“I’m saying she’s hurting and not thinking clearly. She might…seek comfort. I don’t want you caught in the crossfire any more than you already are.”
“She ran out on her fiancéyesterdayand left the dude at the altar. She— She was so desperate to get out of there, she climbed over a penthouse balcony in a wedding dress and six-inch heels. Trust me, she is not a loose cannon I want to tangle with.”
He couldn’t believe his own brother thought him so basic that he’d take advantage of Quinley with everything going on. That he of all people, in this circumstance, would be drawn to her. “I’m helping her out because she’s Ana’s friend, and…she needs a hand at the moment. One thatwon’tbite her. That’s all.”
Silence followed, and he heard Ana’s soft voice in the background.
“Hang on,” Cole said to Elias.
He listened to the muffled conversation taking place but wasn’t able to make out the words, so he went to the fridge and pulled out the bag of lemons before elbowing the fridge door closed.
When life threw you lemons, what did you do? He smirked at his own little joke and found a knife and the natural, organic sweetener he used instead of sugar.
“Ana wants you to tell Quinley to call her as soon as she wakes up. No excuses. She’s to call.”
Elias juggled the phone at his ear and sliced a few lemons. “I’ll tell her, but it doesn’t mean she’s going to. She’s in rough shape, like I said.”
“Then you call Ana and put it on speaker so Quinley can listen,” Cole said in his best older-brother voice. “Ana’s worrying herself sick over Quinley, and if nothing else, Quinley can take a second to reassure herbest friendthat she’s okay. It’s the least she can do after leaving Ana to give the ring back to Lachlan and handle the fallout with him and Quinley’s parents.”
“I’ll tell her,” he said again, not making any promises. “But my guess is that I’ll be driving her back to Carolina Cove sometime today.”
“And if she doesn’t want to go?
“I’ll help her find a place here, I guess? What do you want me to do, Cole? Speaking of which, does Ana have Quinley’s purse? She didn’t grab it, and she has no cards or ID.”
“I don’t think so, but I’ll ask.” Cole repeated the question, and Elias groaned when he heard Ana’s negative response.
“Lachlan had his people lock down the hotel after they realized what was happening, in case it was a kidnapping or ransom attempt. It must still be there or boxed up by Lachlan’s private security.”
“Even with the video of her leaving on her own?” He couldn’t keep the surprise from his voice.
“Just because she left on her own didn’t mean she wasn’t coerced or threatened to do so. It’s standard procedure, and until Quinley makes a statement or contacts Lachlan,youare a possible kidnapper.”
Elias didn’t have Cole’s military training or any clue what Quinley’s personal security would’ve done in the name of procedure, but to hear his good deed flipped to kidnapping left him staring at her bedroom door in unease.
Lachlan was a powerful man. But was he vengeful? The type to punish the innocent to save face?
“Things could get worse.” Cole’s voice lowered with warning. “This could come back to bite you all too easily, like I said. Ana won’t like me for saying this, but you need to distance yourself from Quinley as soon as you can until she gets this mess sorted out.”
ChapterSeven
Quinley woke slowly, coming to awareness because of the obnoxiously loud cadence of birds singing somewhere outside the window.
She stretched a bit and shifted, rolling onto her back to stare up at the ceiling. She frowned when she didn’t recognize it or the room it topped. Reality flooded back in an instant, and she grabbed the lightweight covers and pulled them over her head.
She was never leaving this bed. Ever. This room? This cabin? It was hers. She owned it now. Squatter’s rights if nothing else, she thought with a nearly silent groan. She’d become a recluse living in the mountains. That was a thing, wasn’t it?
After Elias wasn’t able to drop her off at her parents’ mountain home, he’d driven another thirty or forty minutes to the rental he’d secured for his vacation. And after practically force-feeding her small bits of egg and fruit, he’d tilted his head toward one of the bedroom doors and said good night.
He’d dismissed her. Practically ordered her to bed. And then?
Then she’d gone like thegood girlshe was for him because she didn’t want to piss him off and find herself kicked out in the middle of the night with no money and nowhere to go.
Like he’d have done that.
Fine, he’d proven himself to be a decent sort of guy and probably wouldn’t have done that, but she didn’t want to poke the bear when she needed the bear for, well, pretty much everything at this point. Food, shelter. Sanity.
He doesn’t want you here. You have to make a different plan. Now. Today.
