“That’s not happening.” There was no way Chance would let that happen.
“Protect her.”
Fucking always.
He hurried out of that interrogation room. He saw another cop rush in even as Chance left. But Chance wasn’t focusing on the cop. There was too much action in the hallway.
Mostly because Will Hawthorne was there.
Will was glaring at Lex—and at Dev. “I paid your team to guard my daughter! She’s supposed to be safe, and not having some cozy little chat with the bastard who’s been stalking her!” With each word, his voice rose more.
Chance’s eyes narrowed as he marched forward. “You want to be pissed with someone,” he said flatly, “you be pissed with me.”
Gwen wasn’t looking at him.
Faith stepped forward. “I’m the one who asked Gwen to go in there, Will.”
Will’s gaze slanted toward her. Huh. Was it Chance’s imagination or had Will’s face just softened as he stared at the detective?
But in the next instant, rage was back in place on Will’s visage. His attention snapped back to his daughter. “Gwen, come on, we’re leaving. We’ll go back to my estate where I know you’ll be safe.”
He turned on his heel. The guy had guards with him—men Chance had once supervised when he’d worked for the mogul. The guards inclined their heads toward Chance—a brief gesture of acknowledgement—then they closed in near Will.
But Gwen didn’t move.
It took Will a few moments to realize that she wasn’t following him.
When he did, Will glanced back, frowning. “Gwen?”
“Did Ethan come to you and tell you that I was in danger?”
Will’s lips parted in quick surprise. His eyelids flickered—a little jerk.
Sonofabitch—he had.
Gwen must have caught the telling movements because she nodded. “That’s when you started insisting that I needed all the bodyguards, right? You thought Ethan might be telling the truth…you thought someone might be after me.”
Will hurried to Gwen’s side. “Someone is after you!” He pointed to the interrogation room. “Ethan Barclay! The man obviously has psychotic issues—he’s fixated on you and—”
“You should have told me, immediately, what he said. Instead, you tried to manipulate me.” Her voice was so cold. So unlike Gwen’s normal warm tone. Her gaze flickered toward Chance. “You both did.”
He hated for her to look at him that way. His back teeth ground together as Chance said, “I just thought Barclay was a suspect. I didn’t realize he’d told your father someone else was after you.” That bit of information would have been helpful to know.
Will reached for Gwen’s hand. “Barclay is just trying to confuse you. There is no one else. He wants you to soften toward him. Hell, maybe he thinks you’ll drop the charges against him or something if you buy into his wild story. Doesn’t matter, though. The truth is…Ethan Barclay is the man behind the attacks. He’s—”
“When a black van tried to run me down tonight, Ethan was in jail.” She tugged her hand free of his.
“One of his flunkies!” Will instantly railed. “Someone he hired to make himself look innocent!”
Dev and Lex shared a long look.
“Maybe,” Gwen allowed. “Maybe not.” Then she walked past her father.
Will stood there a moment, looking lost. Strange, for him. But he rallied quickly and motioned for his guards to follow Gwen. “We’re going home,” he announced as his stare shifted back to Faith. And it did soften a bit. So the rumors about those two must be true. Interesting.
“Keep me updated on this case,” Will told Faith. “I want to know everything that happens with Ethan.”
She nodded.
“I’m not going home with you.” Gwen glanced over her shoulder. “I’m tired of being manipulated…” Her gaze swept over them all. Lingered on Chance. “…by everyone.”
Fuck.
“I’ll check in to a safe hotel. One with plenty of security cameras and a respectable staff. I’ll be more than protected for the night.” She straightened her shoulders. “Faith, you have my cell number. Just call if you need me.”
She was leaving them all.
“No!” Will snapped. “You need—”
Gwen’s smile was sad. “I know what I need, and it’s to be left alone. Before I seriously explode on you.” Her smile trembled, then vanished. “And I know what you need, too, Dad. You need to stop trying to control everyone and everything. Mom’s death wasn’t your fault. Even if you’d had a dozen guards on her…bad things still happen. You can’t protect everyone, not all of the time.”
Will backed up a step. “You—”
“She was robbed in broad daylight, Dad. Mugged and stabbed. And I was in the car. I saw it all.”
Will had backed up a bit more, but Chance found himself rushing toward Gwen. He knew the story about her mother, but there was such pain in Gwen’s voice. He just wanted to hold her and take that pain away.
But she stiffened when he approached, and Chance stilled.
“I saw that the world wasn’t always a good place when I was six. It’s filled with darkness and danger. But that darkness…it’s just part of life. You can’t remove it completely. It’s just not possible.” Her breath was ragged. “You can’t lock up the people you care about—”
“I just want to protect you,” her father rasped.
“You can’t lock them up,” she continued with a sad shake of her head, “because that’s no way to live.” Tears glistened in her eyes. “You can’t surround a person with guards every second and you can’t…you can’t buy lovers. You can’t control everything for them!” Her hand swiped over her cheek, wiping away a tear that had fallen. “No one can be safe every moment, and when you fill someone’s world with guards…it just makes them…it makes me feel like I’m suffocating.” Then she turned and headed for the door. She didn’t run. Just walked with slow and certain steps.
“Follow her,” Will ordered his guards.
When they rushed forward, Chance lifted his arm, barring their way. “Stay the fuck away from her.”
The men immediately stepped back.
“I gave you an order!” Will marched toward Chance. “I’m the one who pays them, and I’m—”