Page 43 of Little Shattered Dreams

He left a message, hung up, and then turned toward me. “Tell you what … I’ll stop over at Faith’s place in the morning. Then I’ll head over here to question everyone who’s stepped foot on the property this week. We need to encourage everyone to stay put. Are you still good to remain here, keeping an eye on things?”

“After what happened to my mother, I’m not going anywhere.”

“I expected you’d say that. Since you have a target on your back, it’s best your mother, your aunt, and Phoebe leave here. You can’t have eyes on them all the time, and I don’t want another call like the one I got tonight. Phoebe’s shaken up. She shouldn’t be here.”

He was worried about her. I could tell. And he was right. Someone wanted me to know they’d go to any lengths to stop me from finding out the truth, and they’d used my family to try and force me into backing down. They’d all be safer if they returned home. I wouldn’t be able to concentrate the way I needed to if they remained.

“I’ll have a talk with my family as soon as we’re finished,” I said.

“Try your best to convince them. If they refuse to leave, I’ll step in. I want all three of them to leave this place tonight. I’ll follow behind, make sure they get home okay. Your stepdad can keep an eye on them while we’re figuring things out.”

“Good idea.”

“Did you … eh, bring anything with you … you know, for protection?”

I opened my handbag, and he peered inside. I then pulled up the bottom of my dress, showing him the pistol strapped to my leg. “You know as well as I do that it’s easy to make enemies in our line of work. I don’t go anywhere unarmed these days. Simone doesn’t either.”

“And Hunter?”

Hunter had been on my mind all evening. She didn’t handle this type of thing well. “I need to talk with her. I’m thinking she shouldn’t stay either. She can do what she does for me from home.”

“You, ehh … spend much time with her outside of work?”

It was a strange question, one that carried more meaning than he was letting on.

“Sometimes,” I said. “Why?”

“I ran into her a couple of weeks ago. She was at a café, having dinner with another woman. Think she said her name was Rochelle.”

“Yeah, Rochelle moved in with Hunter a few months ago. She rides around town on a vintage Harley. From what I know about her, she’s the opposite of Hunter in every way, but so far, Hunter seems happy to have a new roommate.”

“New roommate, huh?” He shot me a wink. “You sure that’s all she is to her?”

“You know Hunter. She’s the type of nut that doesn’t want to be cracked. She’s not the oversharing type. I figure if she wants me to know something about her life, she’ll tell me when she’s ready.”

Or not.

I never knew when it came to her.

My door blew open, and in came my mother, followed close behind by Phoebe and Aunt Laura. She looked at me and then at Foley and then crossed her arms as she said, “So … what are we going to do about the person who wrote that note?”

CHAPTER21

“Wearen’t going to do anything,” Foley said. “I’ve been talking it over with Georgiana, and we’ve agreed that you, Laura, and Phoebe are better off going home tonight.”

In the time Foley had been dating Phoebe, he’d learned a few things about how my mother operated, but given the comment he’d just made, it was clear he had a lot more to learn. Talking to her in this manner wasn’t the way to achieve his desired endgame.

“Excuse me,” my mother said. “I’ll make up my own mind, thank you.”

Foley raised a hand in front of him. “I’m not trying to tell you what to do, Darlene. I’m trying to keep you safe. I’m trying to keep youallsafe.”

“And you think you’ll do that by leaving my daughter here and sending the rest of us away? Who’s going to be here for her?”

“I can take care of myself, Mom,” I said.

“She’s right,” Foley said. “Georgiana is one of the toughest women I’ve ever met. Hell, she may even be tougher than me at times.”

More like all the time.

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