Page 58 of I’ll Be Watching You

Again, Jack and Margo exchanged looks and Ava wondered if there was more that they weren’t sharing with her.

She grabbed both their hands and squeezed. “Please be careful. I feel like we’re on the edge of a precipice but can’t see the bottom because it’s a long way down.”

Chapter Nineteen

Luisa Angelhart

Luisa pulled into Gabriel’s driveway, easing her small truck off to the side so she wouldn’t block the garage. The engine ticked as she shut it off, the midmorning sun bright, making everything appear sharper than it should be.

She reached for her messenger bag and swung it across her chest with practiced ease. As soon as her low-heeled boots hit the gravel, a prickle ran up her spine. She paused, the air suddenly still and quiet.

Someone was watching her.

She scanned the line of trees flanking the garage, eyes narrowing on the thick hedges. If someone were going to ambush her, that’s where they’d be. Her breath slowed. Focused.

A flicker of movement, then stillness. Leaves shifted, but the wind wasn’t blowing.

Without a sound, she stepped around to the far side of her truck, using the metal bulk as cover. Her fingers slid into her bag, closing around the familiar grip of her gun.

Then she saw him.

“Nate.” His name was a curse on her lips.

He stepped into view, coming from around the side of the house like he’d been casually out for a stroll. That cocky, lopsided grin of his made her jaw clench.

“Don’t shoot,” he said. “I come in peace.” He put his hands palms up. He wore tactical pants and a black T-shirt across his broad, muscled chest. She couldn’t read his expression because dark sunglasses covered his eyes.

Luisa scowled, her heart hammering. She let go of the gun, her hand emerging empty, but her pride smarted. She hated that he’d gotten the jump on her. Hated that her pulse was still racing and her throat felt tight.

She was a Marine, dammit. She wasn’t supposed to spook.

Wordlessly, she pulled out her phone and texted Tess: I’m here.

As she walked toward the front door, she could feel Nate’s gaze trailing after her like a hand on her back. She turned, flipped him off without breaking stride. It made her feel marginally better.

Then he laughed. Loud, amused, and totally unbothered.

Jerk.

The front door burst open. Tess stood there in sweatpants and a wrinkled white T-shirt, hair piled in a chaotic bun and no makeup. Her eyes were wide with relief.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said, pulling Luisa into a hug. “That woman just sent me all her notes and I’m completely overwhelmed.”

“That woman?” Luisa echoed, a corner of her mouth lifting. “You mean Dr. Nadine Pierce?”

Tess made a face and nodded. “I really don’t know what to think about her yet.”

“She wants to help,” Luisa said gently. “I don’t think she’s trying to tear Mom and Dad apart.”

Tess hesitated, then said, “I hope not.”

But Luisa could see the doubt in her eyes, the flicker of worry she didn’t want to voice. Tess wholeheartedly believed in love. Every bump in a relationship felt, to her, like a betrayal.

“Our parents are solid,” Luisa said. “Mom talked to Nadine this morning and she was forthcoming. Dad didn’t keep the relationship a secret from Mom and, to be honest, we really didn’t have a right to know, even if it feels like we should have. It was more than forty years ago.”

“I know, but . . .”

Luisa waited, eyebrows raised.