by Fiona Archer
“Thanks, that’s kind of you. He’s been gone twelve months. Dad loved tinkering on that website. He needed a diversion from missing Mom after she passed years before.” More paper shuffling. “I was blown away by your e-mail. I didn’t think anyone outside of Arch Bend noticed the site.”
Thank God for small mercies.
“Can you confirm Eugene Hicks’s date of death?”
“Sorry, Dad’s filing wasn’t that great. Here it is,” Mr. Granger said. “July 10th, 1984.”
Olivia’s gut twisted in knots. The same date on Ella-Mae’s statement. “And it was from a knife wound?”
“That’s right. Upper chest.” Olivia closed her eyes, despair washing over her. Another match. “Not surprised,” Mr. Granger continued. “The guy was shifty. He’d run whatever scam he could as long as it required only minimal effort.” Mr. Granger’s voice turned curious. “So you’re doing a paper on obscure unsolved mysteries?”
It was the best excuse she could come up with for contacting the site. “We’ll see. All depends on what the grant’s committee says.” Heck, one lie had turned into another. She needed to wrap this up. “Thank you, Mr. Granger, for confirming some details. I appreciate you having to hunt through your dad’s records.”
“I’ll keep a look out for anything else. There’s still a stack of boxes to go through connected with his website.”
“Please, don’t go to much trouble.” The last thing she wanted was to have the man trawling through dusty papers on a fruitless mission for her. “Thanks again.”
She ended the call and gave herself a moment to regroup.
Where to now? Were there any other avenues left open to dispute Lawson’s accusations, short of confronting her mom? She just…couldn’t face that right now. What would she say?
Her cell trilled. She didn’t recognize the number but took the call.
“Olivia, sleep well?” Lawson’s cold voice sent her heartbeat racing.
“What do you want? I still have two days.”
“I imagine you’ve done your fact checking. Found out I’m not a man who issues empty threats.”
Dammit, she refused to admit anything to him. “I’ll repeat myself, what do you want?”
“I’m back in Seattle. My board meets tomorrow afternoon. I want the bid document delivered to me by you personally before that meeting.”
“But,” she blinked, fear hardening her stomach. “We had an agreement. It’s only Wednesday.” How could he do this? “I had seventy-two hours. Our trade doesn’t happen until Friday.”
“No, our agreement was that in exchange for the bid document I’d hand over the knife. That agreement remains intact. The timeframe was up to me.” The flatness of his voice left no room for bargaining. “Have it in your hand and ready to give to me by four o’clock tomorrow afternoon. I’ll text you the particulars of where to be. Don’t let me down, Olivia. Your mother has too much to lose if you do.”
The line went dead.
Lawson had taken away twenty-four hours and along with that any chance of finding an alternative solution to an intolerable choice.
She had to act now. And fast.
What if she got a copy of the bid document and changed some of the figures, giving Lawson an inflated cost?
She shook her head. Delude yourself all you like girl, but it’s still a betrayal of Kane and Alex.
She glanced across to his desk where Kane’s laptop, still open, held the key to winning her mom’s freedom. Once the screen went into hibernation, it would ask for a password. She needed to hurry. After dipping her hand into her bag, she drew out the mini USB stick she kept in a pencil case along with her favorite pens. E-mailing the document would leave a trace. Not that it mattered much. She couldn’t hope to continue with the guys after committing such treachery.
On shaky legs she walked to his desk. The screen’s hibernation hadn’t started. Kane was still logged on to his laptop, a sign of trust with her left in the room. It only added to the sinkhole of shame forming in her stomach.
Think of Mom. What she stands to lose.
She clicked on his documents folder, knowing where he’d placed the file after seeing him working on it Monday night. How horribly fortuitous for her.
In seconds the deed was done. She ejected the USB stick, barely seeing the screen as tears pooled in her eyes. With a click, she closed down the folder.
She sat there, trying to swallow past the pain in the back of her throat, but that mountain of self-loathing wouldn’t budge. Each tight swallow reminded her of her disgrace.
She started to move around the desk when a familiar book cover, partially hidden under a sheet of paper, caught her eye. Gently, reverently, she slid her fingertips over the cover, dragging it clear.
The dog-eared edges of Where the Wild Things Are lay with a Post-it note saying For Olivia.
Her sob rang out like the howl of a wounded animal. She pressed her fist to her mouth and shot a hurried glance at the door. But no one came near.
This beautiful man, her Kane, wanted to give her something he treasured, something that provided a tangible memory to a child who had lost his father way too young.
How could she betray men who showed her such love?
The answer resonated clear in her mind.
She couldn’t.
Somehow, God only knew how, she would find another way to get that knife back off Lawson and still have the men she loved with her whole being by her side.
Thinking on the run, she grabbed Kane’s leather diary out of his bag. She knew he used it to keep a paper record of phone numbers and e-mail addresses in case he lost his cell or it was damaged. Seeing a couple of handy contacts, she entered them into her phone. Once she had scribbled a note to Kane saying she had to go home and fix something for her mom, she grabbed her bag and headed down the corridor, using the exit door that opened directly out to the foyer. Only then did she remember the USB stick in her left hand. She glanced around, spying a brown leather waste bin next to a small wall table. Bending the mini USB between her fingers and thumbs, she heard the snap of the plastic, then pulled apart the inner workings of the stick. It was ruined, beyond repair. Unreadable. She tossed it into the bin, and ran out the entry door with only one purpose in mind.
Find another way to save her mom. And find it fast.
* * * *
Kane, his appetite sated from his lunch of poached sea bream, sat behind his desk and studied his brother. “She left me a note. I called and she said she’d forgotten an earlier promise to her mom to do something at the house.”
“Did she seem okay on the phone?” Alex’s brows drew together.
“More…in a hurry. She didn’t talk for long. Gave me her explanation, told me she loved me, and that was the call.” Kane noted the stiffness in his brother’s shoulders. “Why? What’s wrong? You said earlier everything seemed okay. I’ll admit she was preoccupied while in here, but I put it down to concentrating on her notes.”
Alex sighed. “I don’t know, but my gut keeps telling me something is off.”
“Your gut is going to give you ulcers.” Kane was only half joking. “She said she’d be back around five, that’s three hours away. Patch is due home today from the vet. Boone told me he was going to call Olivia when he was ready to be picked up.” He liked saying their dog’s new name. It suited the little guy with that big black circle of fur that surrounded his left eye. “We’ll wait until then. See if she’s more settled. If not, we can get her to confess whatever’s on her mind in our dungeon.”
Alex, with his fingers forming a steeple on his chest, slowly nodded. “Sounds good.”
“Speaking of dungeons.” Kane pointed to a black envelope, its matte-finish decorated with small gold lettering in the left top corner saying The Club. “Eli arranged for Gregory to hand deliver these invitations today. Noah King and Flynn Taylor, Gabe Monroe, Quinn Sullivan, and Mike Langley are invited to a special ‘pre-opening’ play night at the Club this Saturday. Their sub
s are also invited.”
Alex’s face creased with his smile. “I can imagine the blushing from Olivia, Chloe, and Reagan.”
“Now that’s something to look forward to. There’s nothing better than a shy sub whose inner brat is waiting to come out to play.”
“Kane, Alex.” Both men turned their gazes to Quinn. The security chief strode into the office, coming to a stop beside Kane’s desk. Their friend held his arms wide from his body, and his chest out, as if bracing for an impact.
Of what, Kane had no clue.
Alex was already on his feet. Kane joined him. He didn’t bother with a greeting. “What’s wrong?”
The trill of his cell phone sliced through the tension. He looked at the screen. “It’s Olivia.” He reached out to pick it up.
“Don’t answer that,” Quinn said, his voice low. “Not until you’ve heard what I have to say.”
Kane stared into his friend’s gaze, and saw the concern there, the need for Kane to comply.
His phone ceased ringing, leaving the room too quiet.
He glanced at Alex, caught the way his brother lifted his chin, and set his shoulders.
Kane sat down in his chair and tried to ignore the tightening of his gut. “Then speak.”
Chapter Fifteen
Olivia hung up from leaving her message for Kane. Boone had called, saying Patch was ready to make his journey to his new home. How could she have forgotten their new canine hero was coming home today?
She turned back to her laptop, or more precisely, back to finding a miracle.
Blowing out a breath, she banished the twinge of panic creeping into her body. It served no purpose except to screw up her confidence and cloud her mind with fear.
Tapping her pen on her notebook, this one a gorgeous tangerine with black piping on the edges, she tried to draw in her focus.
If you wanted to take a target down, you needed to know everything about them. She let go of her pen, then typed Richard Lawson into Google.
So many entries. They included ones referring to him personally and also Lawson Enterprises. Seeing the society snapshots of him on the right side of her screen turned her stomach.
She scrolled down the page until an item relating to the activities of Lawson Enterprises in Asia caught her eye. Clicking on the entry, she sat back and read every scrap of information.
When she next checked the time, two hours had passed. She had made a series of calls to contacts in New York. The most important of all, to Charles Graham, her old boss, she was just finishing up.
“Olivia, I’m willing to find out whatever you need but I wish you’d tell me the real reason why.”
“I told you, I just need to check out something for a friend.”
Charles’s sigh echoed down the phone line. “All right, keep it to yourself, but know that if I can, I’m happy to help you further.”
Olivia’s eyes stung. “You already have, Charles,” she whispered.
“Hmmm.” The older man’s stern mutter let her know he wasn’t happy with the crumbs of an excuse she supplied as to why she needed the information. But his next words showed he was on board regardless. “Check your e-mail later tonight. Tomorrow morning, too. If you need more, call.” If she closed her eyes, she could see her old boss take off his metal-framed glasses and rub the bridge of his nose like he always did when something worried him.
“I will.” Lord, she would be checking it hourly. “Thank you, Charles. You just might be helping me make a miracle.”
“Olivia, if anyone could make one happen, it would be you. Good luck, kiddo.” The older man’s gruff voice gentled at the end before the dial tone in her ear signaled he had hung up.
She sat still and gazed at her screen. Her plans were a long shot, more guided by instinct than anything else, but so far, it was her only viable option. It all depended on what information her sources could gather.
It had to work. There was too much to lose for her to fail.
Her laptop pinged as a reminder flashed on her screen to collect Patch from the vet. Holy heck, what a day.
She shut down her computer. Traveling to Seattle tomorrow meant catching two flights. No private jet for this trip. To avoid any questions on her early start she would stay at her mom’s tonight.
Considering all the white lies she had told over the last twenty-four hours, one more to Kane and Alex saying her mom wasn’t feeling well wouldn’t make that much of a difference. She eyed her tote and lifted it up. Heavy. Steering a cattle dog on a lead, and who knew how obedient he’d be, with a heavy bag sounded tricky. After ditching her notebook and other nonnecessities, the tote weighed much less.
She slung it over her shoulder before heading out.
So maybe she went slightly overboard at the market in assembling her welcome pack for Patch, at least if Moira Hansen’s grin was anything to go by. When Olivia told her the dog’s story, the owner of the market threw in a hamburger-shaped chew toy. Its squeak sounded happy to Olivia. She only hoped the guys had the same opinion.
At exactly a quarter to five, she drove into the driveway of Boone’s vet practice.
Once her eyes adjusted from the sunshine outside to the light blue and cream coolness of the building’s interior, she spied the wall covered in photographs of Boone’s patients and their owners. Birds, dogs, cats, horses, even pigs were included. Her low mood had a moment of warmth seeing such a wide display of love for family pets.
Olivia smiled at the young receptionist before the tall, dark-haired vet came out with Patch. The shy cattle dog hung back behind Boone, bumping his white surgical cone against the vet’s legs.
Poor baby.
She lifted her hand out for him to sniff. “Hey there, Patch. You ready to come home with me to see your new dads?”
The dog looked at Boone as if seeking reassurance from the one human who had consistently stood by him the last few months. Olivia saw Boone’s aqua-blue eyes soften with understanding.
“Go on, boy. It’s safe. I promise.” The vet’s deep voice held both warmth and authority. He squatted and ran his hand over the dog’s ruff. “You know I wouldn’t steer you wrong.” Boone let go of the lead, allowing his long-time resident to set the pace.
Olivia waited as Patch padded toward her, his body alert like he would run at the first sign of trouble. Finally, a cold, wet nosed sniffed the tips of her fingers. He looked at her with big brown eyes that had experienced too much pain but wanted to still believe he deserved better. The dark-gray fur on his face gave way to a black patch that circled one eye. The thick scars on his face that crisscrossed his snout looked like badges of honor to Olivia. He was a survivor. A dog to be admired, not pitied.
Patch stepped closer, nudging her hand with his head. She stroked over his fur in long, smooth moves. “You’re a handsome fella, aren’t you? I think you’re going to fit right in. You want to see the treats I’ve got for you in the truck?”
He looked up at her, and his jaw dropped open slightly in what had to be a doggy grin.
She picked up the lead, pleased the dog didn’t jerk back as she stood. “Is there any special aftercare we need to worry about?”
Boone rose from his squatting position. “Just keep the collar on for the next few days. We don’t want him ripping out his stitches. He’s got some antibiotics to guard against infection, but he just had his last pain med, so he shouldn’t need any more.”
The receptionist came over with a small bag containing a pill bottle and some paperwork, passing it to Olivia. “Patch’s vaccination and neutering certificates are in here. Don’t forget to license him with the county.” After a quick rub behind Patch’s ear, she moved back to her desk.
Olivia put the small bag inside her tote. “Okay. Any diet restrictions?”
“He ate a full bowl of chow this morning.” Boone’s lips twitched. “But I’m betting he won’t be hungry, what with his treats and all.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “That would be a safe bet.”
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br /> Boone’s face broke into a grin. “I’ll help you lift him into the truck.”
With a wave to the receptionist, who insisted on taking a picture of her and Patch to put up on their wall, they headed out to the truck.
Boone showed her how to lift him without hurting his wound, placing the dog on the old bath towel she had laid on the front passenger seat. She had the window down enough that the cutie could feel a breeze. The vet patted his former charge around the ears. “Good luck, Patch, and welcome to the first day of your new life.”
Her little hero looked back at Boone as if silently thanking him for all his help.
Okay, she was so not going to cry. Her eyes were all watery because of…the sun. “Thanks again.” She waited as Boone stepped back before she reversed out of her spot and started to the lodge.
Once in the foyer, she swiped her card to the private entrance that would bypass the lobby. Patch didn’t need to face too many people right away. With a few curious sniffs, her new friend padded along beside her, all the way to the door of Kane’s office.
“Look who I have,” she cried softly, still looking down at the cattle dog as she walked in.
The room remained silent.
She looked up and stopped mid-step at Quinn’s closed-off expression. Without words, he took the lead from her hand. The Texan bent low, speaking to the dog in a soft voice. “Hey there, buddy. Come with me.” She watched them head down the corridor before she swung around, mouth open to stare at Alex and Kane.
Both men stood in front of the desk, Alex, with his arms crossed over his chest, and Kane, whose jaw seemed carved from the same rock that had formed the Bighorns.
“What—”
“Sit, Olivia,” Kane ordered in a dispassionate voice that was out of place with the hot energy his body gave off.
Confused but compelled by Kane’s tone to obey, she sat in the visitor’s chair, which lined up dead center with his desk. “Now can you tell me what’s going on?” The butterflies in her tummy gathered, becoming a swarm.