Page 59 of Protected from Torment

Though Tyler showed me photos on his phone, it was impossible to fully appreciate the size of the place in them. In the pictures, the Shadow Team headquarters looked large. But in person, it looks enormous.

“Eight thousand square feet,” Webb remarks. “And that’s not counting the three other residences on the property. With them included, it’s probably closer to twelve.”

Despite its impressive size, the house somehow seems to fit perfectly into the nature surrounding it. Flowering trees and shrubs are planted around the exterior of the house. Large windows allow a panoramic view of the forest just beyond the yard and the bright blue sky stretching above it. Off to the side, there’s a smaller building I assume must be the garage, in the same muted beige stucco as the walls of the house.

“The garage fits fourteen cars,” Tyler says. “We each have our own, plus a company SUV. There’s an underground passage from the garage to the house. I’ll show it to you.”

“An underground passage?” I ask.

Tyler hesitates. “In case we need an alternate escape. Or we need to get into the house without being seen.” He gives me a little squeeze. “We’ve never needed to use it here. With all the other precautions we have, no one’s getting onto the property unless we invite them.”

“There were a couple of… incidents at the New York branch,” Webb explains. “And the underground passage at their HQ really helped. So we all have one, just in case. But it’s also nice for days when the weather is bad and you don’t want to walk outside.”

“I’ll take you on a tour,” Tyler says. “In addition to the offices and the apartments, we’ve got some common areas—a shared kitchen, living room, and dining room we use for events—plus a gym, game room, theater, and bowling alley in the basement.”

“And a shooting range,” Indy adds. “If you’d like⁠—”

“No.” I haven’t touched a gun since the night I shot Gage, and I have no intention of doing it again. “I’d rather not.”

“We try to do some sort of game night once a month,” Tyler says. “Bowling, cornhole on the back deck, board games…”

“Extreme Jenga?” I ask.

“Extreme Jenga,” he affirms. “In fact, now that I’m thinking about it, we should have a game night soon. Since we still have a couple of weeks until the next out-of-town job.”

“That would be nice,” I reply. Seeing how nice this place is, and hearing everyone’s reassurances, I’m feeling less anxious than I was five minutes ago.

Tyler smiles at me. “It would be nice.” The car stops in front of the garage, and Tyler winks at me before adding, “Here we are. Home, sweet home.”

My stomach lurches.

My heart leaps to my throat.

Yes, I know Tyler and his friends said it was fine. That I’m welcome here. That they trust me.

But still. I’m scared.

Once the engine shuts off, Tyler gives my thigh a quick squeeze. “I’ll come around to get you.”

I could get out by myself. But right now, I don’t want to. So I wait for him to come around to my side of the car, taking a few seconds to steel myself for whatever comes next.

Tyler opens the door, and Oscar bounds out first. After being cooped up for hours, Oscar is beside himself with excitement to be outside again. Tyler grabs Oscar’s leash before I get the chance to, then holds his hand out to me. With an encouraging smile, Tyler says, “It’s going to be okay, Mel. I promise.”

“I’ll grab your bags,” Webb offers as he rounds the car to the trunk. “I can bring them over to Tyler’s.”

But Webb doesn’t even get one bag unloaded before the front door to the house bursts open. A woman with beautiful auburn hair comes hurrying out, a wide smile stretched across her face. The instant Webb sees her, he sets the bag on the ground and jogs across the lawn to meet her.

She flings herself at him, and his arms automatically come around her. Then he kisses her hard. “That’s Noelle,” Tyler says unnecessarily. Webb showed me pictures of her, and it’s not like there’d be some other red-headed fiancée running out to greet him.

But I don’t say that. I just say, “She’s even prettier in person.”

“I suppose,” he replies. Then his eyes meet mine. “Not nearly as pretty as you, though.”

My heart melts into a puddle on the grass. “Ty.”

“Bea!” Indy brightens as soon as he spots a slender blonde in the doorway. She beams and rushes down the porch steps to greet him. Indy swings Bea into his arms and spins her around before kissing her. It’s so romantic, my heart aches with it. But it’s not an unpleasant pain, like it used to be whenever I’d see a couple in love. It’s a sweet sort of hurt. And I’m not jealous, but happy for them.

Tyler grasps my hand firmly and leads me towards the front door. “I’ll get your luggage later,” he says. “Come meet everyone.”