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Thank God.
Chapter Nineteen
SKYLAR
Fear changes a person. Reshapes the way they see the world. How they look at and listen to people.
After what happened, everyone I see has a new face. A new aura. Sure, it will probably soften with time. But not for a while.
My abduction last month also changed Lawrence.
A new gentleness lives in him. As does a fierce protector. Combine them together and mix them with the blunt force that knocked me out before my abduction, and it equals Lawrence’s fear. That someone or something else will hurt me.
Including sex.
Desperate as I am to have him, I don’t push for more than his body spooning mine at night. Lawrence has had a full plate since the showdown. The web of deceit was much larger than we knew, but came to light within hours.
Terrance and Kelli may have been my abductors, but they weren’t the sole captors.
After the police pummeled the front door, a frenzy ensued—and I saw none of it. The sack over my head kept me in the dark until an officer freed my arms and legs.
The third person was a stranger. No one I had seen around town or spoken with in the past. Then the officers read each of them their Miranda rights and the name Garrett floated through the air. Immediately, my heart sank for Lawrence. For the trust he had bestowed upon these men over the years. Trust they exploited with each cent they embezzled.
But it wasn’t just Terrance and Garrett. Kelli had been equally guilty.
Kelli and Garrett had known each other since grade school. Although Garrett’s family wasn’t as financially well off as Kelli’s, they ran in similar circles. They had never publicly dated but had been an item since high school. When Kelli’s great-grandfather passed away, her parents denied her the money left to her in his will since she was still a minor. Instead, they put the money in a trust. Set stipulations and year markers as to when she would receive money.
Needless to say, Kelli was pissed.
Early in college, Kelli convinced Garrett to help her steal money from her parents. Cash from the home safe every now and again. Stealing family jewelry and pawning it out of state. Online purchases with credit cards the parents didn’t study line by line.
But it hadn’t been enough.
Kelli knew she had millions collecting dust. Millions her parents wouldn’t give her until she married. Which is where Lawrence came into play. Kelli plotted out her relationship with Lawrence, an upstanding man in Stone Bay that many looked up to. Clung to him in the hopes they would marry with a prenup, she would collect her money, then divorce and run off with Garrett.
Why she didn’t just marry Garrett… we still haven’t figured that one out. Maybe they didn’t want to be legally connected. Maybe Kelli sees him more as fun and not permanent. Perhaps the conniving bitch wanted to keep her options open.
And Terrance.
Where does Terrance fit in?
Garrett recruited Terrance. Found him through a hacker site. Convinced him he would get a pretty penny if he helped out. The payoff wouldn’t be immediate, but they’d be set for life. As a bonus, Garrett shared Kelli with Terrance.
The three of them were one big mindfuck.
But since all this came to light, Lawrence and his boss, along with a few other employees, have been scrambling to fix the mess. Hours of records sifted through by a few trusted staff, the company’s tech guy, and Lawrence’s friend, Glen. The loss of at least six figures has been a disaster, but they are righting all the wrongs and involving the impacted clients.
Which means Lawrence has been busier than usual and we have had less us time.
But that changes tonight.
Although fiercely protective of my every move, I convinced Lawrence the threat of danger passed. Convinced him to go to work and leave me on my own.
His house, since the window repair, has become a fortress. Additional security measures, including a passcode gate at the front of the property and a dozen more cameras, have been put in place.
Reluctantly, he caved to my pleas for solitude, but only had a few requests.
One—if I were alone during the day, I stayed at his place.
