Page 7 of What's Left of Me

“We need to talk about how you introduce people,” Shepherd grumbled but grinned at me and Hazel. “You can call me Shep. We’ll be driving you to the house.”

JJ, Gabe, and Shep. They certainly seemed like they could protect me…well, maybe not JJ—he was almost too sweet.

As we walked to the car, Hazel entwined our arms. “I met Shep at the shop when I was talking to Lizzy about everything.He’s a real nice guy. Believe me, Nix, they have experience in dealing with bad people and keeping others safe.” She spoke softly so only I could hear, but from the way Gabe peeked over his shoulder at me, I figured he’d heard.

The car was actually a large SUV. Shep got into the driver’s seat while Gabe took the passenger’s seat. JJ went all the way to the back, leaving the middle for Hazel and me.

“We’ll have a police escort to the house because these fuckers can’t help themselves. It’s like they don’t understand the word inconspicuous.” Shep shook his head as he pulled out of the spot. I wanted to chuckle because I’d had the same thought.

Gabe turned to me and Hazel. “They’ll be stationed at the edge of our property. We wanted to ensure that you and Phoenix felt as at home as you possibly could under the circumstances.”

“Thank you, Gabe, all of you. It means the world to me that you’re helping.”

“The house is the safest around. And we have fun there, too. Hopefully you’ll both feel at ease soon enough.” JJ was behind me, but I could hear the smile in his voice.

The drive wasn’t very long, and we soon turned onto a long driveway and I noticed the police stopped, but we kept going. This must be the beginning of their property line. I glanced out the window, and all I could see were trees, well-maintained lawns, shrubbery. It didn’t feel like there was a lot of security.

As if he could read my mind Gabe said, “Noel and Nick are in charge of all the tech stuff. While it doesn’t look like it, those trees and bushes have cameras in there. We have state-of-the-art protections in place, but we work hard so it isn’t obvious. If the cops pulled up and saw seven-foot walls, barbed wire, cameras and shit, they’d have more questions than we’d want to answer.”

Shep snorted. “See, this is how you do inconspicuous.”

As soon as the house came into view, I was blown away. I wasn’t sure what I’d been picturing, but this wasn’t it. It wasdefinitely a mansion, maybe almost like a castle, but it was homey. I guessed I’d expected it to be daunting, but it wasn’t. I didn’t know architecture or what the words to describe a house were. But if someone had asked me, I’d have said it reminded me of Taylor Swift’s Rhode Island seaside estate. I’d only seen it from pictures, but it was gorgeous.

“Yeah, no way you get a house like this making muffins.” Hazel laughed.

Shep patted Gabe’s arm. “Actually, Gabe’s sugar daddy bought this house.”

Gabe pushed him off just as Shep put the car in park. “Mason’s not my sugar daddy…he just has money, and he bought us all a house.”

I didn’t want to say that this Mason guy, did in fact sound like a sugar daddy, but…yeah.

“I can take you both inside and show you to your rooms,” JJ said.

Hazel opened the door, and we got out. I followed JJ into the house, the whole time taking in the gorgeous place. I wasn’t sure how safe it really was, and if he wanted me back, he’d find a way, but at least I’d be staying someplace beautiful until he did.

CHAPTER FIVE

Noel

I was monitoringthe grounds via the cameras while Nick was on the other side of the tech room with Matt, explaining where the defense systems were. We had cameras splayed throughout the property and beyond. We wanted to know when anyone was even close to our house, which meant the street and roads surrounding us. We’d recently added some in the woods on the side of our place and we had the ocean nearby, so unless someone took a boat and then climbed the cliffs, they weren’t getting in. But just in case, we had cameras there too.

We also had defenses in place. Sensors that were backup for the cameras. We had lethal ways of stopping people—such as targeted lasers, which were much more effective and quieter than guns. There were electricity pulses strategically buried in the ground, which were new, and such a freaking amazing idea from Mason. If activated, anyone on the sector we’d hit the button for would either be knocked out or killed. That depended on what was needed.

All these things weren’t legal, and because of that, they weren’t easy to find. I was positive the FBI or police nearby had no inkling of anything. We had some things visible, which Agent Rose had seen when he’d visited to make sure things were okay for Phoenix. But all of that was legal shit. I wouldn’t be surprised if they thought this house couldn’t keep Phoenix safe. Fools.

I saw the SUVs and police vehicles turn onto our road, and I stayed vigilant. “They’re here.”

Matt came over, Nick close behind, and gasped. “That’s a lot of police for one person.”

“Well, you’ve read the reports on the victims of this psycho. They’re not taking any chances. And subtlety isn’t the authorities’ thing.” Nick pointed to our vehicle. “I bet Shep and Gabe are itching to lose the cops.”

“Better them than us.” I held out my fist, and Nick connected his with mine.

The police stopped at the end of the road, and the SUV made its way down our long driveway. When it came to a stop, I watched all the screens. I was sure no one was sneaking up anywhere, but I wasn’t going to half-ass this job.

Hazel stepped out before Phoenix. She had curly light-brown hair that was blowing everywhere due to the windy weather. Phoenix was certainly beautiful. I couldn’t make out the color of his eyes through the cameras, but they were wide and he was clearly impressed with our home. His dark hair was cut short with a good length on top. He walked inside slowly, timidly, and I switched cameras to follow them.

“JJ’s going to get them to their rooms. Maybe we should put lunch out,” Matt offered.

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