“No, I’m not,” I agreed. “And I don’t want to be.” I turned to Jackson and said, “Do me a solid and show Lexi to the door.”

Jackson looked intensely uncomfortable. He put a hand on the back of his neck like he was working out a kink. He was my physical therapist and trainer, and I paid him to live here and be available if I needed him, so he was like a bodyguard, but in more of a “one-man response team to an emergency” than a “chase away people I don’t want to talk to” sort of way. I could see he was unclear as to what to do, and I decided we were going to have a conversation to clarify his position.

Lexi turned to Jackson. “You don’t need to show me out. I can find my way.” She glanced at me and shook her head as if she couldn’t reconcile the disappointment she felt in finally seeing me again. It chafed but I knew it was better this way.

One thing niggled the back of my mind. “Wait.”

Her eyes flashed with hope, which I heartlessly shit-canned immediately. “How did you get in here? Lupita said you knocked on the front door but we have a security gate.”

She let out a breath and shook her head as the hope dimmed from her eyes. “I waited until someone came home and opened the gate and then I slipped in after them before the gate closed.” As if she couldn’t resist, she added, “Duh.”

It sounded so much like the sassy child she’d once been, I huffed out a small laugh. I quickly made my face impassive and asked, “Who was it?”

“Who was who?”

“Who was it that you followed onto the property?” I asked.

She pursed her lips as if considering me.

“You’re not going to get them in trouble,” I said. Another lie. “I just need to know so that this sort of thing doesn’t happen again.”

She tipped her head to the side. “No.”

“What do you mean ‘no’?” I asked. I was outraged. She couldn’t just refuse.

“I’m not telling you anything,” she said. “Why should I?”

“Because I asked you to,” I said. Yup, I’d walked right into that bear trap. I could almost feel its steel jaws snap shut around my ankle when she grinned.

“And I asked you to help me, but you said no,” she retorted. She tipped her chin up. “See how that works?”

“Whatever,” I said. I was not going to play this game. I had a good idea of who had let her in and I’d deal with that person next. “Where are you parked?”

“Down the street,” she said. “Why?”

“It’s late and it’s dark,” I said. “Jackson will walk you to your car.”

“I don’t need—” she began.