AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Me neither.
“Course you can, Frankie. You wanna watch a film?”
“Sounds good,” she replied as she pulled the duvet over her and curled back into my side. I put on a random romcom, knowing that neither of us would be watching it. We would be thinking about Emmy and the words written on those pages that stripped us bare and held us up to the spotlight.
When I woke up, Frankie was still asleep next to me, curled up with her knees tucked into her chest. No matter how old she got, she would always be that thirteen-year-old. It made me nostalgic for those days in the garage when all that mattered was the music.
“Tanner?” I heard Matt shout from outside my bedroom door.
“It’s open. Come on in,” I replied. He walked in and took one glance at Frankie and then me, and his mouth dropped.
“Tanner, tell me you didn’t,” he hissed angrily.
I recoiled, shaking my head. “She’s my fucking sister, Matt. What do you take me for? Yes, not by blood, but in every other way. She was upset and needed a big brother. Jesus. Is that what you people think of me?”
“No, sorry. Sorry. It’s been a long night.” His face softened, and I couldn’t help but notice the way he stared longingly at Frankie. Realizing I was watching him, his eyes flicked back to mine. “Something happened. A woman got past the hotel security and tried to break into the penthouse. She didn’t manage it, but we don’t know where she went. We had her on CCTV, but then she vanished. It looks like it was your mum, Tanner.”
“See, I fucking told you. That woman is relentless.”
He held up his hand before I jumped into my usual mother-hating tirade.
“The only thing is, Tanner, your mum is locked up. Phil made sure she didn’t get bail. It can’t have been your mum.”
I stared at him, stunned. “What the hell, Matt? Are you telling me that someone who looks like my mum is the one doing all this shit?”
“No, Thomas and I think someone is trying to deliberately look like your mum to throw us off who they really are.”
Chapter 31
Tanner
“ThispersonresearchedTanner,found out what his mum looked like, looked for someone who fit the part, and paid them to do all this stuff? This sounds like some weird conspiracy show on Netflix,” Mav grunted out, rubbing his temples. “What with this information and Emmy’s book, my head might explode. I mean, her note alone nearly sent me over the edge. That woman has a wicked way with words.”
My stomach tightened at the thought of the nights we’d spent together and the cadence of her voice as she whispered her words to me in the darkness. Loving words, words that made me laugh and, as her confidence grew, filthy words that made my cock swell with need.
“One thing at a time, Mav. Let’s focus on Tanner’s non-mum threat. If it’s not your mum, then who is it? Any ideas, Thomas?” Addi turned to face our suited, armed protector.
“Nothing, but I’m doing some digging. We need to go back to the start. Learn everything we can about your mum and dad, Tanner, and go from there. Is there anything you remember about your childhood that might help?”
“My dad left before I was born or when I was tiny. She never told me his name. I’m an only child. I don’t think Mum was married when I was born and she’d fallen out with her family, so I never met any of them. Other than that, nothing.”
“Well, I have my people working on it and there isn’t anything they can’t find, but it might take a little time. In the meantime, we’ve circulated the photo of this woman and alerted the police. I’ve also sent the photo to my team at home in case they decide to target Emmy. I mean, I know you’ve broken up, but the world doesn’t, so she still might be at risk.”
“Shit, really? I presumed she was safe.”
“She is, Tanner. I promise. She’s with my wife, who is the bravest woman you will ever meet. She won’t let anything happen to her. Trust me, that woman has brought down traffickers and psychos out to kill her. I wouldn’t have left Emmy with her if I didn’t trust she could keep her safe.”
“Thank you,” I breathed out.
“Right, I am going to keep searching and see what I can find. I’ll keep you all posted.”
Thomas left, and Addi sank into the sofa, rubbing her hand over the back of her neck. “Anyone sleep last night, or did you stay up reading Emmy’s book?”
“Book,” we all mumbled.
“So, any feedback? Any notes? We have a month to get back to her.”
“I don’t understand how she did it,” Frankie replied, her voice cracking with emotion. “I mean, all we did was chat with her. I never felt like I was being interviewed or that she was unpicking my deepest secrets until I read the words on the page.”
