His gut burned with guilt for not mentioning what he’d learned about Jason the last time he’d seen her. And anger at Jason for preying on someone as sweet as Lori. He couldn’t let him hurt her.
He tried to figure out how to find Rachel to ask about Lori as he and Asher drove in silence to Lori’s house. Asher was probably so quiet because he thought he was in trouble for forgetting his book. “Hey, Ash? Do you happen to know which show they went to?”
His head bobbed up and down in the reflection of the rearview mirror. “It started at six thirty. Em’s so lucky. They were going to have popcorn for dinner.”
“Movie popcorn is incredibly bad for you.”
Asher shrugged. “But it tastes really good.”
Deek couldn’t argue that point, so he let it drop while he did the math. Maybe Rachel and Emily would be back by the time they got to Emily’s house. Rachel would probably know where Jason and Lori went.
When they arrived at Lori’s house, there were lights on, giving Deek hope that it wasn’t too late. But he didn’t feel comfortable showing up unannounced at the front door, especially when Lori wasn’t even home. He handed Asher his phone. “Can you call Emily? Make sure they’re still awake? I’d like to talk to Rachel about something.”
Worry crumpled Asher’s brow as he called. After a quick conversation, he hung up and said, “Emily said she’d meet us at the front door. What’s wrong, Dad?”
Deek plastered on a smile. “Adult stuff. Nothing for you and Emily to worry about.”
“You’re acting so weird.” Asher led the way to the front door and knocked. When it swung open, Emily waved them inside.
After Emily had handed Asher the book, they both looked up at Deek with questioning expressions.
He said, “Hi. Is your aunt around, Emily?”
Emily exchanged an “I’m going to kill you” glance at Asher. Then she nodded and said, “She’s in the kitchen. Asher, can you come help me with a homework problem?”
Poor Asher. He was probably about to get a dressing down from Emily for spilling the beans about the movie.
Deek poked the swinging door open and found Rachel, arm deep into the cookie jar. “Busted!”
Rachel had screeched before her hand flew into the air, sending three cookies flying. “Geez, Deek. You scared the hell out of me.” She bent down to clean up the crumbs. “What are you doing here so late?”
He squatted down to help. “I need to find Lori and warn her about Jason.”
She stopped her cleaning as concern filled her expression. “Warn her about what?”
“Sleeping with him. That’s what I started to tell her, well, I guess it was you, last night. He’s a sick perv. A sexual deviant.”
Rachel’s hand flew to her chest. “But Lori said they ran a background check on him.” Rachel left the cookie crumbs where they were and headed toward the swinging door.
Deek followed. “Background checks aren’t as comprehensive as people think. And he’s paid someone a lot of money to cover up his online past.”
Rachel jogged into the den. “She’s at some country club. She left the name and number, in case we needed her.” She lunged for the coffee table and grabbed a piece of paper. Then she handed it to him. “How do you know all this about Jason?”
“I was recruited in college to work for the government. For law enforcement. I hope Lori won’t be mad that I dug into his past illegally.”
Rachel raised a brow. “While my sister is very big on rules, I think she’ll see you did this because you care for her. A lot. Am I right?”
He nodded. But his face was getting hot, so he studied the paper. “Do you think I should page her? Or would it be better if you did?”
“Luckily, this fundraiser is supposed to last until eleven, so I don’t think we’re in danger of her going home with him—yet.” Rachel took his arm and pulled. “I think you should go down there and talk to her in person. Go right up to her table, tell her how much you love her, and that you can’t bear the thought of her with another man. Then grab her hand and tell her you’ve changed your mind and that you will marry her. Then in the car, you can tell her the truth about Jason.”
He pulled up short. “What? I never said I love—”
“I know you didn’t say that, Deek. Keep up here.” Rachel laid her hands on his shoulders and leaned close. “While I’m sure Lori wishes you loved her, you need to put the show on for Jason’s sake. They just started dating. He’ll figure Lori’s taken and move on, am I right?”