Unwanted Blood (Harper) novel Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Lily’s POV

I sat on the edge of the bed, the phone still pressed to my ear after the call ended, my heart racing.

Deep red rose, that means she’d made some progress.

I didn’t waste time. I grabbed my jacket and ran.

Ryder found me at his hotel room door twenty minutes later, breathless, my hair wild.

“Harper said she was safe for now and had made some progress, but she needs time.”” I said.

Ryder’s jaw tightened. He walked to the window and stared out at the city.

“Time,” he repeated. The word sounded bitter in his mouth. “How much time, Lily? Every day she’s in that house, she’s one step away from something going wrong.”

Colton was at the desk, laptop open, his eyes scanning a spreadsheet of Westbrook corporate filings. He didn’t look up, but he spoke.

“She’s building trust,” he said. “Once Adrian trusts her, her access will increase exponentially. She’ll be able to move freely. To see things we can’t reach from the outside.” He finally looked up, his expression calm. “Patience is worth it.”

Ryder turned back to them. His hands were clenched at his sides. His knuckles were white.

“I hope you’re right,” he said. “Because if she gets hurt while we’re sitting here being patient, I will never forgive myself.”

Harper’s POV

At 2:47 a.m., the fast and urgent footsteps woke me.

“What happened?” I was on my feet before I’d fully opened my eyes.

I crossed the room silently and pressed my car to the door.

As the footsteps were fading, I opened the door. I see multiple people, boots on hardwood,

0.00%

11:36

Chapter 52

moving with purpose down the corridor toward the east wing.

288 Vouchers

The hallway was dim, lit only by the emergency sconces that cast a weak amber glow. Adrian at the front, his dark sweater replaced by a black jacket, his posture rigid. Two men behind him They were heading toward the east building.

I waited until they turned the corner, then slipped out of the room and followed at a distance, staying close to the wall, my socked feet silent on the carpet.

The corridor led to a side door that opened into the garden. The night air hit me like a wall-cold, damp, carrying the smell of wet earth and cut grass. I crossed the lawn, staying in the shadows of the hedges, and reached the low stone wall that separated the garden from the east building’s perimeter.

Adrian was at the front door. The guard who was supposed to be posted there was gone-sent away, maybe, or stepped aside. The electronic lock beeped. The door opened.

They went inside.

I crouched behind the stone wall and waited.

Two minutes passed. Then a sound. Dull. Heavy. Like something being thrown against a wall. Or a body hitting the floor.

Then Adrian’s voice. Low. “I told you not to disturb him!”

I’d never heard him sound like that. Even when we were threatening the Westbrook family with evidence, he had never been this angry.

I pressed my hands against the stone and felt my heart hammering so hard it vibrated through my ribs.

I had a vague feeling that the person living in that building must be someone Adrian cared about deeply.

And if I could figure out who-

A flashlight swept across the garden. One of the perimeter guards, making his rounds. I dropped flat against the ground, my face pressed into the wet grass, and held my breath.

The beam passed over the hedge. Moved on.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify