Page 207 of Daddy's Trust
Again, his gaze seemed to linger a bit longer on Dotty as he said that.
“Aw, I’m so touched that you care,” Ralen said, putting his hand on his chest.
“Yeah, I wasn’t talking about you,” Butch said. “Ink told me that you sent him a recording of what Limpy said. Sounds likethere’s a possibility that Monroe is still in danger from these people?”
“Yeah,” Ralen said. “He didn’t know if The Team are still after her, but he seemed to think that she’d be his ticket to getting in with them, and that’s why he came for her.”
“Does that mean we can’t go back to our house?” Monroe asked as she picked at her croissant.
“Yeah, it does,” Cash said. “It’s not safe. For any of you.”
“Are Addie and Dotty in danger?” Monroe asked, looking alarmed.
“There’s no way of knowing,” Ralen told her. “However, it doesn’t mean that you should all go back to that house, or that you should even stay here in Las Vegas.”
“Addie certainly won’t be,” Cash said. “She’s coming home with me.”
Great. Way to just announce it before she had a chance to talk to her sisters. But as she glanced around at them, she noticed they didn’t look surprised. In fact, Monroe had a slight smile on her face.
“I take it that’s what you want too, Addie,” Dotty said to her. “To go home with Cash?”
“I can’t imagine being apart from the two of you,” Addie said. “You’re my family. The only two people who ever cared about me. But I love Cash, and I want to be with him. So, yes.”
“You shouldn’t feel guilty about being with him,” Monroe told her. “You’ve got to take happiness where you find it.”
“Monroe is right,” Dotty added. “You deserve this. Although you better take care of her, Cash. I don’t want anything happening to Addie. Nothing like last night better touch her again.”
Oh no. Would Cash take offense to that? The last thing she wanted was for the two of them to be at odds.
“It won’t,” Cash said solemnly. “I promise.”
Addie let out a sigh of relief, and he gently squeezed her thigh as though he knew what she’d been thinking. He probably had.
“All right, Addie is going back home with Cash. Monroe should come back with us too,” Ralen said.
“But isn’t that a bad idea?” Monroe said. “I’d be going back to where Vextar went missing. Shouldn’t I go somewhere else, into hiding or something? How am I going to do that?” Monroe sounded more and more scared. “I don’t want to be by myself. Sorry. I know this is all my fault.”
“This is the fault of that asshole you married,” Ralen told her. “He’s the one that put you in danger.”
“I think you should all come back with us,” Butch said. “We’ll talk to Ink, figure out a plan.”
Dotty shook her head. “I’m in the middle of some tough cases. I can’t just leave. I’ve got to stay here.”
Addie’s stomach tightened into a knot. She didn’t want Dotty to stay here. Wouldn’t she be in danger?
“If I move to a different location, an apartment in a secure building, and I hire someone to drive me back and forth, surely I’ll be safe. I’m always surrounded by other people at work. And I don’t understand why these people would come after me,” Dotty said.
“Unless they want to use you to get to Monroe,” Butch said.
“Right. I hadn’t thought about that,” Dotty said. “I have to stay for at least three months. I’ve got to get through these cases. I’ll hire private security. It will be expensive, but that’s all I can do. And if Monroe wants personal security, I’ll get that for her too.”
“I still think Monroe should come back with us,” Ralen said.
Butch ran his hand over his face. “I’ll talk to Ink, see if I can stay for three months with Dotty.”
They all stared at him in shock. “You’d be willing to move here for at least three months?” Dotty asked.
Butch shrugged. “Part of the job.”
