Second Chances (sequel to Over You)

by Christine Kersey

  Go to prison, or die. Those were her choices. Never in her life had she considered prison to be a good option, but in her current circumstance, if going there saved the lives of her aunt and her parents, and especially Kyle’s life, then prison seemed the only choice.

  The door to the conference room swung open and Barnes walked in, followed by Kyle, and Kyle looked furious. “What in the hell is going on, Jess?” He strode over to her and placed his hands on either side of her, leaning close.

  She wanted to reach out and stroke his face, but even more, she wanted his strong arms around her, protecting her, and she wanted him to tell her that everything would be okay—that he would fix everything. But the truth was, he didn’t know what she knew, and he couldn’t fix this. Only she could.

  Gazing into his incredible sea green eyes, she tried to convey to him how much she loved and cared about him, but he looked so angry, and she knew that nothing could possibly get through that.

  “Barnes asked me to tell him what really happened on the day Harrington attacked you,” he said. “And I did. But guess what? He told me that you have a completely different story. A crazy story about me attacking Harrington. Because of jealousy? What is that about?” Straightening, he gazed down at her. “What happened when you went home?”

  With her stomach churning, Jessica stood and faced the man she loved. Her calm voice belied the turmoil raging within her. “Nothing happened, Kyle. I just couldn’t take the lies anymore. I had to tell him the truth. About what you did.” The look of hurt and bewilderment on his face nearly made her confess the truth, but when she remembered the feeling of the intruder sitting astride her with the knife pressed against her throat just hours before, her resolve strengthened. “I’m sorry, Kyle.”

  He stared at her with incredulity. “What’s going on? Why are you lying about me? About what happened?” Deep hurt and confusion were written all over his face.

  She gazed at him, desperate for him to love her even though she was accusing him of awful things, but he just stared right back, waiting for an explanation she couldn’t give.

  Finally, he turned his back on her and faced Barnes. “She’s lying. Every word.” He glanced at her, then back at Barnes. “I’ll testify against her, if necessary.” Then without looking at her again, he stormed out of the conference room.

  Jessica sank back into her chair and dropped her head into her hands as heart-wrenching sobs nearly drowned her.

  Barnes waited until her sobs had turned to hiccups and sighs, then he said in a voice tinged with hostility, “Do you want to see Douglas Harrington go free? Is that your goal?”

  “Is that what’s going to happen?”

  “Most likely. He has a good attorney, and with your changed testimony, the jury will have the reasonable doubt they need to find him not guilty.”

  “But he’s in jail now, right?”

  “For now. But again, with this new development, I’m sure his attorney will be able to persuade the judge to allow him to be released on bail until and during the trial.” He frowned. “Great job.”

  This was not what she wanted at all, but obviously it was exactly what Harrington wanted, which is why he’d sent his thug to threaten her. And she had no choice but to do what he said.

  Chapter Twenty Six

  After she left the police station she drove to her aunt’s house. When the house came into view and her eyes went to Kyle’s truck parked out front, she felt a physical ache in her heart and she knew that a person really could die from a broken heart. He hated her now, and she couldn’t blame him. She’d told the police that he’d done things that he hadn’t really done—would never do. She deserved his loathing, and she wanted to die.

  She let Hudson out of the car, then trudged up to the porch and sat in one of the chairs, trying to draw enough courage to go inside and face her aunt. Having Kyle hate her was absolute torture, but the look of disappointment her aunt was sure to give her would probably push her right over the edge.

  Hudson climbed up the porch steps and jumped onto her lap, and she hugged him close. “You still love me, right, big guy?” He purred in response, which almost brought on a new onslaught of tears. Holding him in her arms, she went in the house, and paused in the entry.

  She could hear the sound of a power drill in the kitchen and knew Kyle was probably installing the cabinets. Picturing the look of anger and loathing on his face at the police station—directed toward her—made her feel like he was pushing that power drill directly into her heart. Not wanting him to see her, but desperate to see him, she set Hudson down, then crept into the library, which was off of the entryway, then toward the formal dining room, which was adjacent to the kitchen.

  Peering around the corner of the dining room, she looked into the kitchen, and saw him kneeling in front of a cabinet with his back to her. She gazed at his wide shoulders and narrow waist and thought about the feel of his arms around her. They’d had such a wonderful time the previous weekend, and it crushed her very soul to think that that was the last time she’d be with him.

  Now that he hated her, would he go to Melanie? The thought made her double-over in pain, and she backed into the dining room with her hands hugging her stomach, and tears cascading down her face.

  “Hudson, where’d you come from?” Kyle said from the kitchen.

  Jessica heard Kyle’s footsteps as he walked away from where she stood. She guessed he was walking into the sunroom, and then maybe into the living room. Was he looking for her? Why? Did he want to tell her he hated her directly? As if he hadn’t made that clear enough at the police station.

  Pressing her back to the wall, she listened for his footsteps, and eventually heard him going upstairs. Was he going to see if she was in her room? And when she wasn’t, and he saw her car out front, would he keep looking until he found her?

  I have to get out of here, she thought frantically. Before he finds me and tells me he wishes I’d never come back into his life. Maybe even wishes I was dead.

  With a feeling of urgency, she dashed to the entryway, but just as she was reaching for the front door, she heard Kyle call her name from the top of the stairs. She couldn’t help it, she had to see his face. She turned and looked at him, but his face was a mask of emotions—disappointment, anger, betrayal.

  She couldn’t stand to look at him after all. Twisting the door knob, she opened the door, then slammed it behind her and raced down the steps to her car. She jammed her key in the ignition and threw the car into gear, then glanced toward the house as she drove forward. Kyle stood in the doorway, watching her, with Hudson in his arms.

  Hudson. Her sweet kitty. She knew Ellen would take good care of him, but for now, she needed to go somewhere safe, somewhere where the intruder couldn’t find her. Somewhere where Kyle couldn’t reach her.

  Her cell phone rang as she reached the road that ran in front of her aunt’s house. Stopping, she picked it up and looked at the Caller ID. It was Kyle. Not able to bear the thought of him telling her what he really thought of her, she rejected the call, then turned her cell phone off, and put it in the glove box.

  A moment later she was on the road, headed away from this town, away from her apartment, and toward some place where no one knew her. A place where she could think.

  An hour later she pulled up to a motel, and after paying for her check-in with cash, she carried her luggage inside, grateful she’d had it in her car already. The first thing she did was take a long hot shower, trying to wash away her worries. Afterwards she felt marginally better, and stretched out on the bed. After staring at the ceiling for a while, she remembered her interview appointment for the next day. Opening her laptop, she got on the motel’s wi-fi, then sent an email to ask for a postponement.

  Emotionally exhausted—and up since three o’clock that morning—she climbed under the covers and closed her eyes, and soon fell into a troubled sleep. She woke to the sound of someone pounding on a door. Groggy and disoriented, it took her a moment to remember w
here she was and what had happened, but as soon as she did, she felt the crushing devastation of losing Kyle all over again.

  “Are you in there?” a voice shouted.

  Worried now that the intruder had tracked her down, she looked out the peephole, and then realized that whoever was shouting was at a neighboring door. It was dark outside, and she was surprised to see that it was nearly nine o’clock. She’d been asleep for hours.

  She sank onto the bed and stared at the wall. How did I get myself into this predicament? Then realized it had all started with those letters she’d found in the attic. If I’d never found them, she thought, I’d be happily dating Kyle. He wouldn’t hate me, Hudson wouldn’t be hairless, and I wouldn’t be hiding out in this cheap motel. Is this how I want to spend the rest of my life—assuming I don’t end up in prison?

  The thought of going to prison for lying to the police terrified her. She would never survive there. Even worse, what if Kyle was sent there? He was totally and completely innocent. But between her statement, and Douglas Harrington testifying that what she said was true, how did he have a chance?

  I can’t allow that to happen, she thought, as a new determination flooded her. I have to do something to prevent Douglas Harrington from getting away with trying to murder Kyle and me, yet keep his henchman from killing Kyle, Ellen, and my parents.

  But how?

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  Now that she had a purpose, she felt energy flowing through her. She thought about the man who had broken into her home less than twenty-four hours before, and remembered the silver skull earring she’d seen in his left ear. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. If she could figure out exactly who he was, and then somehow get rid of him—not through murder, but some legal means—maybe that would get Douglas Harrington to leave her alone. She wasn’t sure that would work, but she had to try. She couldn’t let Douglas Harrington ruin her life, and more importantly, she couldn’t let him ruin Kyle’s life.

  Maybe I can get some information from Trey Harrington, she thought. The intruder told me he’s not involved, but what if that isn’t true?

  The next morning she went to a local drug store and bought two wigs—one blonde, the other auburn. She also bought a pair of over-sized sunglasses. Then she went to a department store and bought a business suit with a skirt that reached mid-thigh. Back at the motel she tried on the two wigs, put on the suit, then played with her look until she found one that she thought did a good job of giving her a professional look, yet still disguised her.

  After practicing a confident persona in the mirror, she packed her things, checked out of the motel, and drove back to the town where all her problems had begun. First stop, the Harrington car dealership. She’d called from the motel before coming and discovered that Trey was a salesman there, which is what she’d been hoping. Not certain how she was going to get information from him, she thought if she could talk to him without him knowing it was her, she might learn something useful.

  She parked her car on the street at the far end of the lot, nearly out of sight of the salesmen, fairly certain Trey wouldn’t recognize her car even if he saw it. As she prepared to climb out, uneasiness pumped through her. He might not recognize her car, but what if he recognized her? She adjusted her over-sized sunglasses in the rearview mirror, trying to reassure herself that with the glasses, plus the blonde wig, she looked nothing like herself. Pushing down her fears by focusing on Kyle and what she needed to do to keep him from being harmed, she got out of her car and walked onto the lot, then with pretended confidence she walked directly to an expensive-looking car. Bending to look through windows of the late-model car, she gazed inside, then walked around it.

  “That’s a beauty, that one,” a salesman said to her as he walked to her side.

  “It’s okay,” she said, with a haughty tone of voice.

  “What kind of car are you looking for?”

  Gazing at all the cars on the lot, and nearly ignoring the salesman, she said, “Something that has the luxury I deserve.”

  “Is there a particular price point you’re interested in, Miss . . .”

  She turned and looked at him. “You may call me Macy.”

  He held out his hand. “Kevin.”

  He’s the same man I spoke to last time I was here, and he doesn’t seem to recognize me. She ignored his outstretched hand. “I’d like to deal with the owner.”

  “Uh, sure, I understand. Uh, unfortunately, he’s not available right now.”

  She held back a frown. That’s because he’s in jail.

  “But his son’s here. Trey Harrington.”

  “Fine. If he’s the top man on the premises, that’s who I’d like to talk to.”

  “Sure thing, Macy.” He smiled. “I’ll go get him.”

  Her heart started to pound as she watched him walk toward the glass-fronted building, but when she saw Trey walking toward her with a salesman-like smile on his face, she felt her confidence growing. He wasn’t nearly as intimidating as his father—even though he’d glared at her the last two times she’d seen him. Kyle had told her that his bark was worse than his bite. She was counting on that now.

  “Good morning,” he said as he held his hand out. “I’m Trey Harrington.”

  She allowed him to shake her hand. “Hello. Macy.”

  “Well, Macy, what is it that I can help you with?”

  Thrilled that he didn’t seem to recognize her, she plunged in. “I’m looking to buy two cars today. One for practicality, and one for fun, and I wanted to know what kind of deal you can give me.” She frowned. “I don’t want to waste time with someone who doesn’t have the power to make decisions.”

  “I understand.” He paused. “What kind of monthly payments are you comfortable with?”

  She stared at him through her sunglasses. “I’ll be paying cash.”

  He barely reacted to her statement. “I’m sure we can work something out.”

  “Do you now? Well, before you waste any more of my time, I’d like to know exactly what kind of deal you’ll give me.”

  He chuckled. “Before I can tell you that, I need to know which cars you’re interested in buying.”

  Pointing at two random cars, she said, “That one, and that one.”

  His eyebrows rose. “Just like that?”

  She smiled at him. “Just like that.” It was easy, since she had no intention of following through.

  “All right. Let me get the VIN off of those cars, and we can go inside and chat.”

  “I’ll wait inside.” She frowned. “Don’t take too long. I have other things I need to do today.”

  “Will do.”

  Jessica strode toward the building, and when she reached the glass door, Kevin held it open for her. Ignoring him, she walked inside and looked around. Through the blank lenses of her sunglasses, she looked at the people in the room. Besides two customers, there was a receptionist, as well as a handful of other employees milling about. She assumed most of them were salespeople.

  When Trey didn’t appear after several minutes, she looked out the glass doors to see what he was doing, and nearly gasped when she saw him talking to Detective Barnes. Trey’s body language seemed to communicate his impatience with talking to Barnes, but he obviously couldn’t just ignore the detective.

  “Can I help you?”

  Something about the voice behind her made her heart pound, and when she turned to see who was speaking, she nearly fainted when she saw a silver skull earring in the man’s left ear. That voice, plus that earring. It was him. It was the intruder.

  “Are you being helped?” he asked her.

  Paralyzed, she stared at him through her sunglasses, thankful beyond measure that he couldn’t see her eyes. The memory of the knife pressing against her neck was so vivid, she reached up and touched her throat to make sure it wasn’t there.

  “Ma’am?”

  She stammered, “I’m . . . uh . . . I’m being helped.”

  He smiled. “Ok
ay.” Then he turned and walked away.

  Oh. My. Gosh. I had no idea Douglas Harrington’s car salesmen moonlighted as assassins. Hysterical laughter filled her throat, but she managed to keep it down. Unless, she thought, he’s no killer, but was just sent to scare me. Which worked, by the way.

  Staring at the back of the man who had held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her and her loved ones, and feeling relatively safe in this public place, her terror slowly seeped away to be replaced by fury. Because of what he’d done, she’d put her future, and Kyle’s future, and their future together in jeopardy. And here he was, acting like life was normal—just roses and butterflies.

  But what if he really is capable of killing people? The thought brought the terror crawling back up her spine. Then she reminded herself that he was a used car salesmen. Uncertain what to believe, she decided that maybe it was time to turn the tables, to take control of the situation. A plan began forming in her mind. When she saw the intruder talking to another salesman on the other side of the room, she walked to the counter where the receptionist sat, then smiled at the woman.

  “May I help you?” the young woman asked.

  “Yes. I was wondering what the name of that salesman over there is.” She pointed to the two men. “Not the one with the glasses, but the other one.”

  “Oh, that’s Gary. Gary Fuller.”

  “Great. Do you have his card by any chance?”

  Pointing to a group of card holders on the counter, she said, “There should be one in there.”

  Jessica smiled. “Thanks.” She found a card for Gary Fuller and tucked it in her purse, then walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows to look outside. Trey Harrington was walking toward the building. She pushed the door open and met him just outside.

  “Okay, I got the info I need,” he said. “Why don’t we go talk numbers?”

  “You took too long, and I have other commitments.” She smiled. “Good day.” The look of shock on his face felt like a ray of sunshine in her otherwise awful day.