“Then I suggest the Ashford Library.” I knew the conference room in Pitt’s building would be more secure. But in the event something went wrong, even with bodyguards tailing her, I had to be in close proximity to her, and if I needed help, I’d have my brothers, Buster, and my old man if we were closer to home. Not that I was prepared to tell my father any of this yet.
Chapter 12
Lacey
After two hours of baseball practice, I collected my gear, and Kelton and I headed out to his truck. Practice had been a non-issue. Aaron was civil. Shaun pitched great, executing every pitch with a smooth delivery. I agreed with Coach. We had a great shot at winning State. Not only did we have Shaun and myself, we had two other decent pitchers, not to mention all our great batters and fielders.
Once in the truck, I sent Kade a text letting him know I was headed home. I was super stoked he’d come clean about the whole fight thing. His confession certainly made the rest of the school day bearable. I was anxious to get home and do some snooping around to see if I could find anything in Mom’s or Dad’s things.
I stared out the window, mapping out where I would start my search. I eliminated Dad’s office since there weren’t many places in it to store valuables. In our old house I thought my mom had placed their treasures in a box in her bedroom. I couldn’t be sure, though.
The country road we were on was pitch black except for the truck’s headlights. Kelton flicked on the high beams. Snow fluttered to the ground as the wind blew through the trees lining both sides of the road.
I glanced his way. The dashboard lights glowed, highlighting Kelton’s five o’clock shadow. “You and Aaron were civil to each other at practice. I don’t see how you guys turn your anger on and off on a whim.” I hadn’t had a chance to talk to Kelton. On our way over to the practice facility, I’d gotten a ride with Renee.
“There’s a lot we turn on and off on a whim, if you get my drift.” He chuckled as he flipped off his ball cap and threw it in the backseat.
I rolled my eyes. “Why is it always sex with you?”
“Girl, seriously. Do you have to ask that?” He pushed long fingers through his matted hair.
“Why don’t you find a steady girl? That way you can have sex all the time.”
“What makes you think I don’t have sex all the time? I don’t need a steady girl for that. I like sampling the different varieties. It’s kind of like wine tasting.” He shifted his glance to me every now and then.
I sighed. “You really should try love.”
“Fuck love. And don’t start preaching on how love makes having sex better either. The way I see it, love is pain. I want pleasure. Enough said.”
He maneuvered through the back roads and then the streets of Ashford. As soon as we drove up to my house, I gasped.
“What is it?” he asked, looking from the house to the street.
“The house. Something’s wrong.” My hands began to tremble. My breathing grew shallow as I gripped the door handle. “Lights. Where are the lights? They’re on a timer.” I shook my head steadily. “No, this can’t be happening.” That familiar buzzing in my head shot to an all-time high. I had to cover my ears. “Turn the lights on. Please, turn the lights on.” Blackness colored my vision.
“Lacey. Lacey, I’m here, girl. What do you need?” Kelton’s voice rose.
I rammed my shoulder into the door. “I have to get out of here.”
I barely heard Kelton telling me to breathe as cold air breezed through the truck.
I pushed the door again, and it opened. I fell into strong arms. I squeezed my eyes shut. Memories bombarded me.
Her brown eyes stared straight up at the ceiling. I fell to my knees into something warm, something that soaked into my clothes. “Mom! Mom, wake up. Wake up.” I smoothed a hand over her hair. “Mom! Please! Wake up!” I dropped my head to her chest. “Why won’t you wake up?” Tears poured from my eyes.
I crawled over to Julie on my hands and knees. “Jules?” I tapped her cheek. “Jules? Julie. You have to wake up.” I sobbed, choking.
I rocked back and forth. I heaved once then twice before losing the contents of my stomach. The room spun as coldness set in. Then a black abyss consumed me.
Chapter 13
Kade
After the meeting with Pitt, Hunt and I had joined Wes in his office to discuss the details and logistics of bodyguards and tutoring.
During the day, two of Wes’s men would be following Lacey, even if she was with me. I requested that the two men who had been with Pitt in the garage not be assigned to Lacey’s detail. I certainly didn’t get a warm and fuzzy feeling with them. Wes took note but didn’t promise anything. I also asked Hunt for a third time if he was okay with taking the nightshift. I knew I didn’t have to. Nevertheless, the guy was going above and beyond for me.
“Friends until the end,” he’d said. “She’s just as fragile and important to me as she is to you, man. I got this.”
I almost cried when he said that. I hugged him so damn tightly I thought I must have crushed his lungs.
As I got in my truck, I got a text from Lacey. Kelton was taking her home. I couldn’t wait to see her. I was excited and nervous to have a little more information about the situation and James Robinson. I wasn’t sure yet how I would get him to talk. I didn’t know Mr. Robinson well, but I had figured out that he didn’t share a great deal. At Christmastime when I asked him about his mom and dad, he’d changed the subject back to antique cars. Lacey had mentioned that he never talked about his family. Gloria Pitt was married to a mob guy. Were her parents involved in the mob too? Either way, he loved his daughter, and he had to have a valid reason he hadn’t told her.
The downside of all this was that I had to tutor Chloe one day a week until her finals began. My time was better spent working alongside Hunt and being attached to Lacey at the hip. Wes was supposed to let me know which day worked best for Chloe’s schedule. I was debating whether to tell Lacey about Chloe. I could tell her I’d found a job tutoring. If I did, it would open up a host of questions that all tied back to her father. Even telling her about the bodyguards would have the same outcome. Although as perceptive as Lacey was, she’d probably figure out someone was tailing her, which increased the importance and the urgency of Mr. Robinson accepting Pitt’s help and telling Lacey about his adoptive family and anything he knew about Lorenzino. The last thing I wanted to do was screw up any relationship between Lacey and her father.
As I exited off the freeway into Ashford, I tabled the question of what I should tell Lacey and thought of ways to convince Mr. Robinson to take Pitt’s help. He and I hadn’t bonded. He always worked at Rumors at night. We were in a dire situation that called for a swift and quick resolution. Wes said Mr. Robinson was stubborn. In my book, he was prideful, and pride wasn’t something one could change for a person. I understood a man wanted to provide for his family with little help from strangers or people he didn’t care for. On the heels of pride was trust. After what Mr. Robinson had been through, I had a feeling he didn’t trust easily. I knew Lacey didn’t. Without knowing James’s relationship with his sister, I figured there was more to his story with her. If he’d had a tight bond with her, then he would’ve accepted help, especially when it came to Lacey’s safety, and Lacey would have mentioned she had an aunt in Boston.
An incoming call through my Bluetooth connection interrupted the radio. It was Kelton. I pressed the phone button.
“I’m almost there,” I said, slowing down.
“Bro, I can’t wake her up. The house is pitch black. The front door is open. What do I do?” He fired each sentence off rapidly, tremors lacing his voice.
The blood froze in my veins. “Kel, calm down.” I came to a screeching halt at a stop sign and was thrust hard against my seatbelt. “The lights aren’t on at her house?”
�
�I called the cops.” He sounded out of breath. “It looks like someone broke in.”
My body went numb. I felt as if someone had taken wire cutters and clipped my brainstem, severing my ability to function.
“Kade, are you there? Kade!”
Headlights came up behind me. Then a horn blew.
I checked the road to my left before giving the truck some gas as I made a right. Kelton was freaking out. I couldn’t freak too.
“I’m here. What happened?”
“We pulled into her driveway. The lights weren’t on, and she panicked, shaking her head, banging her shoulder against the inside of the passenger door. When I ran around to get her out, she fell into my arms. Then she started petting my head, tapping on my face. Bro, just get here.”
“Where is she?” My heart rate was all over the place.
“She’s still out and lying down in the backseat of my truck. Cops are checking out the house. How far out are you?”
Too far. “Five minutes.”
He sighed as the phone went dead.
After bends, curves, turns, and stop signs, I turned onto Lacey’s road. Sweat coated my skin. My pulse thrashed in my ears. Red-and-blue lights flashed in the distance, and all of a sudden I was transported back to the day I’d gotten home from school to find a medic zipping up a thick black bag before lifting the body onto the stretcher.
I gulped in air, shaking the past from my mind. A cop car blocked Lacey’s driveway. I parked my truck alongside the house next door and jumped out. I had to be strong. I had to be confident. I had to reel in all my emotions. I couldn’t let Lacey see me in turmoil. She’d always said that one of the things she loved about me was my confidence. When she’d first told me that, I was taken aback. Last September she’d seen me in a rage when I’d gotten a call from Kelton that Kody was in the hospital again because of Sullivan. I didn’t have an ounce of confidence then, and I didn’t now.
Push past the fear. She needs your strength.
I flew past the cop car and straight to Kelton’s truck. The spotlight from the cop car shone on the yard and Kelton.
He was pacing back and forth. “Man, thank God, you’re here.” His face was paler than I’d seen it in a long time, though it might have been the lighting. He hugged me. “I didn’t know what to do.” Then he eased back. “Wayland’s dad is on duty tonight. He wanted to call an ambulance, but I explained her situation. He checked on her before he went in with his partner. Then I told him her father is in California and you would be here. She’s still out.”
I was grateful we knew one of the cops. Mr. Wayland’s son was our team’s catcher. Otherwise, we could be here all night answering questions, and I wanted to get Lacey to my house where she’d wake up in a place of light and warmth. “She may be out for a long time.” It was always hard to tell how long her blackouts would last. “The first time I saw her have one, it started in her driveway, and she was out for almost two hours.”
I peered into his truck. Lacey was lying across the backseat, sleeping soundly as though nothing had happened. I wanted to open the door, carry her into the house, get her comfortable, hold her, and not let go, like I’d done the first time. Her old man had instructed me to let her come out of it naturally. “Kel, she’ll be okay. Her major trigger is a dark house.” I always held my breath whenever I brought her home at night from a date.
“Easy for you when you’ve seen one of her blackouts before.”
“You have too. Remember on the ball field during tryouts?”
“Yeah, man. But this was different. On the ball field she just fell flat forward. This one she was acting out, petting me, calling for her mom.”
I gently grasped his shoulders. “This is why I worry my fucking head off. Seeing her in a state of panic shreds me into a million pieces. I don’t want to baby her. I want to protect her from shit like this.”
“Whatever you need, Kade. Whatever the fuck you need. I’ll do it. I can’t see her like that. Not that I wouldn’t help.” He walked away then came back, blinking rapidly. “Sorry.”
“I get it.” I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen water in Kelton’s eyes.
Voices peppered the air. Mr. Wayland made his way toward us. The other cop went around to the side of the garage.
“Hey, Kade,” Mr. Wayland said. Like his son, the man was stocky. “The house is clear of any intruders, although it’s been trashed. The big items like the TV and the other electronics are intact. My partner is checking the electrical panel. I’d suggest not staying here tonight.”
I hadn’t planned on it. I didn’t know if Lacey would panic more if she saw that the inside was trashed. I did want to go in and poke around.
“You know, my brother developed panic attacks in Iraq,” Mr. Wayland said. “I know how debilitating they can be.”
His partner stalked up. “They cut the main electrical line into the house.”
Kelton mumbled a cuss word.
“Any other break-ins around the neighborhood?” I asked.
“Not here. We’ve had a couple though on the other side of town in the last month,” Mr. Wayland said. “Does Lacey have a place to stay tonight?”
“She’ll be staying at my house. I need to call her father.”
“We’ll have a car here for the night. I’d suggest you return in the morning.”
I opened the front passenger door of Kelton’s truck, and Lacey’s phone was on the floor. I peeked over the seat. Her chest rose and fell slowly as a soft noise escaped her nose. Then I gently closed the door and punched in her passcode to unlock the screen. I’d seen her enter it numerous times. I scrolled through her contacts until I found her father’s name and tapped on the screen. It rang twice.
“Hey, Sweet Pea,” he said.
“This is Kade, sir.”
“What’s wrong?” Unease wove through his tone.
“Lacey’s fine. But she had a major blackout. Your house was broken into tonight before she got home.”
“Fuck,” he said under his breath. “Will this ever end? I’m on the first flight I can get.”
“She’ll be staying at my house. I’ll text you my number. Call me when you have your flight details.”
“Kade, please keep her safe.”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Robinson. Just get home. Oh, and we need to have a man-to-man talk first thing.”
Chapter 14
Lacey
My eyes fluttered open, and Kade’s cedar scent seeped into my nose. I pressed a hand to his stomach as I slowly peered up at him. The dim light of his bedroom licked his worn-out but handsome features.
One corner of his mouth curled, and a dimple emerged. “Hey, there.”
“Oh, my God. I blacked out.” I pushed to get up. Embarrassment heated my cheeks.
He held me firmly to him. “I’m in this with you. You have to get used to that, baby.”
“Kelton. Is he okay? Everything happened so fast. He drove up to the house, and I went into panic mode instantly. The last thing I remember was the fear in Kelton’s voice as I scrambled to get out of his truck.” Kelton had witnessed one of my blackouts on the pitcher’s mound. Even so, my episodes were never the same twice. Dr. Davis had explained that different memories could elicit different reactions depending on the triggers. I was concerned about Kelton and embarrassed with myself. I’d been doing great. Blackouts weren’t easy for me—or for whoever was with me, particularly when they didn’t know what to do. I made a mental note to thank Kelton.
“He’s fine. I’m just glad he was with you. Your house was broken into.” He loosened his arm. “They cut the power line. That’s why it was dark.”
I gulped. “Was anything taken? Did you call the police? Did they catch the person?”
“Slow down, baby. We didn’t go in. Mark Wayland’s
dad was on duty. He and his partner checked out the house.” He stroked my arm. “No one was inside, but the house has been ransacked. He stationed a cop outside your house for the evening. We’ll survey the damage tomorrow. Oh, and I talked to your dad. He’s catching the first flight out.”
A knock sounded on the door before it opened. Mr. Maxwell sauntered in, all six feet of him. He reminded me so much of Kade—honey-brown hair and the same copper eyes, but not as broad in the shoulders. “How are you feeling?”
I sat up. “I’m a little tense.” Okay, I was tense times ten.
Kade rubbed my back.
“Has Dr. Davis counseled you on breathing exercises?”
“He has.” That was my problem last night. I didn’t get a chance to think or breathe. As soon as Kelton had driven up to the house, the darkness triggered my panic attack so quickly I didn’t have time to stop the spiraling motion.
“If you need anything, you let me know,” he said softly. “Son, take the couch in the theater room tonight.” He tipped his head at the door. “Let Lacey rest.”
Kade got up, kissed me softly on the lips, and said, “I’ll be downstairs. We’ll get through this. Okay?” He lingered a minute, hovering over me.
He didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want him to either, but he seemed to need rest more than I did. Kade carried the weight of the world on his shoulders, and at that moment, I was a huge weight drawing the energy out of him. I couldn’t keep relying on his strength to pull me out of the darkness. I had to somehow push those pesky demons down into the deeper depths of my psyche.
“I’m good. I’ll see you in the morning.” I kissed him back as I forced a smile.
When Kade and Mr. Maxwell left, I called Dad.
“Sweet Pea, how are you? I’m just getting on the red-eye. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Worry threaded through his every word.
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