That he wasn’t infantry, not even back when we were together. When I reminded him who Dad was and that I of all people would understand, he got pissed and said he remembered who Dad was and said some stuff about how Jasper Walker was a hard act to follow. From there it went downhill. Jake didn’t come out and say, but the inference was there that he was Special Forces. He said he even lied to his family about being in the infantry.” Addy looked back to me and the pleading returned when she said, “You need to take his threats seriously.”
I planned on taking them very seriously, just not in the way Addy was implying. I wasn’t scared of some piece of shit who talked shit about Jasper because he wasn’t man enough to handle his woman while he had her. There was no doubt Jasper taught his daughters how a man should love them, how they shouldn’t settle for anything less than the best. But in no way did Carter, Brice, or Brady cow behind some fucked-up excuse like, Jasper was a hard act to follow.
Lame ass punk.
Lame ass punk who knew where Addy lived.
“I’m staying here tonight,” I announced.
“Good idea,” Brady agreed.
“What? Why?”
“Because you live here alone.”
“She can—”
“Hadley,” Brady cut his fiancée off. “Trey’s staying here tonight. Tomorrow, he’ll bring it to the table. We’ll discuss it and come up with a plan.”
Something warm hit my chest but I shoved it down, unwilling to entertain the idea Brady trusted me with his soon-to-be sister-in-law.
“Right. That sounds good.”
“No, it doesn’t. It sounds like my privacy is getting ready to be invaded. No, not my privacy, my life. After everything that went down with you, and with Quinn, and with Delaney, and with Tuesday, Mercy, Honor, and Meadow, I will be locked in a safe house.”
Hadley grinned a sad smile. “You’re probably right. But I’ll come visit.”
“No, you won’t because you won’t know where Dad’s stashed me. And who knows what Jake’s doing in town. Maybe he did get stationed here again. And you know…you know, if that’s the case Dad will pack my shit and move me back into his house. He won’t care I’m a grown woman. He will not care that’s not what I want. He will not listen to reason. He will freak the hell out, get the uncles on board, and I’ll live with my parents until I’m an old maid.”
“She’s right,” Hadley muttered and nodded. “That’s what’s gonna happen when Dad finds out.”
“And?” Brady asked the question I was thinking.
Jasper’s plan sounded perfectly reasonable to me. I wasn’t around for Quinn or Delaney’s trauma. Though I was intimately familiar with Carter’s pain at what happened to her. And I was well acquainted with what had happened to Hadley because I was around for that. Brady had nearly lost his mind and Jasper wasn’t far behind him.
I didn’t know about the rest, but what I did know was Addy’s family had suffered more than their fair share and they would not take Jake lightly.
Addy would be protected.
“And?” Addy scoffed. “I don’t want to live in lockdown.”
“You can move in with me or I’ll move in here,” I offered before I thought better of it. “We’ll rotate security for her while she’s working. The VA is off-limits until we know why Jake was there. Tomorrow I’ll get Dylan started. What he can’t dig up, Blake can. I know she and Levi are officially retired but I think she’d help on this. As a matter of fact, the new gym’s complete. Addy can transfer all her PT patients there. That way she won’t have to leave the Triple Canopy compound.”
“I agree,” Brady said. “The compound’s a better option. Security’s already set up.”
“Is this really happening?” Addy looked outraged.
“Yup,” Hadley answered her sister.
“I don’t want any of this,” Addy protested.
“Baby, you got two choices. Tonight I stay here and tomorrow I hand you over to your father until I handle Jake. Or tonight I stay here, tomorrow I move in with you or you move in with me and your PT sessions get moved to the compound.”
“Neither,” she snapped.
“That wasn’t one of your options.”
Adalynn pushed away from the table and stood. Then she showed me a side of her I’d never suspected. One I wish I’d never seen. Sweet Addy enthralled me. The Addy who pushed me over the edge in madness was addicting. But the accretive, aggressive Addy was a game-changer.