Chapter 42
FORTY-TWO
As the morning light started to climb over the hills, I reluctantly went to bed. Everyone else was still in the living room, mostly passed out in the chair or couch, where they’d been scouring through the evidence Adam had collected over the past year.
With each note I read, my heart broke a little more for him, hating that he’d gone through so much alone. But one thing was evident from the people camping out downstairs—that wouldn’t happen this time.
As I pushed open the guest room door, I smiled at Adam’s sleeping form. We’d forced him to call it a night first, knowing how much this had been weighing on him. Even in sleep, it looked like he’d gotten no relief, his brow furrowed and his body twisted, like he’d been fighting his demons in his dreams.
I laid down at his side, brushing back some of the dark blond tresses that stuck to his sweat-soaked skin. When I pressed a kiss to his brow, his eyes fluttered open, taking a moment to recognize me. But when he did, his bright smile made my heart melt, knowing this man was my person and that we would see this through. There was no other option, not in my mind. I wouldn’t let him continue to live on edge, wondering when someone would strike out and take away his happiness.
Not after he’d done everything to bring mine back to me.
“Hey, trouble,” he said as he pulled me to his side. “What time is it?”
“Early,” I answered, dropping my head to his firm chest. “Get some more rest.”
“Trying,” he said, rubbing his hand over his face. “Tell me something good to help me fall asleep.”
I chuckled as I ran my nails up and down his arm. “What do you want to know?”
“One more thing from your list. The most extravagant one.” He leaned over to kiss my forehead. “So we can do it when this whole thing is over.”
“Honestly?” I said, furrowing my brow. “I’ve always wanted to travel. Go off to one of those island resorts I see on social media all of the time.” I shook my head, “But it’s always been a pipe dream. There’s no way I can afford it, even when I’m done with school.”
“Well, then it’s a good thing you’re with a guy who has some money tucked away,” Adam chuckled. “Because that’s what we’re doing. A week away, just you and me. At one of those beach resorts with the glass floors so you can see all the fish swimming underneath.”
“That’s not somewhere you just go.” I grinned against his skin. “That has to be like a special occasion, like a honeymoon or anniversary or something.”
“You proposing to me, trouble?”
“Not yet, Rice,” I giggled. “I think maybe we should wait a bit for that, don’t you? After I’m done with school, and we’re more settled. Besides, I think I’d like to get a house maybe first. Somewhere near Fox Creek so we can see the lake in the morning and stay close to everyone.”
Adam’s eyes popped fully open, and he shifted so he was on top of me. “Does that mean you’re staying?”
“Yes,” I said, unable to hold back my grin. “We’re staying here. I talked to Cam about it a couple of days ago, but I was waiting to tell you until we were alone. He’s going to make it work so we can live here full-time, and he’ll visit. With any luck, he’ll be in Boston, so that’s only a couple of hours away. I still have to figure out how to ship all of our stuff?—”
My words were cut off when Adam’s lips met mine in a passionate, soul-consuming kind of kiss. It was the type that became a core memory, one I’d look back on years from now and forget all the darkness surrounding us. All I needed was my family—my daughter and the loving man in my arms. We’d find a way through everything else. Together.
“Shit, Tor,” he smiled against my skin. “I didn’t think it was possible for anything to make me happy today, but you just made me feel like the luckiest man in the whole damn world.” He kissed me again, softly, slowly. “I can’t wait to find a home together, baby.”
“Yeah?” I chuckled. “Are you sure you’re ready for Emilia and me full-time?”
“More ready than I’ve been for anything in my entire life. You just wait, Tor. I’m going to find you the house of your dreams, and we’ll make it a home. Fill it with animals and more babies, if that’s what you want.”
“Slow down,” I chuckled, pressing against his chest. “Maybe for now, we should start with more sleep, and then we can figure out everything else later.”
“Fine,” Adam groaned, flopping back onto his side of the bed. “But just so you know, the moment we’re alone again, I’m showing you exactly how much you staying means to me.”
“Now that’s the best motivation I’ve ever heard.”
A couple of hours later, I reluctantly rolled out of bed, feeling like I hadn’t gotten a single moment of rest. The entire time, I dreamed of unseen people stalking Adam and me, interrupting all our happy moments with their vile and wicked ways. I reached out to the other side of the bed, finding it cold and empty. With a frown, I sat up, sure everyone else was probably downstairs still working.
I pulled on the clothes Cole had set aside for me and made my way down the stairs, stopping at the landing at the sight in front of me. Overnight, it was like Alex and Cole’s living room had turned into the set of one of those crime scene shows, complete with a whiteboard and photos lining its edges.
I shook my head as I walked downstairs, stopping in front of it to see what they’d come up with while I was sleeping. There were dozens of names on the side, some scratched out, others circled.
“Good morning,” Calla said as she handed me a giant cup of coffee. “How’d you sleep?”
“Terribly,” I sighed. “Where did all of this come from?”
“Theo,” she chuckled. “He called in every single favor and cleared out his office. He had Eloise bring this thing over at 5 am.” She glanced over my shoulder, frowning at her husband, still working hard in the kitchen. “I’m starting to get worried about him. He hasn’t closed his eyes, not for a moment. He’s going to crash pretty soon if he keeps going like this.”
“Guessing he’ll refuse to go home even if we ask?”
“Oh yeah,” Calla sighed. “He feels responsible for this whole thing, as if he should have been able to see the signs of what was going on with Adam.”
“No one could have known,” I said, my hand on her arm.
“I’m just glad we do now.” Calla smiled, placing her hand on top of mine. “I’ve been meaning to thank you. I’ve known Adam for a while, and this is, by far, the happiest I’ve ever seen him. Even with all of this…” She motioned around the room. “You brought a light back into his eyes, and I can’t thank you enough for that.”
“He did the same for me,” I said, finding Adam watching me across the room. “The least I can do is make sure he has someone at his side while we figure out what’s going on.”
Calla smiled at me as Adam walked over, dropping a light kiss on my lips. I ran my hand through his hair, taming his erratic waves. “Any luck?”
Adam’s face fell. “Not yet. Devyn’s been on the phone with Jack most of the morning. He’s agreed to help us out, but he wants a favor from Theo that he can call in at any point.”
“What kind of favor?”
“No idea, but Theo already agreed, so Jack’s going over all his files. He agrees with Theo; all of this seems really similar to what happened to his client. He can’t tell us who for confidentiality reasons, but he’ll let us know if there are any connections we can explore.”
“And how are you?” I asked, running my fingers along the creases in his brow. “You look terrible.”
He smirked down at me. “Ouch, that’s harsh, trouble. I’ll have you know, I was named one of the Sexiest Men Alive three years in a row.”
“Just calling it like I see it, Rice.” I sighed as I rested my head against his chest. “So, what’s next? What do you need me to do?”
Just as Adam started to answer me, Cole walked through the door, a haunted expression in his eyes. He scowled as he surveyed the room, his eyes dropping when they met mine. My heart sank in my chest. Even though I’d already heard from Cam and knew Emilia was settled and safe far from here, my mind immediately went to her.
He grabbed Alex and dropped a kiss to her head before coming over to us, looking between Adam and me. His gaze landed on Adam before he said, “Can we talk? Alone?”
I grabbed Adam’s hand. “What happened?”
Cole shook his head and turned to his best friend. Adam just nodded in agreement. “Whatever it is, I’m going to tell her. You might as well get it out of the way.”
Cole ran his hand over his face. “It’s the apartment. Apparently, someone broke in during the night and destroyed the cameras leading up to your place. We’d already cleared out the lodge, just in case, so there was no one there to hear or see anything.” He walked to me, placing his hand on my shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Tori. It’s all destroyed. Looks like they doused the whole thing in some sort of chemical.”
My heart broke for a moment, but not for me. I knew how much that space meant to Cole, how much time he and Alex had put into making it memorable for Emilia and me. I shook my head, pulling him into a hug, “It’s just stuff. As long as everyone is okay, that’s all I care about. I’m more upset they destroyed all your hard work. ”
“Don’t care about that,” Cole mumbled against my hair. “Would have never forgiven myself if something happened to you.” He pulled back and ran his hand over his face. “But this shit ends now.” He glanced over at Theo. “Any more clues from the emails?”
“No,” Theo called out, exhaustion plaguing each of his words. “But there’s something here. I can feel it.”
“Could it be someone you know?” Calla asked, her hand going to her stomach.
“I’m not sure. It’s like all of the pieces are laid out in front of me, but I’m missing the one that bring everything together.” He ran his hand over his face. “I”m going to grab some files from my office. See if there’s anything else that can help connect the dots.”
His wife came to his side, placing her hand on his arm. “Not alone. I’m going to come with you.”
“Absolutely not,” Theo barked. “I’m not a target. I’ll be fine, beautiful.” Theo’s eyes narrowed on Cole and Adam. “She does not leave your sight. Am I understood?”
Calla started to argue, but Theo silenced her with one look. She grumbled but hugged him anyway. He whispered in her ear before pulling away, giving us a wave as he headed out the door.
Tension ripped through the room as the door slammed shut behind him. We silently prayed this would be it, that Theo would be able to make the pieces fit. Calla exhaled first, turning around to face everyone else. “Alright, what’s next?”