The ride in the patrol car to the hospital kept playing through my head as I hauled ass to Ari’s place, my knuckles white as I clutched the steering wheel. When I finally pulled up to the gate, I punched in the code and my vision turned red at the sight of Carver washing the car in the driveway. I wanted to rip into him for whatever had Ari spooked and locked in a goddamned panic room, but she’d obviously made the decision not to tell him, so I did the same.

He gave me a nod as I jumped out of the Jeep. “She knows you’re coming? She’s been quiet all day. I’ve been staying out of her way.”

“She asked me to come by. We’d appreciate some privacy.”

He schooled his reaction, but I knew what he was thinking. He’s here to get some.

No, motherfucker, I was here to handle whatever scared her enough to go into lock-down mode.

I jogged up to the front door, closing and locking it behind me before charging toward the master suite closet. I had no frigging clue where the panic room door was as I scanned the mostly empty white racks and shelves. I’d just found my way out of a maze at Mount’s place, and now I was faced with another hidden entrance.

Turning toward a shelf, I pushed on the side, hoping something would move but knowing it was a long shot. When it didn’t budge, I pulled my phone from my pocket and tapped her number.

“I’m here.”

“Oh, good. Hold on, let me hit the lock.”

“I don’t see a damned door or where it’s hidden.”

“Give me a second. Wait, should I have you answer a question first? To make sure you’re not being held at gunpoint or something?”

“Ari . . .” My patience was wearing thin, but her tone had lost a little of the fear from earlier, which reassured me.

“Who was your favorite comic book hero?”

Why did this question not surprise me? “Superman.”

“Because you wanted to save the world and everyone in it, right?”

“Open the damn door, Ari.”

“Okeydoke.”

I ended the call as soon as the shelf I’d tried to push out of the way started moving. Fucking hidden doors.

As soon as the opening was wide enough, I saw Ari’s deep red hair and I charged toward her, wrapping her in my arms. She reached out and slapped a button, and the door slid closed behind me.

“You scared the shit out of me, Red.” As much as I wanted to demand an explanation right then, there was something else I needed more. I cradled both sides of her face in my hands and crushed my mouth against hers, letting my tongue sweep inside.

When I finally pulled back, I checked her for injuries, my hands roaming her bikini-clad body. She stood motionless and let me.

“I told you I was okay.”

“And I need to make sure for myself.”

Her gray gaze met mine, and I asked the question that was burning on my tongue. “What the hell happened?”

Her expression changed in a single moment, all lightness leaving it. She swallowed as though she didn’t want to tell me, but dug up the courage to do it anyway. “I fucked up. Big time.”

My first thought was that she’d hacked the NSA, and Feds were going to be bearing down any minute.

“Tell me. Everything.” From my tone, I was pretty sure she got that I was seconds away from shaking the answer out of her.

After she took a deep breath, she dropped a bomb. “I think I’m the reason your dad was killed.”