Chapter 143

As soon as Lisa was released from the hospital a week later, she and Bob moved back into the mansion. Lisa was still covered in bandages, the silver slowing down the healing of her cuts and third-degree burns, but she settled back into her old home without any problems.

My stomach did flips every time I saw either one of them, but I did not express my concerns to Andrew. I knew that Andrew’s relationship with Lisa was still rocky, and I didn’t want to do anything to cause that ship to sink.

According to the tabloids, voters were torn on who to side with after the explosion. There had been a boost in both Bob’s and Andrew’s poll numbers. Some voters took pity on Bob for his fiancée surviving a supposed human terrorist attack, while others saw a sort of nobility in Andrew’s ability to mend the rift between him and Lisa.

I tried to be happy for Andrew. After all, his daughter had survived an attack similar to my own, and they were on speaking terms again. That was without mentioning the positive impact this all had on his public image.

Still, I could not shake the bad feeling that I was having. It made me uneasy, and I could not help but think that something was going to happen. I needed to talk to someone about it soon, or I was going to lose my mind to paranoia.

One day at my apartment, I texted Jeffrey to come inside so that I could talk to him. He wasted no time in knocking on my door, and I granted him immediate entry.

“What’s the emergency?” Jeffrey asked as he walked into my apartment, his eyes darting about for hidden danger.

“It’s not so much an emergency…at least, I hope it’s not,” I replied, closing the door behind him.

“What do you mean? Why did you ask me to come in if there’s no emergency?”

“I wanted to talk to you about something, something that I’m not sure I can approach Andrew about yet.”

Jeffrey raised a brow and crossed his arms over his chest.

“You know, I can’t continue to keep secrets from Andrew for you,” he replied. “He is my boss and your boyfriend.”

“I know, I know, but I don’t want to come to him about this without solid proof. That’s why I need your help.”

“Help with what?”

“Proving that Bob planted the bomb in Lisa’s car.”

Physically, Jeffrey did not react. He kept his arms crossed over his chest, and his face remained neutral. However, he took a minute to reply, as though contemplating my theory.

“Why do you think Bob did that?” he asked.

“He was acting rather…factual when he told us about what happened,” I said. “He didn’t have the sort of emotional reaction that one would expect from someone whose loved one narrowly survived a terrorist attack.”

Jeffrey stared at me, as though waiting for further explanation.

“The timing was odd, too, considering that Andrew and I recently survived a terrorist attack and had Andrew’s approval ratings increase as a result,” I continued. “And Bob is the one who would gain the most, at least politically, from something happening to Lisa. Not to mention that after what he did to me, this would be right up his alley…”

Jeffrey raised his hand to silence my rambling.

“I get it, you have a hunch.”

“It’s more than that.” I started to pace. “I have this horrible, sinking feeling, and I can’t shake it.”

I stopped in front of Jeffrey and sighed.

“I know that I must sound crazy or paranoid—”

“You don’t,” Jeffrey replied. “Not to me, at least.”

I cocked my head at him.

“Really? Why not? That’s how I sound to myself right now.”

Jeffrey emitted a small chuckle.

“My line of work is just as much about following your instincts as it is about being logical,” he explained. “I’ve been having the same kind of instinct about Bob as you have. Given the threat that he issued to you before, I wouldn’t be surprised if he could pull off something like that.”

I ran my hand through my hair.

“So, what do we do about it?”

Jeffrey scratched his jaw as he gave the notion some thought.

“We don’t have any evidence that could definitively connect him to the crime,” he finally said, “but I might know a way that we can get some.”

“How?”

“It’ll involve some legally questionable espionage.”

• * *

Three days later, I was once again pacing nervously in my apartment as I waited to hear from Jeffrey. We had agreed to put cameras in Bob’s old apartment in case he let anything slip and a tracking device on his car in case he met with anyone or went anywhere suspicious. Jeffrey had volunteered to plant them alone, and now, two hours later, I was concerned that he might have been caught.

I jumped out of my skin when someone knocked on my door. Taking a peek out the peephole, I saw that Jeffrey stood on the other side.

“What took you so long?” I asked as I opened the door.

“I had to drive there, plant the cameras, and drive back,” Jeffrey replied in an even tone. “It didn’t take any longer than I had expected.”

I stepped aside to let him in the apartment and closed the door behind him.

“What about the tracking device for his car?”

“I put that on while we were at the mansion earlier.”

I nodded.

“Okay, okay. And I should be able to access the footage on my phone?”

“Yes. You’ll be able to track his car through the app I installed as well.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, hugging myself anxiously.

“And what if Bob finds the cameras or the tracking device?”

Jeffrey shook his head.

“He won’t. I hid them too well.”

“But what if?”

He scratched his jaw, lost in thought.

“I doubt that there is any way for him to trace them back to you.”

I dug my nails into my arms.

“You doubt it?”

“As far as I know, there is no way for him to trace it back to you.” Jeffrey paused. “However, that doesn’t mean that he won’t guess who the devices belong to.”

Jeffrey stared me straight in the eye.

“You’re going to have to be careful. We might get evidence of Bob’s guilt, either for this or for something else, but that doesn’t mean that this route is without risks. Don’t give him any reason to suspect you.”

I swallowed against the hard knot in my throat.

“I won’t.”

I lowered my arms, trying to relax. My pounding heart apparently didn’t get the memo.

“Thank you for doing all this,” I continued. “I don’t know how to repay you.”

Jeffrey waved the matter away with his hand.

“It’s my job to protect you against all threats. If that also means that I get to help put away the man who harmed my boss’s daughter, then so be it.”

I smiled, but it wavered.

“Hopefully, we’ll get him out of our lives for good this time.”

Something deep in my gut questioned that possibility, but I ignored it.