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“Lamise?” I called gently.
“Yeah?” she returned, lifting her gaze to mine again.
“I have a lot to say about what needs to happen here, and I just need you to give me a minute to get it all out before you respond or react. Okay?”
She nodded. “Okay.”
“Okay. First, there’s a justifiable reason to believe your suspicions about what happened to Graham are correct,” I started. This was something she already knew, so I hadn’t suspected she’d react negatively to it. When she remained silent, I continued, “Unfortunately, because of that, it’s not unreasonable to assume you could be in very serious danger.”
Lamise tensed, which I had suspected, but she surprised me when she didn’t try to cut me off or ask questions. Believing she was still doing okay, save for a little bit of tension surrounding the situation, I went on. “How sure are you about Henry? Do you have any doubt about the dog you saw today being him?”
“I’m positive it was him.”
“So, this is what’s going to happen,” I began again. “I’m going to take care of everything. I know you’ve already gone to the police, but I’m going to put together a team at the office, and we’re going to figure out what happened to Graham. You should know the truth, and I’m going to give that to you. If his death was intentional, I will find out, and I’ll see to it that the person or people responsible are held accountable.”
“I didn’t mean to pull you into this mess,” she murmured.
“I know you didn’t, but I’m here, and I can’t pretendnothing is happening,” I explained. “Besides, you’re not the only one who removed their ring last night.”
Lamise’s gaze snapped to my left hand, noting it was bare. Her hand immediately went to it, her soft touch forcing me to clench my jaw, so I wouldn’t react the way I wanted to.
Needing to redirect my focus, I decided it was best to keep talking. “I’m not just going to handle the situation with Graham. I’m going to find Henry, too. I’m going to find your dog, Lamise, and I’m going to bring him back to you.”
She tipped her chin up, her eyes welled with tears. “Do you really think you’ll be able to do that?”
“I work in the kidnap and ransom unit at Harper Security Ops,” I reminded her. “We don’t typically get calls about kidnapped pets, but I think I’m just as qualified to rescue a dog as I am a human.”
Lamise pressed her lips together and nodded slowly, as though she was afraid to get too excited. I could understand that. It had been months she’d been living without her dog. She might not have realized how good we were at what we did and believed getting her hopes up could possibly lead to disappointment. I didn’t mind—soon enough, she’d see that I was going to come through on all fronts for her.
“The last thing I need you to know is that while I’m doing what I’ve got to do to find Henry and figure out what happened to Graham, I’m also going to keep you safe. You’ve got to move in with me, at least temporarily, until I’m confident there’s no longer a threat against you,” I told her.
“Oh, Banks. I… I can’t do that. I mean, I understand why you’re worried. I kind of was, too, when I first watched Graham’s video, but he’d recorded that video months prior, and nobody had ever attempted to harm me in all that time. Even over these last few weeks, ever since I saw the video, nothing has ever felt off whenever I was out in public. Honestly, I just think he was being overly concerned and protective.”
This was precisely where I believed Lamise was going to give me a bit of a difficult time. “Do you know why he was afraid? Have you found anything else that indicates what he did, what the mix-up at the dog park was, or why he believed that video was his last chance to tell you he loved you?”
Shaking her head, Lamise replied, “No. I don’t know any of that.”
“Exactly. Maybe a week ago, nobody was giving you a second thought. Hell, they probably weren’t even thinking about you as recently as yesterday. But I can promise you that if the man who has your dog is somehow involved with Graham’s death, he’s absolutely thinking about you now. We’re not taking any chances.”
My voice was firm and probably a bit harsher than necessary, but I needed her to understand just how serious I was about all of this.
When Lamise didn’t respond and give me the agreement I needed, I had to give it one final push. Taking her hands in mine, I squeezed them and said, “I missed the chance to protect Violet from something months ago, and in the end, I lost her. Don’t make me lose another person who matters to me, Lamise. I can’t bear to go through it again. And knowing what it’s like, you shouldn’t want me to, either.”
Maybe it was unfair of me to put it to her like that, but I was desperate. If I was going to be focused on doing what I needed to do to find her dog and learn the truth about Graham, I needed to know she wassafe.
“Please? Please, will you stay here with me?”
She hesitated for only a moment longer. “Okay, Banks. I’ll stay here with you.”
Relief swept through me. “Rhys is going to love this.”
For the first time since I’d opened the door to her today, Lamise smiled.
It felt like I’d won the lottery.
TWENTY
Lamise
