met his gaze steadily.“I think you can follow her.”
Jackson crossed his arms over his chest and stared back at Paul.“This is a family issue.We’ll handle it our way.”
Paul didn’t have room to argue.He wasn’t Vanessa’s boyfriend, or her bodyguard.He was just the guy who’d lied to her to get her into bed.Then fallen in love with her, like an idiot.With a curt nod, Paul turned on his heel and left.
He climbed behind the wheel of his truck, but he didn’t turn on the engine.He sat there, feeling dejected, and tried to plan his next conversation with Kyle.He’d have to admit to a blown cover, even if Vanessa hadn’t revealed his true identity to her family.Jackson had called him “Murphy,” so maybe she’d kept quiet.Either way, the vetted hideaway was a bust.Kyle would have to scramble around and relocate him at the worst possible moment.The heat was on in Houston.A police officer had been shot by a trained killer, and there were no suspects in custody.This was cause for panic.
Paul wondered bleakly what the next few hours would hold.The Mendez family was targeting cops, and everyone knew it, but they needed direct evidence to build a case.Organized professionals were difficult to prosecute.Paul didn’t care about bringing anyone in the Mendez family to justice.He didn’t care if they all walked free.He didn’t care about going back to his old life, either.He didn’t care about Houston.He only cared about Vanessa and Emily, and keeping them safe.
Instead of leaving, he stayed in his truck as the sun dipped lower in the sky.He didn’t feel right about letting her brother handle the situation.Paul believed in gut feelings, and his told him trouble was brewing.
He sensed danger, even doom, on the horizon.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Vanessa curled intoa ball on the couch and covered her ears with her hands.
She didn’t want to overhear Jackson’s conversation with Paul.She didn’t want to look out the window and see Paul’s handsome, tortured face.She didn’t even want to think about him if she could help it.
When Jackson came back inside, closing the door behind him, she glanced his direction.He wore a concerned expression.
“What did he want?”she asked.
“He said Bennett came to the cabin.”
The air rushed from her lungs.“No way.”
“Would Paul lie about that?”
“No.He wouldn’t.”
“He thinks Bennett is tracking you.Your phone, your purchases.”
“That’s impossible,” Vanessa said.“I have a new phone and all new credit cards.He doesn’t have access.”
“He knew you were staying at the cabin.”
Vanessa wondered if he’d hacked into her email account at some point.She’d made the reservations six months ago.She’d changed passwords since then, but Bennett was very tech-savvy.He might have had access to her personal communications.
While she pondered this possibility, Jackson’s phone made a buzzing sound in his pocket.Frowning, he answered the call.His face went slack with shock as he listened to the speaker, and Vanessa leapt to her feet.
“Where is he?”Jackson asked.
She waited for him to finish the call, her pulse pounding.
“Dad’s in the hospital,” Jackson said.“They think he had a heart attack.”
She clapped a hand over her mouth.They stared at each other for an endless moment.Then her paralysis broke, and she flew up the stairs to get Emily.The little girl was playing with Penelope in her dollhouse.
“We have to go,” Vanessa said, grabbing her shoes.
Jackson left in his truck, rather than waiting for Vanessa and Emily.Vanessa noted that Paul’s truck was still parked across the street.She didn’t glance his direction as she secured Emily in her car seat and climbed behind the wheel.
The trip to Mercy Hospital was a blur.Vanessa drove with a white-knuckled grip, ignoring Emily as she called out questions from the back seat.After they arrived, she found a parking space near Jackson’s truck.She hurried through the automatic double doors.It felt surreal to walk into the ER as a visitor, instead of a staff member.
A police officer she didn’t recognize stood with Jackson near the entrance.He was tall and good-looking, with broad shoulders and golden-brown hair.Vanessa barely noticed him.She craned her neck for a view of the lobby, as if her father might be sitting in one of the chairs waiting to be seen.
