Rafe worries about her father retaliating, kidnapping her, or worse. Carmen downplays that risk, and they can’t find common ground.
They fire off angry words back and forth in rapid succession, like a battle being waged. It’s too fast to follow.
Rosalie stands off to the side, wringing her hands. Every now and then, she glances over to where Hayes stands in the entryway. The muscles of his jaw clench, but he’s wise enough to stay silent.
Although, with Rafe and Carmen’s argument escalating, there’s no room for him to interject, or say anything to Rosalie.
I take a step forward, ready to break up the argument, but before I can say anything, Kaye steps in.
“Rafe… please.” Her soft voice cuts through the anger and confusion. “This is my fault. It has nothing to do with Carmen’s father.”
Rafe’s mouth gapes as he bites back whatever it is he wants to say. He takes a deep breath, still frowning, but no longer shouts at Carmen.
Carmen does the same, except she keeps her glare focused on Rafe. There’s more to the argument between the two of them than what we see on the surface.
I stand silently beside Kaye, supporting her with my presence.
“If we can all just quiet down and let me explain.” Kaye tells Rafe and Hayes what happened and how I recommended the girls move to Guardian HQ until things are settled with Scott. “So you can see, this move is because of me. There’s no new threat from Carmen’s father.”
“The fact he still breathes is threat enough.” Rafe bites out the words, unwilling to let the argument fade. “At least you were able to talk some sense into her.” His angry glare nearly sets off another argument, but Kaye smooths things over without raising her voice.
“That may be.” Kaye sighs, her eyes fill with concern, but fatigue mutes her voice. “But we need to agree we’re going to disagree about that. I feel awful for putting Carmen and Rosalie in danger because of the choices I made. If you could try to step back from your thoughts about her father, and whatever threat he may or may not pose, and focus on helping me, I would really appreciate it.”
“You’re right.” Rafe heaves a heavy sigh. “I’ll sidebar it for now.” The look he exchanges with Carmen says only that their argument will continue when they’re alone.
“Thanks. I really appreciate it.” Kaye smiles gratefully. Her gentle yet firm authority still amazes me. All she wants is for her friends to be safe.
For the time being, the argument is put aside. Rafe and Hayes help me load the luggage while the women pack last-minute things. There’s still no word from Barbi, which worries me, but Kaye and her friends don’t seem too concerned.
Once outside, I speak freely with Rafe and Hayes. “Keep a look out for Scott. If he’s here, I want to know about it.”
“You really think he’s slinking around watching the house?” Hayes scans the road and nearby buildings.
“His escalation concerns me. Honestly, I’m surprised he allowed Kaye to come home in the first place.”
“Well, I’m going to feel better having Rosalie back at HQ.” Hayes shares a glance with Rafe. “Carmen refuses to believe her father is still a threat. Rosalie feels he’s no threat either, because Matias is dead. Neither of them understands their value. This is a blessing in disguise.”
“What he’s trying to say…” Rafe pops the back of the vehicle. “Is this whole situation sucks, and I wouldn’t wish it on my enemy, but we’re thankful for it as well.”
“That she’s got a stalker and potentially murderous monster out to kill her?”
“Not that. Dude, that is not what I meant. I only mean to say, this keeps all of them safe.”
“I know what you meant. That was sarcasm.” I load the suitcases I carry into the back of the car.
“We’re here for you and will do whatever it takes to protect Kaye. She’s one of us now.” Hayes grabs me by the shoulder.
“Thanks. I appreciate it. Anyone know where Alec might be?” I rub my hands on my pants and scan the street.
“Not sure.” Rafe shrugs and looks to Hayes. “Do you know?”
“Nah, but I heard him talking about heading to Napa for the weekend.”
“Alone, or…?” I let my voice trail off.
“With him?” Hayes laughs. “You know it’s a chick. And if he didn’t tell us, that means he doesn’t want us to know.”
Something shifts in the air.
“I feel eyes on us.” It’s unlikely Scott would be here. He thinks Kaye is defeated enough to do whatever he says, but I glance at my watch. “Shit.”
“What’s wrong?”
“We’re losing the day. Kaye’s supposed to be back in less than thirty minutes.”
“Surely a few minutes…” Hayes says.
“Are a few minutes too many. How are we going to get them out of the house without him knowing where they go?”
“You think he’s here?” Rafe takes a look down the street, scanning.
“It’s probably nothing.” I rub at my neck. I’m just anxious to get them to HQ.” Something across the street catches my eye; something that shouldn’t be there. Turning my back, I keep my voice low. “Second tree on the left. Black box tied to the trunk above the third set of branches. Is that a camera?”
Rafe and Hayes know better than to look at the same time. They wander around the car, kicking tires, opening up the doors, as if pretending we’re getting ready for a trip.
“Definitely a camera,” Hayes speaks first. “Direct line of sight on the front door.”
“Shit. That’s what I thought.”
“If that is him, and you bring Kaye out the front door…” Rafe says what we’re all thinking.
“Yeah, I’m with you.” I rub at the back of my neck. “He shouldn’t care about the four of you taking off. It looks like you’re headed on a weekend retreat.”
“How do you want to play this?” Rafe pulls up his phone and pretends to take a selfie of the three of us, but the camera shoots outward. He’ll send the photo to Mitzy and her team to see what they make of it.
Less than a minute later, all three of us receive a text with the make, model, and capabilities of the surveillance camera installed, along with the most likely direction of the lens. No surprise, it’s the front door of the girls’ townhouse.
“Fuck.” I close the back and gesture to the guys. “Back inside and let’s figure this out.” They seem to understand the urgency in my voice, and follow me in.
Inside, I explain the situation to the women. “It looks like Scott has eyes on the house. We can’t walk out the front door without him knowing about it.”
“I can.” Kaye’s face is pale with worry over her friends’ safety. “It’s what I normally do when I leave to go to him.”
“No way am I putting you on the street at this hour.”
“Why not?”
“There’s no way to know if he’s not waiting to grab you. Too risky.”
“Carmen and Rosalie can walk out with Rafe and Hayes,” she says. “It’ll look like the four of them are going on a long trip.”