Page 49 of Saved from Obsession

Casting a sideways glance at Rylan and Cole, I give a little lift of my chin—thanks for everything and I’ll talk to you later. Then I scoop up Georgia into my arms, one arm under her legs and the other behind her back. She curls into my chest, arms twining around my neck, hiding her face against me.

Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, I carry Georgia back toward the main building and my apartment. And I send up a silent thanks for bringing her back to me safely.

* * *

“Doyou think Rylan will find out anything?”

Georgia jumps up from the couch and paces the living room several times before coming to a stop in front of the window. Her shoulders are tense and her hands grip the windowsill until the knuckles turn white. She stares out the window for several seconds before continuing, “Is he done there yet, do you think? It’s been hours since he left.”

“I don’t know if he’s done, sweetheart. It can take a long time to get through the process of visiting someone in jail. But if there’s any information there, Rylan will get it.”

I walk over to the window and rest my hands on her shoulders, gently tugging her around to face me. “It’s not safe for you here,” I tell her softly, hating how she flinches at my words. “I’m sorry. But anyone could see you standing there—”

Her features pull into a sad grimace. “Okay.” She’s never sounded more defeated.

I pull Georgia into my arms and hug her tightly before leading her back to the couch. As I sit down, I settle her onto my lap, wrapping my arms around her. “I’m sorry, Georgia.”

She sighs as she leans her head against my shoulder. “It’s not your fault.”

Yes and no. Is it my fault that someone else has set their sights on Georgia? No. But I should have made sure she was better protected, so she wouldn’t have been attacked to start with. And I should have done a better job investigating her case—obviously I missed something critical or this wouldn’t still be happening.

Guilt is a now-constant weight pulling down on me. And it’s even worse when I look down at Georgia and see what my failure has cost her. Dark shadows under her eyes, lines of worry etched across her forehead, exhaustion and worry turning her face sickly pale.

“We’re going to figure this out,” I tell her, infusing confidence into my words. Jostling her with my leg, I wait until she looks up at me before continuing. “Whatever it takes, sweetheart. We’ll fix this.”

“I thought it was over.” Georgia’s voice is barely a whisper. “I thought I was safe. How can this be happening again?” She blinks furiously, her face pinching, and I know she’s on the verge of crying.

“Ah, sweetheart.” I rest my forehead against hers and squeeze my eyes shut, wishing I could do anything to stop her from hurting.

“We’ll use every connection we have,” I promise her. “Everyone we know from the Army, Cole’s friends in Texas, and there are lots of powerful people who owe us favors. Wewillfind out who’s behind this and stop them.”

Georgia tilts her head away from mine and stares at me, her eyes swimming with emotion. Her voice wobbles as she says, “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Just as I’m about to answer, my phone buzzes, and Georgia twitches like she’s been shocked. I set her to the side and grab my phone, hoping and praying for good news.

“Leo.” Rylan’s somber voice is the first sign I’m about to be disappointed.

“How’d it go?” My heart beats faster as I wait for his answer.

He sighs heavily. “It’s not great.”

My jaw clenches, and I grit out, “Tell me.”

“I got the guy talking, and convinced him it was in his best interest to tell me everything before I found out from someone else.” There’s a heavy pause before he continues, and I want to reach through the phone and rip the words from his mouth. “He was hired, Leo.”

“What?”

“On the dark web. There was an ad looking for someone to stalk a woman. It was all anonymous. This guy got all the information about Georgia, where she lived, what she looked like, her schedule, even things he was supposed tosayto her…”

Georgia is watching me with wide, scared eyes, even paler than before. Keeping my voice carefully controlled, I ask, “Was he the first one?”

“No.” Rylan sounds almost as angry as me. “This guy was hired after the last one was caught.”

Shit. “So, the guy from last night…”

“Yeah. I think so.”

Fury beats a bass drum in my head, so loud I can’t hear what else Rylan is saying. All I can hear are the terrible things Rylan told me on repeat. The dark web. Someone hiring multiple attackers to come after Georgia. That personstillout there, an unidentified threat.

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