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Despite her husband’s stuffy personality and the fact that he was older than my dad, we got along well. He adored Thea, and she seemed to return the feeling. It was an odd relationship, but it worked for them. And who was I to judge? I didn’t even have a relationship.
Staying with Thea always felt like a vacation. But I wanted to be around my things. Preferably by myself. I had a lot more crying to do.
“I was thinking I should be home for a while.”
After jumping out of the car, she grabbed my hand and dragged me out of my seat, then inside. “Nonsense. I know you’ll sink into a black hole, and then I’ll have to do double the work to pull you out. You’re staying with me.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
But when I walked into my apartment that still looked exactly the same as when I left, I thought maybe she had a point. Same boring gray walls, same depressing view of the back of another small apartment block.
Thea had a spare key and had come in every few days to water my plants. I’d lost my key somewhere in Guyana and was grateful I didn’t have to call the building manager.
Ignoring my protest, she packed a bag. I gave in and helped or risked ending up with only bikinis. We were back in her car twenty minutes later. The car that still stood double-parked without a ticket or damage.
“We’re doing a spa day today, since I figured you’d be tired from your flight. And then tomorrow we’ll go sailing.”
I groaned. I hated sailing and spent half the time bent over the side throwing up. That would be one way to distract me. I doubted I’d be thinking about anything but how to hold on to my breakfast the whole time. “Do we have to? We could hang out by your pool instead.”
Thea shot me a pointed look, and I glared at her. I negotiated what we would do for the next few days the rest of the drive, replacing hang gliding with kayaking and scuba diving with snorkeling.
The sight of her home always took my breath away. The gigantic building nestled in the cliffs amid the trees, trying its best to blend in despite its size. Huge walls too high to climb surrounded the property, cameras and alarms set up everywhere.
I spotted a guard patrolling the grounds and raised a brow at my friend. That was new.
She parked the car and shrugged. “We had a few issues, so William thought it was safer to get a guard.”
We got out, and Thea waved to the guard, who gave her a chin lift and continued walking along the wall. I went toward what had become my room, and she veered off to the kitchen. “Join me once you’re settled in.”
Settling in meant dropping my bags in the giant walk-in closet only to find my clothes hung up and ironed a few hours later. I did just that, having given up stopping Thea’s housekeeper from doing the unnecessary work.
I joined her on their deck overlooking the ocean, where she had a full bottle of champagne on ice and two full glasses waiting.
With a satisfied sigh, I sank into the comfortable daybed next to hers and raised my glass. “To being back.”
Even if I felt like I was a guest in a life that was no longer mine.
Thea pinned me with a stare. “Now talk. And leave nothing out. I’ll know.”
I told her everything, finally able to talk to my best friend making me feel lighter than I had in a long time.
And she confessed to having someone look into Archer’s disappearance, despite William’s insistence that this was a job for the police. But none of us were any closer to finding him.
But I was sure I’d know if he was dead. He was still somewhere out there.
And despite not being able to return to Guyana, I wouldn’t rest until I either had proof he was dead or found him alive. Hopefully, Locked Security was as good as Gunner proclaimed and I’d find out what happened to my brother soon.
23
EVERLEIGH
I spent the next four days getting pampered while in a semi-drunk state. Thea went all out. But I still couldn’t sleep at night and found it hard to eat. Even Thea commented on my waiflike frame that seemed to shrink as the days wore on.
I’d called into work and would start back up next month. But not even the prospect of going back to a job I used to love did much to improve my mood. I pretended everything was fine, while inside I was crumbling.
I was lying in Thea’s guest bedroom between the softest sheets that had ever touched my body, yet I still couldn’t find a comfortable position. My thoughts were consumed with Lucius, my body aching for his touch. And then I got mad at myself for not being stronger. For missing someone I barely knew so much that I felt my heart would tear itself in half. It was ridiculous. But it was impossible to fight.
A noise outside set my alarm bells ringing. Something dropped to the ground, my body tensing at the sound. But that was impossible. Nobody could get in here. It was almost as secure as Gunner’s apartment. William didn’t take any chances with the things that were precious to him, which included Thea.
