“Can’t complain. I’m calling to check on Hadley. Is she doing okay?”
I glanced back at her through the window. “She’s fine. Have you not talked to her?”
“She doesn’t exactly talk to me much these days. When she does, it usually ends in a fight. I just want to keep her safe.”
“As do I.”
“Maybe one day, she’ll understand why I’m so protective. If she only knew how many threats I got on her life every week.”
“What?” I growled.
He sighed. “Only a few people know about this, so I’m trusting you to keep it to yourself. The last thing I want is for Hadley to find out. That’s why I hired Scott to protect her. I had to know someone was with her at all times.”
“Have any of the threats ever been carried out?”
“No. Most of them were just given to scare me, I think. It still doesn’t change the fact they were threats. Does Hadley know I’m paying you?”
“No. I’ll tell her when it’s all over. I don’t think that’s something she needs to know.”
He sighed. “Agreed. She’ll see it as interfering. Just watch over my baby girl. She’s all I have left.”
“I will, Mr. Rivers. Hopefully, the case will be solved soon and she can go home.” As much as I wanted them to catch the bastard, I also didn’t want her to leave.
“I can only hope so. I bet it kills her not to be singing.”
“I’m sure it does, but she’s had time to write in peace. And having the privacy, away from constant cameras shoved in her face, is doing her some good as well. She needed a break.”
“She has been pushing herself too hard.” He blew out a heavy sigh. “Oh, before I go, I just wanted you to know I sent the money to your account, paid in full. It’s a thank you for watching over my girl.”
I swallowed hard. There was ten million fucking dollars in my account. “You’re welcome, Mr. Rivers. We’ll keep in touch.” As I set the phone down, a feeling like I was deceiving Hadley hit my gut. But the things I could do to my ranch with that money would be phenomenal . . .
Would she understand? Probably not. She was a female with daddy issues.
“Everything okay?” Hadley asked.
“Yeah,” I said, fumbling with the grill. “It was just a business call.” I turned around and faced her.
She crossed her arms, rubbing her hands against her bare arms. With the sun gone, it was pretty cold. “I came out here to tell you I found the perfect boots. They’ll be here in a couple of weeks. I don’t know if I can take the anticipation.”
“Thanks for coming out here to explain how you’re ready for me to look like an ass.” I chuckled.
She beamed. “You’re welcome. Is the grill about ready? I’m starved.”
“Almost. Come on, let’s go inside.” I grabbed my phone and put my arm around her. Her skin was freezing. Before we could get to the door, my phone rang again. “What the fuck?” I growled.
Hadley laughed and reached for the door handle. “You’re Mr. Popular tonight.”
“No shit.” When I looked at the screen, my pulse spiked. “Robert,” I announced, answering the phone. Hadley froze.
“How’s it going?” he asked.
“Better. What’s up?”
“We searched the grounds around Hadley’s house and found a cigarette lighter by the back door. That’s where the intruder entered the other day. Can you ask her if she has any friends who smoke?”
I put my phone on speaker. “Go ahead and ask her. She can hear you now.”
“Hadley?” he called.
“I’m here,” she said, moving closer.
“Do you have any friends who smoke? We found a cigarette lighter by your back door.”
She chewed her lip, then shook her head. “Not that I know of. At least none of them do at my house.”
“All right. We’re going to check it for prints and see where that leads us. It’ll take a few days but I’ll call you with the results.”
“Sounds good,” I said and then hung up the phone.