“We have the address.”
The phone clicked in her ear.
ChapterTen
Quinley remained quiet after her conversation with her ex. Elias had fixed them dinner and served them both a plate and then watched while she picked at her food, her expressions ranging from angry to sad to…looking so lost he felt himself getting angry on her behalf.
He tried to put himself in her shoes but wasn’t entirely able to because despite Rhys Lachlan’s arrogance, he still sympathized with the man because he’d been so publicly humiliated.
How did Quinley—how did anyone—do that to someone they cared for?
Yeah, she’d handled things badly. She’d caused a maelstrom of bad press and brought on all the negativity being shot her way via the media.
But death threats were a whole other level of messed up. One that had to be taken seriously. He might not like the fact that her fiancé’s goons had chased her down the street with the intent to drag her back into the building one way or another—and thathadbeen their intent. But he also respected her ex for still being man enough to protect her after she’d left him high and dry. He could’ve washed his hands of the mess and tossed her to the wolves. But he hadn’t.
Not yet anyway.
Elias watched her from his position across from her and silently placed another puzzle piece into the border. She mostly fiddled with the pieces or stared blankly down at them, unseeing, but he supposed it was to be expected.
She had a lot going on in her life, and that head of hers had to be spinning with the good, bad and ugly of it.
He took a breath and picked up a new piece with blue along the edges.
“Dinner was delicious. Thank you.”
Her soft voice was sincere, even though she’d barely eaten a couple of bites before pushing her plate away and declaring herself full.
They’d started the puzzle after they’d put the leftovers in the fridge and cleaned up the kitchen, but she’d recently meandered back to the pantry where she’d dug into the bags of junk food he’d picked up at the gas station.
She didn’t really eat the chips she’d carried back to the couch with her as much as graze, but he hated that she did that to her already overstressed body. “The leftovers are easy to warm up if you’re hungry now. You didn’t eat much.”
Her full lips quirked up at the corners, and he found his gaze on them, lingering for a little too long.
“There you go, hatin’ on my food again.”
Her throaty voice sounded low and husky and sent a shot of pure awareness racing down his spine before he forced himself to get a grip.Off limits, he growled silently. “Your so-called food has no nutrients, and right now, with all the stress you’re under, your body needs them. You’re worn down, and you’ll be sick soon if you don’t watch it.”
She popped another chip into her mouth and crunched. Elias shook his head.
He’d admit that the chips smelled good. And watching her rebelliousness at eating them? That appealed, too.
“So you’re all fitness, all the time, are you? You don’t ever stop and…eat cake? Because you know, life is too short to not have cake.”
He smiled at her words, laughter rumbling out of him. “I do have cake. It’s kind of required when we get together once a month for birthdays in my family.”
Her head tilted as she thought over his words. “Wow, I hadn’t considered that. You guys have alotof birthdays, don’t you?”
“Yes, we do. And with Brooks and Alec having kids, there are even more of us, so instead of individual birthdays, we combine them to fit everyone’s schedule these days.”
Some time had passed since dinner and the phone call with her ex. Which was why the crunch of gravel outside the cabin had Quinley sucking in a rough breath and looking at him in alarm. “You expecting someone?”
“Rhys said he had the address so…maybe it’s the guards? But what if it’s not them?”
A flash of fear flitted over her face, and his gut knotted at the sight. “Go to your bedroom and lock yourself in. Do it, Quinley,” he said as he stood and quickly moved to the old-fashioned hall tree by the door to retrieve the gun he’d stashed there for safekeeping.
She went to her room but peeked out the crack in the doorway. He glared at her. She shot him a dark frown but quietly shut the door, and the lock clicked. Her footsteps didn’t retreat.
A knock sounded on the cabin’s door, and Elias held the gun in his hand at the ready, looking out the nearby window.
