Chapter 42

(*Rylan*)  

After getting off the phone with Aaron, I went into the house to wake my sister. I told her to pack a bag for a few days and that we were going to stay elsewhere tonight. While she packed, I did the same.  

I packed the 9mm just as a precaution. Rosalie seems more comfortable with it, and I make a mental note to get her out to the shooting range in the next few days. Knowing how to check the clip and load it is one thing, but she needs to know how to shoot it.  

I will make sure my sister knows how to defend herself even if I have to teach her basic self-defense myself. However, if I do that, then she will learn a lot more than they teach in those classes she was talking about taking.  

With three Army vets in her life, there is no reason that she should have to take those classes at all. Quinn and Aaron can help me. Yes, that is a good plan, and I will talk to Aaron about it tomorrow.  

Thirty minutes after I woke Rosalie up, we headed out to her car since mine car is at Aaron’s. I put our bags in the backseat and then hopped into the driver’s seat. I glance over at Rosalie to make sure she is buckled in. 

“Are you sure that Aaron said it was ok to stay in his old penthouse?” she asks, while twisting her fingers in a nervous gesture.  

“He is the one who told me to get you there. It has a private elevator that only goes to his and Quinn’s places. There is a guard stationed in the garage by the elevator, and there are cameras in both the elevator car and in the hallway.”  

“Neighbors?”  

“None. Aaron’s penthouse takes up three floors. Same with Quinn’s, which is above Aaron’s.”  

“So, there is no way Grant can get to me there?” Rosalie’s voice is hopeful and pleading at the same time. 

“Nope. I will also make sure Aaron tells the guards to call the police if they see him near the building at all.”  

She nods her head as if she is okay with everything that I just told her. I start the car and then back out of the driveway. Frank waves at me again as I use the remote that is clipped to the visor to open the gates. I wave back, then drive off. 

Thirty minutes later, we are across town and pulling into the private underground garage at the building that Quinn and Aaron own. The top four floors are theirs alone. Something I envied when I first found out about how successful the two of them became over the years.  

I am beyond proud of them for what they are doing with G&C Enterprises. 

Soldiers giving back to soldiers in impactful ways. I am also proud to be a part of that in my way. When Quinn offered me the job, I was hesitant to accept at first, but after thinking it over, I jumped at the chance to do some good for my fellow servicemen and women. 

There were two additional bonuses to taking the job. One was getting the hell out of South Carolina and away from my mother. The second was the chance to be near Aaron in whatever way I could. 

Stalker territory, I know.  

“This is where Aaron lives?” Rosalie’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. 

I park the car next to Quinn’s massive SUV and turn the engine off before I look over at my sister. “Yes. He and Quinn own the entire building now and are planning to turn each floor into individual condos, with two on each floor.”  

“What will happen to the people already living in the apartments now?”  

“Aaron told me that all the new units are spoken for by current tenants, and those that will be displaced by the renovation have already signed new leases in some of their other apartment buildings. As of right now, only Quinn and his family are living here.”  

“Wait, the rest of the building is empty?” Rosalie asks with a hint of fear in her voice.  

“You will be far safer here than at my place. There are highly trained security guards on the front doors. The garage here has a guard on duty twenty-four hours a day, and there are cameras everywhere but the penthouses themselves.” I tell her as I open the door of the car and then step out. “Besides that, Annora is on maternity leave and is working from home to get her new clinic opened, so there is almost always someone home at all times.”  

Rosalie gets out of the car and looks around the garage. I can see the concern on her face, but that concern fades after we grab our bags and start walking to the elevator. David, the guard on duty, steps out of the security room and meets us at the elevator.  

I have met him before when he served with Quinn. 

“Hey there, Doc. How have you been?” David asks me. “Looking fancy tonight.”  

“I am fine. Aaron and I went to an art show earlier this evening. David, this is my sister, Rosalie. She will be staying in Aaron’s penthouse for a few days, maybe longer.”  

David holds his hand out to shake hers, but when Rosalie hesitates, he just smiles. “I was informed. We will make sure no one gets in here that isn’t on the list. I will have to let you both up tonight, but Aaron said he would get you both fingerprinted tomorrow.”  

“Fingerprinted?” Rosalie asks quietly.  

David points to the fingerprint scanner that is attached to the wall by the elevator doors. “Yes, access to the top four floors is only granted by fingerprint.”  

“Oh, they did that after the incident with Dr. Masters. I will tell you about that when we get upstairs,” I tell Rosalie when I can tell that she wants to ask questions.”  

“Shall we?” David asks while motioning towards the elevator.  

I nod my head, and we both follow him into it when the doors open after he presses his thumb to the scanner. Once we are inside, I hear my sister let out a soft sigh. When I glance at her, she shakes her head at me, which doesn’t surprise me at all.  

She has been pretty quiet since I woke her up except for when I parked the car, and she started asking questions. I know she has a lot on her mind right now, and I won’t push for her to talk to me. Well, at least not tonight. 

Finally, the elevator doors open, and David follows us down the hallway until we reach the door to Aaron’s penthouse. I thanked him for escorting us upstairs and to the door. He smiles and walks away after we are both inside the penthouse.  

This is the first time that I have been in this penthouse. When I ran to Aaron to get away from Paulson, I went straight to the house he lives in now. As I look around the foyer, all I can think of is this place screams fuckpad. 

That is no doubt what he used it for before he bought his house. 

It makes me want to set the place on fire. 

After dumping our bags on the floor, we spend the next thirty minutes exploring the place before exhaustion sends us up to the second floor to claim rooms. There are two guest rooms on the second floor, each with its own ensuite bathroom and small sitting room. Rosalie chooses the room farthest from the stairs, and I don’t blame her for that. 

Once I am settled into the room I chose, I look around. The walls are a pale blue. The fluffy carpet that I immediately took my shoes and socks off to walk on is a slightly darker shade of blue than the walls. Then there is that massive four-poster bed in the center of the room.  

The wood is dark mahogany, and I run my fingers over the smooth surface. This is the kind of bed that I have always wanted to own but never got around to buying one. I could buy one now, but my room at home is not big enough for this beautiful bed. 

With a sigh, I walk into the bathroom, and my jaw drops. I would think after seeing Quinn’s penthouse and then Aaron’s house that I would be used to their opulence. I am not. Not at all. 

I grew up in wealthy families, but this seems to go beyond that somehow. It is like, after all they came from, they both wanted to show what they have now in style. This bathroom is amazing, and I so hope that the shower is like the one Aaron has in his master bathroom.  

If so, I may never leave the bathroom.  

(*Aaron*)  

The moment the elevator doors closed in my face, I spun around and stormed back to where Charlie, Quinn, and Annie were still standing. As I approached, I could hear Annie tearing into Charlie for what she said to Rylan. Quinn is staring daggers at Charlie, and I can’t say that I blame him.  

When she looked at me, there were tears in her eyes and shame written all over her face. I told her she acted like a bitch to Rylan; even though the entire situation was confusing, her reaction to Rylan was out of line. Accusing her of being after money was a tremendous insult.  

By the time I explained my theory to Charlie, I was beyond pissed off. I handled this so badly, and my woman is angry with me because of it. I should have told both of them about this shit before we ever got dressed up for this gallery show.  

I am an idiot.  

For her part, Charlie looked just as lost and confused as Rylan had when I laid it all out there for her in that conference room. She was willing to give a DNA sample to a lab to find out the truth, and that was a point in her favor. Now, to get Rylan to agree to the test.  

As I thought about Rylan and how badly I fucked up tonight, my phone rang. Her beautiful face appeared on my phone screen as I stepped away from the table to answer her call. I was not prepared for what she told me.  

“Wake your sister and go straight to my penthouse. She will be safe there.”  

An hour later, Quinn and I are walking around Rylan’s house taking pictures of every footprint we find that isn’t Rylan’s. Whoever was out here tonight, they stood at each window for a while. The footprints are deeper than they would have been if they were just testing the windows to try to get inside the house.  

To me, this doesn’t feel like something that Grant Donovan would do. He strikes me as a kick-in-the-door-and-drag-his-woman-out-like-a-caveman type of guy. This was stalker behavior, and my mind instantly goes to the one threat that is still out there running for his life.  

Fuck!  

The motherfucker is back in California. 

Jake Paulson!  

Rylan was the target, not Rosalie. I look at Quinn and tell him who I think was out here watching Rosalie. His face mirrors mine with rage. 

“Neither of them can come back here. They both need to stay at your penthouse. I will make sure there are two guards at the security desk and double the security at the hospital.” Quinn said, even as he is walking away and pulling his phone out of his pocket.  

That is their safest option, even if I want Rylan with me at my house. I will just move into the penthouse with them instead. That is the only way that I will be satisfied that she is safe. With me.  

She isn’t going to like it at all, but I can be persuasive. 

I want to go to her right now, but instead, I follow Quinn through Rylan’s house to make sure all the doors and windows are locked before we leave. After giving him a nod, I head straight to my place to pack a bag so that I will be ready first thing in the morning to go to the penthouse.  

Rylan will have a personal bodyguard until Paulson shows himself. 

That guard will be me. I trust Mac’s people, but I wouldn’t feel right with someone else watching over her and her sister. Grant Donovan may not have been the threat to them tonight, but I have a feeling that he will be soon enough.  

From what I have been told about him by Mac, Donovan is a charming man on the surface for appearance’s sake, being a doctor and all that southern shit. What I saw on Rosalie proves how evil that man is behind closed doors. That kind of evil doesn’t just give up without a fight.  

So, I will make sure that both women are as safe as possible at all times. 

Sleep was hard to come by as I lay alone in my big bed. All I keep thinking about is what might have happened had Rylan been home alone tonight. Would Paulson have gone further than just watching tonight had she been alone? 

My gut churns when I see images of Rylan fighting for her life against that rapist. Images of her bloody and beaten filter through my head in rapid succession. It causes me to rush from the bed and run to the bathroom to be sick.  

I know that sleep will not be happening tonight, so I get dressed and drive across town until I am pulling into the garage at the penthouse. David isn’t on duty tonight, but the person I see step out of the security office sends a rush of relief through me.  

“Alaric, what are you doing here?” I ask one of my best friends in surprise. 

We close the distance and shake hands. Knowing he is here makes me feel better. I trust most of Mac’s guys, but I served with David and Alaric. I trust them with my life, so trusting them both with Rylan and Rosalie’s is a no-brainer. 

“I was in town for a few days. Quinn called me earlier and asked me to come by and help. So, my time is yours for the next few days.”  

“Thank you, man. That means a lot to me, and I am sure Rylan will be happy to see you.”  

“I am just glad you two finally got together. The sexual tension was killer to be around.”  

We joke and talk for a few more minutes before I head upstairs. I head straight to my room on the third floor, knowing Rylan and her sister are sleeping in their rooms on the second floor.  

Let’s just hope she isn’t mad when she sees me here in the morning.