now.â
âWho is it?â
I hesitated. Despite what Iâd told Hope, Trey couldnât detect shit over the phone. Heâd either do what I told him, or heâd launch into emergency protocol, and I didnât really want SWAT cops helicoptering into my parking lot. Again.
Treyâs voice was insistent. âTai?â
âItâs Hope.â
âSheâs supposed to be in jail.â
âEarly release, she says.â
âYou donât know that. Iâm callingââ
âNo cops.â
âButââ
âIâm serious. Weâre just talking.â
Across the lot, Hope stared. The post-adrenalin crash had me buzzed and cranky and a little confused, but I knew one thingâif things got official, Hope would bolt. And I didnât want her doing that until Iâd figured out what was going on because there was no way in hell her sudden appearance wasnât a part of the mess Ainsworth Lovett was stirring up.
At Treyâs end, I heard murmured conversation, the ding of the elevator. I gripped the phone tighter. âTrey Seaver, do notââ
âIâm coming up there.â
âNo, you are not. For one, youâve only got one good arm. For two, youâre hopped up on painkillers, and for threeââ
âIâm not driving, Gabriella is.â
I felt a cold knot in my stomach. âGabriellaâs there?â
âShe came to check on me.â
I bit back my response. Now was not the time to argue about his way-over-the-line ex. But the time was coming. Like a freight train it was coming.
Treyâs voice was steady. âDid Hope come alone?â
âAs far as I know.â
âHave you checked the car?â
âWhat car?â
âThe one out front. I assume itâs hers.â
Crap. Iâd forgotten to examine all the angles on the security feed.
âIâll do that in a second,â I said.
âNo, go inside the shop. Take Hope with you and keep her in sight at all times. And keep the surveillance channels open. Iâll monitor them on the way in.â
âOnly if you promise that weâll handle this without official interference. No 911.â
âTaiââ
âIâm serious. Promise.â
He was being even bossier than usual, and I felt a prickle at the small of my back. Eric had diagnosed this prickle as oppositional defiant disorder. Iâd told him to shove it.
Trey exhaled gruffly. âCopy that. I promise. No 911. Iâll be there in forty minutes. Donât let her out of sight, understand?â
âI understand. Butââ
He hung up. Despite my annoyance, I was relieved to know he was on the way. I was capable of taking care of myself, but Trey was SWAT-trained and situation-ready, and with Hope, I needed all the back-up I could get.
Hope glared. âHeâs coming up here, isnât he?â
âOf course he is. He saved your life once, and heâll do it again if he needs to, but he will tolerate no nonsense. Neither will I. Are we clear?â
She started to say something, then bit it back. She looked like the only thing keeping her pilot light lit was pure anger, and now that it was burned up, her engine was running dry. I realized then that sheâd wanted to find John here. That the alternative was too awful to comprehend.
âWhatâs it gonna be, Hope? Deal with this all by yourself, or come into the shop and tell me whatâs going on?â
Hope hesitated for two seconds, then shoved past me toward the door. I caught the smell of sweat and stale fast food and knew she was truly desperate. Because out of all the people on the planet, I was the very last person she wanted to ask for help. Which meant she had no other place to go.
I picked up her pistol and followed her inside.
Chapter Nine
I unlocked the door and switched on the lights, keeping one eye on Hope the whole time. She was strangely