Feeling like a traitor, I went into the second bedroom and flipped on the light. At first glance, there wasn’t anything obvious. No papers. No bulletin boards. The desktop computer was password-protected, and the user name consisted of letters and numbers: A12M36. I knew there was no way I’d guess the password, so I didn’t waste my time trying. I opened the closet doors and found some men’s clothes that didn’t look like anything Colt would wear—dress shirts, pants, and ties. A few khakis and polos, and two pairs of jeans. Had a former roommate left these behind?
I walked past a guest bathroom and headed into the other bedroom and opened the closet. The clothes in there were 100% Colt—jeans, T-shirts and Henleys, and plaid button-down shirts. His bathroom was cleaner than expected, and his shampoo and conditioner were in the marble-tiled shower.
I hadn’t been sleeping well and I was exhausted, so I went back into the bedroom and lay down on the bed, feeling comforted because the pillows smelled like Colt. I’d drifted off to sleep, but I woke up about a half hour later when I heard a male voice outside the bedroom.
“—I know you want your cut,” the man said, “but the money doesn’t arrive until tomorrow.”
It wasn’t Colt, but the voice sounded familiar. Suddenly it hit me.
It was my father, talking to someone on the phone.
“I told you I’d make good and I meant it. We’re almost there now. Be patient.”
So he really was here for the annuity. Who was he making good with? Bill James? He seemed like the likely source.
My breath stuck in my chest and I froze, thankful that I was hiding in the dark. Tears welled in my eyes. For fourteen years, I’d been sure this man was dead, but he’d been in town since the Arts Council fundraiser and hadn’t made a single effort to contact me. What would I do if he walked through that door and found me in here?
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I heard Colt call out from the living room.
“I pay for this place, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“You said you were leaving,” Colt said.
“And I will, but I’m not ready to go yet. I thought you were staying with Magnolia,” my father said.
Was Colt still reporting to him? Colt had sworn that he hadn’t been in contact with my father since he’d heard about Emily’s murder.
“How do you know that?” Colt asked. “You have someone following me?”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” my father said. “I’ve had someone following Magnolia.” He paused. “I thought you said she was done with the cop.”
“I never told you any such thing,” Colt said, sounding pissed. “I’m done answering to you.”
“And what about Delilah?” my father asked. “Are you willing to risk her life?”
I gasped and sat up. Had my father just threatened someone’s life? Was Delilah the woman Colt had lost when my father had screwed up his life?
“For three years, I’ve done what you asked. I’ve done things that keep me awake at night. But I draw the line at hurting Magnolia. Physically or emotionally. She deserves better from the both of us.”
“You have no business sleeping with her, Austin. You don’t deserve her.”
“You lost the right to decide anything about her life the night you left fourteen years ago. You broke her heart for your selfish greed. You’re the fucker who doesn’t deserve her.”
“She’s out of your league, Austin. She’s going to leave you when she finds out about Delilah, and she will find out about her, because I’ll make sure that she does.”
“Do you really hate her that much?” Colt asked in dismay. “She just lost her mother. Her brother treats her like shit, and you’re about to dick around with her life. Again. Leave her the fuck alone, Steele.”
“She’s my daughter. You have no right to tell me what to do.”
“If you care about her at all, then for the love of God, leave her alone,” Colt said, his voice getting closer.
“Where is she now?” my father asked. “You’re supposed to be watching her.”
“I told you I’m done reporting to you. Do your worst, Steele. Magnolia is my priority now.”
My father laughed. “Oh, my God. You’re in love with her.”
Tears stung my eyes. This was not the man I remembered from my childhood. I’d known that, of course, but it felt different to actually witness it.
“Maybe I am,” Colt said, his anger rising. “What she went through would have destroyed most people, yet she has overcome it. She’s an amazing woman—she’s strong and brave and so damned resilient, but you don’t know any of that because you traded her for money. Guess what, Steele? You lost.”
“When this is all settled, I’m going to reach out to her. But not yet. It’s too soon.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Colt said, outside the bedroom door. “You’re too damn late.”
I slid off the bed and padded across the floor into the bathroom. My heart was breaking, tears were flowing down my cheeks, and I was trying to figure out whether I should let my father know I was here. I heard the bedroom door open. Then the closet door.
“You forget that this is my apartment,” my father said from the bedroom.
“No, Brian,” Colt said, “I’m aware of it every fucking day, but the contract has my name on it, so while you might have paid for it, legally it’s mine. But don’t you worry—I’m moving out. Find someone else to be your minion.”
“She’s only with you because she needs someone,” my father taunted. “When she gets back on her feet, she’ll dump you so fast your head will spin.”
“You might be right, but I’ll take every minute I can with her until she realizes she can do a hell of a lot better than me.” The bathroom door opened, and the light flipped on. Colt walked in, and his eyes went wide when he saw me. But he quickly recovered and shut the door. He turned on the sink faucet and then pulled me to his chest and wrapped his arms around me, holding me close.
“Maggie,” he whispered into my ear. “I’m so sorry.”
I buried my face into his chest, trying not to sob and give myself away.
“When I came home and found him and no sign of you, I was terrified.” He held me tighter. “Thank God you’re okay.”
I was far from okay, but I knew what he meant.
“What do you want to do?” he asked. “Do you want to confront him, or do you want me to get rid of him?”
I had so many things I wanted to say, but I wasn’t sure I could handle it. Yet I’d waited fourteen years for a chance to see him. Was I really going to throw it away? “I don’t know,” I answered honestly.
He kissed the top of my head. “That’s okay. I’m going to go finish packing. If you decide to come out, you do it, okay? If not, I’ll get rid of him.”
“But how will you explain coming in here and finding me and not telling him?”
Anger contorted his face. “I don’t give a single fuck what that man thinks of me. If you change your mind, come out. I have your back.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
He squeezed me and let me go. After he flushed the toilet, he grabbed his shampoo and conditioner out of the shower. He turned off the sink faucet, then turned off the light and opened the door.
“What the hell were you doing in there?” my father asked.
“You want a play-by-play of my bathroom experience?” Colt asked sarcastically. “I knew you were controlling, but that takes the cake.”
“Where’s Magnolia, Colt?”
“That’s not my job anymore.”
“You’ve spent the last four nights with her. It sounds like it’s still your job. You just haven’t given me a report.”
I cringed at the reminder.
“I thought you claimed she’s in danger,” my father said.
“She is in danger. You just refuse to believe it.”
“Rowena is dead. Geraldo Lopez is dead. And so are Neil Fulton and Walter Frey, although he was not a threat to her.
Bill took off. There’s no one left to hurt her.”
“What about the serial killer?”
“Serial killer?”
Without even thinking, I walked out of the bathroom and faced my father for the first time in fourteen years. “Hello, Daddy. You have a hell of a lot of explaining to do.”
Chapter 19
My father’s mouth dropped open, and he quickly tried to cover his shock. “Magnolia.”
He was standing by the door to the hall and took a step toward me. He looked older—more gray in his hair, a few wrinkles on his face. The man I’d known had been my hero. I’d looked up to him, literally. But I was taller now, and from where I stood in the bathroom doorway—a good eight feet between us—I didn’t have to look up to him. We met eye to eye, and he wasn’t the great man I’d wanted him to be.
He reached out a hand, but I backed up into the bathroom doorway. “Don’t you dare try to touch me.”
Sympathy filled his eyes. “Magnolia, I didn’t realize you were here.”
I didn’t answer.
Colt stood next to his bed and an open duffel bag, a shirt in his hand. His hand tightened, and he looked ready to spring into action.
My father took another step closer, but dropped his arm to his side. I was shocked by the vulnerability on his face. “This wasn’t how I wanted our reunion to go.”
“Obviously,” I said in the snottiest tone I could muster. The lump in my throat pissed me off. This man didn’t deserve any more tears from me.
“Let’s go out to the living room, and I’ll explain to you what I can.”
I considered arguing with him for the sake of making this more difficult, but I didn’t feel like having this discussion in the threshold of Colt’s bathroom.
I gave him a hard stare, which he took as agreement. He turned around and walked into the living room.
Colt watched me with a worried look. “Do you want me to stay in here?”
I knew I should do this on my own, but I didn’t trust the man in the other room. Part of me was scared to be alone with him. “Can you come out? Don’t do anything, just . . .”
He moved closer and put his hands on my shoulders. “Just be there on standby in case you need me to intervene?”
“Yeah.”
“Of course, Maggie.”
I turned around and walked out of the bedroom. He was waiting for me in the living room, standing by the front door.
“Have a seat, Magnolia,” my father said, gesturing toward the sofa.
I stood in the entrance to the hallway, my anger surging. How dare he try to tell me what to do? “Let’s get this perfectly straight,” I said in an icy tone. “I am in charge here, not you. I’ll be asking the questions and you will be answering, so why don’t you have a seat, Brian.”
He flinched at the mention of his name. “I understand that you’re upset, Magnolia—”
“Shut the fuck up.” I didn’t raise my voice, but my harshness made him flinch again. “If you want to sit down, then by all means, do so, but don’t you dare try to manipulate me any more than you already have.”
His face softened. “I know how it looks.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What part of shut the fuck up do you not understand?”
Anger tightened his jaw. “I’m still your father, Magnolia.”
“My father died fourteen years ago. You are not my father. But again, let me make this perfectly clear, you are not in charge. If you push me too hard, I will walk out.”
A hint of a smile lit up his eyes. “You won’t. You want answers too badly.”
I turned to look at Colt, who was standing in the middle of his kitchen. “I’m ready to go.”
“Magnolia,” my father protested, sounding like a parent trying to reason with a toddler.
Colt moved toward my father, who was still standing in front of the door. “Magnolia wants to leave.”
My father was the same height as Colt, and the two men stood face to face.
My father didn’t budge and a smirk covered his face. “This is a nice show, Colt, making Magnolia think you’re on her side, but give it up. She’s not leaving yet.”
I walked over to Colt and stared up at my father. He was so cocksure that I was bluffing. So used to charming people and getting what he wanted, he was certain I’d bow down at his feet too. And why wouldn’t he be? I’d been just like the rest of them.
But not anymore.
“So you refuse to get out of my way?” I asked with a whole lot of attitude.
“I recognize your need to feel in control,” my father said with a patronizing smile.
Brady had said nearly the same thing to me weeks ago, and it had caught me off guard then just as much as it did now.
A look of triumph filled his eyes, reigniting my anger. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and took several steps backward.
Uncertainty washed over my father’s face. “What are you doing, Magnolia?”
I unlocked the screen. “I’m calling someone who would really like to see you.”
“Roy doesn’t want to see me.”
“Oh, I’m not calling Roy,” I taunted.
My father lunged for me, but Colt blocked him.
“Magnolia, stop that right now!” my father shouted.
I had my contacts pulled up. “Yes, Daddy,” I sneered, “I want to feel in control, and you did that to me. You fucked up my life, several times over, and I now need whatever control I can get whenever I can get it. Get away from the door, or I’ll call a police detective who would love to have a chat with you too.”
He clenched his hands at his sides, and his face contorted with rage. This wasn’t going the way he wanted, and he was struggling to accept it. Turned out I wasn’t the only one who wanted control. “Where do you want me?”
“I don’t give a shit where you stand or sit, as long as you aren’t blocking the door.”
He walked over to the sofa and sat down. When he looked back up at me, his rage had faded and his face was awash with sadness. “This isn’t how I wanted this to go, Magnolia.” He shot Colt a glare. “She shouldn’t be here. She was never supposed to come here.”
Colt’s gaze was deadly. “I had my reasons.”
He didn’t want my father to know about Detective Martinez.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m here. Get over it. You may have orchestrated your exit fourteen years ago, but you’re not orchestrating this. Not this time.” My voice broke, pissing me off again.
His expression softened, making him look more like the man I’d called Daddy. He patted the sofa next to him. “Maggie. Come sit by me.”
“I don’t want to be anywhere near you. Let’s talk this through.”
Colt walked over to the dining room table and grabbed a chair. He set it in the middle of the living room and then moved back into the kitchen, leaning his butt against the counter as he kept his eyes on my father.
My father kept his gaze on me, smiling softly. “You’ve grown into a beautiful woman, Magnolia.”
I remained silent as I sat down in the dining chair, trying to keep my emotions in check. Two weeks ago, I would have been overjoyed to be sitting across from him, but I’d found out too many awful things. Too many hard truths. “You’ve seen me before now.”
“Not up close.”
“You were there the day Colt and I were singing outside the Rebellious Rose. You were close then.”
He shook his head. “I wasn’t there.” The confused look on his face told me he meant it.
I cast a quick glance to Colt, who was wearing a poker face.
Then who the hell had been watching us? He’d worn a baseball cap, pulled down low enough to hide his face. I hadn’t pointed him out to Colt, and at the time I’d thought I was overreacting, but now I wondered. Especially in light of everything else.
“You’ve had Colt watching Momma and Roy. You must have had someone watching me in New York. Was it someone I knew?”
He gave me a sad s
mile. “I had to make sure you were safe, Maggie.”
“So it was someone I knew.” I racked my brain, trying to figure out who it could have been. “Did you have someone here before Colt?”
“No. Not here. After Christopher Merritt disappeared, I thought it best to keep an eye on your mother and brother. Just to make sure they were safe.”
I understood what he was saying. “But you had someone watching me in New York long before that. How long?”
“I didn’t know where you’d gone at first. I was panicked. Your mother was very tight-lipped about it.”
“You were in contact with Momma?” I asked in dismay.
“No, I meant she wasn’t telling people. My usual sources didn’t know.”
“Was Ava Milton a source?” I shook my head. It didn’t matter. “Who was the person in New York? Or was there more than one?”
His eyes pleaded with me. “Maggie, what does it matter? It’s only going to hurt you.”
“It matters to me. Answer the damn question.”
His shoulders slumped slightly, and he gave me a reluctant look. “Your friend Jody. Then, when she left to tour with Wicked, the director.”
“Griff?” My ex-boyfriend. The man who’d cheated on me and then kicked me out of his apartment. After the shock faded, I realized it made a sick kind of sense. According to Colt, my father had known I was coming back before I’d shown up. But the news about Jody hurt a lot worse. She’d been there since nearly the beginning. She’d been my roommate. My best friend. The one person I’d always turned to. And it had all been a lie.
Tears filled my eyes, and I hated myself for giving my father the satisfaction of seeing me hurt. Had nothing in my life been real? Had he orchestrated everything and everyone? “Did you tell Griff to kick me out?”
“It was time to come home, Magnolia.”
I stood and put my hand on the back of the chair. “I worked my ass off to get that role.”
“And you got it, Maggie. I let you have that victory, but it was still time to come home.”
“You let me have it?” I couldn’t stop the tears this time. “You paid Griff to give me the role?”
Curtain Call: Magnolia Steele Mystery #4 Page 18