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"Why did she bring both if she just went to Colorado?" The fact that both of their bodyguards are with her seems a little overkill to hang out with a girlfriend.
Rhys draws in a long breath. "She's been keeping something from me."
My brows shoot up. Lilly can't lie for shit, and the two made a pact years ago that they would never keep secrets from each other again.
"She's been…off ever since we came home from Christmas. She and G are having these hushed conversations, and then a week ago, Marcus joined their little club," he confides in me with discontent.
My adrenaline level rises, killing the nice and steady level of constant intoxication I had been maintaining. I'm surprised that he's come to me with this. We've been talking on and off since Magnolia's, but it's still nowhere near where our friendship used to be. His words have triggered a reaction I wouldn't have expected. My muscles coil, and my brain goes into high alert.
"Could it be wedding related?" I try to reason but know, at the same time, that this is a weak excuse.
"Why would she need both for some wedding shopping? Wes, she packed her gun—the one Dad gave her for Christmas a few years ago. She never carries it. She doesn't need to with Marcus having three on him at all times." He rakes his hand over his short hair.
That is concerning.
"Why didn't you ask her?" I fold my arms over my chest.
"I don't know, man. I want her to come to me. And at the same time, I'm...scared to find out what it is." His eyes are haunted, and I know that this is not easy for him to admit.
This is the first deep(er) conversation we've had in years. It feels natural to sit here and talk like old times. I don't like seeing Rhys like this.
"You have to trust that she has a reason for not telling you yet. Lil loves you. She would never intentionally hurt—" I break off because suddenly my chest feels like my heart is being ripped out.
She never intentionally hurt me. She. King.
"Fuck!" I close my eyes and shake my head.
"What?" Rhys asks inquisitively.
I open my mouth to confide in him as he did with me. Lilly would be able to track King. There has to be a trail, even if I would have to steal Mags's phone to get to her number. The words get stuck in my throat. Sweat builds on my forehead, and bile rises in my throat. What if Rhys freaks out and sends George after King to get to Gray? This would be his chance of getting even—however fucked up that may be. I can't do it.
"Nothing. Just, uh…girl trouble." I smirk at him in the hopes of coming across as semi-convincing. It's clear I've failed as soon as I look at him. His lips are in a thin line, and I wait for him to call me out on the lie, but he doesn't.
"What should I do about Lilly, man? We're getting married in a month." He returns to the original subject of our conversation.
"Ask her. Let her explain."
Something I should've done.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
Lilly madegood on her promises. For the past three and a half weeks, a black SUV followed me everywhere. At night, it was parked on the street, always in a different spot but never far away. It gave me a sense of security I didn't realize I was missing.
Yesterday morning, that pattern changed. I had just unlocked the Jeep when a tall figure—dressed in jeans, a black tee, and a bulletproof vest—approached me. Normally, I would'vereactedaccordingly, but he came from the direction the SUV was parked two houses down. This was the only reason I didn't pull one of my knives on him.
"Monroe."
I jumped at his voice. I did not expect it to be him. The urge to get in the car and speed off overwhelmed my senses, but I forced myself to remain in place. Slowly turning, I faced the man that scared the bejesus out of me: Marcus Baxter, Lilly's bodyguard. One would think that The Ghost would be more fear inducing, but Marcus, aka The Shadow, had darkness surrounding him. He was tormented by something—or someone. It takes one to know one.
I glanced around him at the car. Did that mean…?
He read my mind. "Lilly couldn't come. She wanted to, but something went wrong with the wedding venue. She is waiting for you in Montana." He stretched out a hand with an envelope, but all I could do was stare at him. What happened to this man? Except for the long hair he had tied back the same way, Lilly's bodyguard looked nothing like Wes. My heart grew heavy as Wes's face appeared in my memory.
"King?"
Hearing him address me with my first name snapped me out of my daydream, and I focused on the envelope he extended.
"What's this?"
