“What is it?” I whispered.
A muscle below his eye fluttered. “One of the firefighters found a fireproof box sitting on your desk.”
“What? I don’t have one of those.”
Lawson nodded. “He thought it was odd, so he opened it. This was inside.”
Lawson held up a clear evidence bag. Inside was a photo.
It took a moment for me to place the image. It was of Caden and me walking back from that first lunch at Dockside. But someone had scratched out Caden’s face. And in bright red letters it read:
YOU DON’T BELONG TO HIM.
32
CADEN
I wrappeda blanket around Grae’s shoulders. She looked so damn small sitting on my couch. She hadn’t said a word on the way home. Not when all four of her brothers had descended, along with her parents. They’d talked over and around her, all fighting about what they thought might be best for Grae.
“Baby, don’t you think you should move back in with Dad and me?” Kerry asked.
“I think she should stay with my team in Portland. Whoever this is had enough foresight to spray paint the damned camera I installed,” Holt argued. “She should go stay in one of Anchor’s safe houses.”
My gut tightened at the idea of Grae going anywhere without me.
“If she leaves, the stalker could go to ground,” Nash said. “We should keep her here but in protective custody.”
I lowered myself to the couch and took Grae’s hand, squeezing.
Her eyes came to me. They were bloodshot and had shadows in them that I hadn’t seen in years.
“What do you want to do?” I asked.
Grae blinked at me as if shocked that anyone would ask her that. “Huh?”
“What would make you feel safe?”
She stared into my eyes. “I want to stay here. With you.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.”
Everyone erupted, and the arguing started all over again.
“Enough!” I barked. “I know you all love Grae, but the last thing she needs right now is you guys fighting like cats and dogs.”
“She’s our sister,” Lawson growled.
“Yeah, your sister. Not your property. She’s an adult with a mind of her own. And she’s one of the smartest and strongest people I’ve ever known. But it looks like you’ve all forgotten that.”
Everyone went silent.
I sighed, squeezing the back of my neck. “The thing that I always loved about your family is how you were always there for each other, no matter what came your way. But that doesn’t mean you get to steamroll Grae in the process.”
Nathan clapped me on the shoulder. “You’re right.” He looked at his daughter. “I’m sorry, Pumpkin. You know it comes from a place of care.”
“I know,” she whispered.
He winced. “But it probably feels pretty overbearing.”
