Chapter 4 - THE GIRL WHO CAME BACK
Tessa had almost reached the gate when a black SUV blocked the service drive. She ran between the hedges, slipped on wet stone, and struck her knee hard enough to make her cry out.
Two men came after her. She knew one of them: Owen Pike, the guard who had followed her home.
“You need to come inside,” he said.
Tessa got up. “Call Mr. Walsh.”
“He’s the one asking.”
Pike reached for her. She threw a handful of gravel at his face and ran back toward the house. He cursed and stumbled. The second man caught her at the garage entrance.
Inside, Declan heard the struggle.
He took the service stairs two at a time. Camille followed despite his warning to stay back. At the bottom, Pike had Tessa pinned against a car while the other man pulled a plastic restraint from his pocket.
Declan raised his gun. “Let her go.”
The men froze.
Pike blinked grit from his eyes. “Mr. Walsh, Dr. Aris said she was stealing medication.”
“She’s coming with me.”
Pike slowly released her. Tessa crossed the garage, limping. Declan put her behind him.
Aris came down the stairs. “Declan, this has gone far enough.”
“It has,” Declan said. “Who hired those two?”
“I did. Your usual guards were sent off the property after the alarm.”
Declan glanced at the monitor by the garage door. The perimeter feeds were dark.
Aris saw him notice. “We needed time to speak to you calmly.”
“You cut the cameras and grabbed my employee.”
Camille moved beside Declan. “Aris, tell him what you told me.”
The doctor looked at her with open irritation. “This was your idea.”
“No,” she said. “The safe was. The men weren’t.”
Tessa slipped a hand into her pocket and pressed something against Declan’s palm. A tiny recorder, still running.
Pike lunged for it. Declan struck his wrist and backed toward the car door. The second man drew a gun.
A shot cracked through the garage.
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Pike fell against the SUV. For a moment, no one moved.
Then Declan saw that Aris was holding the gun—and aiming it at Camille.
