“You're not detached like you usually are.” He tilts his head slightly. “You've always been the guy who keeps his distance. But with Lily? You're all in, up close and personal. You're not watching from a distance, you're right there in the middle of it.”
“She needs protection.”
“She needs a partner,” Jake corrects. “And you're giving her that. But it's more than tactical, Ace. You're invested in a way I've never seen you before.”
I don't respond, because he's right.
Luke crosses his ankles. “For what it's worth, I think it's good. You've been wound too tight for too long. She's exactly what you need.”
I lean back in my chair, rubbing a hand over my jaw. “You two done psychoanalyzing me?”
Luke snorts. “Not even close.”
But their words stay lodged under my skin after they leave the ops room and the silence settles back in. I glance at the security feed still running on the monitor beside me. I see Turner’s men starting their day, seemingly innocuous. Kelly comes out from one of the buildings, strutting across the yard toward the main house.
The front door of the main house opens and Cole Turner steps outside.
72
LILY
Iwake alone in Mason's bed, the sheets cool where he slept next to me. The cottage is quiet. I can hear the distant sounds of the ranch outside, but in here it's just me, Shadow lying in the doorway, and the faint scent of coffee drifting up from downstairs.
I pick up my phone from the bedside table and blink when I see the time—nearly ten o’clock. I haven’t slept in that long since I was a teenager. I set my phone down and go to shower. After I clean up, I put one of Mason’s T-shirts on with a pair of sleep shorts, take my phone, and go downstairs to look for the coffee.
Shadow gets up and escorts me, like he’s my bodyguard. In the kitchen I find his food and fill up his plate before I pour myself a cup of coffee.
I’m curled up on the couch in the living room with my mug, checking email, when a text comes in.
Unknown Number
Still breathing?
It’s Wes. Like the ghost email accounts, Wes never uses a traceable phone to contact me. He cycles through burner phonesevery few days, so he set up a code so I’d know it was him. I open my messages and send him the reply that tells him I’m good.
Unfortunately.
Unknown Number
Got your email.
What’s up?
I press my thumbnail to the tip of my finger. He’s not going to be happy when he finds out what happened.
Kelly knows who I am.
The three dots appear immediately, then disappear. Then appear again. It takes almost a full minute before his response comes through.
Unknown Number
Explain.
Oh boy.
I had a call at Turner’s. Kelly recognized me.
Unknown Number