Her Broken Hero Billionaire (Billionaire Bachelor Mountain Cove Book 8)

by Stephanie Fowers

  Jett took a deep breath, trying to center himself. This was the moment she could prove her innocence … if she was. “What about an autopsy?”

  Her voice dropped to a whisper, and she played with the butterfly pendant against the creamy skin of her neck. “Ryan says it’s all in the report. My father had drugs in his system, but I don’t know how.”

  That was pretty hard evidence. Whether Hannah did this or not, she was in deep. “How did you get involved with this guy? Why’s he doing this?”

  “We dated at the hospital. He’s the head administrator there. I don’t know who he paid off or who he’s lied to, but people trust him. No one would ever know that he’d do something like this. They’d only believe him, not me.” Her eyes glistened.

  He buried his head in his hands. They’d nail her to the wall. “We’re not going to the police,” he muttered through his fingers.

  He listened to her shocked intake of breath. “You believe me, right?”

  He had no idea. She’d kept so many things from him for so long that he’d have to wade through it all to figure out what was true. Was she who she said she was? Was Ryan? Did her father really die? Was she even innocent? She could’ve turned to drugs and gotten in over her head, and then this joker had used everything she’d done against her to get her back.

  Jett felt like an idiot. How could he let himself fall for her before knowing everything? Obviously, she had secrets, but he’d been so proud of tearing down her walls … both of their walls, actually. Now he’d have to rip out his heart to make himself stop caring. Even after all the lies, he’d defend her to the death. His anger flared through his disappointment, and he lifted his head, seeing her watch him with concern. “That’s why you came here?” he asked. “Because you’re trying to get away from that guy?”

  “He followed me from Vermont. I didn’t know what else to do. He won’t let me go. He cornered me in the parking lot where I worked and tried to throw me in his car.”

  His muscles clenched with a fury that had nothing to do with her. He remembered the kind of car the police had described. “A Subaru Forester?”

  She hung her head. “I think he crashed it on purpose and left my ID in there to figure out where I’d gone.”

  She’d covered everything up so well. “I get why you didn’t say anything in the beginning,” he said, “but … I thought we’d reached a place where you could trust me. How much between us is a lie, Hannah?”

  “None of it!”

  “All of it! Everything is a lie.” His temper snapped. “You let me believe you were here to heal me, when you were … damaged yourself?” Pain flashed across her face and he felt it stab into his gut, but he couldn’t let her trick him again. Never again. “This guy comes here talking about drugs and murder. And now you admit you’re not who you say you are. I don’t know what to believe anymore!”

  “Please, Jett! Listen.”

  He shook his head. Now she wanted him to listen? After she was caught? She’d always acted like she hadn’t seen him differently than anyone else, but now his insecurities flooded him as Ryan’s words rushed through his head, and he suspected the real reasons she held back. “What? Was I too broken? Did you think I couldn’t protect you?”

  “No!” Her tears tore at his heart. She’d spent too long hiding in fear. They shouldn’t be fighting after Ryan had tried to kill her, but this was so messed up. Nothing they had was real.

  Veronica knocked on the door. Huxley barked as Jett ripped his attention from Hannah’s tragic expression. His security detail would have questions for him now, but how could he leave Hannah like this? He met her misty blue eyes and hardened his heart. After everything that happened, he didn’t know how he could trust her.

  “Jett?” Veronica called.

  “I need to take care of this.” He raised his voice. “I’ll be right there, Veronica.” Jett’s leg attachment was broken, and he pressed his hand against the dresser, fully planning on furniture surfing to get out of this room.

  Hannah let out a dismayed sound and wriggled under his arm, her soft body pressing into his side while she helped him to the door. The smell of her perfume still lingered on her smooth skin and drove him to distraction. He pushed her hair out of his face. Ryan’s scathing words kept echoing through his thoughts—Hannah knew how to make a man fall in love with her.

  Everything in him suspected and was repulsed by the idea that there was so much more to this relationship with Ryan than Hannah was telling him. No doubt Ryan had abused her, and Jett longed for another chance to go at that man, but Hannah’s role was not as innocent as she claimed. He’d talk to her about this in the morning after he cleared his head of her lies … and maybe that perfume, too.

  Chapter Twenty

  Hannah tossed and turned all night, her heart teetering over the chasm of heartbreak until it finally fell, and she cried into her pillow. Oh, Jett! The betrayal that threaded through his beautiful green eyes when he’d looked at her earlier had torn her apart. All she wanted was his arms around her, comforting her, protecting her. She had lost the one man she loved because she’d been too afraid to let him in. Now it was too late.

  She passed a sleepless night until she woke up that morning, her pulse still pounding and her body cramping with panic. Why? Why couldn’t she trust Jett enough to tell him everything? Her stomach twisted when she remembered that he’d accused her of being a liar. It hurt so bad that he didn’t believe her. Worse, Jett was putting himself in danger by allowing Ryan’s blackmail to stop him from going to the police. She never should’ve come here in the first place.

  Pushing her comforter to the side, Hannah sat up in bed, running a hand through her messy hair. She could no longer lie here and do nothing. She might’ve pushed Jett away, but she was through with running. Ryan was going to pay for taking away the last part of her life that she cared about. The sheriff had told her to come to him if she had more information. Now that Jett was in danger, she was willing to do that. She dialed in for a ride to come pick her up. The driver would be there in fifteen minutes. There was no going back.

  Hannah pulled out her bag and started throwing everything she owned into it. There wasn’t much. In fact, she’d ended up with so much more than what she’d come with. Jett had been so generous with his climbing equipment, hats, and extra shoes in her size that he happened to have lying around. Her necklace. Her hand went to it. Her heart swelled, and the sobs threatened to leave her throat just thinking about him. Separating from Jett would be so hard, but he didn’t need any reminder of her. Confessing to the police would put her in jail until they sorted everything out. She might never be able to prove her innocence, but she’d serve the time for Jett.

  A soft rap sounded on the door. Hannah rubbed the tears from her eyes. “Yes?”

  The door opened before she invited whoever it was inside, and she jumped when she saw Veronica. The personal assistant’s eyes went to the half-packed bag, and she pushed the door shut behind her, whispering, “What are you doing?”

  “It’s best this way.”

  Veronica stared at her with narrowed eyes before approaching her with a dangerous sway to her hips. “I can’t pretend that I’ve ever really liked you, but … if you leave and break Jett Eastwood’s heart, I’ll eat you for dinner.”

  Hannah’s hands fell to her sides. “This is for him. I’m keeping him safe.”

  “Does this have to do with all that excitement last night?”

  “Yes.” She shouldn’t have to explain herself, but she tried. “I’m turning myself in.”

  Veronica tilted her head. “I should’ve known you’d run when things got hard.”

  What was she saying? Hannah honestly thought that Veronica hated her guts. Why would she try to convince her to stay now?

  “Running from bad decisions is exhausting …” Veronica almost acted like she knew something about that. She gestured to a chair. “Sit and think before you do something stupid.”

  Hannah didn’t have mu
ch time before the whole house was awake and she was due for Jett’s usual morning workouts. “No, my mind is already made up.”

  “Oh, I see, so you’re sacrificing yourself for him. How boring.”

  Veronica made her feel like a child when she put it that way. “What would you do?”

  “I’d let him take care of me. He’s got money, privilege, too much time on his hands. You’ve got him wrapped around your finger, and he owes you, right?”

  What was this? Reverse psychology? The more Veronica tried to convince her to stay, the more Hannah wanted to leave. She zipped up her bag. “My ride will be here any second.”

  Veronica looked genuinely surprised. “You’re not after him for money?”

  “What?” She let her scorn show in her voice. “No! He’s the best man I’ve ever met! You can’t stop me from doing the right thing for him because I … I love him!”

  Veronica’s brow shot up. “You’re a tougher nut to crack than I thought—I thought you’d fall for my little ‘girl talk’ moment, but you’re still not fooling me. I know women. Oh, you can make cute little speeches with that sweet face and those innocent eyes, but I know the real you. You and I, we’re one and the same.”

  Hannah got a notification on her phone that her ride was here. She heaved up her bag.

  Veronica laughed. “Fine, pretend to go. I’m sure you’ll be back here with another sob story. I can hardly wait for the spectacle to begin.”

  Pressing her lips together, Hannah dragged her bag out of her room—proud to prove Veronica wrong. She flipped her hair behind her shoulder and went out the back way, knowing that Jett would be at breakfast. If she didn’t come within the half hour, he’d probably send for her. No way would Veronica sound the alarm that she’d left.

  Hannah nudged a side door open with her hip and worked her bag out the screen door with her. From the corner of her eye, she noticed a white sedan parked out on the street, the engine on, all while she backed up to get one last glimpse of Jett’s home that was the size of a mountain. She’d miss everything about it, but him most of all. Well, maybe the Jacuzzi too … and Huxley, and her sunny mornings in the climbing room when Jett came in to greet her with a smile as bright as the day.

  Her sadness touched her lips with a droop as she swung back around to her ride, then slowed. She recognized the scratched paint, the dent, the license plate. This is my Chevrolet. She dropped her bag, and edging away from it, ran—straight into Ryan’s chest. His arms twisted around her, smothering her screams with his hand before he pushed her inside the back of her car, slamming the door just like before.

  She tried to get the door open, but he’d jammed the locks somehow. She listened to his shoes crunch against the gravel as he came around to the driver’s seat and pried open the creaking door. He threw her bag over the seat, knocking her back as he got in. The door slammed behind him. He put his arm around the seat and glanced back at her, snickering. “Be sure to leave me a good review.”

  What had she done? Her breath jammed into her throat. “Ryan … it doesn’t matter what you tell the police. I’m ready to talk to them. So let me go. You can’t blackmail me anymore!”

  He pushed down the gas. “When we pass the security guard, no fast moves or I’ll kill you both.”

  Hannah slid down in her seat, her pounding heart thrashing through her ears. Did he have a weapon on him? His angry glittering eyes and the tight way he fisted the steering wheel reminded her of how he got when he raged out of control, but what would he really do?

  He smiled tensely. “This town seemed small enough that you’d think someone would’ve known where you went. I’ve been driving Ubers and limos and Lyfts for two months and got no hint of where you’d gone. I can’t tell you how many times I came here. These guys know me well.” Ryan drove them next to Elton Philips’s security booth and passed him his driving credentials.

  Elton nodded at Hannah. His eyes ran over the bag on her lap. “Going somewhere?”

  She felt certain he’d hear the heavy crashing of her pulse while she tried to decide what to do. Jett had wrestled Ryan’s gun away last night. Maybe she should call for help?

  Ryan cut off Hannah’s view of the security guard by leaning farther out the window. He pulled his jacket to the side, and she saw the hilt of a hunting knife. “To the airport,” he answered loudly for her.

  Elton was already talking through his radio. He barely noticed as they drove away.

  Ryan winked at Hannah through the rearview mirror. “You owe me a new car, by the way. This one’s ten years old. My ratings have been slipping because of it.”

  Why? Why was he doing this? She took a deep breath. “You can’t possibly want me that badly. Nothing I did was good enough. You don’t even like me.”

  His face reddened. “How can you say that? I gave up everything for you.”

  How blunt could she be? She knew he’d blow up at her, but she only wanted to be free. “I don’t want anything to do with you. Just let me go. Drop me off here. I’ll walk home.”

  A vein pulsed against his forehead, like it did before he exploded with a passion. His fists would come next. Her throat felt tight. He picked up speed. First he was 10 miles over the speed limit, then 20, speeding over windy roads. She whipped from side to side in her seat, feeling dizzy. She grasped at her seat belt and clicked it on with shaky fingers. Where was he taking her? She lowered her head, holding the butterfly on her necklace to keep herself from crying.

  “He gave you that butterfly, didn’t he?” Ryan’s voice was raw with rage. He always tried to find how to hurt her most. “Let’s see how much he wants you after I’m through with you.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The pink glow from his handheld laser reflected off Jett’s protective eyewear while he worked on the busted leg attachment in his workroom. Concentrating on welding the broken pieces back together was supposed to make him forget how little Hannah had trusted him, but this only reminded him of what she’d done to heal him.

  Hannah should be awake by now. Normally, they’d meet at breakfast, but he decided he couldn’t talk calmly over food, and so he’d wait for their mid-morning workouts. If he was tinkering in the workroom, she usually wandered from the gym to find him here. She was late.

  Setting down the laser, he checked the sturdiness of the leg attachment. Satisfied, he attached it to the magnetic joint. His eyes went to his watch. Hannah still wasn’t here. He pressed the button to call in Veronica. She came in, red hair swinging.

  “Where is she?”

  He didn’t have to specify who. Veronica sighed like she was the most put-upon woman in existence. “She’s not here.”

  Jett swung around from his worktable, his heart picking up speed. “What do you mean? Not here?”

  “She left, Jett. I don’t know what you expect me …”

  “You let her leave?” He wrenched off his gloves and threw them to the floor.

  “Look, you don’t pay me to be anyone’s jailor.”

  No, but he paid her to keep her eyes and ears on everything that happened here, and he grew suspicious that Veronica had kept this all from him. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  Veronica grew quiet, her eyes rolling to the ceiling. “I’m sure she’ll be back.”

  She didn’t know Hannah. “Where’d she say she went?”

  “To the police.”

  He groaned. Not yet. They were supposed to talk about this first and make a plan.

  Veronica just stood there with a pleased smirk on her face.

  He shook his head at her. “You’re fired.”

  Her mouth wrenched open in astonishment—the first appropriate emotion she’d shown all day. “Did you really just fire me?”

  “Yeah, I really just fired you.” None of this felt real. He walked blindly into a chair, and the raw pain met his senses when nothing else could get in. Why couldn’t Hannah ever confide in him? Did she really think he was that incompetent? He shoved the chair back too hard, an
d it hurled against the wall.

  Veronica threw her hands up and marched for the door.

  “Veronica?” He stopped her. “She told you why she left, didn’t she?”

  Veronica swiveled back around, her jeweled eyes narrowing. “I thought I was fired?” He glared back, and she surrendered with a roll of her shoulders. “It’s nonsense. She said she did it because she loves you.”

  His shoulders sagged at the realization, and now the anger was mingled with worry and something else. She loves me? And she’d also gone to confess. Did that make her guilty? The pain of loss wrenched through him, making his back arch like a wild animal. It was all he could do to keep back a roar of anguish. What had he done? He’d chased her away.

  “Oh please,” Veronica cut in with a sigh. “Hannah will come back here with some lame excuse that she was going to the police, but she couldn’t stop thinking about you and ‘Can you please hold me?’ while she cries. It’s all part of the ‘damsel in distress’ playbook.” She couldn’t be more wrong. Nothing Hannah did was rehearsed. Veronica, on the other hand? She licked her ruby-red lips like a hungry cat. “If I’m right, I get my job back. If I’m wrong, I’ll happily pack up and let your new little woman take over the place when she says ‘I do.’”

  He felt a pang at the pretty scene Veronica had painted. It would never be reality. “When did my life become a game to you? Forget your bets. You’re finished here.”

  Frustration clouded Veronica’s face, and she left, her heels clicking against the polished floor.

  The afternoon wore on, and Hannah didn’t come back. Veronica had sounded so sure she’d return that Jett had almost believed her, hoped against hope, even. Not that Hannah would’ve planned to tug on his heartstrings like Veronica had accused, but maybe she’d have second thoughts.