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“Gav, wait up.” I turn to see Rowan running after us. But I don’t stop. “Gavin. I want to talk to you.”
I open the door of the Bronco and place a very sleepy Lola in the back seat. Andie slides in behind her as she glances over my shoulder at Rowan, then at me questioningly.
For a moment, I consider shutting the door and keeping her out of whatever Rowan has to say. But she’s already in this deep.
“If you’re here to tell me to give the alliance a chance?—”
“I’m not,” he cuts me off. He scans our surroundings. Then, he leans in and in a hushed voice says, “But I am here to offer help.”
Frowning, I ask, “How?”
Again, he looks around. When he spots Damian heading our way, he quickly says, “Come stay with Lou and me.”
“We’ve already been traveling all night.”
He shrugs. “So what’s four more hours?”
A few more hours in a car? My ankle pounds in painful protest.
I rub the back of my neck with my palm. “Luca will disown you if he finds out.”
“Didn’t you see, he already has. Besides, I don’t answer to him in Boston.”
“Let’s do it,” Andie says, turning to see Lola half asleep already. “We need somewhere safe to really rest. And I don’t feel safe here. Not if you don’t.”
“Come, stay a night or two. Listen to what I have to say, and if you choose not to accept my help, at least you’ll have time to regroup. But…” Rowan’s blue eyes intensify. “There’s just one condition.”
“What?”
“That you consider my home neutral ground. If you don’t like what I have to offer, you will leave peacefully.”
* * *
It’s late afternoon by the time we arrive in Boston. Had I not been told that Rowan married Louisa Duran, the daughter of his rival, I would have been surprised when we pulled up to the house in enemy territory. But I’m so tired, I’m not sure I would have cared.
A pretty woman with short black curls steps out of the giant Victorian, accompanied by an older woman.
“Gav, this is my wife, Lou, and her mother, Diana.”
“She must be exhausted.” Diana runs her hand over Lola’s cheek.
“We’ve been traveling for a bit,” Andie says. “We’re not used to that.”
“Would you like some ice cream in my garden?” She takes Lola’s hand from mine, and I fight the urge not to let her go.
“It’s okay,” Lou tells me. “She’s safe here.”
“I know.”
“Is there somewhere I can freshen up,” Andie asks her.
“I have a room ready for you.” We follow her into the main foyer, where a curved staircase goes up three levels. “I hope you don’t mind staying at my parent’s house. Ours in under repair.”
“Not at all,” Andie says. “It’s gorgeous.”
“Gavin,” Rowan calls when I try to follow them up. “Not yet. First, I need you to meet someone.”
“I’ll be okay,” Andie tells me over her shoulder.
