Page 28 of The Art of You

I should’ve felt guilty about that, but I didn’t exactly hate the idea of having my sister-in-law here with me.

“But what I need from you right now, is to finish that conversation we started last night.”

I conjured up memories from our unfinished roadside chat and shook my head no. “Now isn’t the time.”

He stared at me as if I had two heads. “This is precisely the right time.”

“We have too much to deal with now to worry about something so trivial.” My eyes betrayed me, shooting to the window. Of course Kit was out there. No way she wouldn’t chase down a story involving the two of us.

“Trivial my ass. You were upset because of something, and you mentioned feeling like you were being watched.”

His worried tone triggered my gaze to rush back to him, a tired sigh falling from my lips. “It has nothing to do with what’s happening now. Why don’t we handle this problem first, and if there’s time left over, we can handle mine.”If it’s even still a problem by then.

“I don’t give a damn if your problem is unrelated to what’s going on. It’s important to me. I need to know.” The authoritative bite in his voice nearly had me submitting to him, which wasn’t my normal go-to response.

I typically tested out the dish of defiance with a side of attitude before I ultimately gave in to one of my brothers or the stubborn man before me.

“Talk.” The command sailed even lower that time.

“Fine.” Eyes on the blanket, I revealed, “Yesterday, someone dropped off an envelope. No address on it. No writing at all. Callie brought it to me when she’d come to my room to help zip me up.” I clutched the blanket tighter to my chest. “Inside the envelope was a photo from an article—the one Kit wrote when Bianca died. Remember the photo of me standing in the rain? The one Kit used for her story?”

I worked up the courage to meet his eyes, and his shallow breaths and lack of blinking worried me. I should have waited to share.

Too late now.

“That’s why I was so freaked out. Because why in the world would someone anonymously send it to me, especiallythatspecific photo? And then I could’ve sworn someone was watching us from the fourth floor in the building across from us when we got into the Porsche. But after seeing Kit at the party, I’m sure it was her trying to screw with me.”

“What?” That was all I got from him. That one shocked word. And yet, there was an entire lecture packed inside those four letters.

I know, I know. It’s beyond messed up.

“It can’t be a coincidence she was at the party and approached us like she did the same night I got a photo tied to her article. I don’t remember her on the original guest list, which means someone tipped her off we’d be there, and she was a late addition to the press pool. I have no clue why she’s messing with me, but at least we know it was her trying to get into my head, not some psycho-weirdo watching me.”

Using my decent arm, I waved my hand in the air, working to wrestle his attention back to my face, hoping to calm him down. “See, I know that look. Eyes glazed over in anger. You’re breathing hard without opening your mouth. You’re upset.”

“Of course I’m upset.” He didn’t grant me his eyes. Instead, his lashes fell like a curtain, jaw locked and loaded with tension, restraint barely controlled.

The man before me could easily double-tap someone in the right spot to ensure an expedient death. Not that I believed he killed Eduardo and Chris, but he wouldn’t hesitate to neutralize a threat. Maybe not completely end their lives, though. He saw things a bit more black and white when it came to killing, whereas my brothers swam deep in the gray when dealing with evil.

Although Hudson had been with my brothers when they killed the man they’d thought had murdered Bianca years ago, he hadn’t actively partaken in the man’s death. But the guilt he’d felt for allowing it to happen weighed heavily enough on his conscience that he eventually turned in his badge.

“Did you check your home’s security footage to see who dropped off the envelope?” He opened his eyes, pinning me with a worried look.

“I didn’t have time. You were outside my bedroom door, and we had to go. I didn’t want to distract you from the mission, so I kept my mouth shut. I planned to look after the party.”

He peered at me for five long seconds. I knew, because I counted in my head.

“Kit’s normal methods for acquiring a story may be unethical, but I can’t imagine she’s behind sending you the photo.” He turned to the side, eyeing my brothers still hovering in the hallway.

“They don’t need to know. Not now. Enzo won’t leave, and he needs to.” The protest was weak because I knew Hudson wouldn’t listen no matter what. “They have their hands full trying to solve two murders. The last thing anyone should be doing is worrying about me.”

His cane clicked against the ground as he swiveled back around. “Don’t ask me to do the impossible. It’ll never happen.” His blue eyes thinned as his chest puffed up from a deep inhalation.

“And what’s that?” I asked, letting go of that deep breath on his behalf.

“To not worry about you.” His words sat heavy in the air, and I positioned my hand on my stomach at the fluttery feeling there.

He bowed his head, more than likely collecting his thoughts. Then he quietly reached for my TV remote on the rolling cart. He flipped the station to the golf channel and lowered the volume.

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