She tilted her chin up, studying his face. He looked good. Tanned and . . . himself. Still strong and standing tall at eighty-four years old. ‘I need to tell my friends goodbye.’ She tugged on his hands, pulling him out of the house and down the walk. ‘Come on. Wendi’s in the car. She’d be upset if you don’t say hi.’
‘Why doesn’t she get out?’ he asked, then stopped walking. ‘Oh. That’s the girl you were with? The one who pulled you out of the path of the second bullet?’
Meredith blinked up at him. ‘You’re remarkably well informed, Papa.’
‘Your friend told me all about it.’ He thumbed over his shoulder. Diesel Kennedy now stood in her open doorway.
‘After he scared the bejesus out of me!’ Diesel called.
Her grandfather sniffed. ‘He was lurking in your driveway. He looked . . .’
‘Like you?’ Meredith supplied helpfully. Because it was true. Both men were mountains, both covered in tattoos. Both were bald – Diesel by choice and her grandfather due to age. Both appeared menacing until you knew them. Both had soft hearts.
He smirked. ‘Exactly.’ He sobered. ‘I don’t want to scare the girl. Sounds like she’s had a hard enough day.’
Yes. A very soft heart. Meredith patted his chest. ‘Just say hi to Wendi and her beau. His name is Parrish Colby. I’ll gauge Mallory’s reaction and give you a sign. Hurry, now. We’ll both catch colds out here.’
Meredith led him to the car and Wendi popped out. ‘Clarke!’ she cried, launching herself into his arms. He caught her, laughing in that easy way he’d always had.
‘Wendi, it’s always a pleasure.’ He waggled gray brows at Colby, who’d also stepped out of his car and waited, arms braced on the sedan’s roof. ‘Hear that you’re the beau.’
Colby blushed, and it was really cute to see. ‘Parrish Colby, sir.’
‘I’m Clarke. Good to meet you, son. Thank you for bringing Merry home.’
Meredith glanced inside the car. Mallory’s head had turned and she blinked up at the older man. She wasn’t herself by a long shot – she’d retreated deep inside her mind. But she wasn’t afraid either. Meredith gave her grandfather a nod and he leaned in to give Mallory his kindest smile.
‘Hi, Mallory,’ he said, using his gentlest voice. ‘I’m Clarke.’
Meredith leaned in beside him, feeling the grizzle of his cheek on hers. ‘My grandfather. Remember I told you he was coming? He surprised me.’
Mallory nodded warily.
Her grandfather cleared his throat. ‘I, um, I want to thank you, Mallory.’
Mallory tilted her head slightly. ‘Why?’
It was the first word Mallory had said since they’d left the hotel after talking to Adam. Meredith felt the worry in her chest loosen, just a little.
‘You saved Merry’s life. Pulled her down under the table, out of the line of fire.’ He cleared his throat again. ‘So thank you.’
Mallory’s mouth curved, almost too slightly to see. ‘Merry?’
Clarke kissed Meredith’s cheek with a loud smack. ‘Isn’t she? Merry, I mean.’
Meredith rolled her eyes. ‘You don’t have to answer that, Mallory. I’m going to get this guy inside so he doesn’t freeze.’ She leaned farther into the car to squeeze Mallory’s clenched hand. ‘But he’s right. You did save my life. Remember that, okay? When you think about the guy who died? Picture my face. You saved me. Okay?’
A single nod.
‘All right.’ Meredith squeezed the clenched hand again. ‘I’ll call you later. You can call me too, no matter what time.’
Another nod. ‘Okay.’
Meredith pressed a kiss to Mallory’s clammy forehead. ‘Try to sleep.’ She extracted herself from Colby’s back seat and gave him a wave and Wendi a hug. ‘Thank you both.’
‘You get some sleep too,’ Wendi said, then leaned up to hiss in her ear. ‘After you make a list of every single motherfucker who has threatened you. Ever.’
Meredith jerked back to blink at her friend, the venom in Wendi’s whisper a complete shock. Wendi had experienced horrors that would give most people nightmares for life, and every day she dealt with the aftereffects of brutal violence against the young women in her care. But Meredith had never heard her use this tone. ‘Wen?’
Wendi’s eyes filled with tears and it was then that Meredith noticed her friend was shaking. Damn me. Meredith had been so caught up in her own head, so worried about Mallory and Adam, that she hadn’t thought about the impact this would have on the people who loved her. Meredith drew Wendi close.
‘I’m fine,’ she assured her.
‘No, dammit, you’re not.’ Wendi’s small fist landed painlessly on Meredith’s back. ‘How could you be? You might fool everyone else, but you’re not fooling me. You’ll protect your clients over yourself.’
‘And you wouldn’t?’ Meredith pushed back. ‘You wouldn’t risk yourself for any one of the girls at Mariposa House?’ When Wendi didn’t answer, Meredith chuckled. ‘So, Miss Pot, stop bossing Miss Kettle around.’
‘It’s not funny,’ Wendi hissed on a choked sob. ‘And it’s not the same. I don’t have assholes following me around, trying to intimidate me. Trying to shoot me or blow me sky-high. You write down every name, Meredith Fallon. Every single fucking one.’
Meredith patted Wendi’s back, forcing her own tone to be lightly wry. ‘It’d take me days to write down every single one.’
Wendi stepped back, swiping at her wet eyes furiously. ‘I’m so mad at you!’
‘Wen,’ Colby said quietly.
Wendi’s head whipped around to glare at Colby. ‘It’s true. Somebody needs to make her listen.’ She whirled to turn the glare up at Meredith, nearly slipping on the icy driveway. ‘You’re really not going to even help the police protect you?’
Meredith gripped both of Wendi’s arms to keep her from falling. I did help them, she started to say. But was that really true? She’d told Adam where to look, and at the moment that was all she’d been able to make herself say. To a cop, anyway.
Meredith eyed the truck in her driveway. Diesel’s here, and he’s not a cop. Far from it. Through his work at the Ledger, Diesel had demonstrated mad hacker skills, excelling at digging – and finding – dirt. The Ledger then ran with the info, exposing those who’d somehow wiggled through the justice system, usually after hurting a child. In Meredith’s mind, Diesel was a frickin’ hero.
Still, asking him to hack into her most recent stalker’s life made her cringe inside. But these were extreme circumstances. And if Diesel found nothing, the police wouldn’t have to get involved. The information would go no farther.
‘You’re not telling the police, are you?’ Wendi’s shoulders sagged, her eyes sliding closed. ‘Damn you. You’re going to let whoever did this keep trying until they don’t miss.’
Meredith heard her grandfather suck in a harsh breath.
‘I absolutely am not going to do that,’ she said calmly, giving her friend a meaningful look followed by a pointed glance at Diesel’s truck. She saw the moment Wendi understood. ‘I’m not interested in being shot or blown sky-high any time soon. Or letting whoever killed that boy today kill anyone else. Got it?’
Wendi let out a shuddering sigh of relief. ‘Oh God. Yeah. Got it. Thank you.’
‘Wen, honey,’ Colby said, ‘get in the car. Keeping Meredith out in the open isn’t doing anything to protect her either.’
Meredith noticed Colby had been tensely watching the street, hand on his firearm. Just in case her attacker tried again. In front of my home. She also realized the heat at her back had been her grandfather keeping close, making himself a human shield. Goddammit. She risked the safety of everyone around her, simply by existing. The realization cemented her resolve to get to the bottom of this, however she needed to.
‘I’m going inside now, Parrish,’ Meredith said. ‘Thanks for everything.’ Then she put her arm through her grandfather’s and led him up the walk to her house.
One person had already died today. No one else was getting shot on her behalf.
Six
Cincinnati, Ohio,