Page 36 of Timeless
I left Lily in her room and headed toward the front door. Islipped my shoes back on, but the second my eyes landed on not one, but two deadbolts and a three-inch reinforced lock brick meant to stop forced entry should the locks be compromised, I knew I wasn’t imagining things. My hand reached out for the wall to brace myself as the most intense, unsettling feeling gripped me by the throat.
Was my girl just being cautious, given she lived alone, or had something more sinister happened in her past that made her abundantly cautious?
Swiping Lily’s keys off the table just inside the front door, I locked her condo before I pulled my phone out and brought it to my ear.
“Hello.”
“Is there someone in Lily’s past that she’s afraid of?” I asked as I took the stairs so I wouldn’t lose signal in the elevator.
“Well, hello to you, too, Jaxon.”
“Sorry. Ari, I’m losing my mind here. Please tell me. I need to know.” My heart raced uncomfortably in my chest.
“I wish I could, but I don’t know, and that’s the honest to God truth.”
“So she’s never said anything or even hinted at someone giving her trouble?”
“No, and whenever I brought the subject up of her seeing anyone before she moved here, she always shut it down.”
“Fuck.” I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration.
“Did something happen? Why are you asking me this now?” Arizona’s voice was full of worry.
“Just a feeling I’ve got.”
“I take it you’ve seen the locks on her door?”
“Yes.” I sighed.
“Listen, our girl has—ugh, I’m torn here, Jaxon. I love her somuch, and the last thing I want to do is to betray her trust, but I also don’t want you to go full police mode and trigger an attack or anything worse.”
“An attack? What is it you’re trying not to say, Ari? Because you’re freaking me the fuck out right now.”
“Remember when I said you need to be patient with her?”
“Yes.”
“Lily just confessed to both of us what happened all those years ago and why her family left; she did it on her own time and on her own terms. As much as I worry about her, we have to trust her to come to us when she’s ready to open up. If you go in hot, approaching her . . . I don’t want her to spiral again.”
Again.
The word kept repeating in my head. What did that mean? Spiral how?
“Lily has gone from me and work being her only source of human interaction to coming back here. Granted, it’s a healthy change, one I’ve long wanted for her, but we also can’t diminish how overwhelming it must have been. She was terrified of your reaction, like absolutely terrified?—”
“I hate that she felt that way.”
“I know you do, just like I know you would never intentionally harm her. Trust me, I tried relentlessly to convince her otherwise, but she was pretty stubborn.”
“I don’t like that her hand was forced, but I’m thankful she had you and my brother to reach out to. The thought of her being alone—” I couldn’t even go there.
“Trust your gut, Jaxon. It’s never led you astray before. If there is one person who can help her continue to heal, it’s you. I believe that with all my heart.”
“Thank you, Ari, that means a lot.” I ran my hand throughmy hair roughly. “I should probably get back upstairs now. Lily’s got to be wondering where I disappeared to.”
“Okay, we’ll chat soon.”
“Will do. Later.”
