Page 35 of Trust My Bodyguard

“Not only is that weird as hell, it’s also disgusting,” Nick says.

“They left you when you needed them the most. They’re not people you should lose sleep over.” I glance at Iris’s cheek. “Or a tear.”

She giggles lightly and wipes her face.

Zane’s eyes are glued to his laptop. Then he looks up as we’re all turned in his direction. “Uh…” He blinks rapidly like his brain is working overtime. Iris can’t see it but Sera mouths something to him. “What?”

“Repeat after me,” Sera mouths.

He gets it and nods firmly. “You-you…” he repeats her words out loud. “Deceive? Deserve. You deserve… b-beets? Better. You deserve better!” he nearly yells the words at Iris.

“That was strange, Zane. But I appreciate the sentiment.” She sniffs. “Thank you. All of you.” She looks around the table and pats her sister’s arm still around her shoulder. “I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t have you guys with me. I know you are all here because your job requires it, but it feels good not to be alone right now.”

Sera smiles softly and pats her arm.

“We’ve got you. No worries.” Nick beams at her.

“Unfortunately,” Zane continues with the reports, “we don’t have anything on Luke Ross or the money he embezzled.”

“Son of a bitch.” Ivy’s face is a mask of pure, unadulterated anger.

I believe I’m her least preferred person at this table, but even I have yet to see her with so much dislike in her eyes.

“I’m sure the money he stole is helping him to hide his tracks,” she spits. “While Iris lost her house to pay off the debts he took in her name.”

Compassion for them clamps around my chest. Neither deserves the struggle they are facing now because of their parents.

“We’re doing all we can to find him,” Nick says.

Ivy draws in a deep breath and nods. “Tell us about the person who broke into the apartment.”

“We don’t have anything on that yet, either,” Zane says.

Disappointment fills their gazes.

“I spoke to Callum,” I chime in. “Someone messed with the security cameras at the time the break-in took place. They didn’t want to be found out. They’ve been scouring surrounding cams to look for connections but that’s slow-moving because of the bureaucratic hoops they need to jump through.”

“And our case is not a priority for the police,” Ivy says.

“We’re trying our best,” I say with an emphasis. “But I can’t promise how quickly everything will be resolved.”

“Of course,” she says tightly, refusing to meet my eyes.

“About the threats, we have found that numerous people are sending them,” Zane says.

After taking Ivy and Iris on, we took over control of her socials and have been keeping up with the messages sent to her. I’ve come to one conclusion—people are insane. Both the ones that make it seem like she’s the love of their lives and those who threaten to hurt her if she doesn’t return to performing.

“But one person has sent four separate threats. Two before the break-in and two afterward.”

Iris’s eyes bulge. “Who?”

“We don’t have their identity yet but based on what I’ve gathered, I suspect that it may be someone you know personally.”

This is the first time I’m getting this information. The shock on the sisters’ faces reflects how I feel.

“How did you come to this conclusion?” I ask.

“Nick hinted at it. When I dug into it, it made total sense.” Zane nods at him. “Tell them.”

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