Page 47 of Triggered By Love
It was one thing to go out and have a little fun, but Jason didn’t feel like a fun guy. He was way too serious and intense. She could tell just by the way he stood, always on alert and combat ready. A guy like him wouldn’t be satisfied with catching a few baseball games, knocking back a couple of beers, or even quick, hot sex on a lazy afternoon.
There was something just over the edge of normalcy with Jason Burnett, and that made him dangerous. Like the way he’d stalked outside of the coffee shop and spied on her drinking a latte with Matt. Surveilled her! Like she was prey picked out of a herd.
Still, had he not been there, she would be on her way to being buried next to Brando. That car came way too close.
She put her phone down, deciding not to call Jason.
Maybe he’d been doing his job. A police detective kept information to himself. He’d been at the right place at the right time, but hadn’t Alida been the reason he was at the fashion show? And today’s publicity stunt had also been organized by Alida.
Could she be the link? She had multiple clients in business, entertainment, and politics. What if her publicity stunts were unwelcome or revealed something a client wanted to keep private?
Not my circus, not my monkey.
Avery wandered to her bureau and picked up the picture of her and Brando, taken on a cruise ship. The big man had such kind eyes. He’d seen terrible things, ran through burning buildings, and rescued victims, some of whom didn’t make it.
But Brando rose above the tragedies of life. Brando knew that what he did was right and good. He was secure in his role as hero and lifesaver. He was easy to get along with and lovable.
Even though Jason had never opened his heart, Avery was sure dark things lurked. A cagey, suspicious man who hunted criminals had things to hide. She wasn’t accusing him, per se, but it was the way of the world, especially in a city controlled by deep, dark forces. He wasn’t a small-town sheriff whose only problem was the town drunk and an occasional woman going into labor during a parade.
Avery paced back and forth in her room, feeling like a caged animal. Chase was probably in his room cleaning his guns and drawing up a security plan for her. Her parents watched TV. Damon was in the man cave testing a video game with his crew. Alex was out on an island in the Caribbean working on a resort he was developing, and Stone, who knew where he was?
Stone was the middle child and stone-cold crazy. He was the black sheep who turned his back on her parents. Stone was a UFC fighter and owned a boxing club. Stone had it rough and never forgave her for her role in the family drama that drove him away. He was closed to them, and he wouldn’t listen to her explanation. Then there was Harper…
Her phone rang, and Jason’s name flashed on the screen. Avery’s heart flooded with relief. “Jason, are you okay?”
He assured her he wasn’t hurt chasing the suspect but was upset he hadn’t caught him. And then, when he’d suggested dinner, she remembered she’d owed him one for not arresting Matt.
She’d played it off, of course. No sense making that man think he owed her, and then, something happened. Her heart lightened, and she’d actually caught herself smiling.
It would be fun to sneak out right under Chase’s nose. She’d be perfectly safe with Jason, so why not? Besides, she was a pro at sneaking out of her parents’ supposedly secure mansion.
The main house had been expanded several times since the colonial days, and the many angles meant places without security camera coverage. True, Chase could have audited all of them, but he didn’t know about the secret passages and hiding places like she did.
An elderly servant told her long ago the house was a stop on the Underground Railroad, and she’d shown Avery the hiding places behind cabinets and bookcases.
She had already showered and changed into a pair of jeans and a tie-dyed tank top, so she pulled on a light olive-drab jacket, touched up her makeup, and ran a brush through her hair. After she applied bug spray, she looped her overnight bag over her shoulder and snuck from her room into an alcove underneath the stairs.
The TV blasting sounds of a NASCAR race provided ample cover for her to tap open the panel and replace it. She bent low and passed into the dark passage, lit only by her cell phone light.
No one else knew of her hiding place, and even though she was in a hurry, she checked to make sure her box of childhood secrets was safe. It lay undisturbed, dusty and filled with items a packrat would covet. Bottle caps, candy wrappers, ticket stubs, price tags, and a diary itemizing them.
Leaving the box well hidden underneath a floorboard, Avery crawled the rest of the way and moved a brick aside to activate the trapdoor. After shimmying down a steel pipe, she landed lightly on the lush lawn behind the property.
As long as she kept low to the ground, she would be out of range of the cameras. The upstairs light in her brother’s suite was on, but she’d only be seen if he happened to look out the window.
Once she cleared the row of hedges, she climbed the wall at the location where she’d knocked back a few stones for footholds.
The apple orchard gave her cover, and she darted from tree to tree, making her way to the edge of the property. A dark-colored sedan drove slowly over the ruts with its lights off.
Her heart skidded to a stop, and she hid behind a gnarly old tree. Why would Jason keep his lights off? And furthermore, she didn’t know what car he’d be driving.
Still.
She was probably being paranoid. It wasn’t as if anyone knew she was up here at The Manor.
The car idled closer, and Avery didn’t dare peek in case the driver spotted her.
She pulled out her phone and texted Jason.
