But I hadn’t earned jackshit. I’d fucked up again by not following her home. And when I showed up after getting more than halfway to work, only to give in to my selfish need and turn around, I hadn’t checked the street before I banged on her front door.
“Baby, he is not gonna get in your face again,” I vowed.
“I’m not worried about me.” Addy shook her head and frowned. “He threatened you, not me.”
“You don’t need to worry about me.”
Addy took a deep breath and let it out on a long exhale before her fear-filled eyes locked with mine.
“I think you should be worried. Before he yelled at me, he was poorly explaining why he’d broken up with me.”
“Poorly explaining? What does that mean?” Brady rejoined.
Addy looked like she wanted to talk about Jake only less than she wanted her fingernails plucked out.
“Wait,” Hadley huffed. “Was he trying to get back together with you?”
I felt my muscles bunch at Hadley’s question.
Over my dead body.
“I don’t think so. He was at the VA and asked me to lunch. I tried to decline by telling him I had a class. He said he’d wait.”
“Why the hell didn’t you tell him to shove it? He broke your heart.”
“I was curious.” Addy’s gaze sliced to Hadley’s. “He said he wanted to apologize and explain.”
“Well? What did he have to say for himself?” Hadley’s snotty response made Addy cringe.
“He said he wasn’t in the regular Army. That he wasn’t infantry, not even back when we were together. When I reminded him who Dad was and that I of all people would understand, he got pissed and said he remembered who Dad was and said some stuff about how Jasper Walker was a hard act to follow. From there it went downhill. Jake didn’t come out and say, but the inference was there that he was Special Forces. He said he even lied to his family about being in the infantry.” Addy looked back to me and the pleading returned when she said, “You need to take his threats seriously.”
I planned on taking them very seriously, just not in the way Addy was implying. I wasn’t scared of some piece of shit who talked shit about Jasper because he wasn’t man enough to handle his woman while he had her. There was no doubt Jasper taught his daughters how a man should love them, how they shouldn’t settle for anything less than the best. But in no way did Carter, Brice, or Brady cow behind some fucked-up excuse like, Jasper was a hard act to follow.
Lame ass punk.
Lame ass punk who knew where Addy lived.
“I’m staying here tonight,” I announced.
“Good idea,” Brady agreed.
“What? Why?”
“Because you live here alone.”
“She can—”
“Hadley,” Brady cut his fiancée off. “Trey’s staying here tonight. Tomorrow, he’ll bring it to the table. We’ll discuss it and come up with a plan.”
Something warm hit my chest but I shoved it down, unwilling to entertain the idea Brady trusted me with his soon-to-be sister-in-law.
“Right. That sounds good.”
“No, it doesn’t. It sounds like my privacy is getting ready to be invaded. No, not my privacy, my life. After everything that went down with you, and with Quinn, and with Delaney, and with Tuesday, Mercy, Honor, and Meadow, I will be locked in a safe house.”
Hadley grinned a sad smile. “You’re probably right. But I’ll come visit.”
“No, you won’t because you won’t know where Dad’s stashed me. And who knows what Jake’s doing in town. Maybe he did get stationed here again. And you know…you know, if that’s the case Dad will pack my shit and move me back into his house. He won’t care I’m a grown woman. He will not care that’s not what I want. He will not listen to reason. He will freak the hell out, get the uncles on board, and I’ll live with my parents until I’m an old maid.”
“She’s right,” Hadley muttered and nodded. “That’s what’s gonna happen when Dad finds out.”
“And?” Brady asked the question I was thinking.
Jasper’s plan sounded perfectly reasonable to me. I wasn’t around for Quinn or Delaney’s trauma. Though I was intimately familiar with Carter’s pain at what happened to her. And I was well acquainted with what had happened to Hadley because I was around for that. Brady had nearly lost his mind and Jasper wasn’t far behind him.
I didn’t know about the rest, but what I did know was Addy’s family had suffered more than their fair share and they would not take Jake lightly.
Addy would be protected.
“And?” Addy scoffed. “I don’t want to live in lockdown.”
“You can move in with me or I’ll move in here,” I offered before I thought better of it. “We’ll rotate security for her while she’s working. The VA is off-limits until we know why Jake was there. Tomorrow I’ll get Dylan started. What he can’t dig up, Blake can. I know she and Levi are officially retired but I think she’d help on this. As a matter of fact, the new gym’s complete. Addy can transfer all her PT patients there. That way she won’t have to leave the Triple Canopy compound.”
“I agree,” Brady said. “The compound’s a better option. Security’s already set up.”
“Is this really happening?” Addy looked outraged.
“Yup,” Hadley answered her sister.
“I don’t want any of this,” Addy protested.
“Baby, you got two choices. Tonight I stay here and tomorrow I hand you over to your father until I handle Jake. Or tonight I stay here, tomorrow I move in with you or you move in with me and your PT sessions get moved to the compound.”
“Neither,” she snapped.
“That wasn’t one of your options.”
Adalynn pushed away from the table and stood. Then she showed me a side of her I’d never suspected. One I wish I’d never seen. Sweet Addy enthralled me. The Addy who pushed me over the edge in madness was addicting. But the accretive, aggressive Addy was a game-changer.
And the fuck of it was, I despised aggressive women who wouldn’t back down and take no for an answer. But coming from Adalynn Walker, it was hot as fuck.
“I see you haven’t met me,” she spat. “You think I’m some weak-minded nitwit who will bow down to the men around me. That what, Trey, since you’ve given me choices, it makes your demand more palpable? That I’ll feel warm and fuzzy that you’ve given me options about how you’re gonna take over my life? That’s not a no, that’s a fuck no. No to all of it. No to you taking it to the table—whatever the hell that means. No to you spending the night and moving in. No to me moving my patients. And a big, fat, huge no to my dad thinking he’s gonna move me in. I am under no delusion he’s not gonna try, he will, and I’m telling you right now, you go into work tomorrow and make a big deal out of this, you’ll be the cause of World War Three. No, come to think of it, it’ll be more like Armageddon. Dad’s gonna push, I’m gonna dig in, and when he tries to pull what you just did, I’ll set him straight, too.”
“Baby, I do not think you’re weak-minded or a nitwit. I don’t think you bow down to anyone. But I know you’re smart,” I stated calmly.
“Damn right, I am.”
I’d underestimated Adalynn. I’d never thought any of the things she’d accused me of. But I had wrongly thought she was easygoing. Maybe I’d even mistaken her shyness for something else and thought she needed to be shielded.
“Being that you’re smart, I know you didn’t miss the threats. But more, I know you didn’t miss that something’s not right with Jake.”
“Trey—”
“Let me finish,” I spoke over her. “You’re smart, damn smart. So I know you didn’t miss the way he was looking at you. That worries me more than him squaring up. I’m a man, I can handle myself if it came down to that. But he lost his shit in a café full of people. I calmly and clearly communicated he was done speaking to you. He was of another mind, and made that clear.”
“Right. But, Trey—”
“Not done, baby.” Addy clamped her mouth shut but plainly conveyed with her squinted eyes she was not pleased I’d once again interrupted her. “So, being as you’re smart, you didn’t miss his outburst. But beyond that, I know you love your family—all of them. You know they’ll worry and you don’t want that for them. No one’s—or I should say, I’m—not taking over your life or invading your privacy. What I’m doing is helping you give them peace of mind while we look into this douchebag. And while I’m helping you do that, I’ll have you covered so if he does think to approach, he’ll think twice. If he thinks on it and is still stupid enough to try to get close, I’ll have your back. Which means it will be me dealing with him and not you.”
“He’s right, Addy,” Hadley interjected.
“Hadley,” Addy sighed. “You know—”
“What I know is a man yelled at my sister. A man who invited her to lunch to explain why he left her. His excuse was he wasn’t in the regular Army, but something far more dangerous. Which means, he’s dangerous. Then he shows up at her house uninvited after Trey made it clear he wasn’t to get near you. Obviously, I wasn’t there, but I have a feeling Trey didn’t mince words when he told Jake he wasn’t to get near you again.”
Hadley was breaking through. Addy bit her bottom lip and her gaze skidded from her sister to Brady then to the wall. “What I was going to say is, you know I don’t want everyone to worry. But maybe Jake just wanted to apologize.”
Was she insane?
“Don’t do that,” Hadley scoffed. “I get that out of all of us, you’re the one who wants to see the best in people. But don’t be stupid.”
“I’m not being stupid,” Addy defended herself.
Before I could get a lid on a Walker Twin argument—which I knew from experience could get heated and loud. Not to mention both women were stubborn in their own ways. Addy silently. Hadley loudly and more determined to win. Hadley went in for the kill.
“I almost died.”
I heard Addy draw in a breath. But more, I felt so much fury rolling off of Brady it filled the room and coated my skin.
“Hads,” Addy croaked.
“Don’t be stupid like me. Don’t put Mom and Dad through that again. Let Trey keep you safe, even if you think it’s not necessary. Let him do what he feels he has to do. How long can it take for them to track down Jake? A week, tops. Isn’t that a small price to pay to give everyone around you, including me, peace of mind?”
I was wrong. That was the kill shot. Emotional manipulation—sister style.
Addy’s gaze came back to me, assessing, evaluating; in other words—not happy.
“Want to stay here,” she started then stopped. Her lips twisted as she weighed her next words. “But it freaks me out he knows where I live. I didn’t tell him, so either he looked it up somehow, or he followed me. Neither of those is good.”
I nodded but wisely kept quiet.
“I don’t want to give him more,” Addy grumbled.
“What was that?”
“I don’t want to give him more,” she repeated louder. “I’ve given him all that I want to give him. I wasted a lot of time after he broke up with me licking my wounds, blaming myself, wondering what I did to make him leave me. It ticks me off thinking about giving him more. Uprooting my life, using Triple Canopy resources, taking up valuable—”
“Adalynn, there is nothing more valuable than you,” I broke in.
I watched as Addy’s shoulders stiffened, her head tilted to the side, her eyes widened and this time she studied me far more thoroughly. And I let her. Didn’t move a single muscle, didn’t mask my sincerity, nor did I close down. I needed her to know I was serious. I wasn’t blowing sunshine trying to get her to do what I wanted.
“Straight up, Addy, you’re more important than resources and manpower. Me looking after you isn’t a waste, it would be an honor. I get you wanna stay here, and we will if that’s what you want. But you’re right, he knows where you live and that’s creepy as fuck. Beyond that, it’s stalking. You didn’t give him your address. You didn’t invite further communication. So I’d feel better staying at my place, but the choice is yours.”
“Your place.”
Thank fuck.
“But you have to promise me something?”
Anything. “What’s that?”
“You won’t tell my dad.”
Except that.
“Not gonna play that game, Addy. Either you tell him what went down or I do.” Addy started to protest but I kept talking right on over her. No fucking way was I hiding this shit from her family. “I think you feel me when I tell you, I get you’re a grown woman. I also get you’re independent. But this has nothing to do with that and everything to do with playing it smart. The more people who understand what’s going on, the safer you are, and the faster this shit gets sorted. And that’s what you want, right? To get this shit done, so Jake doesn’t take up more of your time, and you can get back to livin’?”
Addy’s face turned a bright shade of red. This time it wasn’t sexy. But it sure as fuck was cute.
It also meant I’d won this round.
So I’d take it.
But later, I’d turn her pretty cheeks pink in a better way.
11
I didn’t know what I’d expected. Truthfully, I hadn’t really thought about where Trey lived. Well, I had wondered in a none-of-my-business-but-I-wanted-to-know-everything-about-the-man sort of way. But like all things having to do with him, I’d shoved it to the back of my mind.
However, someone could’ve given me a list of ten properties and I wouldn’t have picked this one as the house Trey lived in.
This being a brick home in a gated community.
Gated community.
A five-bedroom, five-bath home with a covered front porch. A covered porch with two rocking chairs.
Rocking. Chairs.
Trey had a McMansion with rocking chairs.
I was so stunned I didn’t know what to say. I mean, what was there to say? A former Navy SEAL, current commando-slash-PI, lived in a family-style home, albeit a huge family home, with rocking chairs.
How in the heck was this even possible?
“Addy, you okay?” Trey inquired.
My gaze skidded from the fabulous archways, to the pillars, to the gourmet kitchen I could see through the open dining room, to Trey. He looked perfectly comfortable in the vast space. Right at home in the monstrous living room. My eyes left Trey and traveled up the stonework that surrounded the fireplace, going up, and up, and up, reaching the cathedral ceiling.
“It must cost a fortune to heat this place.”
“Luckily, it doesn’t get too cold in Georgia or you’d be right.” Trey chuckled.
“You live in a gated community.” I told him something he very well knew.
“Yep.”
“In a brick mansion,” I went on, pointing out the obvious. “It has five bedrooms but there’s only one of you.”
“Wouldn’t call it a mansion.”
Was he nuts? It was huge.
There I was, contemplating buying Mrs. Parker’s condo or wondering if I was financially ready for a bigger investment. But my bigger investment would’ve been a two-bedroom cottage, not in a gated community. Apparently, I was seriously behind in the home-owning game.
I stopped staring at the fireplace only to gawk at the huge windows that ran along the front of the room. Floor-to-ceiling windows that allowed natural light to spill into the room making a huge room look warm and inviting.
And his furniture was to die for. Big oversized suede couches. The perfect shade of thundercloud gray that complemented the soft smoky gray walls. But there were splashes of blue and yellow thrown in to give the room a jolt of color.
Not only did Trey live in a beautiful family home, he was also a master interior decorator. And he’d been to my house. My boring, plain-Jane condo that had no personality. Nothing on the walls, nothing special or inviting about my furniture, no splashes of
color, nothing. Just plain.
“Addy?”
“Hm?”
“Look at me, Adalynn.”
I did not look at Trey. Instead, my eyes kept roaming the room, and the more I took in, the more embarrassed I became. Then I was forced to obey his command because I was no longer staring at his super cool, ornate, glass inlaid coffee table, I was staring at Trey’s jeans covering his thighs.
“Baby, what’s wrong?”
What was wrong with me?
I’d never been self-conscious about where I lived. I didn’t live in a hovel, but it certainly wasn’t a mansion. I’d never cared about money or social status. I had friends who had money, friends who had less money, but they were just that—friends.
“Your house is really nice,” I stupidly noted.
“It’s not me,” he said, and my gaze darted to his.
“What’s not you?”
“This place. I don’t intend to keep it.” Before I could tell him I didn’t understand, he went on. “It’s an investment. I got this house for a steal. It came fully furnished. I don’t know it for a fact because I didn’t buy all the shit in this place separately, but I’d guess the furnishings alone shoulda added another hundred-grand to the listing.”
Investment.
That didn’t make me less embarrassed, that reminded me that I’d been lollygagging through life. I rented a condo from an old woman. In the time I’d lived there, I hadn’t even settled in and put my stamp on the place. I didn’t have any investments, though my Uncle Levi who was a genius with money had offered to help me. I’d paid for my education while I was getting it. But like my parents had done with my siblings after graduation, they’d given me a check reimbursing me and paid off the loans I’d had. It was their gift to us and it was two-fold. The first part was to teach us responsibility, allow us to muddle our way through, juggle work and school. The bigger lesson though was not to quit. If we quit, we were responsible for the loans. The second part of the gift was obvious—they’d gotten us out of debt. They’d done that to teach us to plan for the future so you could take care of those you loved.
We’d never taken extravagant vacations, Mom and Dad drove decent vehicles, they had a nice home, beautiful backyard, they had five children to take care of and we were not rich. So I knew that saving college tuition for all of us cut deep. But they’d sacrificed and saved. Giving us the opportunity to start our lives free of financial burden.
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