AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hays stopped in his tracks. He wanted Elizabeth in his arms, but he wouldn’t interrupt this reunion.
The new bride darted off her front porch and for her sister, her cowboy husband hot on her heels. Elizabeth looked startled and thrilled. He saw a look of longing and love on her face before she covered it, just as she had with him. This time she didn’t grow cold, only more cautious. What was she about?
He eased to the side and watched the two ladies embrace—Jacey exuberant, Elizabeth clinging. Had she lived without love in her parents’ mansion? Her mother had been a she-devil, but nobody had a bead on her father.
Jacey pulled back and clasped her older sister’s hands, talking in hushed tones. Cade Miller evaluated the guards’ tightening position as if they’d carry his wife off. Hays, Quaid, Aiden’s men, Clint’s men, and the Coleville brothers would never allow that to happen.
Hays glanced at Quaid, Elizabeth and Jacey’s brother. Quaid also watched the exchange between his sisters, his wife Anna by his side, but he stayed back, his face unreadable. He believed Elizabeth was every bit as depraved as his mother.
Elizabeth glanced at Quaid. She looked like a rigid queen. Jacey motioned to their brother. Quaid softened and walked to his sisters, holding his wife’s hand.
The group converged into a tight circle. Everybody watched them. Elizabeth shook Quaid’s hand. No hugs like Jacey. That was sobering, but not surprising. Anna gave Elizabeth a quick hug, the innocent lady sparkling.
Hays only caught snippets of the conversation. It looked stiff but all right. It would be intriguing to get Quaid’s take later tonight. Would Elizabeth be gone from his life again by then, or would the plan to smuggle her away from her guards and listening devices and find out the truth work?
His CO General Bates had granted him special privileges as an under the radar assignment to do ‘whatever Aiden Porter and Sutton Smith are scheming’ for the next month. His best friend Jagger and their unit had been granted paid leave. Jagger had been excited to spend time with his new bride Belinda, and Hays hadn’t minded the intriguing assignment. Until he found out why he in particular was needed. Now he questioned everybody’s reasoning and motives. Even his own. Could he stay detached around Elizabeth?
Easing back, he got into a position behind some vehicles and a crowd where he could keep an eye on Elizabeth without her noticing.
About fifteen minutes later, he saw her striding toward the house, her chin tilted, her movements practiced. All of her security trailed along. Hays eased closer as she stepped onto the front porch.
“I am using the restroom,” she said to the guard closest to her, her voice tight, annoyed. “I will be fine in my sister’s country home by myself.”
Hays crept closer, edging toward the garage entrance.
“Your father—” the man began.
“My father knows my purpose here,” she said, dropping her voice until it was barely discernable from Hays’s position. “And you following me into the bathroom will only arouse suspicion.”
The man smirked and his eyes trailed over her. “I’ve enjoyed watching you in the bathroom before.”
Hays’s muscles clenched, and he had to restrain himself from springing forward and shutting the man’s filthy mouth. He couldn’t reveal himself to the guard yet, but soon this man would know he couldn’t talk to Liz like that, or watch her in the bathroom.
“Even if you feel no respect for me,” Liz said in an icy tone, “I suggest you pretend. Everyone here is watching, and if they don’t believe I have the power my father has bequeathed on me, and I fail because of you, you will pay the consequences.”
The man stiffened. “As you well know, our one and only job is to keep you alive. If that means dragging you out of a potentially dangerous situation, even at the cost of broken bones or dislocated joints, I wouldn’t lose any sleep.”
“And I wouldn’t lose any sleep if the same, or worse, happened to someone you care for, in a random and completely unrelated incident.” She lifted a perfectly arched eyebrow.
The man finally looked away.
“Stay on the porch so my siblings do not get suspicious of me entering Jacqueline’s home,” she commanded.
Hays was intrigued and disgusted. Was she following her father’s bidding now, or still her mother’s? Or maybe she was the one calling the shots, as Quaid believed. He couldn’t believe his Liz would threaten this guy’s loved ones, but he’d heard it with his own ears.
The man tilted his head, and the guards started to spread out.
Hays had to move. Quick.
He darted behind trucks and SUVs and entered the side garage entrance before a guard made it there. Stealthily progressing into the house, he expected Elizabeth to walk to the guest bathroom just off the laundry room, as anyone would if they truly needed a restroom. He’d surprise her here.
She didn’t angle his direction, but paused in the middle of the open living area as he watched from the darkened laundry room off the garage.
Glancing around, she proceeded up the steps and disappeared into the loft.
Hays was trained in covert ops—stealth and speed were second nature to him. He was up the stairs and watching her sneak through the master bedroom and into the walk-in closet within seconds. How could he play this? Maybe it wasn’t the tactic Quaid would prefer, but he wanted her reaction.
He strode to the master closet. The door was cracked. She was planting something on a shelf by a pile of shoe boxes. She was here to hurt or monitor Jacey and Cade. At least he’d tracked her and would stop her.
