Page 162 of Somebody's Watching Me
Snatching an apple from the basket by the fridge, Rowan took a bite, and walked backward out of the kitchen with his eyes on Annabeth the entire time.
“No one will say anything.” Annabeth returned to whisking when he was gone. The whirl of egg spinning like a mini yellow tornado trapped in a bowl. “Not one damn word.”
They drove in silence to Evie and Samuel’s place. Before drifting off to sleep, Liam had written down what he wanted her to do. A random list involving clothes she should wear, the items she should bring, and the time of day to be ready.
Each had a part to play, and to make this appear as natural as possible, Liam wanted none of them to know the other’s roles.
What Jamison did know was that her father had canceled all his meetings, spending most of the day with Samuel and Evie. He returned to Haven right as she and Simone left with Liam. He planned to stay behind with Abe and Izzy in the main house while Rowan locked himself in the media room’s office.
“Go on and ask me, Simone.” Liam tapped the radio to let them know someone was listening.
Simone sat perched in the backseat with the supplies to make Harper and Theo’s favorite dinner secured in her lap. The woman never left the house without her bobbed hair done to perfection and red lipstick on. Today was no exception, but instead of her usual dressy sandals, she was wearing tennis shoes.
Jamison didn’t even know Simone owned tennis shoes.
“Evie won’t answer my calls.”
“I’ve advised them not to use any phone for the time being.”
Simone huffed, not caring to be ignored, no matter the circumstances. “How are they?”
“And what are we walking into over there?” Jamison added.
When she woke up, Liam was already gone, not appearing until mid-morning in his wetsuit. Time on the water always cleared his head, and she assumed he checked in on her siblings while out.
Although, she couldn’t be sure since he had barely spoken two words to her all day.
“The girls are fine and totally oblivious. Harper has an inkling of something going on and is keeping close to Evie. Theo is just being Theo,” he said. “Evie is shaky but focused. Holden is back at their place, and she’s keeping busy by preparing a room for him.”
“She’s nesting.” Simone clucked her tongue. “That baby is going to come right in the middle of all this.”
“I have no idea what nesting means, but sure.” Liam hit the gas, easing them onto the beachfront highway. “She’s building Holden a nest in the guest room.”
“What about Samuel?” Jamison asked.
“The residual PTSD is compounding his fear, but Samuel has every right to respond as he is.”
Jamison didn’t like the sound of that. “Responding how?”
“You’ll see.”
The gates were sealed tight at Samuel and Evie’s place, something Jamison didn’t even know they could do, having always thought the twelve-foot black wrought iron was for decorative purposes only.
Liam honked, and the gates rolled open with an electrical hum.
“He’s really not going to let any security in here?”
Parking the car in the empty courtyard, Liam shook his head. “Holden only.”
“Yeah, but he’s hurt,” Jamison said as they got out. “How can he help?”
“Even hurt, Holden can protect them.”
That was a lot of trust to have in one man, but Jamison let it go, and they helped Simone with her bags of food.
Approaching the front entry, she noticed Samuel’s surfboard propped against the side fence leading to the beach. “Did he go out with you this morning?”
“No, I borrowed his board.” Liam juggled the overfilled bags in his arms and led them to the door. There was no need to knock. When Toby’s first trial ended, Samuel had outfitted the house with a security system. The biometrics on the thing were mind-blowing. “But he did come outside to watch from the pool deck, and yell at me about correcting my technique as if I could hear him over the waves.”
