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Kyle chimed in, “Any idea who lured Ari to the house?”
“Not as of yet. However,” my lawyer said to me, “you won’t be returning anytime soon.”
I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, then gazed at Mr. Conaway. “Dane can’t—won’t—come to the retreat, for fear someone will tail him and we’ll put everyone in jeopardy. The creek house is the only place we can meet, the only—”
“Actually, it’s not.” He didn’t elaborate.
Great. More secrets.
I slumped against my seat, exhausted.
Closing my eyes, I was out in an instant. Didn’t wake until Kyle’s voice cut into my subconscious as he said, “You missed the turn to the retreat.”
“Neither of you are going back there right now.”
My eyelids fluttered open. My head rolled on the rest and I gazed at Mr. Conaway as I asked, “Where else would we go?”
“You remember the house where Vale held you hostage?”
My stomach lurched. “Absolutely not!” I declared, alarmed. “I am not going back there!”
“Relax, Ari,” he said. “Please. Trust me. It’s not the same. That house is … gone.”
“Gone?” My brow crooked.
“Yes. There was all that blood, remember? From what Vale did to you. From what Dane did to him.” I’d also gotten in my own solid blow to Vale’s head, initially. When I’d tried to escape.
Mr. Conaway continued. “It seeped into the wood. We couldn’t clean it all, so I offered the owner cash—twice the amount he’d paid the year before for the property.”
I wasn’t the least bit surprised.
He said, “Dane had the house mowed down. Even the foundation was ripped out. He started from scratch. The new manor is finished. Amano just recently approved the video and high-voltage security system.”
I gaped.
From the backseat, Kyle tentatively ventured, “High-voltage?”
“Yes. Don’t touch any of the wiring that tops the twelve-foot walls around the perimeter and you’ll be just fine.”
I couldn’t help but snicker. My very formal lawyer had a sense of humor.
He added, “This is a better alternative than the retreat. And, obviously, the creek house has been compromised as a meeting place.”
“Damn,” I said. “I
love that house.”
“You can go back to it when this is all over.”
“And when, exactly, do you think that might be?” Kyle inquired in a sharp tone.
“Hey.” I didn’t want him taking out his gritchy mood on Mr. Conaway. He could save it for me. “Let’s be thankful we have someplace to go.”
Regardless, Mr. Conaway spared a glance at Kyle in the rearview mirror and said, “I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to that question. But Dane and Amano—and others—are doing everything they can to bring this to a successful resolution.”
Kyle grumbled under his breath. I kept my mouth shut. I didn’t know what else to say at this point, anyway.
We drove through Sedona and headed west toward the outskirts of town, then north again. The long road led to 10,000 Lux. I’d not been out this way since the day that bomb blew the resort sky-high, three months ago. We weren’t traveling directly to the Lux, however.
