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Where are you? D is so worried. I can’t keep her occupied. You need to call or text her.
That was the last text he sent, two hours ago. I hadn’t realized how long I sat there. I walked to the cave entrance carefully, listening for footfalls in the forest around me. I didn’t hear anything, so I poked my head out and looked around. The sun would set soon. Once it did, I could sneak into the house and get a change of clothes and the keys to my car in the garage.
Well, there was no use putting it off. I typed out a quick response to Eli and slinked back into the cave to wait for darkness.
Has she been with you the whole time since you left the hospital? I need answers. Nearly got taken from the hospital, then again after getting out. Let D know that I’m okay. Where can I meet you when it gets dark?
I settled back into the spot where I had spent most of my day. I turned the cameras back on, searching for the people who’d ransacked my cabin. It looked as if they were gone. Did they give up on their ally so easily?
Eli’s response vibrated in my pocket. Of course she has been with me since we left you. I haven’t left her alone for a minute. Why? What happened?
His response made me think that I’d imagined the coincidence that led me to believe Delilah was part of this break in. Why would she do that? There was no reason to think she would ever be a part of that sort of thing. I must have been hallucinating from my injuries. Or was it just someone who looked a lot like her?
I was on guard as I crept through the trees to the back of the cabin. They shouldn’t have been able to access it because of the security system. Jones and I were the only ones who knew the codes. I knew he would never betray me. Would he? I had spent millions protecting his family after his transition.
From the outside, the only trace of their presence was that the alarm wasn’t set and the doors were unlocked. I walked inside slowly, expecting an ambush. After going through every room, I knew I was alone. I quickly changed the security codes and turned the system on before going to shower and change clothes.
I packed a bag for myself and another with the things I’d purchased for Delilah. She hadn’t even seen half of it. I cautiously carried the bags to the car, locked it and went back inside the cabin. I needed to clear the safes before I left. I knew that I probably wouldn’t be coming back here.
The hidden safe in Delilah’s room hadn’t been touched. I gathered the cash, jewels, and other valuables from it and settled them carefully into a suitcase before heading to my room. I knew that my safe had been tampered with, but that one didn’t have anything truly valuable in it.
As suspected, the main safe had been emptied and reclosed. I hadn’t considered that they would find the hidden safe in my room so easily. It looked as if nothing there had been touched. I was shocked to find it empty when I got it opened.
“Damn. Now I have to figure out who did this,” I grumbled to myself as I packed another bag with the rest of my belongings, deciding to leave Kat’s stuff behind. I did another pass of Delilah’s room to make sure I didn’t miss anything, then headed to the car.
Once I was in the driver’s seat, I checked my phone. When I hadn’t responded to his text earlier, Eli had gone ahead and texted me an address across town. I knew it was one of his properties. I would meet him there and we’d figure this out. Or I would discover that he was behind it all and we’d fight to the death. Either way there would be some sort of closure to this.
Chapter 49
Delilah
After my shower, I put on my leggings and one of Eli's shirts. Most of my clothes had been at Midnight when it was blown up, so my choices were limited. Where Viktor would have given me a button up dress shirt, Eli gave me a vintage concert tee. I had heard of Metallica, but I wasn't much into classic rock.
He told me about the concerts and played some of their music. It was good but didn't take my mind off Viktor. Eli's phone went off and I looked at him expectantly. He read the text twice before responding.
"Who was it? Did they find him?" I was worried that something bad had happened.
"It was him. I'm supposed to tell you that he's okay but I'll let you see for yourself when he gets here," Eli responded without looking up from his phone.
"There's something else, isn't there?" I felt like things were never going to get back to normal for us.
"He wants to meet somewhere. I think he's trying to decide if he can trust me. I want to meet him alone, then bring him back here. Are you good with that?" From his tone, it didn't seem like I really had a choice.
Instead of arguing, I nodded. "Bring him back safely," I begged. I knew there was no way Eli would let me go with him. I needed a distraction so that I could hide in his car. Luckily, his phone rang while he was getting ready to leave.
“I’m going to lie down,” I fibbed, kissing him on the cheek, then turning toward the bedroom when he answered his phone. He nodded and walked into the kitchen. I only had a few minutes to sneak downstairs and hide in the car. I grabbed a small blanket, locked and quietly closed the bedroom door, and tiptoed out the door.
I have no idea how I managed to get into the backseat and cover myself up before I heard Eli shutting the door and starting the car. I expected him to throw the blanket off me and yell at any moment. Fortunately for me, Eli loved listening to loud classic rock music when he drove his car. As soon as the radio started, I knew I was safe.
I resisted the urge to peek out from the blanket. I wanted to know where we were going but didn’t want Eli to take me back to the hideout. It was a better bet to stay hidden until we got to where he was meeting Viktor. Once both of my guys realized I was there, I knew neither of them would send me away.
Suddenly the music stopped. My heart stopped with it. I was about to be busted. How would I talk my way out of this one? I relaxed briefly when I heard Viktor’s voice come through the speakers.
“Where are you? I can’t stay hidden very well here. The city is busy tonight.” Viktor sounded annoyed, but not hurt like he was the last time I’d seen him.
“On my way. Delilah locked me out of the bedroom and refused to say goodbye. She was pissed that I told her she had to stay behind. You wanna explain exactly why you told me to leave her at the safe house?” Eli’s annoyance matched Viktor’s. I almost laughed at how pissed they’d both be when I popped out of the backseat.
“It’s not safe for her. We need to discuss what happened at the hospital. She doesn’t need to hear that.” Viktor’s voice softened a bit. My heart swelled with his need to protect me.
