walked out of the room, leaving Wren alone with her thoughts. When her phone started buzzing, Kylie’s smiling face flashing up again, she answered it.
“Hey. Sorry I couldn’t answer before, I—”
“Don’t you dare tell me that you’re at an art retreat, Wren. Just don’t.” Kylie’s anger radiated through the phone line. “I know you’re at Ainslie Ave.”
Shit. “I can explain—”
“What the hell were you thinking? I got out of there for a reason. Now you’re on some secret vigilante mission and you refuse to take my calls.” She sighed. “I had to find out from some damn security company who called me to check on Sean, and then when you wouldn’t answer your phone…”
It’s official, you’re the worst friend in the world.
Standing up as quietly as she could, she tiptoed to the front of the gallery and slipped outside. “I’m sorry, I never wanted you to worry.”
“How could I not? You don’t know what an evil piece of shit Sean Ainslie is.” Her voice wavered. “He’s a monster, Wren. You need to come home. Now.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not? What on earth do you think you’re going to do?”
“I’m trying to figure out what he did to you, since you won’t tell me. Then I’m going to get proof of it so we can go to the police.”
“The police? Oh, Wren.” Kylie let out a bitter laugh. “There is no proof. Ever wondered why there are no security cameras in that place and yet he keeps a giant room all locked up? That’s because he doesn’t want to leave any evidence.”
“What did he do to you?”
“Apart from shattering an eye socket and fracturing my wrist?” The sound suddenly became muffled and Wren thought she could hear a faint sob.
“Just tell me. We can fix this.”
“There is no ‘we.’ You’re there, being stupid and acting without thinking—as usual—and I’m here. Broken and worrying about my best friend.”
Wren winced at the sting of her friend’s words. “What happened to you?”
“Please don’t make me talk about it.”
“Why? If he’s done something so bad, shouldn’t he be punished?”
“It’s not worth it.” Her words were strained, and Wren felt awful for putting her through this. But if she didn’t push, Sean would keep hurting people. Like Aimee.
Kylie likely wasn’t the first victim, and she sure as hell wasn’t the last. Wren owed it to them both to put a stop to Ainslie’s behavior.
She opened her mouth to argue, but the sight of a tall figure walking toward the gallery halted her speech. Late-afternoon light made Rhys’s skin look even warmer and more touchable. His crisp white shirt revealed a V of skin at his neck and the sleeves were rolled back to expose strong forearms.
“We need to talk,” he said.
WREN’S BLUE EYES WIDENED. For a moment she was silent. “Let’s chat later,” she said into the phone and ended the call. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here today, Rhys. Is this official security business?”
“It is. Can you take a minute to talk?”
Her eyes darted to the door. “I was supposed to be starting my shift on the front desk in a few minutes.”
“We can talk there.”
A crease formed between her brows. “Sean doesn’t like it if we’re sitting around talking.”
“He hired Cobalt & Dane to look into his security issues, so I’m sure he’ll make an exception.” He hated to be a hard-ass, but it would drive him crazy if he didn’t get to the bottom of Wren’s involvement with Sean Ainslie. “Shall we?”
She nodded and motioned for him to follow her inside. “Sure.”
Today she wore a blue skirt that clung to the sweet curve of her hips and ass, accentuating her long lines. A paint-splattered apron sat over a white T-shirt that showed a hint of creamy skin without revealing too much.
But his mind could fill in the gaps. He knew how soft her shoulders were and how perfectly the swell of her breasts and the gentle indent at her waist filled his palms.
Stop it. This is business, and you’re not laying a finger on her until you learn the truth.
“So, what can I help you with?” she asked as she removed her apron and stashed it away in a cupboard behind the desk.
“Do you know a Kylie Samuels?”
As the color drained from her face, Rhys realized he’d made a terrible mistake. Perhaps she was a lot better at hiding things than he’d given her credit for. Judging by her expression, Kylie Samuels was more than a simple acquaintance.
“Can we not talk about this here?” Her hands twisted in her lap.
“This is work, isn’t it?”
“Please.” Her eyes darted to the hallway that led to Ainslie’s office. “I’ll tell you everything, but I can’t do it here.”
Ice trickled through his veins at the hushed tone of her voice. He knew fear when he saw it. But he barricaded his sympathy deep inside. “What are you scared of?”
“There’s more to Sean than he’s letting on. Something bad is going on here, Rhys.” She drew a deep breath. “And I’m scared I’ve screwed things up with you.”
Why would she think she’d screwed things up with him if she’d simply forgotten to mention that someone she knew had worked here? It was an admission of guilt if he’d ever heard one.
“Please let me explain myself. Tonight—I’ll make dinner,” she said with a hopeful smile.
“Maybe we should go out.” The farther away they were from any flat surfaces the safer it would be, since it was clear his self-control seemed to vanish around her.
He scribbled the address of a quiet diner not too far from their walk-up. They’d be able to get a booth away from prying eyes and he wouldn’t be tempted to let his body do the thinking for him if they were in a public place.
“Do you need to speak to Sean while you’re here?” she asked. “I can call him out, if you’d like.”
“No. Quinn and Owen will run Sean through the new monitoring system later. We’ve also got an update for him with the log-in reports.”
“Find anything interesting?” she asked.
“I can’t
