Eli sighed. “Kellan and I need to leave. We’ve already been here too long and people are going to start asking questions. We’re relocating to Freestown tomorrow.”
Alarm surged through her. “You’re leaving us.”
“No, sweetheart.”
Duncan stiffened at his brother’s familiarity and patted his arm soothingly.
“Ian and Sawyer will still be watching over you,” Eli reassured her. “But we’re worried if we stick around that he may become suspicious.”
“What about Marc and Tarin?” she asked.
“They’ve gone back to Dallas. Travis needs them there. Jake and Saxon will be keeping watch over you. Saxon is going to arrange for one of his trainee subs to accompany you if you need to go to the bathroom.”
Duncan stiffened. “None of that is good enough. We’re calling this off.”
“We can’t call it off,” she said. “I haven’t gone this far just to give up. I’m finally getting my life back and I refuse to live in fear any longer. I want this guy caught.”
“So do we,” Eli reassured her. “We’ll keep at this until we get him. I promise.”
“But how long will it take?” Duncan asked. “Laken’s exhausted and stressed. Her health is at risk.”
“I’m fine,” she protested, blushing slightly.
“You have nightmares each night and that’s during the brief four hours sleep you get. You’re not eating and you’re jumping at every sound. This can’t continue.” He directed that last sentence at his brother who nodded, his face serious.
“I know, if there was some way of speeding this up, I would take it.”
“We need to make me more of a target,” she blurted out. She’d been thinking about it all week. She didn’t want to do it. God knew she really just wanted to hide away and let someone else do all this. She wasn’t a hero.
Duncan stiffened. “What do you mean?” Oh God, he wasn’t happy.
Well, she was about to make him miserable.
“Leave me alone.”
“What?”
Even Eli frowned in confusion.
“I think we should set things up so it’s easier for him to take me.”
“I am not going to let him take you,” Duncan said fiercely, holding her tighter.
“I know. I’m not suggesting that. But maybe we need to set things up so it looks like I’m alone. I don’t know how, but I think we need to do something.”
“I don’t like it,” Duncan said immediately.
She knew that would be his first reaction. She snuggled into him. “I know, but we can’t keep living like this.”
Eli sighed. “I don’t know either. This guy is smart; he’ll know that there would be little reason for Duncan to leave you. Let me think it over.”
“I would need to know she’s completely safe before I would allow it,” Duncan said arrogantly.
“Allow it? You’ve been saying that a lot lately,” she said with exasperation.
Duncan shut the computer down on his chuckling brother before tucking a bent finger under her chin. “Allow. It.”
She adored the way he looked after her, but still…