by Trisha Grace
“You’re lying!”
“Ask Dan, ask Marianne. They knew what happened. All he cares about is me. No matter what you do, no matter how you look like, you can’t replace me. We’re getting married, Joanne. You need to move on. Doing this just makes you look bad.”
A drop of tear rolled down Joanne’s cheek. “No! No! No! Ty’s mine! You already called the cops on me last night, you can do it again. I don’t care!”
Exasperated, Kate turned away from Joanne and took in a deep breath.
Trying to talk sense into Joanne was impossible. Why did she even bother to try?
Looking at Evelyn, Kate gave the go ahead.
Nothing was going to enter Joanne’s ears, not now. Maybe not ever.
“Insane lass.” Evelyn grabbed Joanne’s arm and started their tug of war toward the office door. “Call security!” Evelyn hollered to no one in particular, but the staff did as they were told until one of them shouted that she had security on the line.
Kate couldn’t stand watching the debacle.
She went into her office and plumped herself onto her chair. She buried her face in her hands, frustrated that things ended up in such a mess.
She’d believed that if she spoke to Joanne calmly, she could make Joanne understand that her actions weren’t going to yield any of her desired results.
“Are you all right?” Evelyn asked as she came into the office.
“Please tell me you didn’t kill her.”
“I didn’t. I dumped her outside and locked our doors. I think we should get Tyler to install a security system in the office.” Evelyn waited for Kate to reply. But she didn’t, so Evelyn took Kate’s silence as consent. “I’ll call him.”
“The two of you are like a wrestling tag team.”
“You should be glad that your two favorite people in the world get along well.”
Kate laughed dryly, waving Evelyn away to do whatever she wanted.
She was determined to forget about everything and focus on work. She went through all the designs, discussed the changes to be made with the teams, and went through the new projects that were in line. When she was done, she began working on a few designs for the mansion’s attic.
“Am I disturbing?”
Kate looked up and broke into a smile. Without thinking, she went toward Tyler and buried her face in his chest. “She was here and it went horribly.”
“I know. Let me take you out for lunch, then we’ll come back to check on the security system.”
She glanced up at him, then out in the main office, seeing a group of people working at various areas of the office. “You’re fast.”
“Only for you.”
She smiled at that. “Yeah, that sounds good.”
“If we have time after lunch, we’ll go over to your house and see if the window has been fixed. Dan will be there, but we should still check on it.”
“I completely forgot about my window. You got Dan to fix it?”
Tyler grinned. “I didn’t ask, he offered. Says he knows someone who can fix it today, and he volunteered to be there so that I can be free to watch over my precious.”
She laughed at that. “You don’t have to watch over me.”
“So, where do you want to go?”
“We’ll go over with Evelyn to meet Dan, then we’ll all go for lunch together.”
By the time they got to the house, the window was fixed, and Dan returned the keys that Tyler had handed him that morning. “All done!”
“Thanks, Dan. You didn’t have to do this,” she said.
“Oh well, like Ryan says, you’re like the new, likable sister in the group. That’s what family does.”
She chuckled. “Thanks anyway.”
At lunch, she showed them the designs she’d worked on and asked which design Tyler preferred.
Dan groaned at the idea of turning the attic into a study. “How about a games room? Get a pool table.”
Tyler grinned but told Kate that he loved her library idea.
“So you’re staying at the mansion after you guys get married?” Evelyn asked.
She turned to Tyler. “The house is great when everyone’s around. It’s big enough to accommodate everyone, and it doesn’t seem creepy when it’s filled with all of us.”
“So it’s a yes?” Tyler asked with a growing grin.
“And that means we, including Joseph and Ryan, will be free to go to the mansion whenever we want, right?” Dan checked.
“Yes, to both questions,” she answered. “But only if Ty agrees as well.”
“I never agreed to them showing up at my apartment, but they still do. So I doubt they’ll care. You’ll have to fire Marianne to solve the problem.”
“Over my dead body,” she said.
Tyler glanced over at his phone and sighed when he saw the name on the screen.
Joanne had been bombarding his cell phone so many times that he’d decided a change of phone number would be necessary.
After all this time, even Kate had realized that nothing was going to get through to Joanne. Joanne only listened to whatever she wanted to hear and had the uncanny ability to shut everything else out.
Telling her to stop calling or stop her nonsense was a useless battle that he’d rather not engage in.
Other than the phone calls and Joanne’s mother trying to barge into his office, everything had been peaceful the past few days. He had no idea why Mrs. Riley would think she could trick or persuade her way into a security firm.
If he couldn’t stop people he didn’t want to see from entering his own office, his company would’ve folded a long time ago.
He cast a glimpse at Kate. She bent over slightly as she made changes to the drawings of the attic while he drove them back to her house.
They were only going to her house so that she could check her mail and bring more of her things over to the mansion.
He couldn’t be more pleased with her decision.
The mansion was no longer a place she was bound to; it was going to be their home. Shifting her things over seemed to finalize that.
They had also set a wedding date; another reason for the smile he was wearing. The wedding was set to be in spring. Though it was still quite a few months away, they would only have what was left of autumn and the whole winter to turn the mansion into their home.
Between having to plan for the wedding and redesign the house, Kate and Evelyn decided it was better for them to give those on probation an early reprieve.
“We’re here,” Tyler said as he pulled up in front of Kate’s house.
Tyler got out of the car and went to get the mail while she headed over to open the door.
He opened the mail box and frowned when he found it completely filled. “Kate!” he shouted, stopping her immediately. He hadn’t seen what was on the stack of paper, but he couldn’t shake the ominous feeling.
Taking out the stack of paper, he quickly flipped through them while moving over to Kate.
“What is it?” Kate asked while she stood rooted in front of the house.
He handed her the stack of paper as he pulled her away from the house and scanned the area.
“Oh my God,” she said, flipping through the dozens of notes. Each of the note held the same warning.
BACK OFF OR DIE
He saw the shock and disbelief on Kate’s face as she went through the notes piece by piece. He wrapped his arm around her and rubbed his palm against her arm that had suddenly gone cold.
“It’s all right,” he assured her and took the stack of paper from her.
Scanning the surroundings to make sure that no one was around, Tyler ran his hand through her hair. “Let’s get back inside the car. I’ll call the cops from there.”
Once she nodded in his chest, he straightened and led her back to the car.
Kate took out her phone and called Evelyn while he called the police. The police arrived soon after and were getting more details from them when Detective Allen’s car pu
lled up.
Tyler did most of the talking.
Kate simply stood beside him, answering only when a question was directed at her.
Halfway through the police questioning, Kate excused herself and called Lydia. “Call me when you get this.”
“She’s not answering your calls?” he said.
“I don’t know what she’s doing.”
“I told them about Detective Cooper so they could check him out as well.”
Kate nodded and leaned her head on his shoulder.
“Kate, are you all right?” Evelyn got out of Dan’s car, headed over, and gave Kate a tight hug. Dan was right behind her, wearing a perturbed look on his face.
“I’m fine.”
“We should head back to the mansion. Ryan and Joseph are already there,” Dan said.
“Did Joanne do this? We fired her yesterday and today—”
Kate sighed and stopped Evelyn from continuing. “I don’t know. There were so many of them. It’s so creepy to see the whole stack of paper with the same warning.”
“The letters were cut out from magazines?”
Kate nodded.
“Joanne love reading magazines,” Evelyn said.
“Many people read magazines. I have magazines,” Kate stated, shaking her head.
Tyler thought Evelyn had a valid point.
The only thing he’d ever seen Joanne read was magazines. All sorts of fashion and female magazines. But it was clear that Kate was still adamant about not jumping to conclusions.
“Let’s go home.” He drove back to the mansion with Dan’s car behind them.
Marianne opened the mansion’s door even before they stepped out of their cars. “You didn’t bring anything from your house? I don’t think you should go back for the time being,” Marianne said as she ushered them in.
“We’ll buy whatever you need.” He didn’t want Kate to be in her house, not even with him around.
The notes might be nothing but pranks. Still, he didn’t want Kate near her house, not until they found out what was going on.
“I can live with the stuff I have here. I just thought I could bring more clothes over and all.”
“Hey,” Ryan and Joseph echoed as they entered the kitchen. Both of them came over and gave Kate a hug. “You’ll be safe with us,” Joseph said.
“Yeah. We’ll take shifts to accompany you when we’re not working. You won’t be alone.”
Kate smiled at everyone. “I’m fine. I don’t want to trouble you guys. You work horrible hours and—”
“And nothing,” Joseph interjected. “You’re one of us now, so we’re helping no matter what you say.”
“Unless Ty is intending to whisk you away to hide in an exotic island that few know about, we’ll take turns to stay with you,” Ryan added.
Tyler thought that was a brilliant idea, a complete stroke of genius. It wouldn’t be difficult to arrange, but it would probably be impossible to convince Kate to go along. She wouldn’t want to run from the problem, not when Lydia could be involved.
“Didn’t you install security cameras at Kate’s house?” Ryan asked, returning to his seat.
“It only captured a partial head of the hooded culprit who threw the rock, and we don’t have any camera facing the mailbox.” Protecting the mails were never a priority.
“Fingerprints?” Joseph added. “You guys got a note last night, right?”
“Only my fingerprints were found,” Tyler replied.
Kate arched a brow. “They checked for fingerprints?”
“I pulled in a favor to get Detective Allen on the case.”
She nodded while the guys began arranging who was to accompany Kate and when.
The guys filled Tyler in on their schedules and told him when they could come over to the mansion or go to her office.
“Look,” Kate suddenly said. “I’ve got less work on my hands now. Whatever I need to do, I can do from here. That’s if it’s all right with you.” She turned to Evelyn and smiled apologetically.
“Of course. I’d rather you stay here than travel around.”
“Then there’s no need for you guys to worry about where I’ll be.”
“Fine. Then we’ll come over here to accompany you,” Joseph said.
“It’ll be much easier without the stupid clause in the will. We can bring some clothes and stay over. We’re over here all the time anyway,” Ryan complained.
“Actually, there is a clause stating that if there are emergencies, and I consider this one, anyone who is helping can stay. I suppose protecting Kate puts all of you under that category,” Mr. Sawyer stated.
Evelyn and the guys turned to Tyler, waiting for his approval.
He had always enjoyed his space, but he couldn’t say no to this. He knew Kate enjoyed having everyone around anyway, so he nodded. “You can have the guest room near ours if you don’t mind the guys crashing there during the day. Otherwise, you can stay over with Marianne on the other wing,” Tyler said to Evelyn.
“I don’t mind. I’ll head home to pack and be back in a while.”
Kate nodded, and Dan followed Evelyn out after saying he would do the same. Since Ryan and Joseph already had their change of clothes with them, they stayed and had dinner before going to bed.
“Isn’t it slightly dramatic to have everyone moving in to accompany me over some threats? It may just be some form of sick joke,” Kate said as Ryan and Joseph went to their rooms.
“We don’t know who is behind this or what his or her intention may be. We have to be careful. I want you to promise me that you’ll take every care. Same thing we agreed on: I drive you around, and if you need to go somewhere, take someone with you—one of the guys or Evelyn.”
“I promise,” she said as her fingers twirled around her necklace.
He pulled her hand from the necklace, holding it tight. “Everything will be fine. Don’t worry.”
Kate squeezed his hand and nodded. “Okay.”
Chapter Twenty Three
Kate sat by the desk, the drawings of the attic, living room, and master bedroom lay in front of her. She flipped through the drawings, checking the designs again.
As promised, she had stayed in the house as much as she could. Everyone who needed to see her regarding work or wedding preparations came to the mansion. She felt as though she was under house arrest, but she couldn’t complain.
She wasn’t the only one stuck in the house.
Since she had received the stack of threats, everyone had practically moved into the mansion. Tyler was there with her every day, solving whatever problem he had at work through the phone.
The rest of the guys and Evelyn were at the mansion once they were off work. At night, Evelyn would check on her, making sure that all her windows were locked before going to bed.
Her car had been rendered useless, sitting and wasting away on the front driveway. On the few occasions when she had to leave the house to look at wedding venues and her sole trip to the office were chauffeured by Tyler.
Even with Evelyn in the office, Tyler still insisted on hanging around, citing the excuse that he had nothing else to do anyway.
He spent most of the time lounging on her couch, reading on his iPad. Sometimes, he would get up and go over to the pantry to get himself a cup of coffee.
His presence was not only distracting Kate but everyone else in the office.
He walked around the office like it was his own, not realizing that all the staff was staring at him whenever he passed by their desks.
Oblivious would be a better word for it.
At first, she had thought that everyone was staring out of curiosity; that even though he had accompanied Kate to the office more than a couple of times, it was the first time he stayed.
It wasn’t until she overheard the gossip in the pantry that she realized they were ogling rather than staring.
She hadn’t noticed the reaction Tyler caused the people around him. His attention had always been solely
on her. Whenever she was around him, she always had his attention, and he had hers.
She returned to the office and told Tyler what she’d heard.
He shrugged and pulled her onto his lap, asking her if she was done with work, ignoring what she had just told him.
Lydia had also returned Kate’s call. She swore that she hadn’t been back to Detective Cooper’s house and hadn’t found anything else about their parents’ case. Lydia did ask Kate in detail about the notes and what she was going to do about it.
Kate told her about the arrangement with the new bodyguards she now had, but before she could update Lydia on her wedding plans, Lydia told her that she was busy and had to go.
That was when Kate realized that she hadn’t even told Lydia about her engagement.
“Still working on the attic?” Ryan, her bodyguard for the day, asked, bringing her attention back to the drawings in front of her.
“No, I’m thinking about what to do with the current study.”
“Get rid of everything, then put in a pool table.”
She chuckled as her head swayed from side to side. Joseph and Dan had each suggested that she could change the study into a games room as well, but she couldn’t quite bear destroying anything inside.
She had spent so much time with the late Mr. Hayes in there.
Sometimes, she would pass by the room and still expect to see him sitting on the black leather chair, flipping through a photo album.
“She’s going to keep the room as it is,” Tyler suddenly said.
“Why would you need two study?”
“Because she isn’t ready to change the room. Leave her alone.”
She understood that rationally, there wasn’t a need for two study rooms. But she couldn’t make herself change anything.
Tyler was right. He had said it before she could admit it.
“We’ll talk when he isn’t around,” Ryan said with a sly smile. “Goodnight for now.”
Ryan went back to the guest room while Tyler continued. “Ignore them. Keep whatever room you want. It’s your house.”
“Actually, it’s yours. What do you think?”
