"Nothing. I'm on my way." She hung up. Mia was standing in front of her, a worried look on her face and tears in her eyes.
"What's happening?"
"Some guys are at my apartment. I need to go," Hannah said.
"Wait. What are we going to do about Lucy?" Mia had reached out to grasp her arm, holding her back.
Hannah was torn. She'd do anything for Mia, but Lucy was another story. "What do you want me to do about Lucy?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe go after him and get her back?" Exasperation infiltrated Mia's tone.
That was a ridiculous suggestion considering how strong Jake was. "Right. Like it's that easy. Listen, she's a big girl. She made her decision."
"Don't give me that shit. She's in trouble and you know it," Mia said.
"Unfortunately, I do. But I can only deal with so many emergencies at one time. Right now, I need to go deal with what's happening at home. Maybe you should call the police."
"Oh yeah, like you did after he hurt you?"
Hannah didn't want to argue with her best friend, but there was nothing she could do to help Lucy. She hugged Mia goodbye before rushing out into the midday heat, praying her car would start.
Hannah
Hannah drove too fast across town. She pulled into the driveway just as Dylan and two other guys even bigger than he was walked out of her front door as if they belonged there. Between the stress of Jake and now Dylan pursuing her without regard for her wishes, Hannah had just about had enough of being pushed around. An anger she'd been pushing down consumed her as she got out of her car, slammed her driver's side door with a loud thud, and marched full steam up the sidewalk. She confronted the handsome man, who looked comically surprised to see her.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? You've been trying to convince me that you're this good guy trying to protect me, and now you go and break into my house? You have some nerve!" she stormed at him.
They had reached each other at the halfway point of the sidewalk. Hannah made sure he got the message, taking both hands and shoving his chest with all of her strength. It was like hitting a brick wall.
"Whoa. Hang on there. I can explain." He pulled her into his arms to keep her from flailing at him. The tighter he held her, the harder she struggled to be free.
One of the big guys with him stepped closer to talk softly. "Let's take this inside. We're attracting too much attention out here."
Before she knew what was happening, Hannah was being shuffled along towards her front door, sandwiched between Dylan and a hulk of a man who looked a lot like him. They had to be brothers, the thought of which intrigued her. The third guy, the tallest of the three, jimmied open her door in just a few seconds, telling her that her security was a joke.
Thanks asshole. Tell me something I don’t know.
Her small apartment seemed downright petite with the three hulking guys filling the space. Mama Rosa had been right in her description of them. They were all strikingly handsome and it was throwing her off. As big as they were, she didn't feel threatened by them, which didn't make any sense at all.
Dylan stepped closer, his arms stretched out and his palms up, as if to show her he wasn't going to hurt her.
"I think now would be a good time for that explanation." She hated the quaver in her voice.
"I've told you that I was investigating Jake Davenport. This is my brother and my boss. They're here to join the investigation. We need your help."
"And you thought breaking into my apartment was the best way to get it?" she asked.
"Listen, I've tried talking to you, but you aren't listening to me. Jake Davenport is bad news. We need to get him neutralized."
"First, you don't need to tell me. I already know first-hand what Jake is capable of. The question is, what is it you think I can do to help you?"
The tallest man stepped around Dylan to answer her. "My name is Lukus Mitchell. We've been tracking Davenport for a few weeks now, and we're working on getting evidence that will put him behind bars."
"Why? What's he done to you?"
His green eyes flashed as she challenged him. She got the impression it wasn't something he was used to.
"He's hurt my best friend's wife... badly. And he's threatening my fiancée. Tiffany can barely sleep because of the nightmares about Jake hurting her and her best friend. He's stalked them both and now they're under house arrest, locked down with round-the-clock armed guards because Davenport keeps flying to Chicago to try to get to them, promising to hurt them."
She watched his eyes as he laid out what they had against Jake. Maybe she was a fool, but by the time he finished speaking, she believed him. Hannah saw the fear in his eyes as he spoke about the woman he loved being in danger. She fought down a feeling of jealousy and wondered if this Tiffany knew how lucky she was to have a man like Lukus Mitchell in her life protecting her. It was something Hannah longed for, but knew she'd never have.
The heftiest of the three stepped forward next. "I'm Dylan's brother, Derek, and I'm the one who decided we needed to get into your apartment. If there was even a small chance we could get evidence to put Davenport away, we needed to take it."
Her eyes returned to Dylan's. "What is it exactly you think I have that can help you?"
Dylan answered. "The accounting books for Strictly Disciplined. He did try to hire you to do his accounting, right?"
"How did you—"
"Because his long-time accountant just turned up dead under suspicious circumstances, and because you recently got your
