People had come over to help Lucas just minutes after he’d arrived—people who didn’t exactly care about doing things legally, which had been one of the reasons Lucas had wanted me locked in the closet with the armed driver—and they had started investigating immediately.
Thankfully, it hadn’t taken long before their investigations led the other men out of the house, and soon they were calling Lucas with updates.
The chat messages had been sent from an abandoned, dilapidated Internet café, and they had nothing else to go on.
A look had snapped into Lucas’s eyes that had left me feeling cold for hours. He’d left immediately after, leaving his driver with me, and hadn’t said anything about where he’d gone or what he’d done when he came home. Only that I needed to let him know if I was contacted again, and he didn’t want me in the backyard unless I had someone else with me.
He also wouldn’t leave my side or work away from home for two weeks because of it.
As much as I loved every second with him, those weeks had been uncomfortable because he’d been on edge the entire time, and it had left me unable to prepare for tonight.
Thank God there had been things at the office that needed to be taken care of in person today so he’d had to leave, but now I was running around Houston with the driver, trying to find the perfect gift for the man who had more money than he knew what to do with.
“What’s this place up here on the right?” I asked the driver, who still refused to give me his name.
“Clothing.”
I sighed and sank into the seat. I’d already been into seven stores—two had been clothing stores—and nothing had stood out to me. At least I’d finished Lucas’s caramel banana cake before we left so I wouldn’t need to worry about it once we got back to the house. I’d considered making a devil’s food cake to be funny, but I’d paid enough attention to what he liked over the last months that I was sure he’d be happy with what I’d made.
“This one on the right?”
“Jewelry, Miss Holt.”
I groaned in frustration. Lucas and jewelry did not mix. “What does he like?” I asked out loud, even though I didn’t expect the driver to answer since he rarely answered any personal questions about anyone.
“Guns.”
I glared at his reflection through the rearview mirror. “What about all of those coming up on the left?”
“There is a—”
“You know what, it’s okay. Why don’t we park and I can make my way through this strip? Maybe walking through these stores will help me think of something.”
He nodded and slowed to find parking. “I pick up lunch just over there for you quite often. Would you like me to get you something to eat? You haven’t eaten all day.”
“I’ve been busy all day,” I mumbled. “Thank you, but no, I just want to find something and get back to the house. But if you’re hungry you can go.”
“I’m not hungry,” he responded easily.
“Of course not.”
We were in the second shop on that strip of stores when it all got to be too much. I felt restless and anxious, and like I was going to scream if someone didn’t give me some space soon. It had been like this ever since our first store that afternoon and had only gotten worse as the day had dragged on. Having someone by my side twenty-four/seven for two weeks, after months of mostly being alone, left me feeling suffocated.
“I will be okay if I walk to the other side of the store without you,” I snapped, and immediately regretted it. “Oh God, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I just—I just want some space. You two are always hovering, and it’s exhausting me and stressing me out, and now today . . .” I trailed off, shaking my head. “I’m sorry.”
The driver smiled patiently, understanding covering his face. “It’s okay, Miss Holt, but I can’t leave your side.”
“Nothing is going to happen. Please? Just for five minutes even, would that be so bad?” When stress caused the driver’s eyes to crease and his lips to thin, I thought about Lucas’s threats to him simply because he wasn’t driving fast enough and realized it might be that bad.
“Five minutes. I’ll meet you out front.” He swallowed roughly, and I knew he wished he could take back what he’d just said.
“Thank you. Thank you. Just—thank you.” I immediately turned from him and walked through the store. I wasn’t even looking for a gift for Lucas anymore. I was just relishing in the feel of not having a shadow for the first time in weeks.
It was amazing.
After the first few minutes, I finally paid enough attention to know I wasn’t going to find anything in that store anyway and headed toward the front. The driver visibly relaxed when he saw me headed toward him, and I sent him a small grin. “How’d you do?”
The glare he sent me was so unlike him that I barked out a laugh and turned toward the next store.