Page 114 of His Wounded Heart

Zoe is to the right of me, and I can feel her befuddlement as well. I normally would not come on as strong to any of my other sisters, but full-on force is usually needed to get through Evie’s thick skull. Now I feel like I’ve just kicked a kitten.

“Trenda, can you tell us what’s going on?” Aiden asks.

I can feel Simon coming up behind me, I don’t know how, but I can. “I can’t prove anything, but I’ve had some threatening emails, and Simon has been doing what he can to have them checked out.”

“Threatening how?” Zoe asks.

“Why?” Evie’s question comes at the same time Zoe’s does.

“Bella’s father recently passed away. She’s been named as a beneficiary. It looks like one of the other beneficiaries does not want to share.”

“Who are they?” Evie demands to know. She’s no longer leaning on Aiden; now he’s holding her back. “Have you talked to them?”

“When was the reading of the will?” Zoe queries. “What did they say then? How did they seem?”

I look over my shoulder to Simon for help. I didn’t want to tell my sisters everything. I just didn’t. He steps closer and puts his hand around my waist and I immediately breathe easier. “Evie, this is Simon Clark. He’s retired from the Navy. He used to be Aiden and Drake’s commander. He’s been living here for almost four months now, and he’s been helping me with this.”

Evie’s gaze switches from me, to Simon, to his hand, to Simon, to me again. “What have you found out?” she asks Simon. “Are they going to come after Trenda and Bella again?”

“I should be getting a call from Dex Evans in another couple of hours. He’s checking into the other beneficiaries. He’s been investigating them for the last seventy-two hours.”

“What’s taking him so long?” Evie demands again. “You should have talked to Clint.”

I wince. My sister is not known for her tact and diplomacy.

“Dex will get the job done,” Simon says. His tone is velvet-covered steel. By the look on Evie’s face, even she knows enough to back down.

“In the meantime, until this is all settled, Trenda and Bella need a new place to stay.”

“She can stay with us,” Evie immediately states. “Our place is a fortress.”

“It can also be traced to you. I don’t want any place that can be connected to a member of Trenda’s family.” He squeezes my waist and I look up to meet his gaze.

“What?” I ask.

“Bella can’t go to school until this is settled. They knew your schedule; they knew that you were picking her up from school and they struck when they could.”

“Okay.” I nod in agreement.

“I have another idea of where Trenda can stay. We can hide with her, and she’ll be protected.”

Evie’s excluding Simon. I peek up at Aiden’s face and I see a flash of laughter before his expression is, once again, placid.

“If you’re here, why isn’t Drake?” Zoe asked.

“Aiden and I took a long weekend and were at Jack and Beth’s ranch,” Evie answers. “As soon as we heard what happened, Jack loaned us a plane to get out here. Drake’s still with the rest of the team at Coronado.”

I shake my head. I always think of Aiden being as rich as they come, but he doesn’t hold a candle to his teammate, Jack Preston.

I jerk as Simon moves me out of the way. He and Aiden turn toward the front door, their guns drawn The front door pushes open.

“I surrender,” Maddie says with her hands up and a grin on her face.

“Dammit, Trenda. I thought we discussed you locking your front door,” Simon growls as he turns back to me. He puts his gun away and shakes his head in disgust.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

I watch as more of the Avery Avalanche comes crashing in. The sisters all pull together, but even as they all rally around Trenda, she still only shares the bare bones of what’s going on. Aiden tips his chin and I follow him into the hallway.