Damn it. She paced, jittery with nervous energy. Maybe she should just go to Houston and confront Barron—hell, her whole family—and be done with it. Say that she didn’t want anything to do with them. All she wanted was to be left alone.
She didn’t want to have to give up what she’d worked for. She didn’t want to force herself to be aloof and emotionally detached so she could leave them without feeling anything. Barron had hurt her so much already with his uncaring actions and neglect. He’d had the power to do so because she’d been young and vulnerable without resources of her own.
Did she still want to allow him that much power over her?
Ethan came home a little after noon. He hugged her tightly and gave her a kiss, then looked around. “Where’s Natalie?”
“Natalie?”
“I saw her car outside.”
“Oh, we decided to trade for the day.” He opened his mouth and she added quickly, “Are you finished with work?”
“Um, yeah, I am. Wanna go get some lunch?”
“Yes,” she said, desperate to get out of the penthouse before her grandfather’s goons showed up. “What are you in the mood for?”
“Sushi?”
“Sounds good.”
“By the way, did you notice those armored SUVs when you went out earlier? There are five of them.”
Her mouth dried. “Five?” she croaked.
“Uh-huh. Looked like somebody’s entourage.”
Kerri rubbed her forehead. “Oh no.”
“What’s wrong?”
She went to the sofa and sat down, elbows on her knees and hands clasped together. “Ethan, they’re for me.”
“For you? What are you talking about?”
There was no way to avoid the topic. “Barron sent them.”
Ethan’s voice sharpened. “Barron? What does he want?”
“I don’t know.” She buried her face in her hands. “God, this is crazy. I think he’s trying to turn me into a prisoner or something because he’s angry I refused to meet him earlier in Hong Kong.”
Ethan sat down next to her. “Okay, let’s figure this out. Did he say why he wants to see you all of a sudden?”
She shrugged. “No, and I don’t care what the reason is. I don’t want anything to do with him.”
“Then don’t. You don’t have to see him.”
“Ethan, you don’t understand. Barron Sterling isn’t a man who takes no for an answer. He’s going to keep it up if he doesn’t get what he wants. This morning there were three SUVs. Now there are five.” She told him about sneaking out of Natalie’s place.
Ethan threw his head back and laughed.
She stared at him for a moment. “This isn’t funny.”
“Look, Kerri, I’ll take care of this. You don’t have to see Barron or anybody else unless you want to. He doesn’t deserve you.”
“It’s not about what he deserves. It’s about what he’s doing to make my life hell just because he can.”
The doorbell rang. Kerri jumped, though Ethan remained relaxed. He rose to his feet and went to answer it. She followed him.