Treasured by a Tiger (Mate Me Book 6)

34

The rest of the week went by in a blur. Caroline saw Liam become more confident going to school. He still came home and barely spoke about his day, but he wasn't as upset as on the first day of school. Preston had been doing pickup for her while she continued to hire employees and transition over the responsibility of the inn to others. Greyson was never far from sight. He comforted Caroline that Peters and Reynolds would not accost her in broad daylight. The two men seemed to have disappeared again. That made her nervous. Did they know she'd contacted Meade, and he was coming to meet them this weekend?

"Caroline, where do you want me to put this table?" Joe, one of her newest hires, asked.

"Place it in the garden. We want to have everything ready for the tea tomorrow. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me." She walked into the kitchen where Valerie was cleaning and arranging tea cups.

"Do you think this event is going to attract men? I don't know many who would want to drink tea?" Valerie asked with a look of disgust on her face. Caroline laughed and shrugged.

"Not a clue. Do you drink tea?"

"Nope. I prefer my caffeine in coffee." That made Caroline laugh again, and she stepped in to dry off the teacups that were sitting by the sink. Josie asked for at least a hundred tea cups to be available. That had sent Caroline into a frenzy trying to find enough all around town. Thank god for Bunny at the antique shop. She knew where to get the tea cups.

"Who knows? Maybe there are enough desperate men looking for their mates. They will do anything?" Caroline didn't think tomorrow's event would be very successful, but who was she to judge?

"Who is that guy in the garden?" Valerie asked, and Caroline whirled around, afraid it was one of the men. It turned out to be Greyson.

"Only Greyson. We have added him and Troy as security while we have so many people coming in and out of the inn for this event." Caroline didn't want to scare her workers with her personal life.

"He is hot. Will he be coming tomorrow?"

"I doubt it. Last I heard, he thought having a mate was a waste of time. You could ask him," Caroline suggested, earning a hard headshake from Valerie.

"No. He is hot but intimidating. It makes it hard for people to go up and talk to him."

"Troy will also be here if you want to ask him." Valerie perked up, setting down the cloth in her hand.

"I'll go ask him. Troy is sweet."

"Have at it." Caroline watched Valerie walk out of the door and went back to working on the teacups. She began counting to make sure they had enough. Hosting big events always gave her anxiety over everything being perfect. If this event went well, she wanted to offer weddings at the inn full time. Georgia's wedding had shown her how profitable it could be. When Preston got around to asking her, she wanted to have her own wedding here. It was the place they met, it was how they became close. She wanted to solidify her happily ever after with him here.

"Caroline," Greyson's voice called, startling her. She turned around to see him standing in the doorway. The light was coming behind him, casting his face in shadow. Valerie was right; he was intimidating.

"What can I do for you?"

"We can expect how many people at this thing tomorrow?"

"About a hundred."

"I see. I'll have to speak to Marcus about getting more support. We cannot protect you with that many people around."

"Preston was supposed to talk to Sheriff Ling about getting plain clothes officers for tomorrow."

"I will get in touch with Preston then." Greyson walked away, leaving her to her thoughts once again. She moved into her office and went over everything once again. The tea would start at one. Meade would meet them around one-thirty. Preston would be with her, and Liam would be with Georgia and Jordan. Hopefully, tomorrow would be the end of everything, although she doubted it. If Meade were involved with everything, then he'd be careful what he said to her and Preston. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she saw an unknown number. It could be one vendor for tomorrow, so she picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Is this Caroline Jefferson?" A high-pitched male voice spoke on the other end. He sounded like a teenager.

"Speaking." Something about the tone of the speaker on the other end made her hackles raise.

"You are in danger. Get out and leave town."

"I'm sorry. Who is this?"

"Someone who knows what happened to your husband. You are in danger. Those men are going to kill you and your family."

"Why?" If this person knew what really happened, then she wanted to hear it.

"You have proof. Jefferson knew what they were doing."

"Then shouldn't I be turning in this information to the authorities?"

"It won't get far. Those men have powerful allies."

"I won't let them get away with killing my husband." She had to know if her guess was correct. Did this person know they killed him?

"They will do worse to you and your son."

"I'm not scared of some idiots who think they can get away with being horrible." Caroline was seething by this point. How dare this person try to scare her away from exposing the truth?

"You should be. They've disposed of everyone in their path."

"Then why don't you say something?"

"I am nothing but an underling. I cannot bring evidence forth. Dig deeper in your husband's things, there is more." Caroline sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Why are you telling me all this? Didn't you just say to run?"

"Well, if you are going to be stupid, at least know everything." The voice sounded irritated at her this time.

"Who are you?"

"No one whom you need to know. I tried to do the right thing. I'm going into hiding." The line went dead, and Caroline dropped her phone onto her desk. What did they mean, go through his things? She went through everything, didn't she? Picking her phone back up, she dialed Preston.

"Hey baby, can I call you back in like ten minutes? I am in the middle of helping the crew." He sounded distracted, so she let him go.

"Sure. Love you."

"Love you more, baby." The line went silent and Caroline sat staring at her phone, willing Preston to call her back faster than ten minutes. She needed to tell him what had happened.