Jesse didn’t like what our brother’s best friend, Remy, could do with his computer skills, so the less I said about what he’d done, the better.
Groaning, he tipped his head back and looked at the ceiling. “At least it’s safe.”
“I also had security put in all over the property, including in the trees behind it.”
The small house sat on a lot of land in Sarasota Bay. For years they’d been developing it, but this plot had belonged to an older couple who couldn’t afford to maintain it anymore but didn’t want to see it turned into a mansion. We had a yard and a small beach at the front, but behind it was half an acre of wooded area, so ensuring it was secure all round was a must.
Nodding, he rubbed the back of his neck. “I think we’re going to have to delay getting the weird-looking cat from Webb. We don’t know when he broke in because none of the sensors went off, so he might have seen him picking up the beast and followed him.”
Agreeing that this was a wise choice, I thought about what to do next.
“I think, just to be on the safe side, we should take a detour. We’re in Mobile right now, so tomorrow, we head to Tallahassee and spend the night. The next day we’ll hit Starke for the night, then onto Sebring where we’ll split up.” When he nodded at my suggestions, not fazed about the length of our journey, I relaxed.
“There was something else, though, Elijah.”
Bracing, I jerked my chin at him to continue.
“He left some postcards with photos on them that were taken in what was Sadie’s bedroom at her mom’s house. Her room had a door that led to sort of an attic room, and on the back of it, he wrote: You can’t hide from me, little one. He also had one of her mother’s grave.”
Feeling my hands shaking, I fisted them and clenched my jaw to hold back the roar that wanted to burst out of me. That fucker was defiling everything she held sacred.
Once I had full control of my anger, I ground out, “He’s a fucking dead man.”
“Ned’s sent his men to bring in her sister and nephew, so they’re safe. At this moment, we don’t know who he’s going to go after, so we need to brace.”
“She’s got a grandmother still in the UK, speaks to her every couple of days.”
Pulling out his phone, he hit the screen and typed something on it. “I’m texting Gramps to get Tom or Cole to help him get a message to Ned about it. Hopefully, Orson won’t know what we’re doing. I doubt the asshole has the resources, but he had them to get here, into her old house, and to block her security, so maybe we’re underestimating him.”
And that’s what worried me. Before, I was scared for Sadie—now, I was scared for her and my child.
“I can’t lose them, Jesse,” I croaked. “She’s my everything. They’re both my everything.”
Coming over to where I was standing, he clapped me on the back. “Hey, we come from a large family that thrives on insanity and who take care of their own. Trust me when I say he doesn’t stand a fucking chance.”
I wanted to believe him, but he hadn’t seen Sadie after she’d been kidnapped and shot. He hadn’t seen her when she spoke about her mom and what she’d gone through with him. I’d give everything I had to stop her from ever going through something like that again.
Giving me another pat on the back, he nudged me in the direction of the bed Sadie was fast asleep in. “Go to bed. Shit always looks better in the morning.” I doubted I’d get any sleep, but he was right about the last bit. “Oh, and, Elijah?” he called, waiting until I looked over my shoulder at him. “You better be thinking about marrying her. Not because she’s carrying your baby, but because I’ve never seen you look the way you do when you’re with her.”
I’d just opened my mouth to tell him that I was going to, but I wanted to give it time to make sure she knew I was serious and not just doing it for the baby when he shot me a grin and added, “Plus, once she spends real time with you, she’ll realize what a dickhead you are and run. If she’s married to you, she can’t do that.”
Damn, what if he was right?Chapter FifteenSadieYou know the old chick in the Titanic who says, it’s been eighty-four years? That’s how long it felt like we’d been driving for. We were going from motel to motel, to motel. I can’t say it sucked because I got to see many areas I never thought I’d see unless I was on vacation—which I guess I was. Well, ish.