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I smother a yawn as I turn off all the downstairs lights before I head up for the night.
It’s coming up on eleven and Mom has been in bed for hours. A product of early nights at the clinic. We spent the afternoon and evening reading, drawing, and talking.
Although I explained to Mom what was happening in the city without going into details, she decided not to watch for herself. After what she went through, I fully understand why she wouldn’t want to see.
When she went up to bed, I fell asleep on the couch and had to peel my face off one of the many art books someone had filled the living room bookcase with. There are tiny details everywhere that Pack Ashe knows all the things that make me happy.
As I turn on the alarm in the entryway, I spot a car parked down the road. Moving closer to the strip of glass beside the front door, I try to remember if it was the same one I saw when I took the trash out.
With all the news today, I see the car and I think the worst. It won’t be Lawrence looking for revenge. But it could be his father, Byron, thinking I’m responsible for all this coming out and Lawrence killing himself.
I’m panicking about what to do next until I remember Rune’s instructions to speed dial number one in case of emergencies.
I sprint for the living room, grab my cell phone from the coffee table, and with a shaking hand, stab number one. And I wait, holding my breath for someone to answer.
“Everleigh, what’s wrong?” It’s nearly eleven at night, and Kylian is wide awake.
I’m sure the person in the car can’t hear me, but I whisper anyway. “There’s a car parked outside the house, down the street.”
He’s silent for a beat. “What color?”
“Blue, I think. It’s dark.”
He releases a slow breath. “That’s one of ours.”
I blink. “What?”
“With all the stuff we knew would come out, we wanted to make sure no one would target you or your mom thinking you were involved,” he explains.
The strength in my legs gives out, and I sink to the plush lilac couch. “You had someone watch over us?”
“I know we should have said, but we didn’t—”
“Thank you,” I whisper. “You’ve done so much for me already, but thank you.”
“It’s keeping you safe, Everleigh. You never have to thank any of us for doing that.”
“And you’ve given me and Mom too much money,” I tell him.
“We haven’t given you enough,” he says. “Cian thought you might be a bit overwhelmed if we made the trust any bigger. Same with the house.”
“I’m too scared to ask you how much bigger you intended to make it,” I say. “And the house is perfect.”
“That’s good to know. How do you like the garden?”
Why does it sound like he’s smiling?
“It’s nice. Quiet,” I tell him, sensing more is going on here than I’m seeing.
“No noise from your neighbors?”
I pause, considering his far too casual question.
They were going to buy me a bigger house and give me more money. They didn’t. But Kylian’s question has me thinking…
“Please tell me you didn’t buy the neighboring houses, did you?”
