If she got them to agree that she was good to travel, she’d be seeing Erica and her dad in two, maybe three, more days. But that also meant she only had two or three days left with Graham and Zach. But it wasn’t like there was another choice available to her. She couldn’t stay. She knew—absolutely knew—that her dad and sister were waiting for her. And she wasn’t going to let them down again. This wasn’t like last Christmas Eve when she had to pick up the phone to say no, she wasn’t coming home for Christmas, because she had to be at the office prepping for a December 27 closing. The worst part about it was they weren’tthatsurprised … because she’d done it on Thanksgiving … and Erica’s birthday … and her dad’s birthday … and she was a horrible daughter and sister who’d forgotten what was important in life: her family. Had the firm stood behind her when the shit rolled downhill with the Evelyn-Charles incident? Nope. Did she ever have to worry that her family wouldn’t stand behind her? Nope.Would you have to worry about Graham and Zach standing behind you?
“Irrelevant,” Ro said aloud.
“What?” Allison asked.
“Nothing. I’m just going out of my mind not being able to be useful. Please, put me to work.”
Allison directed her to crack and scramble eggs, although only a fraction of the amount she normally cooked. The mess hall stayed quiet, so the women helped themselves to breakfast and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
By the time six o’clock had rolled around, Ro was about to lose it. If the mess hall hadn’t had its own bathroom, she would’ve defied their explicit orders long before now. As it was, she couldn’t sit around any longer. They were baking a few pies, because they’d keep, and there was a large pot of white chicken chili warming on the stove. None of the men had stopped to eat lunch, and so far, none had shown for dinner. Allison surmised that if they’d eaten at all, it would have been the MREs they had stashed in nearly every building on the property. She opened a cupboard to demonstrate. It was filled with boxes of instant entrees like beef stew, sloppy joes, spaghetti with meat sauce, chili with beans, and more peanut butter Power Bars. Nearly the same selection that Ro’s dad had included in her backpack. Probably what she’d be eating starting tomorrow. Hopefully.
Finally, someone banged on the back door. Ro didn’t think before she hopped off her stool and rushed toward the door. She didn’t make it two steps before Lia grabbed a knife from the counter and held Ro back with an outstretched arm. Graham swung the door open. He froze on the threshold, causing Zach and Jonah to stumble into him.
Graham held both hands up. “Whoa, honey. We’re the good guys.”
Ro laid a hand over Lia’s on the hilt of the butcher knife. “It’s okay. They’re not going to hurt anyone.” She eased the knife out of Lia’s grip. “It’s okay.”
Lia spun, fleeing into the mess hall. They all watched through the serving window as she fumbled with the lock and raced out the front door.
No one spoke for a moment, and Ro laid the knife on the kitchen counter.
“I’ll go after her. Jonah, take Grace,” Allison said. She pushed the little girl toward her father and bustled toward the front door of the mess hall.
Graham and Zach strode into the kitchen. “You okay?” Zach asked.
“It’s been completely uneventful. Well … until just now.”
“Then what the hell are you doing on your feet, woman?” Graham swept her up and carried her into the dining area, settling her into a chair.
“I’m fine, really. I’ll be ready to go tomorrow.” She pulled up her pant leg—clean jeans that had finally dried—and showed off the barely swollen state of her ankle. “See?”
Graham’s gaze flicked to Zach and then back at Rowan. Ro couldn’t judge his expression, because it was one she’d never seen before.
“What? Is Alex okay? Is someone else hurt?”
“No, he’s fine. Everyone’s good,” Zach reassured her.
“Then … what’s going on? You want Beau to tell you I’m all better? You just get him in here; he’ll agree with me.”
And then Graham dropped the bomb.
“It doesn’t matter what Beau says. You’re not going anywhere. Not anytime soon.”
Ro struggled to comprehend the words that were coming out of Graham’s mouth.
“I don’t understand. You’re taking me home as soon as I’m good to go.”
Graham paced, and Zach leaned against the counter next to her. Graham spun and trapped her gaze.
“Things change, Ro. It’s simple cause and effect. The shit that went down this morning means that you aren’t leaving.”
“But …”
“But nothing. We’ve got a man down, we need to increase our patrols and stay vigilant. One of those assholes got away, and for all we know, there could be more. They’re the same guys from yesterday. For some reason, they want in here real bad. And they’re not going to be the only ones. So I can’t spare anyone, myself included, to escort you home.”