Page 82 of Accepted Precedent
“Do you know why I pulled you over?”
“No, sir,” I fib.
“This is a residential neighborhood, and you were driving double the speed limit.”
“I’m sorry, officer. My, uh, my wife is pregnant, and, um… it’s an emergency.”
“That’s no excuse for—” Someone says something to him on his radio. “Are you Andrew Adams?”
My mouth is dry, but I manage, “Yeah.”
“Be more careful next time.” He steps away and returns to his car.
I blow out a long breath that does little to calm my nerves. My phone vibrates in the cup holder and Finn’s name illuminates the screen. I answer, but don’t even get a greeting before he snaps, “Where the fuck are you?”
“I told you, I got pulled over.”
“I called the police chief, who assured me you’d be let off with a warning. There are three women in this house I need to protect, and only one of them is willing to shoot someone if necessary. Get your arse to my house right fuckin’ now.”
I start the car and pull into the road. “I’m less than a block away. You have an entire security team—why aren’t you using them?”
“I can’t trust anyone until we know who’s behind this,” he whispers, but it’s still growly. “Alex—Christopher—is on his way here now to help.”
“Fuck, okay, I’m pulling in now.”
We hang up, and he’s waiting by the security gate. I park next to a few black sedans and SUVs. As I get out of the car with the bags and jar of sourdough tucked against me, I ask, “Who’s missing?”
“What do you mean?” He slaps a gun into my hand, then turns on his heel, walking toward the house.
I follow with quickened steps behind him. “You said three women. Weren’t Ileah, Jaclyn, and Kristin having lunch with Evie? Who isn’t here?”
“Your wife,” he grits out. “Which is why I need you to stay with the other three.”
“Hold on. Back up. Why isn’t Evie here? She was here when I talked to Kristin. What happened?”
Finn pivots to face me and I nearly run into him. “She fuckin’ left. I was in my office making a few calls when she told the girls she was going to use the restroom. But she stole my keys and left. Oh, and she couldn’t keep her mouth shut, so Jaclyn and Ileah know the twins are Mickey’s, not yours. My car has a tracker, so I’ve been following it.” He pulls out his phone and shows me a GPS screen where a dot is moving on the highway. “My brother will kill me if anything happens to her.”
“He’ll kill me too. Where the hell is she going?”
“Probably back to the medical building. Mick isn’t picking up his phone.”
“Yeah,” I sigh. “I tried checking his location, but his phone’s off.”
His eyes widen. “His car. I can track his fuckin’ car.” Clamping his hand on my shoulder, he demands, “Get inside and take care of our women.”
“Our women?”
A smirk tilts his lips. “Aye, we all know you’re in love with your wife’s sister, Andrew.” I’m about to deny it, but he adds, “I understand better than anyone that you can’t help who you love. My brother has been in love with you and Evelyn for years. He had to stand aside while the loves of his life pretended to be a happy couple—just as I had to watch Ileah remain married to a man who didn’t deserve her. Keep Ileah safe, or I’ll personally remove your cock with a fuckin’ cheese grater and feed it to my dogs.”
“Jesus, Finn. Do you need to be so graphic about it?”
“I’m serious. Ileah’s my fuckin’ world. If anything happens to her, I won’t hesitate.” He releases his grip on my shoulder.“Would be such a shame. I’ve heard you’re quite blessed in that department.”
I chuckle to myself, handing him my keys. Without another word, he brushes past me, stripping off his jacket as he walks to my car. I continue toward the house, glancing back once as the engine roars to life. As I make my way inside, there’s shouting coming from deeper in the house. I follow the sound of the argument, tucking the gun in the back of my pants.
“Have you lost your mind?” Ileah huffs. “We’re not going after her. We don’t know if this is about Evie or Mickey—they could be stalking any one of us. Finn said he’ll find her once Andrew’s here. We need to stay put.”
“She’s my sister!” Hearing Kristin’s voice makes my heart stop every fucking time—this is the last place I want to be.
