Page 25 of Coming Home

“He’s the mayor of Elle’s hometown?”

Walker grunts. “Yeah, and it looks like he’s trying pretty hard to find her.”

I pace back and forth across the conference room. My mind is going a hundred miles a minute. “I need you…”

I stop when Walker starts talking. “I’m already on it. We’re looking into everything with Marco Casey. He is the mayor, after all, and whatever we do is going to have to be justified. Just what I’ve uncovered so far, he’s dirty. It would help if I had the whole story.”

“I’ll get it,” I tell him.

“Okay. Talk to you soon.”

“Bye, Walker. Thank you.”

“Sure thing.”

I sit down heavily at the desk and start up the computer. I get lost in my research, trying to find anything I can on Marco Casey and his family.

It’s later when there is a knock on the conference room door, and Lilian comes in. She doesn’t look happy as she sits down at the table.

I keep looking between the notes I’ve taken and the screen of the computer, and when Lilian doesn’t say anything, I turn to give her my full attention. “Are you okay?”

She looks worried. “What are your intentions toward Elle?”

I smile at that. “I have good intentions, Lilian.”

She shakes her head. “That’s not enough. She thinks you feel sorry for her or something. Is that true?”

“I like her.”

“You like her? That’s not enough.”

She starts to get up, and I do the same. “What is this about, Lilian?”

She juts her chin at me and crosses her arms over her chest.

“Fine, I like her a lot, but I know—heck you have to know, she has something she’s scared of. I’m not going to pressure her into anything. I’ll be here when she’s ready for more.”

She lets out a deep breath. “Okay, so there’s something you should probably know.”

“What is it? Is she okay? She’s supposed to be at my house.”

She’s impatient as she answers me. “She is at your house. For now, anyway. But I thought you should know that she texted me asking if there is a shelter in Whiskey Run or where the closest one is.”

“What the fuck!” I rage. “Why is she asking you that?”

“She got a call from her landlord, and the next-door neighbor had a water leak. It’s filled Elle’s apartment, and it won’t be livable for days or probably weeks. I offered for her to stay with me—”

I turn and clear the search history on the computer before closing all the open windows. “She’ll stay with me. I have plenty of room.”

She’s shaking her head. “I offered for her to stay with Ford and me, but she said no. We’ve gone back and forth on this, and she says she’s found a shelter in Jasper.”

“She’s not going to Jasper. Thank you, Lilian. I’ll take care of her. Don’t worry.”

I’m running to my truck before she says anything else. I don’t know how I’m going to do it or what I’m going to say, but there’s no way I’m letting her go to a shelter. She’s mine to protect, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

Chapter14

Elle

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