Arden felt like the worst kind of person as Keera stared at him, her face white, her eyes rounded in shock. He’d just delivered the most devastating news he could possibly give to another person, and instead of keeping her safe, he felt as if he was the one hurting her the most.
“Keera, I’m sorry,” he said, reaching for her. She backed away, and it killed him not to chase after her, not to comfort her. Declan stood back with Kian while analyzing everything, but still allowing Arden to be the one to tell her.
There was no way Arden would have let Declan tell her. He would have done it in a very black-and-white way that might have sent her over the edge. First her office had been broken into, then she’d been left threatening letters, then her apartment had been trashed, and now she was hearing that someone was actually trying to have her killed.
She was holding up much better than most people would in her situation.
“I think this person is lying,” Keera finally said. There were no tears. She sounded upset, but more irritated than frightened.
“I know people, Keera, and my gut tells me this person is telling the truth,” Arden told her.
“You don’t like Ethan so of course you want to think the worst of him,” she said, hurting Arden, though he was trying not to let it.
“This isn’t about me liking the man or not. This is about the things that have been happening to you and the school,” he said, his tone calm.
“There’s no reason for Ethan to want to hurt me. I’ve never done anything to him. This doesn’t make sense. Can’t you see that?” she asked, her voice now pleading. Arden looked over to his brothers, silently seeking their advice. They shrugged. Neither of them knew what to say. They were leaving him on his own.
“I know it doesn’t make sense to you, as you don’t know the man as well as you think you do, but he’s a weasel, and I think this is a lot more complicated than you can imagine. I think somehow you’ve triggered him,” Arden said, making her wince.
“You don’t even know who this person was who called you. He could be some kid with a voice disguiser who’s sitting back getting high, having a hoot. It could be a student who got in trouble. We can’t just assume Ethan’s guilty. I’ve never felt he’d do something to hurt me—not once,” Keera said.
Her passionate words were making him stop to think. She could be right. He didn’t believe she was, but what she said made sense.
“Yes, of course there’s a chance the caller wasn’t being honest with me, but I’m not willing to risk your safety to find out,” Arden said.
She stopped and stared at him, her arms crossed, her breathing heavy. He didn’t break eye contact, didn’t back down. She might not be worried about her safety, but he damn well was, and he’d protect her whether she was asking for it or not.
“You obviously told Declan about this first since he’s here,” she said, the words firing at him like bullets. He was glad he had, because she might have convinced him to wait, and he didn’t want to wait. He had a good feeling Ethan was guilty. Some people deserved to be innocent until proven guilty—some didn’t. “Did you call the cops?”
“No,” he told her. “I came straight to you, only calling Declan.” He was glad for that as her shoulders eased, that was, until she turned to stare at Declan.
“Did you report this?” she asked. Arden was a bit shocked when he noticed his brother shift on his feet. Keera’s schoolteacher voice was even making his tough-as-nails brother feel chastised.
“Not yet, but I intend to,” he told her.
“I’m brand new here,” Keera said, pleading with both of them to understand. “I seriously don’t need to get off on the wrong foot with my VP by accusing him of trying to kill me. Let me talk to him,” she said.
Both Arden and Declan were now the ones crossing their arms as they looked at her as they would a pouting child. Arden didn’t want to make this situation worse, and he hoped she wouldn’t notice.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be anywhere near him right now,” Arden said, trying not to show his frustration.
“Please,” she said, and he felt his resolve shaking. It was difficult for him to deny her something she truly wanted. However, her safety was on the line, and he had to stay firm for her sake.
“How about a compromise?” he asked, ignoring the grumbling coming from the corner where his brothers stood. Declan would understand if he ever allowed himself to fall in love. “We all go to his house and have a chat before we call the cops.”
She looked as if she wanted to say no to this, but then her shoulders sagged, her eyes so damn sad it broke his heart. “Okay. No cops,” she said, the words coming out like a plea, but also firm.
“This isn’t a good idea, Arden,” Declan said. They both turned to look at him. Kian seemed a lot more amenable to it. Of course, Kian was married and knew what it was like to compromise.
“Well, good or bad idea, it’s happening,” Arden said.
“At least let me get a warrant,” Declan told him.
“That would involve cops,” Keera said.
“I can do it without a black-and-white coming,” Declan said. “Let’s have it in hand just in case.” Arden knew when his brother wasn’t going to back down. He nodded. Keera sighed, obviously coming to the same conclusion.
“I don’t think we’ll need it,” she said. But that was the last of her argument.
Within an hour, they were leaving the house. Arden was tense as they made their way across town to Ethan’s place. They pulled up to the curb, and he could feel tension radiating off Keera.
“He’s going to feel like we’re attacking him,” she said. “Maybe you could wait in the car.”
He shook his head. “Max and I come with you. I can ask Declan to hang back.”
She sighed, but nodded. They stepped out of the car, and even Max seemed tense as they moved up the walkway that was lined with weeds. The home wasn’t in the worst part of town, but it hadn’t been maintained. There were more weeds in the yard than grass, and the paint on the side of house was peeling. The windows looked as if they hadn’t been washed in years, and there wasn’t a car in the cracked driveway.
That didn’t mean anything. A lot of people let their houses go to hell, and parked in the garage. He couldn’t shake his fear for Keera as he stood on one side of her, Max on the other. She knocked . . . and they waited.
There was no answer. He moved to the side and looked in a window, his body tensing at what he saw. There was garbage strewn about and a ripped couch. It reminded him too much of the scene at Keera’s not that long ago.
“He’s not here. I think it’s time to call this in,” he told her. He wouldn’t be in such a hurry to leave if Keera wasn’t there with him.
“Maybe he’s in the back,” Keera said, her chin up. She began walking around the house, giving him no choice but to follow. She obviously didn’t take her safety too seriously.
They came to the back of the house and looked inside a large patio door, where the mess in the house continued. Keera knocked again, but there wasn’t a sound from inside.
She reached for the handle and tugged, and miracle of all miracles, the door cracked open. Max instantly tensed as a low growl rumbled through him, his eyes focused inside.
“Stay there!” Arden told her, his hand covering hers. “Max doesn’t get this upset unless something’s wrong.”
“He might be hurt in there,” Keera said, obviously wanting to rush inside.
“We’ll find out.” He took her hand, pulling her away from the door as he called out for Declan, who was immediately at their side. “Looks like we’re going to need that search warrant after all,” he told his brother, who looked down at the dog and nodded.
Declan picked up his phone and called the police. This was no longer a compromise he could afford to keep with Keera. Something was in that house that wasn’t supposed to be there—and they were about to find out what that was.