Chapter 25
Cash didn’t like this at all.
He clenched his hands around the steering wheel as he drove toward the airport. Ralen was sitting beside him. Addie and her two sisters were riding with Butch who was ahead of them.
He didn’t like this.
Addie should be in the truck with the two of them. Not with fucking Butch. How could he trust Butch to take care of her?
Ralen sighed and stared over at him. “What’s the matter?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re sighing as much as an eighteenth century dowager clutching her pearls.”
“Really? That’s the comparison you came up with?”
“Hey, if the shoe fits.”
“That doesn’t mean you have to wear it,” Cash told him. “And I seriously can’t believe you watched every episode of Bridgerton.”
“You really don’t know me at all.”
Cash snorted. He knew Ralen better than anyone, and vice versa. The two of them had been like brothers for years, even closer than that in some ways.
Ralen was his ride or die.
“You know what’s wrong with me,” Cash said. “She shouldn’t be leaving. She shouldn’t be in that car with him. She should be here with us, where we can keep an eye on her. She needs watching.”
“You have to let this go,” Ralen told him. “She’s about to leave and you have no control over anything that she does once she’s gone. She’s a grown adult. You can’t make the decisions for her.”
He could if she were his. Then he’d be laying down the law, and telling her exactly what was going to happen. That he would be on her 24/7 until he was sure that there was no longer a risk to her.
“You heard the detective and Ink. They both think they’ll all be fine going home. They reckon it’s this husband of Monroe’s who left the message. That he doesn’t like them asking questions about him.”
“Except nobody can find the bastard, and no one’s really sure who he really is since it seems most likely that Vextar isn’t his real name.
And we know they’re not going to throw much manpower into this when it’s just been a written threat and nothing physical.
” Although Jackson had seemed strangely interested in Vextar.
Ralen nodded. “Yeah. But the likelihood of this guy following the girls back to Las Vegas is pretty slim when he seems to want them out of the city.”
“Why do I get the feeling there’s something the cops aren’t telling us? Why did they question Monroe the first time she was in the police station about this Vextar guy? What if they have some idea of who he is, and they’re just not saying anything?”
“Maybe they were just after some more information. Maybe you’re just reading too much into this, and we have to get our mind back on the real game here. Like finding Ortega. How the fuck are we going to find someone who makes an art form out of staying hidden?”
Yeah, that was the other issue. If Ortega didn’t want to be found, then Alejandro’s men weren’t going to find him. Which meant he and Ralen were likely going to have to come up with a plan.
“Maybe we have to ask him for help,” Cash suggested. “Come up with some sort of emergency.”
“Yeah, I like it. The only issue is he’s going to take it out on us when he finds out it’s not true. And I’ve kind of grown attached to my dick. I don’t want it chopped off my body.”
They both grimaced. Ortega had a habit of doing that to rapists.
“He’s not going to do that to us,” Cash reassured him. “He likes us. And you’re kind of related to him.”
“Except I’m not. He’s my cousin’s half brother. We’re not actually related by blood. And what if he’s not just hiding? What if he’s in real fucking trouble here?”
That was an even bigger issue.
If he’d actually disappeared because he was in trouble, then they’re all in fucking trouble, because there were very few people who could best Ortega.
They pulled up into the parking lot of the airport and got out. Butch and the girls were still waiting in the car a few vehicles down, and they moved that way, keeping an eye on their surroundings.
They each opened a passenger door. When he opened her door, Addie gave him a small smile. She looked pale, wan. He wanted to gather her up in his arms and hold her tight, keep her safe, but he knew he couldn’t.
She’d already unbuckled her seatbelt, and he frowned at that. He had no idea why. He was acting ridiculous.
“Is everything all right?” she asked hoarsely. “Is there a problem?”
Yeah, there was a fucking problem. She shouldn’t be leaving. But he didn’t say that. Instead, he just shook his head and stepped back, offering her his hand. She gave him a surprised look.
What had she expected him to do? When she slid her hand into his, he realized she was shaking, and her hand was cold. He squeezed her hand lightly.
“Everything is going to be okay. You’ll be home soon,” he told her as Butch grabbed the suitcases out that someone had packed up for them at their hotel room.
Addie nodded, looking pensive, and he led her around to where her sisters were. Monroe was staring down at her phone but Dotty was watching him. Her gaze dropped down to where he was holding onto Addie’s hand and narrowed.
Cash probably should have let go of her, but he didn’t want to.
“Come on,” Butch said. “Let’s get inside.”
Cash didn’t like following the other man’s commands. However, he didn’t have any reason to argue.
He kept hold of Addie’s hand as they walked through the parking lot toward the main entrance.
“You realize that you can’t come through security with us,” Dotty told them all.
Cash frowned. That part hadn’t occurred to him, and he shot a look at Ralen. “We can if we buy a ticket.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Dotty waved her hand through the air. “That’s a waste of money. I’m sure we’ll be fine. We’ll go straight through security and onto our plane immediately.”
Butch frowned at her. “You need to take this threat seriously.”
A car came around the corner of the parking lot and they all paused. Except Monroe, who was still on her phone. She stepped out in front of the car which slammed on its brakes right as Ralen jumped forward and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her back.
Monroe let out a small scream as she startled, dropping her phone on the ground.
Addie attempted to rush toward her sister, but Cash held her tight, keeping her close against his body.
The driver stopped, getting out and they all tensed, waiting to see if it was a threat.
“I’m so sorry. She just walked out in front of me. Did I hit her?”
The driver was a young guy, probably in his early twenties, and he looked pale and shaken. Cash didn’t sense any sort of threat.
No one said anything for a moment until Dotty took a step forward. “Entirely my sister’s fault. I’m so sorry if she gave you a fright. She was looking at her phone instead of watching where she was going.”
The young guy nodded. “Yeah, well, she shouldn’t do that. She could get in an accident.” He glared at Monroe, and Cash didn’t blame him. She should have been paying attention to her surroundings. What was she thinking?
The guy got back in his car and took off while they all turned to Monroe. Ralen was frowning down at her.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I was just looking at some stuff on my phone. I didn’t mean to walk in front of his car.”
Ralen glared at her. “Pay more attention to your surroundings. That was dumb.”
Monroe blinked rapidly, looking like she was about to cry, and Addie’s hand clenched down on his.
Cash squeezed her hand back reassuringly. It was unusual for Ralen to get this upset, but Cash got it. She shouldn’t be walking around while looking on her phone, especially not with this threat around.
She needed to be more aware of things.
“Well, you don’t need to worry because look at my phone now.” Monroe held up her phone, and the screen was clearly all cracked. “Doesn’t look like I’ll be using this for a while. I’ve had this phone less than a day.”
Grumbling, she tucked it into her pocket and they all headed into the airport.
Addie didn’t want to say goodbye. She didn’t want to go through security and get on that plane.
But they had to go home. Cash would go on with his life, and she’d go on with hers.
Not like you have much of a life.
“Well,” Dotty said briskly. “Thanks for everything. It was nice to meet you. Have a nice life.”
Turning, she headed off toward the security area.
“Geez, she’s just so warm and friendly, isn’t she?” Ralen said.
Addie raised her eyebrows. That seemed a little harsh, and especially from Ralen, who seemed to always have a friendly smile for everyone.
But Dotty hid her softer side behind a series of barbed wire fences. And there were very few people who could break their way through those fences. She and Monroe were lucky, because they were tucked in behind those fences as well.
“We better go too,” Monroe said. “Come on, Addie.”
Addie nodded, but hesitated, staring at the two of them. Butch walked Monroe over to the security area where Dotty was waiting.
“It was good to meet you, Trouble,” Ralen said. “Hug?” He held open his arms.
Addie stepped into his embrace with a sigh of relief. She wasn’t quite sure how to say goodbye, whether it was all right to touch them, or if they just wanted her to leave.
But it seemed that Ralen was quite good at reading people.
After Ralen released her, she turned to Cash, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. The call for their flight came over the loudspeaker, and a bubble of anxiety filled her stomach. She had to go.
Even if that felt like the wrong thing to do.
“Come here, Stowaway,” Cash said.
He didn’t wait for her to move. Instead, he reached out and drew her close into his chest. She sank into him.
How come his touch felt so right? Why did it always feel like she was safe when he held her? Would she ever feel like this with anyone else? She doubted it.
So she soaked up every second she could. Memorized it, kept it close. This would have to keep her going for years to come.
“You take care of yourself,” he told her. “Rest your voice. Make sure you keep an eye on your surroundings. If anything happens, you call me straight away. Understand?”