Page 101 of Delicate Escape

Anson glanced at her and then at me. “Everything I’ve found so far doesn’t show any signs of Brendan leaving the Crescent Lake area where he’s filming. No hits on his credit cards outside the area?—”

“I did not hear that,” Trace groused.

My eyes widened. “You’re in hisbank accounts?”

Anson grinned at me, but it had a slightly disturbing quality to it. “Damn straight. Well, I’m not. I recruited help.”

“Help?” I parroted.

Shep squeezed my hand. “Anson worked with some of the best hackers in the world when he was at the bureau.”

“Got a white hat—an ethical hacker—on it. Dex is not down with this sort of thing. When I told him a little of what’d happened to you, the tech side, he took on the mission. He said those pictures and videos are scrubbed from everywhere other than a couple of places on the dark web. He’s still doing battle there, but they should be gone within the next week or two.”

The tears came then. I couldn’t stop them. Hot and fast, they burned my cheeks where they fell. “They’re down? People can’t see them anymore?”

Shep moved in, lifting me into his lap once again and cuddling me against him. “They’re down, Thorn.”

A sob tore free. “I didn’t think they’d ever—I thought it was impossible?—”

“Fuck,” Anson muttered.

“Rethinking letting Sutton google hitmen,” Trace growled.

“Screw that,” Sutton snapped. “I’m taking him out myself.”

I tried to take them all in. Really see the people around the table who were all willing to fight. For me.

“Thank you,” I managed to get out around my tears. “Thank you for helping me get my life back.”

And I meant it in all the ways. More than just getting back the most intimate photos, they’d helped me remember that life was for living and not just for hiding.

Shep nuzzled my neck. “You’re not alone. Not anymore.”

39

SHEP

The driveto Thea’s house was quiet. Too quiet. Not the easy silence we often had with one another, but a hollow one. I couldn’t help but look over at her every few seconds as though I could keep her grounded in the here and now.

But I couldn’t.

Thea was a million miles away. And I was sure she was locked in dark and twisted places—places I’d do anything to keep her from.

As I pulled to a stop in front of her house, Thea jolted as if she were just now truly seeing what was in front of her. I didn’t wait. I cut the engine and slid out of the truck, rounding the front to open her door.

Thea’s fingers trembled as she attempted to undo the seat belt, each attempt stabbing at my chest. She finally succeeded, and I helped her down. I couldn’t resist the need to have her against me, to reassure myself she was safe. Beeping the locks, I slid an arm around Thea’s shoulders.

The moment her body melted against mine, I felt the tremors.My back teeth ground together as I looked down at her. “You’re shivering.”

“I-I’m cold.”

Her voice held the same tremor as her body, and it had rage coursing through me. I guided her toward the house, doing all I could to keep from holding her too tightly. “Come on. Let’s get you warm.”

The bright sun on an eighty-five-degree day should’ve been enough. But it didn’t come close after the events of the afternoon.

I hurried to unlock the front door, ushering Thea inside. Moose let out one of his mutant meows but didn’t come in search of us. And the kittens were quiet, obviously still napping. All of that was good. Because if Thea thought her critters were in need, she’d go straight to them instead of letting me take care of her.

Taking Thea’s hand, I guided her down the hallway and into the main bathroom. Releasing my hold on her was torture, even knowing she was right there and safe. I hurried to start the water and turned it as hot as I could with her lacking water heater. I scanned the rim of the bathtub, stopping on a bottle of bubble bath. Pouring some in, it wasn’t long before a thick layer of bubbles coated the water.

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