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I suppose it makes sense. Now I’m curious about what the other two do. I haven’t officially met Victor yet, but I’ve spotted him from across the room at High Card twice now. He looks pissed off most of the time, but from what I gather he has a reason to be, so I don’t question it.
We’re silent until we pull into a ritzy neighborhood that houses anyone earning seven figures or more a year in this town. As we wind through the neighborhood, I have to ask myself again why I’m still here. There are so many people who could have had me out of the country by now, but I’m sticking around. And I don’t believe it’s because I fear Luke or even his father. Though from what I’ve read, I should definitely be frightened of Jamie Bowden.
No. I’m here because for whatever reason, I’m attracted to Luke Bowden, and I can’t make myself pull away from him no matter how much I might need to.
We pull into the driveway for a nice house—though it would be considered modest in this neighborhood—and Luke is at my door, opening it before I can finish unbuckling.
At the door, he pulls out his phone and taps something on the screen and I hear the whir of the door unlocking.
“Fancy. Don’t you worry about hackers? Your cousin and father both seemed a little paranoid about phones and technology.”
Luke laughs. “Paranoid does not even begin to describe Jamie Bowden when it comes to technology. But Me and Matteo and the others are definitely fully immersed in twenty-first century tech. There are hacking fears, but Owen is one of the best in the business for cybersecurity, so we’re probably safer than the average human is.”
Luke disarms the security system and takes me upstairs. My eyes catch on the double doors at the end of the hall, but Luke takes us in the opposite direction. That must be the primary suite in the house.
We enter a guest room, and I realize he intends for us to share a bedroom. We haven’t even done that at the hotel despite having slept together most nights we still had our separate spaces.
“You’ll be safe here,” he murmurs, coming to me and putting his hands on my waist.
“I know. Thank you for protecting me.”
He presses a chaste kiss to my forehead. “I’m going to go downstairs and make some calls until security gets here. Once they’re here, I’ll need to leave so I can meet with Owen. He’s our best bet for helping us out of this mess.”
“You’re just going to leave me in this house on my own?” The panic in my voice surprises even me. But I’ve never had my face splashed across the news before, so I guess some panic is to be expected.
“You’re safer here, Flower. I’m going to be out in public. I don’t feel good about leaving you, but I feel better about that than risking you getting bombarded by local paparazzi. Owen says a few are lurking near the hotel.”
I blow out a breath and nod. “OK. I understand. In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t do well being caged in.”
“So, no getting in the cage at High Card for you then, huh?”
I let out a short laugh at that and shake my head. “Definitely not.”
He pulls me tighter to him and presses a kiss to my hair. “We’re going to be just fine, lovely.”
His hand skates up and down my back and I relax into him. He really is a great place to snuggle.
I’m about to tell him exactly that when his phone rings and he pulls it out. “This is Luke.”
He frowns. “And she knows Zara?”
That gets my attention. I stiffen again and strain to hear more of the conversation.
He steps away from me, though and walks out of the room to lean against the banister.
“Detain her for now. And send me a picture. I’ll call you back if Zara can give me a name.”
A knot forms in my stomach as I wait for him to speak again.
“A woman showed up at the Sapphire a few minutes ago. Caused a major disruption in the lobby and was screaming about how you’ve brought shame on the house of the lord.”
“I don’t even think I need to see a picture,” I mutter. “That’s probably my sister. She might be homeless, but she keeps up with the news and if she saw I was in town she would track me down. Usually her news isn’t gossip shows, she reads the paper. And the screaming is new, too.”
“Wait… your sister is homeless? What the hell, Zara?”
I put up my hands defensively. “Don’t. It’s not like that. I’m the one who offered to put her up in an apartment somewhere. But she knows what I do for a living and won’t take money from me. After mom and dad both died, she had no one and she couldn’t hold down a regular job. I tried for several years to get her off the streets, but it’s a culture all its own, and she doesn’t want to come home. She wants to live like she lives and wants me to stay out of her life. Until she doesn’t.”
His phone buzzes, and he pulls it out then flips the screen my way. A defiant woman with unwashed hair and a dirty face is glaring at whoever snapped the photo. “That’s Monica,” I whisper.
