Executive Protection(41)

“Who is this?”

“Someone who’s going to teach you when it’s time to back off.”

Thad stopped walking as he realized Jaden had said those exact words to him. Back off.

“Jaden?” he asked, but the connection had already been broken.

As he put his phone away, he spotted Wade Thomas through the glass wall of his office. He was staring at Thad. He’d seen him talking to Darcy and he didn’t like it. More than a chief of police trying to keep his men in line, Wade looked at him as though he knew who had just called him.

Thad contemplated going into his office and asking him point-blank. But what good would that do? If the chief was innocent, Thad would only push an already thin boundary. If he wasn’t and he knew more about this investigation than he was letting on, he would simply deny it.

* * *

Thad entered the estate, plagued by the threat he’d received. What would the caller do to teach him when it was time to back off? Making his way deeper into the home, Thad climbed the stairs to go to the bedroom where he was sleeping to change into something more casual. Unlike Darcy, he preferred soft shirts and jeans over the dress pants and shirts with strangling ties. He removed his jacket on the way. At the top of the stairs, he almost bumped into Lucy.

She wiped her eyes, tears springing from them. When she saw him, her quiet sobbing broke into something more wrenching and she flung herself against him, arms going around him.

Thad dropped his jacket and wrapped her in his arms. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.” What had happened? Had Cam gotten to her again?

Her outburst calmed as fast as it had come on. She sniffled and leaned back. “I’m sorry.” She moved to step away but he kept her firmly where she was.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Lucy wiped her eyes again.

Reaching into his front pocket, he retrieved a handkerchief and hung it up in front of her.

She took it from him. “Really? You carry a handkerchief?”

“Crime scene investigator. It gets used at least three times a week.” He grinned when she moved the cloth away from her face with a grimace. “I have a rotation and this one is clean.”

She blew her nose. “Who uses them? You?”

“No. People I talk to who know the victim.”

“Oh.” She kept the handkerchief and lowered her hands, curled and now resting on his chest. “Sophie is here.”

“Here?” The bedrooms were filling up fast. Pretty soon there wouldn’t be any left. Kate in the master, Sam in one, he and Lucy in two more, and now Sophie. There was only one more room left.

“Rosanna called.” Lucy explained how Sophie had come to stay here for the night. “She seemed so scared when I picked her up, and Layne...”

Rosanna’s husband. Soon to be ex-husband. “What about him?”

“I didn’t like him. Sophie doesn’t, either.”

“Why don’t you like him?”

“It’s just a feeling. And he seemed to hit on me.”

Thad ignored the instant jealousy that information inflicted on him. “Rosanna is the one who filed for the divorce. Maybe he’s not happy about having to move out.”

“Maybe.” She didn’t seem convinced.

“That’s why you’re crying?”

“No.” Her eyes bloomed fresh tears but they didn’t spill over. “Sophie asked about her mother. She doesn’t understand where she went.”

“And you had to try and explain.” That would be hard on anyone. Sophie was an innocent child.

Thad kissed Lucy’s forehead. “She’ll be all right.” Especially while she slept in a room that was right next to his and across from Lucy’s. A real family affair...

Just then his mother appeared at the end of the hall, using the wall for support. Seeing them, she stopped.

Thad set Lucy apart from him. “Mother. What are you doing up?”


“I heard crying.”

“Lucy was upset over Sophie’s situation. She’s okay now,” Thad said.

“Yes. I’m okay now.”

“I can see that.” Kate wore a triumphant smile.

Now she’d never leave him alone until he agreed to take Lucy with him to get the Carova beach house ready for her visit.

* * *

Late that night, Thad woke to the cries of a young child. Waking the rest of the way, he realized it was Sophie.

Leaping off the bed, he ran into the hall. No one else had gone to see to Sophie. Going by instinct, he went into the girl’s room. Sophie sat up in bed, her face a contortion of misery, mouth open with a long wail ringing through the room. She’d wake everyone in the house with that set of lungs.

He went to her and sat on the bed. “What’s the matter?”

She reached for him with her tiny hands. A child seeking comfort from him was a new experience. He gathered her in the blankets and lifted her onto his lap, where she snuggled close, her wails easing a bit but still crying.

“What happened, Sophie?” he asked, bringing his face down so he could see her teary one. The sight touched something deep inside of him. He wiped her face with his fingers.

“Layne came to get me.”

Thad glanced around the room. Had he broken into the house? Impossible. Security was tight. Then he thought of Jaden.