Page 45 of Unleashed

“Can we watch a movie?” Zara drags my attention from the tree, pulling it back to her, where it should’ve been the whole time.

I hook my bag over the back of her chair and push her up the ramp. “Is this your way of telling me you need a nap?”

“No.” My sister sounds horrified and insulted at the same time. “I’m not sleepy. I just thought maybe you would want to watch a movie.”

“Well I do need a nap, so yes. I would love to watch a movie with you.” I unlock the door and push her inside. “Anything but Barbie and the Unicorn.”

The jut of Zara’s lower lip tells me that’s exactly the movie she was going to try to force on me again. “What about The Bad Guys?”

“Deal.” After unpacking the groceries and the bag I took to the zoo and putting everything in its place, I get our electric popcorn maker going. While that works, I wipe Zara’s sticky face and help her wash her hands. I dump the buttery, salty goodness into our designated bowl, and we pile up in her queen-size bed, switching on the television mounted to her wall.

I’m just drifting off to sleep, when a loud banging sends me sitting straight up on a gasp.

My eyes immediately go to my sister, making sure she’s okay. She’s fine, and also a liar, because she is out cold, sleeping hard with one hand still draped over the remnants of our snack.

Working quickly so whoever is interrupting my nap doesn’t also interrupt hers, I slide off the bed and rush to the door, grabbing my bat as I peek out through the peephole.

I try to roll my eyes, attempting to work up a groan and frown. But instead, I’m smothering a hint of a smile as I set the bat back into place and open the door. I do manage to angle a brow at the man standing on my porch, looking much too good for as late as it is.

I don’t even get the opportunity to ask what in the hell he’s here for, because the second I remove the barrier between us, Trevor’s stepping in. Crowding my space so quickly, I take a step back to avoid our bodies colliding.

But Trevor keeps coming, closing every gap I attempt to create until my back hits the wall. Then his hands meet the paneling at each side of my head, caging me in as he leans down, the dark depth of his eyes aligned with mine as he asks, “Where the fuck were you today?”

15

Trevor

Iexpected to see Maren at work today. Figured that while I may have missed her when she left home this morning, I would be able to catch up with her when she arrived at the office.

But then she never showed up, and I started to unravel a little. Thank God I have cameras on her house and was able to see her and Zara loading up into her van and pulling away, or I likely would have broken into her home to ensure nothing terrible had happened.

To be fair, I may have considered breaking in regardless. Just to be sure.

When Brooke refused to tell me why Maren was off work, I only became more agitated. I ended up spending the bulk of the day hiding in my office, busting my ass to get everything done so I could leave at the first possible second.

And I did. Unfortunately, that second came a lot later than I was hoping for, and by the time I was walking to my car, the anger and agitation I’d been carrying all day had morphed into something uglier. Something darker.

Something slightly more unhinged.

But Maren doesn’t seem the least bit threatened by the sight of me. If anything, it makes her even more defiant. She lifts her chin, staring me down like I don’t have her cornered. “It’s none of your business where I was today.”

“I didn’t ask if it was my business.” Everything is my business. Especially when it involves her. She works for my company. She’s my responsibility. No one else is watching out for her, so clearly that job falls on me.

For the first time, I don’t mind having weight added to my shoulders.

I move closer, barely managing to stop before my front is against hers. “I asked you where you were.”

I can find out. I may not be as skilled as Titus, but I do understand how to use the programs his team has designed. I can easily pull up her bank statements and credit card reports to discover where she spent money. I can call Heidi and have her get me the recordings from the traffic cameras in the area so I can plot her path.

Would all of that be crazy? Probably. But no one has ever accused me of being entirely sane.

“Be quiet.” She plants both hands in the center of my chest, giving me a little shove that doesn’t budge me an inch. “If you wake my sister, I will kill you.”

My eyes snap to the closed doorway leading to what I assume is Zara’s room. “Why is she asleep so early?”

I only have a couple nights to go on, but it seems like Maren is pretty strict about bedtimes. For her sister at least. The light goes off in Zara’s room every night at 8 o’clock. Then the flicker of the television illuminates the living room until after midnight while my little night owl watches her stories.

But it’s barely seven thirty on a Friday night. If anything, I would think she’d let Zara stay up a little later tonight.