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A slow grin. “I’m sure I can get Gracie here to drop me off on her way home.”
“Like hell,” she muttered.
The two had a past that Harlan never talked about. All we knew was that he knew her from before. Harlan had grown up in Montana before joining the SEALs, and somehow Grace was a part of that. But the rest of their history was private.
I wasn’t about to get in the middle of it. Harlan was an adult, and if he had a problem getting home, he could call one of the other guys.
When I pushed back into the office, Evelyn was still sitting where I’d left her. “Before I get you out of here, we should talk to the police.”
Evelyn’s head snapped up, eyes blazing. “No.”
“Ev—”
“Absolutely not.” She was no longer in any kind of daze, now on her feet staring me down. “Do not call them.”
I stepped into her space so she had to look up at me. “This is a death threat. It should be reported. Taken seriously.”
“You think I don’t know that it’s serious?” She shook her head. “This has been my life for the past four years. I know it’s fucking serious. And I know exactly what the police can do and what they can’t. Don’t call them.”
It hit me in a wave. She’d gone to the police before, and they hadn’t helped. Either they hadn’t, or they’d made it worse.
This was the strongest that I’d ever seen Evelyn, standing tall and defending herself. I wanted to see her like this all the time. She was so fucking beautiful in every way. I wanted to get my hands on the man who had done this. He didn’t deserve to take up one more second of her thoughts.
“All right,” I said. “I’ll take you home.”
On the way out, she grabbed both the ring and the card off the table and brought them with us. Good. We’d need them as proof. Police or no, I was going to make sure Evelyn never had to run again.
Chapter 14
Lucas
Evelyn didn’t want to leave her car again, so I followed her back to the ranch. I knew she wanted her car close in case she decided to run, but I wasn’t going to fight her on it. But when we got back, I needed her to tell me. She might not have wanted to involve me, but I was involved now. I wanted to be. And I wasn’t backing down.
When we pulled up to the house, I followed her onto the porch, and she hesitated. Now that we were alone, things seemed easier. The good kind of tension hummed in the air as I stepped close—not nearly as close as I wanted to be, but closer.
The need to kiss her pulled me forward, but we had to fix things between us first. I was still angry, and she had things she needed to tell me. Otherwise, this wasn’t going to work.
“Are you going to let me help you, Ev?”
A shuddering breath. “Yes.”
Thank God. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me the truth.”
Evelyn swallowed. “I know.” She pushed into the house, and I followed behind her.
Not stopping, she disappeared into the kitchen. The clink of glass and ice followed. When she came back, there was a glass of alcohol in her hand. Not something that came with the house, so she’d bought it. Or brought it with her.
If she needed alcohol to tell this story—I stifled the thought. Listening was the first task. Just listening.
Evelyn curled up on the couch, and I sat across from her in a separate chair. She needed space to do this—I could tell.
“Okay,” she said, not looking at me. She hadn’t looked at me once since we entered. “His name is Nathan West. The Nathan West.”
“Nathan West,” I said softly. “As in the son of Patrick West?”
She still didn’t look at me, her entire face flushing. “Yes.”
Fuck. No wonder she was running. Patrick West was a tech billionaire and the founder of the security software almost everyone used. He and his family were very visible and very rich. So this man had unlimited resources and influence. No wonder she hadn’t wanted the police.
