Had Aiden done this? And if so, why? Moving everything back or packing it all for the trip to Boston was going to be a real pain. She heard the door to the suite open. Regan was talking on her phone as she walked into the living room. She put her phone on the table along with her purse, then glanced up and saw Cordie.
“Alec has a box of your shoes. He’ll be here with them in a few minutes. He ran into a friend in the lobby,” she said.
Thoroughly perplexed, Cordie asked, “Why is he bringing my shoes?”
“Since you’re going to be staying here for a while, I thought you’d want your clothes and your shoes.” She dropped down on the sofa and patted the cushion next to her. “You should relax.”
“I’ve done nothing but relax,” Cordie said. “Why do you think I’ll be staying here? I’m ready to go home.”
“But I just brought some of your clothes over.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean, ‘why’? You need your things.” Regan patted the cushion again. “Please sit.”
Cordie gave in and plopped down beside her. “Regan, what’s going on?”
“Alec thinks you should stay here awhile longer. You’re safe here, and he thinks it’s going to take some time to figure out who pushed you in front of that car.”
“We may never know who did it, although I do have my suspicions. I can’t stay here forever,” she argued. “This is Aiden’s place, not mine. I’ve intruded long enough.”
“He’s the one who insisted you stay with him, and he’s got plenty of room. The bedrooms are far apart,” Regan pointed out. “You won’t be in his way because he’s rarely here. And no one can get to you, Cordie. You couldn’t be any safer.”
“Yes, I know, but—”
“You also have help here, getting dressed.”
“I can dress myself.”
“Can you put on your skinny jeans with one hand? What about hooking your bra? Maybe when you can move your fingers on your left hand it will be easier, but now you’re kind of stuck, aren’t you? Walker has nurses who will help you.”
“When I get home, I can hire someone if I need to.”
“What about security?”
“I’ll lock my doors.”
“You know you should stay here.”
Living in such luxury—and yet she felt trapped. If she were being completely honest, she would admit her resistance had little to do with her feelings of independence and more to do with her fear of being alone with Aiden. How could she move on and forget about him if she was living under his roof, seeing him every day, yearning for him to touch her? Cordie wished she could pour her heart out to Regan and tell her what had happened with Aiden in Sydney, but she couldn’t. A couple of nights of insanity in Aiden’s arms didn’t make a relationship, and if Regan knew, she would worry about Cordie, and God only knew what she would say or do to her brother. It wouldn’t matter that they were consenting adults. There was also the fact that Cordie had gone to great lengths to make sure Regan and Sophie believed her infatuation with Aiden was a thing of the past. Boston, she decided for the hundredth time, couldn’t come soon enough.
“I’m not used to being pampered, but I have to admit it’s been very nice. Room service is wonderful, and having my sheets changed is lovely. I don’t have to lift a finger.”
“Then you’ll stay a little longer?”
“Yes, just a little longer,” she promised.
“And you won’t complain?”
Cordie laughed. “I won’t complain. Now, enough about me. What’s going on with you?”
“There’s a little news,” she said. “I took the check over to the horrid woman we rent the cracker-box house from, and she said Alec and I had to sign a year’s lease. We’ve been going month to month while we’ve been looking for a house.”
“What did you do?”
“I took my check back and told her we’d be out by next weekend.”
Cordie knew what was coming. “And?”
Regan bit her lip and with an imploring look said, “Could we move into your house now?”
“Of course you can. You’re buying the house. Just put my things in the guest room until the movers pick them up.”
“You’re sure?”
“Absolutely.”
Cordie didn’t feel displaced. Things were moving more quickly than she had anticipated, but she was happy her friends were the new owners. Hopefully, everything would work out and she’d be in Boston soon. They talked about the house and the great neighborhood for several more minutes, and then the subject turned to Cordie’s situation.
Regan shook her head in disgust. “I’ve been thinking about that witch, Simone.”
“What about her?”
“She threatened you, didn’t she? I think we can only conclude that she was behind what happened to you. And by any definition, that was attempted murder.”
“That’s my conclusion,” Cordie agreed.
“She has to be in a panic that her secret will come out, so I say beat her at her own game.”
“What do you mean?”
“Put it out there. Let everyone in Sydney know what she did to your father and how she abandoned you. Rent a billboard if you have to.”
Cordie laughed. “A billboard?”
“Do whatever it takes,” she said. “Once the secret’s out, she won’t have any reason to come after you. Hopefully, she’ll leave you alone.”
“Or she’ll become so enraged she’ll hire ten men to kill me.”
“That’s a possibility,” Regan allowed.
“I’m not okay with Simone getting away with attempted murder. And what about the man who pushed me?” Before Regan could answer, Cordie said, “If I only expose Simone, what happens to him? I’m not letting him get away with it. He should go to prison with Simone. I want to catch both of them.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“I don’t have the faintest idea. I thought I’d talk to Alec and Jack about it. They’ll come up with something.”
Regan was pleased. “You have a lot of faith in my husband and Jack.”
“Of course I do. But I know what Alec will say.”
“What will I say?” Alec walked in carrying a large box.
Regan told him to put the box on the floor in Cordie’s closet. “I’ll organize them later.”
Cordie waited until Alec returned to the living room and then said, “You’ll say I’m jumping to conclusions without sufficient information and I should look at the whole picture.”
“You’re right. That’s exactly what I’ll say.” He walked over to Cordie and kissed her on her forehead. “How are you feeling, sweetheart?”
“Just fine,” she replied.
“Regan and I love our new house,” he told Cordie.
“We don’t exactly own it yet,” Regan reminded him.
“We will soon,” he promised. “I heard from Liam, Cordie.”
“Did he have any news?”
“He’s been checking on those two bodyguards with Simone. They’ve disappeared. He can’t locate them anywhere in Sydney. They haven’t used their passports, but they could be using other identities. If they were on a flight to the United States in the last week, Liam will find out.”