“Ava…” I don’t know what to say. She has to take care of him, or I will. “Try rehab or a sanatorium. The next time he tries anything like what he did last night, I won’t be so easy on him.”
“What will you do?”
“Nothing, for now. Get him under control. Stage an intervention or something. Convince him he still has a lot going for him and hating me will get him nowhere.”
She sighs. “That’s easy for you to say.”
“He’s not my responsibility, Ava.”
“Yes, I understand…and obviously neither am I.”
I don’t argue. I have other priorities now, and making sure Rachel has nothing to worry about is more important to me than Ava’s feelings.
Later, I find Rachel in the kitchen drinking coffee.
“Good morning.” I peer at her face. “Are you okay?”
She gives me a tight smile and a shrug. “I’m fine. Good morning.”
I can see she’s not fine. I order breakfast and watch Rachel pick at her food.
“So what’s going to happen with Evans?” she asks.
“Don’t worry about it.”
She makes an exasperated sound. “Of course I’m worried. I was there yesterday. If you hadn’t moved out of the way so quickly…”
I wish she would stop thinking about it. “He’s unstable and struggling with substance abuse problems. He’s blaming everyone but himself for everything that’s wrong with his life…but forget about him. He won’t be causing any trouble anymore.”
“Is Ava going to get him into rehab?” she asks. Then, meeting my eyes, she continues. “I was looking for you earlier. I heard part of your conversation with her.” She sighs. “The thing is, no matter how easily you brush last night away…I was afraid, Landon. I still am.”
“Rachel—”
“No, let me finish. It’s not just the physical danger to you. It’s more than that. I don’t like feeling that you let Evans off because of what his sister still means to you.”
“Rachel,” I say gently, “I won’t deny that I tried to be considerate of Ava—not because of what she means to me, but because I would have done the same for anyone else, especially someone I’ve had both a business and a personal relationship with.”
Her throat works, but she stays silent.
“Evans is obviously battling personal issues…and I’m familiar enough with those to have some compassion for him.”
Her eyes flash with barely suppressed anger. “You can’t seriously compare what he’s going through to what you went through. You witnessed an accident and blamed yourself when you shouldn’t have. Evans is a spoiled playboy who is acting out his dissatisfaction in a dangerous way.”
I know she’s right. “Well, he will go to rehab, or he’ll go to jail. Those are the options I will give him. Either way, he won’t be bothering us again.”
Her eyes close. “Okay,” she concedes. “If you’re sure.”
Chapter 33
Rachel spends most of the next week getting ready to go to Barbados for Laurie and Brett’s wedding.
Even with the last-minute shopping and work deadlines, it’s a quiet week for the both of us. We don’t talk much about the incident with Evans, or about Ava. I only tell her that Evans has checked into a facility.
I don’t tell her that only a few days after checking in, he assaulted an orderly and left. His whereabouts are unknown, but the last thing I want is for her to worry about him when she should be enjoying the days leading up to Laurie’s wedding.
Now, on the way to the airport, e
ven though I hate to let Rachel out of my sight even for a few days, I’m relieved she won’t be beside me if he tries anything again.