Chapter 8 #2
"I just need to see her," he said again. The repetition, his desperation, made me think he was using or drunk, but his eyes were clear, his pupils normal. His voice was sad but steady.
He was a wreck. A mess. It was like looking in a mirror.
"Look, I feel for you," I said. "But that doesn't change what I have to do. Do you understand? Either you get off this property in the next two minutes or I call the police."
Clint Perry's eyes went wide, and he shook his head, backing away from the gate. "Don't do that. Look, man, we don't have to go there. Don't call the police."
"You're not leaving me much choice. The lady has a restraining order, which you are violating. She doesn't want you here. She's afraid, and every second you stay, you're making it worse. I'm counting. Two minutes, starting now."
I lifted my watch and made a show of tracking the secondhand. Clint swore under his breath and turned on his heel, heading to the rental car parked by the street.
I didn't think he'd be much trouble. He was an ass. Desperate enough to fly across the country. Desperate enough to risk arrest. But there was something about him that told me he was an annoyance. An irritation. Not a danger.
I stood inside the gates and waited until he'd started his car and driven away. My gut might tell me he wasn't a danger, but that didn't mean I'd relax our vigilance.
Cynthia needed a break from this man, and he didn't have to hurt her physically to do damage. Just being here eroded her peace of mind. Wore her down.
Down the street, almost out of sight, brake lights flashed on. A car starting. A car that had been parked where no one ever stopped.
The narrow, winding road through Buckhead that led to the gates of Rycroft Castle did not have sidewalks. There were no homes nearby where a visitor might park on the shoulder. This wasn't that kind of neighborhood.
Clint Perry didn't ping my radar, but those brake lights made me uneasy. Clint could have brought his own security. Would he want a witness when he broke the restraining order? Why would he start using security now when he never had before?
Clint wasn't the reason for those brake lights. I jogged back up the drive, making a mental note to add cameras along the street.
Back in Rycroft, I knocked on the door to the control room, a quick pattern of three knocks, followed by two slow ones. The locks clicked open in rapid succession. Summer stood there, blue eyes searching my face, scanning down to my feet, only relaxing when she saw I was in one piece.
Saying nothing, she stepped back to let me in. Cynthia, who'd been sitting in a chair beside Griffen, stood and threw herself against me, burrowing against my chest. I wrapped my arms around her, stroking a hand down her back.
Cynthia had been flirting with me since I'd arrived, but that was her default. She was a lot like me; she flirted as easily as she breathed. It didn't mean anything.
This hug wasn't flirtation. This was fear and pain, nerves strung to the breaking point. Summer looked anywhere but at me holding Cynthia, crossing her arms over her chest and conspicuously studying the monitors, now showing nothing more than the empty grounds and gardens.
Cynthia shuddered in my arms, not crying, but so tense she was having trouble breathing. I didn't have the heart to push her away.
"Everything's okay," I reassured her. "He left. You saw on the monitors. He can't get through the gates, and he didn't seem to mean any harm. Not this time."
"Will he be back?" Cynthia asked, tremulously.
"I don't know," I said honestly. "I think it's likely, but if he does come back I doubt it'll be today. I want you to stay in the house for the rest of the day. Can you do that?" Cynthia nodded.
Looking to Summer, thinking of the brake lights, I said, "I'm taking you on your errand."
With adrenaline buzzing in my veins, I couldn't bring myself to leave Summer in anyone's hands but mine. Before Summer could object, Cynthia pressed herself harder against me, looking up with limpid eyes.
"No, absolutely not. You're staying here with me. If Summer needs security, Griffen can take her."
Griffen shot me a look and raised an eyebrow. Never mind that I'd been about to let Griffen take her twenty minutes before. Never mind that she'd be safe with him, especially considering I wasn't absolutely sure she was under threat.
Logically, I knew all that was true. Still, I said, "Cynthia, you'll be fine."
The diva made her appearance. Cynthia straightened and propped her hands on her narrow hips.
"I know I will. Because you're staying here with me.
You're the head of security and I'm the client.
That's your job. Summer will be perfectly fine with Griffen.
" Looking over her shoulder at Griffen she said, "Won't she, Mr. Sawyer? "
The apologetic glance Griffen shot in my direction surprised me. I expected him to smirk at seeing me thwarted once again. He must have known how close I was to the edge.
Grudgingly, I gave in. "All right. Griffen, it's closing in on five o'clock. Take Summer to the stationery shop before it closes. There and back, no detours. Got it?"
"Got it, boss." Griffen slid his arm around Summer's shoulders as he led her from the room, sending me a sly wink. Asshole.
I shook my head as Cynthia said, "I need to shower after that workout. Come with me to my suite."
Great. The stiff set of Summer's shoulders told me she'd heard every word.
Fuck me. Cynthia didn't know, hadn't done it on purpose, but the last thing I needed was for Summer to think I was banging her boss.