AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When they’d discovered his assumed name, Father had shown Elizabeth documentation of the military prowess his son had accomplished. He’d been proud and ready to use Quaid’s accomplishments for their gain after they retrieved Jacey. Quaid had won that battle. As far as Elizabeth was concerned, escaping from and rising above their parents was her brother’s greatest feat. She was proud of him, though she could never tell him that.
“Elizabeth, this is my wife Anna.”
Anna surprised her with a brief hug. She returned it and felt an innocent love from the sweet-looking woman. Emotion surged through her, and she had to bite her cheek to hide it. Hugs and acceptance weren’t part of her life. She wasn’t certain how to react, but she savored the connection.
“My goodness, I feel like I’m meeting the Queen of England,” Anna said, pulling back and beaming at her.
“Oh.” Elizabeth was at a loss. “I am honored to meet you. Quaid has always been …” She swallowed down the emotion again. How she loved her brother and sister and had never been able to show it, except sometimes privately with Jacey. Not with Quaid. Any kindness from her had resulted in ugly torture for him. “A loyal and exemplary brother. The best of all men.”
He looked unaffected by her praise. Glowing words from her meant nothing. He did not trust her. He never would.
Glancing away, she let her gaze sweep the crowd and could not find Hays among them.
Panic filled her chest. Her Superman, her one safe spot, had disappeared. But she pushed the panic away. Her feeling safe didn’t matter. She needed to keep them safe.
She catalogued the people she had to protect from Peter and her father. Hays—incredible, enticing, out of reach as ever, one enthralling glance and now he had disappeared. Jacey and Anna—genuine, beautiful, innocent, sweet, and in need of protection that she had no idea how to impart. Quaid and Cade—tough, imposing, untrusting, protective, and shooting her warning glances with no clue she was on their side.
Could she somehow whisper the truth to each of them, or would her guards never budge from her side? Could she sneak in the house and at least leave the note she’d managed to write in her father’s private jet’s bathroom? It was currently wrapped around the string bracelets she and Jacey had made twenty years ago, which was stashed in her bra. The simple bracelet had remained next to her heart all these years.
Hays being here felt significant and also made her uneasy. She could not let her father know via his guards or a recorded transmission that she was still smitten with her high school crush.
“He is the best of brothers and men,” Jacey said. She and Quaid shared a fond look, and Elizabeth was on the outside. As always.
“Lizzy.” Jacey turned the power of her blue eyes on her. Even their father had been unable to injure Jacey like he could Quaid and Elizabeth because of those eyes. The happiness Jacey brought to everyone had penetrated even Father’s cold heart. “Can you stay?”
“Stay?” she repeated.
“Here. With Cade and me. Even for a few days. I know how busy you and Dad are, but I have been looking forward to seeing you again and reconnecting. Now that Mother is gone, there is so much to talk about, so much pain to heal and light to impart.”
Elizabeth stared at her, stunned. Stay in this mountain paradise? For a visit with her sister? Father would never approve.
“I will check with Father,” she said.
Quaid gave her an annoyed look. Jacey smiled, as if checking with Father meant Elizabeth would get the answer Jacey hoped for.
“He would know my schedule,” she added.
Quaid’s gaze intensified. He knew she had a near-perfect memory and would know her own schedule. Did he know their father was the monster he should fear and protect his wife and Jacey from?
“If you can, it would mean the world to me.” Jacey smiled. “I am so grateful you’re here.”
“As am I.” Elizabeth meant it. At the moment. Hugging her sister, seeing that happiness in Jacey’s eyes, hoping there might be a chance Quaid would listen to her. If she could convey her message, and Peter hadn’t been instructed to murder these people, she would be thrilled for these stolen moments with her siblings.
“Come.” Jacey grabbed her hand. “You have to meet Cade’s family and the Colevilles.”
“I am acquainted with Easton,” she said, smiling and feeling more carefree with her hand in Jacey’s than she had since she was twelve, when their parents had been away at a governor’s banquet. Quaid and Jacey’s beloved Nanny Maria had proven herself and been allowed to keep Elizabeth with her siblings for the evening. She had somehow arranged for a picnic dinner on the Long Island estate’s spacious lawn that swept down to the ocean. They had eaten, played games together, splashed in the water, and laughed. Besides her time with Hays, it was one of the few good memories of her life. Maria had been killed not long after for trying to kidnap, or rather rescue, Quaid and Jacey.
“I am certain you are.” Jacey and the others laughed. “Easton and Walker will flirt shamelessly with you.”
Elizabeth smiled at that, but her gut tightened. If Jacey and Quaid thought it was innocent to allow these cowboys to ‘flirt shamelessly’ with her, they did not know the truth or the risk.
She had to open their eyes.
Before it was too late.
Chapter
Three
