“Otay, I will west.” Her pouty self trudges off to her room where I set up her movie before going back to Aubrey.
I find her sitting on the couch. She’s leaning on her knees, with her hands gripped at the side of her head, looking at the floor.
“What’s going on, gorgeous? I know it’s more than just Lily running out.”
She takes a deep breath, still not looking up. “Jack was into drugs.”
“Okay.” Comforting her, I rest my palm on her back, rubbing along her shoulder blades.
“He stole from them. That’s how he died. It wasn’t a car accident. I mean it was, but they did it. A few weeks after the accident, they showed up at the house. They knocked and I just blindly opened the door thinking it was another casserole. If it weren’t for my best friend’s brother, they would have pushed their way in and hurt me. Hurt Lily. They didn’t leave on good terms though, they left me with a warning that they’d get their money back one way or another. They slapped a photo of mydaughter into my hand… with a listing. They want tokidnapher and sell my daughter.”
Her tears are hitting the floor in fat drops.
“Aubrey, did you call the cops?” I try to keep my voice calm, but inside I’m panicking.
Her head snaps up to look at me. “The cops?” She laughs. “They’re on her father’s payroll. Ryder is the only one who can keep them in check.”
“I need you to back up, gorgeous. I’m…”
“Sophia is my best friend. Her family owns a ranch. Only ranching is just a cover. They’re into some scary shit. Ryder, her brother… he doesn’t like the immoral operations. He’s trying to push Hugh out, however he can. And in the meantime he’s the only one keeping the guys off my back. But I don’t trust that one hundred percent. So when we’re out in public, or a place I can’t control the outcome, I don’t like it.”
“Jesus. That’s a fucking lot of dark shit to deal with on your own.”
“Tell me about it.” She laughs half-heartedly.
“Aubrey…” I pull her into me.
She snuggles into my chest. “No. We’re not going to make a big deal about it. I just want to forget everything. Move on with my life. I can trust Ryder. At least I can hope that he’s trustworthy. Jack just trusted the wrong side and it left me in a bad spot.”
“That’s really why you moved isn’t it? Do Tommy and Aggie know?”
She freezes in my arms. “No! And it needs to stay that way.” She sits up straight to look me in the eye. “You can’t tell anyone. You’re the only one who knows.”
The wild look in her eye punches me in the gut. I don’t even know if Nolan will follow through with his threats, but I can’t put her through anything else. I can’t let him get to her.
“I won’t. But you need to promise me that you’ll tell me everything. I don’t care if you hear a leaf cross your porch, you call me. Because I’ve got to be honest with you… I want to sleep on your couch every night now.”
“Won’t say no to some sleepovers.” She smiles at me, the tears still shining in her eyes.
Cupping her chin, I hold her to face me and make sure she’s hearing me. “I’m being serious. Nothing will happen to you with me close by.”
“I promise.”
The door to the bedroom opens, and I place Aubrey back on the couch cushion, turning to face Lily so she doesn’t have to see her mother crying.
“What’s up, Princess?”
“Stooby-Doo bwoke.” She pouts.
“Uh-oh. Let’s go check it, okay?” Hopping up, I usher Lily back into the bedroom while Aubrey shuffles off to the bathroom without looking at us.
Fuck. I never should have dragged her into this. Now she has an added threat on her and she doesn’t even know. Nolan needs to back the fuck off and I’ll figure out a way to make him do it.
Cooper took care of loading up the truck while I played with Lily in the small wading pool one last time before being in the car for hours.
We decided to leave after dinner so she would sleep most of the ride and not be up for the next day without me getting any sleep. Something I appreciate.
“Hey.” Cooper’s hand rests on my lower back. “Everything is all set, you ready to go?”
