Page 20 of Second Chance Serenity

“We will. Sometimes it just takes a little time.”

The front door of our office opens and Lance strolls in, Elijah beside him.

“Full house today?” I ask, trying to get my mind off of the one woman I shouldn’t be thinking about.

“Did you not tell him?” Elijah asks, looking at Jaxson.

“Tell me what?”

Elijah looks back at me. “Reyna is on her way in with her brother.”

“I’m sorry, what?” I practically shoot up out of my chair.

“That’s why I didn’t tell him,” Jaxson says. “Because I knew he was going to go out of his mind the entire time we’re waiting for them to arrive.”

“Why are they coming?”

“They want to hire us for protection,” Lance says. His expression alludes to there being more, but he hesitates.

“What is it?”

“She didn’t want you here. I insisted on it, given that we’re partners, but I wouldn’t expect her to be willing to hire you.”

The stabbing pain is back. Straight to my heart. I shove it back down, reminding my foolish pride that her safety is all that matters. I’d trust any of the men here with my life—and hers. “That’s to be expected. When are they coming?”

“Should be here?—”

The door opens again, and Carter comes in first. We used to be best friends, despite him being two years older than me. But after what happened with Reyna, he wanted nothing to do with me. Until the hospital, I hadn’t seen him since that stifling day in Georgia.

Reyna comes in behind him, and a vise closes around my heart. Her beautiful face is bruised. Battered. Her chin is covered in a bandage. Just seeing her infuriates me all over again, and I have to bite back the surge of rage that pummels me.

“Thank you for coming,” Lance greets Carter. “Lance Knight.”

“Carter Acker. Reyna says she knows you.”

Lance nods. “We’ve met a few times.” He offers her a friendly smile. “This is Elijah Breeth, Jaxson Payne, and—you know Michael.”

“I know Michael,” Carter says, his tone clipped, his glare pinning me where I stand.

“Thank you for seeing us,” Reyna says as she purposely avoids eye contact with me.

Probably a smart move, since I imagine my face likely still reflects the anger I felt watching that man put his hands on her yesterday at the hospital.

Liam Hollander. A new-to-town finance manager. Thirty-seven. Never married. Elijah ran a background on him, and it came back clean, but I still don’t trust him.

I knew she’d date again. That she would find someone else. So why it caught me so off guard, I’m not sure.

“Please, sit.” Lance gestures to the couch.

They do, with Reyna keeping her gaze down and Carter shooting me a glare every chance he gets.

“Can you tell us what happened?” Jaxson asks as he flips open his notepad.

“She already went through this with Sheriff Vick,” Carter insists.

“We need her to go through it again,” Jaxson replies. “I’m sorry, Reyna. I know it’s hard, but we need to run back through it so we can ensure we’re covering all of our bases.”

“It’s fine.” She smiles and pats her brother’s knee, then takes a deep breath. “I was headed back to my car from the diner, and it was raining, so I was rushing. I slipped and fell. Or I think I slipped and fell. I’m not entirely sure now if I did trip or was pushed.”

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