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Lexie had barely spoken two words through dinner. She’d been silent on the ride home, as had Beau. Eric tried to make conversation, but he seemed to sense his sister’s mood.
We’d taken the dogs for a walk. Beau had slammed her door when we arrived home. Eric had passed out as soon as his head hit the sofa. And Lexie had yet to speak as she changed clothes and crawled into bed.
I pulled her against my side, hating the way she shook. Hating her silence.
“Talk to me. Please.” I was begging, but that was what desperate men did.
“My-my father was at Grey Paws.”
I sat up. “Why are you just mentioning this? We could’ve called the authorities.”
“Looking in a window isn’t a crime,” she said.
“Stalking is.” I shook her shoulders. “Lexie, we have to use anything we can against this man. Don’t you want him back in prison?”
“Yes,” she cried. “More than you could possibly imagine.”
“You aren’t on your own any longer. We have to tackle this as a team.”
She looked at me as if she didn’t comprehend the words. “I just want them to go away.”
“Them?” Now I was the one who didn’t understand.
Her eyes were so troubled when she looked at me, a frisson of fear went through me. “My mother was with him.”
Both of them? What was it they wanted from her? If it was to make amends, her father had an odd way of showing it.
“Don’t they have to notify you when she’s out?”
She winced. “Ever since he started calling all the time, I don’t answer unless I know who it is.” Her cheeks colored. “I haven’t listened to the messages either. Because I’m a coward,” she whispered.
“You. Are. Not. A. Coward.”
Fury lit through my veins. These people had taken my confident girl and terrified her. I threw the covers off.
“What are you doing?”
“Calling Zegas.” I swiped my phone off the dresser.
She scrambled up and tugged on my arm. “What is he going to do?”
“Hopefully put them both where they belong. Out of your life for good.”
“You can’t just make up charges to send them back to jail,” she said, clinging to my wrist.
“They did it to me.”
She dropped her hold and folded her arms over her stomach. I was cold without her touch.
“Why?” She stumbled back as if being near me was too much.
“I’m wondering the same thing about your parents. Why won’t they leave you alone?” I squeezed my phone. “What do they want from you?”
She sat on the edge of the bed. “Money.”
You don’t have much.I regretted the thought as soon as it popped into my mind. Lexie had worked hard for everything they had. She was growing her business and had things that no amount of money in the world could buy.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
