by Toby Neal
Such a screwed-up cliché. He despised his father. Jake never made promises he couldn’t keep, and when he finally settled down, it would be for life—which was why he was extra careful not to get emotionally involved—except that it had sneaked up on him.
“Shit,” Jake muttered, and finished his beer.
Patty had married a good guy a couple years ago and had a baby on the way. She might know how to advise him.
Wearing the towel seemed silly, now, freakin’ embarrassing, and he couldn’t go outside when he desperately needed to move and discharge his angst. A run would be perfect. He would just have to go get his clothing from his room . . .
Jake speed-dialed Patty as he finished the last of a container of mu-shu pork.
“My favorite big brother! You never call. Who died?” Patty actually sounded worried.
“Ha! Sorry about that.” Jake stood up, bagging the trash so the dogs wouldn’t get at it. “I need a little advice, sis.” He stowed the bag in a plastic can and put it on top of the TV out of the animals’ reach. “I’ve . . . got feels for a co-worker.”
“Geez, Jake, really? Not good. Why do you need me to tell you that’s a bad idea?” Patty laughed.
“The thing is . . . I didn’t want to like her this much.” He blew out a breath, ran a hand through his hair, staring at the closed door between their rooms. “But I’ve been super into her ever since we met, and I thought it was just the usual . . . I mean she’s hot, and we’d bang, and I’d get over the attraction like I usually do, and move on.”
“Ew, Jake. Why are you telling me this? I really don’t want to know you’re one of ‘those’ guys. I like to think you play that part but aren’t really . . . you know. A user.” Patty sounded sad.
“Crap!” Jake paced. Tank whined in worry watching him, and Jake ran a hand over the dog’s sleek head. “I am not a user. I always make sure the lady gets hers, you know what I mean? I haven’t had complaints except that I just can’t get serious about anybody. But you know why I can’t, right, sis?”
“Because of freakin’ Dad. But you’re not him, Jake. You’ll never be him.”
“But I look like him. I act like him. Hell, in some ways I’m a lot like him! And I don’t want to be that guy. So I’m up front with the women I sleep with, and it’s good times and then goodbye. My last relationship went on a little longer than usual, but we parted ways on good terms, just how I like it. But Sophie . . . Sophie’s different. Complicated. We never even kissed until this week but she keeps leaving me and it . . . gets to me.”
“You finally really like someone and she keeps abandoning you. Like Dad did.”
“You a psychologist or something?” Jake forced a laugh.
“Yeah, kinda. If you kept up with my life a little bit too, Jake, you’d know I’m back in school for nursing. We’ve got plenty of psych classes.”
“I’m sorry, Patty. I’m a jerk.” The towel was slipping. He needed his clothes! Screw Sophie using his room; he’d just go in and change. It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen it all before. He turned the knob of the connecting door and pushed it open. “I really do care about you, hon.”
Sophie was sitting on the bed, her back to him, curled around the phone pressed to her ear. She was speaking some other language. She looked around and glared at him. He dropped the towel defiantly and flipped her off, stomping over to his duffel and pulling out his clothes. “Tell me more, Patty.”
“Well, we all have wounds from our past, and you’ve got a chip on your shoulder about Dad. Why do you think you went into the Army when he was an officer, too? And then, you had to do Special Forces, and outdo him even though he retired a Colonel.”
“Not a bad analysis, Patty. Tell me more from a woman’s perspective.” Hyper-aware of Sophie, Jake dressed, dragging on briefs and a pair of sweatpants.
Patty continued. “I’m guessing, since women pretty much fall all over you, that you picked someone to fixate on that won’t do that. Someone with baggage, or another relationship. Someone screwed up.”
“You’re a little spooky, girl. That’s a pretty accurate description.” Jake could feel Sophie’s gaze on his torso as he pulled a shirt down over his head one-handed. Good, maybe she’d regret what she was missing. “So, what do I do?”
“Well, a woman like that is not going to like your heavy-handed approach. I know you, Jake, and you’re relentless when you want something—but maybe you don’t really want this one. Whoever she is, she’s going to break your heart . . . and that’s why you chose her. Because Dad broke your heart, and you’re trying to heal yourself. That’s why we choose who we do—but at least half the time, we just hurt ourselves all over again. So my first advice to you is, give her up. Walk away. Break it off before she breaks you.”
“Hey, don’t hold back. Give it to me straight,” Jake picked up his running shoes and socks. He walked through the connecting door and slammed it with a satisfying thump so Sophie couldn’t miss that he was pissed. “Geez, you’re brutal.”
“You didn’t call me to massage your ego, did you?”
“Nope. But what if I can’t walk away?”
“Then play it cool. Make her come to you. Be so good she can’t forget you, but don’t wait around and beg; don’t be needy and clingy. Get a life, and live it. Live it so well she wants to join you in it.”
Jake felt his eyes prickle as he thrust his feet into his shoes. “Shit, Patty. You should have been a therapist.”
“I love you, bro. Don’t ever forget it. You’re a good guy and you’ll be an awesome partner to someone, someday. Don’t settle, Jake. You don’t have to.”
Jake rubbed his stinging eyes with a thumb and forefinger after he said goodbye. Tank thrust his big square head under Jake’s arm and took a deep sniff of his armpit, the stump of his cropped tail wagging.
“You guys want a little after-dinner run? Because I sure do.” Jake leashed the dogs and left the little motel room, already knowing what he needed to do.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Sophie winced as the connecting door between the hotel rooms slammed and Jake left. “I have to go, Mother. My partner is becoming suspicious.”
“I can’t wait much longer to have an answer from you, Sophie.” Pim Wat’s familiar voice still paralyzed Sophie, grabbing her by the throat with a conditioned desire to please and appease.
“I don’t understand that, when you waited nine years to contact me.” Sophie cleared her throat and strengthened her tone. “And so far, you haven’t said anything compelling that makes me want to get involved. I have not had time to research your organization’s background due to my current case. But I have a life, Mother, and neither you nor your government have been a part of it.” So far, the strange conversation that had begun with her mother’s phone call had been a rehash of the strange appeal the woman had made to her in the park. “I fail to see how I benefit from such an arrangement.”
“You will be well paid, of course. And you will have a future that is reconciled with your past. You can be a part of our family again. You can come to Thailand and reconnect with your aunts, uncles and cousins.”
“None of that is of interest to me, Mother.” Sophie wondered why she kept repeating the word “mother.” It was as if she needed to remind herself that the husky voice on the other end of the phone was even related to her. “I can visit my family in Thailand anytime I want to. I simply have no interest. I am my father’s daughter.” Sophie hadn’t realized the truth of that statement so clearly until she spoke it. “Dad has been there for me. He didn’t abandon me.”
“Oh, really? Who hired your nannies? Who sent you to boarding school? All of those things were your father’s decision. I wanted you kept at home, with me. And the family.”
Sophie vividly remembered the large wooden family compound built on raised pilings near the river. She remembered shared meals, and chasing and playing with her cousins as they ran through the different apartments, or the subunits the family occupied. And she
remembered how often there was no one home in her family’s apartment, and how she’d been absorbed into her aunt’s.
A knife of old pain twisted in Sophie’s gut. Her father had always been married to his job, and of course, she had needed care, care that her mother hadn’t provided. Frank had wanted her to have an American influence and future; that meant that he had taken steps to ensure that she was acculturated to the Western world.
“He was making sure I was ready to come to the United States when I wanted to. And thank God he did those things, because I couldn’t have escaped Assan by fleeing to Thailand.”
“You didn’t really escape Assan, did you? If you had, you would be a normal woman, perhaps married with some children. But instead you are a stunted and scarred person who cannot settle anything. A mercenary for hire with no honor.”
Sophie gasped at the cruel words. “And you are the one who gave me to Assan. I have heard quite enough of your version of persuasion, Mother.”
Sophie ended the call, hunching over and curling in on herself. She heard a low keening sound, and was surprised to realize she was the one making it.
That phone call had been as poisonous as a black mamba that had sunk its fangs into her throat.
She got herself under control and glanced at the connecting door. It was oddly silent in the other room. Jake must have gone out.
“And I hardly blame him,” Sophie said aloud, remembering the riveting sight of his naked body as he changed in front of her while talking to some other woman. Hurt and rejection had radiated off of him in waves as he made a fuss of changing and leaving.
She was never in doubt about how Jake was feeling at any given time.
Sophie slid the phone into her pocket. She wished she hadn’t taken the call. She wouldn’t take a call from her mother again. She got up and opened the connecting door.
Jake and the dogs were gone. The trash from dinner was neatly tidied away, but he’d left a couple of containers of food out for her.
Jake could sleep with the dogs tonight, instead of with her. A twinge of regret lanced her. It would have been so nice to end the day in his arms, as she had planned. But that was not to be, because explaining any of this to Jake was impossible, and he was already clearly upset because she’d taken a phone call that she didn’t want to explain.
She carried many secrets. That would continue. He had to be okay with it, and clearly, he wasn’t.
Sophie drew the drapes, turned the bolt on the door, and locked the connecting door. She switched off the light, stripped off her clothing, and got into bed.
Darkness was a familiar friend that folded her close in its arms, and dragged her down into oblivion.
Sophie and Jake walked side-by-side into the hotel lobby at the downtown Hilo Bay Hilton.
Jake had unlocked the door between their rooms in order to wake Sophie in the morning, and had roused her with difficulty. He’d been kind, but withdrawn, and she was barely functioning.
Sophie felt fragile, as if anything might push her back into the black depression. Her skin felt thin and sensitive, as if to touch it would burst it, and all that would come out would be a river of tears. She fisted her hands, suppressing the voice of the depression murmuring how hopeless and cursed she was.
“I wonder why the Weathersbys wanted to see us before the meeting at the station.” She spoke for something to say as the elevator rose to the top floor of the hotel. “I am not particularly eager to speak to them about finding Julie’s body.”
“Part of the job. I’d think you’d have a tougher hide about that by now.” Jake hadn’t looked at her all morning and he’d barely spoken. She missed the sight of his eyes.
“You forget I worked in the computer lab—I was never a field agent. Our cases have been the most activity outside an office that I’ve ever had,” Sophie said.
Jake gave a brusque nod.
Sophie opened her mouth to ask him why he was so upset, but the elevator dinged. Jake touched her back so that Sophie could precede him out of the elevator, and she felt the tiny, polite brush of his fingertips echo through her body. Moments later, they stood in front of the Weathersbys’ room, and Sophie rang the bell.
A young woman wrapped in a white robe opened the door.
Sophie recognized her instantly: five foot six inches, one hundred and thirty pounds, long brunette hair, blue eyes, freckles on her nose.
Julie Weathersby.
Chapter Forty
Jake’s mouth fell open in surprise at the sight of the Weathersby girl. He closed it with an effort and visually scanned the young woman wearing a hotel bathrobe. She looked healthy and freshly scrubbed, with no visible bruises or other signs of trauma.
“Oh, I am so happy to see you two! My parents have been telling me all about how hard Security Solutions has been working to find me, and I feel so bad about that,” Julie gushed, clutching the toweling at her neck modestly. “But it was Mallory at FindUsNow that got the word to me through social media that I was being considered endangered and missing.”
Sophie swayed. She looked ready to keel over in a faint. Jake put an arm around her waist and steadied her.
Sophie had gone to the dark place of her depression since he left last night—he had read the signs by her closed shades and locked doors. He and the dogs had gone to bed alone in his room. Going in to comfort her had been out of the question at that point. Whoever had been on that phone call had jacked her up and his help was not welcome. She’d made that abundantly clear.
“We are a little taken aback to see you,” Jake said, because someone had to say something. He extended his hand. “Jake Dunn. Security specialist. I am very glad to see you, young lady.” He injected his voice with heartiness as Julie shook his hand with a slender cool one.
Sophie extended her hand next. “We thought that you were dead,” she said flatly.
“Oh no! That’s terrible. I’m so sorry for the mix-up. Please, come in. We want to tell you all about it before we go to the police station. Dad wants us all to be on the same page.”
“Oh, hello there, Jake and Sophie!” Mrs. Weathersby’s soft face, filled with joy, still reminded Jake of his mom. After that talk with Patty, he was overdue to give her a call. “Please come in and have some coffee with us!”
Jake and Sophie walked into the suite. Mr. Weathersby rose from a chair out on the deck overlooking a stunning view of Hilo Bay and swaying palm trees. “What’s this about thinking my daughter was dead? We want to make sure we all have our stories straight before we go into the police station.”
Jake clenched his teeth, bracing for spin doctoring. Rich people always thought they could rewrite history, and half the time they got away with it. “We’re eager to hear what happened to your daughter, Mr. Weathersby,” Jake said. “And I hope you’ll be considerate of all the work that’s gone into finding her, both by our staff and by the Hilo Police Department.”
“Oh, we’ll tip you,” Mr. Weathersby said dismissively. “Now sit down and Julie will tell you what happened.”
Freitan and Wong didn’t look like they had gotten much sleep in the hours since Jake had seen them last. The detectives were downright grouchy as they sat Julie Weathersby, extracted from her parents’ arms, on a chair in the interview room. The parents were calling a lawyer, but Julie hadn’t asked for one, and as far as Jake knew, Julie wasn’t in trouble—they just wanted any information she had about Rayme, Webb, and whoever had attacked her. The young woman began to cry immediately when Freitan told her they’d be recording the interview. Freitan rolled her eyes even as Wong pushed a box of tissues over to the weepy woman.
On the other side of the reflective glass coating, the observation booth was dim and smelled faintly of the ever-present Hilo mold. The voices coming through the ancient sound system were thin and tinny. Jake’s plastic chair was hard, and he resisted an urge to reach out to Sophie as she sat beside him, eyes on the drama occurring in the other room. Her hand was just lying there in her lap.
/> Maybe touching her was a good strategy.
But only if he could do it without it affecting him more than it did her . . .
Jake was determined to take Patty’s counsel. No neediness. No begging. No jealousy. Just being so damn good Sophie couldn’t forget him. Good advice, Patty. He had a plan now.
Jake reached out and took Sophie’s hand. As before when she was in her depression, it was cold and limp. He rubbed slow circles on her wrist with his thumb. He felt silky tissue, bones, and fragile veins. Her pulse picked up as the pad of his thumb moved gently over her skin.
Good. She was feeling this.
And he was still nicely detached. He needed to stay that way.
“Rather than having us ask you questions, why don’t you just tell us, in your own words, where you’ve been.” Freitan leaned back and crossed her arms on her chest in classic “bad cop” mode. “Your parents are calling a lawyer like you need to be protected from some wrongdoing. So, what you been up to, chica?”
“We appreciate that you are cooperating with us,” Wong’s body language was opposite: leaning toward the girl, arms open, smiling and friendly.
“It’s all a big misunderstanding. I mean, part of it is.” Julie gestured to her clothing, a pair of jeans and a tee that still had creases from packaging on it. “I guess you heard from the Security Solutions people that I was robbed and left on the side of the road?”
“Yes. We even have your friends Webb and Rayme in custody.”
“That’s great! Those two are total assholes! They pretended to be friends with me, and then took all my money and jewelry. They did leave me with my backpack, though.”
“Yes. Then the Security Solutions people found your backpack, boots and clothing, and feared the worst. And yet, here you are,” Freitan said.
“Well.” Julie chewed her bottom lip. The kid was adorable. Even hearing the story for the second time, Jake was impressed with how she oozed sincerity. “I was so upset after Holly and Jim threw me out of their car. I tramped into the jungle to get away, worried they were going to take the rest of my stuff. They had propositioned me for a threesome and when I said no, that’s when they decided to rob me, I think. Anyway, I was out there and just starting to turn around and head back to the road, when this guy came out of nowhere.” Julie’s gaze cut up and to the left as she recalled the events. “He was way scarier than Jimmy and Holly.”