Page 60 of The Secrets We Treasure
“When’s the last time you talked to Tray, Helen, and Kevin?”
“This morning.” Her heart pounded. “Do you think they’re in danger?”
“I don’t know what to think. From what you’ve told me, you still don’t know for sure if the stalker is Ethan.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Do you know anything about the pop-star?”
“Sabrina Sanchez?”
She shook her head. “Not really. Just the things Ethan told me. She was high-strung and difficult to deal with.” She grunted. “If any of that can be believed.” Her voice broke. “I have no idea what to do. I just want this to be over.”
He scooted close and placed his arm around her. “I’m sorry you’re having to go through this. I promise you,” he said fiercely, “that I won’t leave your side.”
She blinked. “What’re you saying?”
“I’ll move in with you in Philly if that’s what it takes. If you don’t have an empty guest room, I’ll sleep on the couch, camp out in the backyard.” A wry grin ruffled his lips. “You get the picture.”
An incredulous laugh rose in her throat. “What about your videos?”
“My camera crew can adapt. They’ll be pleased as punch to film in a new location.”
“Did you miss the part about not angering Ethan?”
He narrowed his eyes. “I got that. But I’m not gonna leave you to face this alone.” His gaze locked with hers. “You and I are a package deal. No one or nothing is gonna separate us.”
“Thank you,” she breathed. She wouldn’t go along with the idea of Greer moving in with her on the spur of the moment. As much as she would love to have him close, it would jolt Helen, Kevin, and especially Tray. However, there was no sense in arguing about it. Treasure wasn’t planning on going back to Philly until mid-next week. She could only hope that Howard and the detectives could uncover more information about Ethan by then. She wrinkled her nose, her mind ticking through the aspects of the situation. “You know, I wouldn’t put it past Ethan to send me threatening texts and emails to make me more dependent on him. I could see him lying to me or even stealing. But the one piece of the puzzle that doesn’t fit is the break-in.” She shook her head. “Why would Ethan do that?”
Greer looked thoughtful. “Maybe to give the stalker more credence.”
“Yeah, maybe.” She shuddered. “If he is behind the break-in, then he’s dangerous.” Her phone rang again. She was still holding it. “It’s my mom,” she said to Greer before answering.
“Hey, honey,” Barbara began. The strain in her voice clutched Treasure’s heart. “What’s wrong?” This morning, Treasure offered to stay home instead of coming to the beach with Greer, but her mom insisted that she would be perfectly fine. “I need some time alone to regroup,” she’d insisted.
Barbara lowered her voice. “Your manager is here with a couple of filmmakers. They said they’re doing a documentary about your life.”
For a second, Treasure couldn’t breathe. She was thrust into a tunnel and hurtling into a black funk so thick and absolute that she’d never see the light of day again.
“Did I lose you?” Barbara asked.
She fought through the fear that was pressing her with a suffocating grip. “No,” Treasure sputtered, anger taking hold. “I’m here. Are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” Barbara answered. “It just would’ve been nice to have a head’s up so I could have picked up the house. I don’t have anything to feed them, and Cherry’s at work.”
Treasure bubbled out a giggle of relief. Her mom was fine. Just miffed. “I had no idea Ethan was coming here with a camera crew.” Greer’s eyes about bugged out of his head. Then his expression turned livid. “I’ll be there shortly,” she assured her mom before getting off the phone.
“What the heck?!” Greer swore under his breath. “The audacity of that man to show up at your mom’s house with a camera crew.”
“What do we do now?”
Greer squared his jaw. “We go and meet them.”
“But you and I aren’t supposed to be together. Remember? Status quo.”
He took in a breath. “Okay, we go as friends.” He lifted an eyebrow. “I take it Ethan knows about our friendship?”
She was mildly offended by the challenge in his eyes. “Of course.” She thought of something else. “But won’t Ethan know that something’s up by observing us? Anyone looking at me will know how I feel about you,” she added softly.
