Page 328 of Secret Shifters Next Door

I stood up and watched out the window as Blayne got into his truck. As though he could feel my eyes on him, he looked up at the window. When he saw me standing there, he smiled and waved. Then he drove away. I hoped it wouldn’t be the last time I saw him alive.

With nothing else to do, I dressed and headed back to the main house. Blayne was right. The guesthouse was right in the middle of our sprawling estate, but it was tucked up against the forest. As close as it was to the main house, it had the feeling of isolation. Even with all the guards and soldiers patrolling the property, I wouldn’t feel completely safe in the guesthouse without Blayne.

The house wasn’t much better. If the last few days had been manic, the house was chaos that morning. LJ and Kyle were in the living room with six other guys going over weapons. It looked like a military storage room. Assault rifles, body armor, pistols, and a dozen other things I didn't recognize lined the floor. Chris and Uncle Mike were in the den with a bunch of guys, perusing a map of Lilly Valley. Mike was circling areas with red markers.

I walked on before hearing what he was saying. It was all too much. I wanted some quiet. Even the kitchen was crazy. Marissa and a few helpers I’d never seen before were packing up what looked like hundreds of bags of lunches or meals. I guessed it was so that everyone could have food with them and not need to go on a break or leave their post for food.

I found myself upstairs in Dad’s office—a mahogany-lined library that he almost never used. It had been more Mom’s idea. She thought a businessman like Dad needed a library.

That was where he found me. I was pacing back and forth across the room when he opened the door.

“Ava? Are you okay?” he asked.

“I’m great. Um…I guess I need to reschedule your chemo again, huh?”

Dad gave me a pained smile. “I’ll go if you really want me to. I made a promise.”

I sighed and stopped walking around the room. “No. It’s fine. That is life and death, but this is…more immediate. Things are getting heavy, aren’t they?”

Dad studied me. I was sure he was trying to find a way to break things to me in a gentle way. His face fell and he shook his head. “It’s gonna get bad before it gets better. That’s one thing we can bet on.”

The worry on my face must have been obvious. Seeing it, he crossed the room and wrapped me in a hug. He kissed the top of my head and said, “I gave Blayne and his guys the best equipment I could. Called an arms dealer out of Mexico. He got me the best of the best.” He released me and held me at arm’s length. “I also had a little talk with Tate, Miles, and Steff. They know that, for me, priority number one is keeping Blayne safe. I told them that if things go sideways, their one job is to get his ass out of there alive.”

“Daddy. You didn’t!” I was horrified. “Blayne would lose his mind if he knew you did that.”

Dad shrugged and made a face that basically said he didn’t give a shit. “Be pissed all he wants. If he’s pissed, that means he is alive. I’d rather have an angry Blayne screaming at me in my office than a dead Blayne being lowered into the ground in a box.”

I couldn’t disagree with that. “Dad?”

“Yeah, kid?”

“I’m going to spend the next few days here. It’s probably safer in this house than it is in the guesthouse.”

He nodded. “Glad you decided that on your own. I was going to suggest the same thing.” He patted my shoulder. “Find a quiet place. I’m sorry it’s crazy right now.”

“It’s fine. I’m going to my room. It should be quiet there.”

Dad looked over his shoulder. “Luis put a few pistols around your room. Easy access in emergencies.”

“Dad? Seriously?”

“One between the mattress and box spring, one on the top shelf of your closet, and another inside your medicine cabinet.”

“Christ. You know I hate guns.”

“You’d hate being dead even more.”

I sighed. “Fair point.”

Once I was in my room, I pulled out my phone. April was the only person who could really understand what I was going through. She answered so fast, I almost thought she’d been hovering over her phone, waiting for an incoming call.

“Ava? What’s wrong? Have you heard anything?” She sounded tense and on edge.

“Nothing’s wrong. Blayne left a little over an hour ago. I haven’t heard anything since Tate called this morning. I hate this.”

“I know.” April sighed. “The worst thing is being stuck inside all day. All I can do is look out the window and hope I don’t see anyone I’m not supposed to. It’s stressful enough, but an empty quiet house makes it way worse.”

“Yeah. I’d love to go out and have lunch or see a movie, but staying put is the safest thing. The guys would kill us if they knew we were out traipsing around town.”

---