Break Point

by Danielle LaBue

  She leaned on the edge of the pool, her chin resting of her folded arms. “So am I right? Did you throw the Daytona because of my father?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “I don’t know, you tell me.”

  He cursed, then stormed to his dresser drawers and pulled out a fresh pair of boxers. Ripping off his towel he pulled them on, then snagged the covers back on the bed. “Look Summer, I don’t want to talk about this now. It’s late, I’m tired and you practice in the morning. We’d both be better off if we got some sleep.”

  She jumped out of the pool and threw the extra towel around her. Her wet hair stuck to her like another skin. She peeled it off and wrung it out.

  “Can I dry your hair?”

  She turned to Jake who was sprawled out on the bed. He grabbed his towel then came over to her, gathering her hair down her back. “Summer, I don’t want you to think I’m keeping anything from you. You know what you need to.” He kissed her softly on the back of her shoulder. “But if there was one thing I absolutely wanted you to believe, it would be what happened between us tonight. Nothing in the whole world is more truthful than that.”

  With that, he swept her up in his arms and carried her to his bed. She had so much more to say and so many questions to ask. But when her mouth opened, the words refused to form. Maybe that was for the best. Enough had been said for one night.

  Chapter Eleven

  Jake stared out the back window watching the clouds converge over the pewter water. The warm night had turned into a muggy morning, the air too heavy for the waves to lift out of the ocean. Definitely not a day to rush to the beach. Not that he was in a hurry to leave bed anyway.

  He looked down at Summer, her steady breath tickling his chest. He stroked her hair loving how her soft curves molded with the harder edges of his own. It was flattering she had trusted him with the truth about her father. The agent in him would have congratulated himself for accomplishing an objective if the glutton in him could keep his hands off her.

  When he heard the front door lock disengage, he wasn’t alarmed. In fact, he was expecting a visit. Sliding himself out from underneath Summer, he dragged himself out of bed. He threw on jeans and his shoulder holster before heading out the bedroom door.

  The room was empty, but as he made his way toward the kitchen counter, he could see the key to the front door lying conspicuously on the Formica. He examined it then continued on to the coffee machine. “You can come out, Leslie.”

  She appeared from behind the kitchen wall with a smile pulling at her lips. “God, was I that loud?” she asked. “I thought I’d be waiting at least a little while.”

  “Come on. You know I can hear a pin drop in the next room.” He wiped the sleep from his eyes then reached for the coffee filters from above the fridge. “I’m glad you’re here. I’m sure you heard from Diggs about the hotel last night.”

  “I did,” she said, sitting down at the counter. “Jake, we need to talk.”

  “What's up? Did you get anything on the suspect?”

  She looked at him a moment before glancing back at the bedroom door. “She’s in your bed, isn’t she?”

  He sensed a waver in her voice that had nothing to do with business. “It’s not what you think, Leslie. Really”

  She nodded, fumbling with a napkin she pulled from the holder. “Well, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve never known you to pass up a pretty girl.”

  “Aw come on, she’s not like that.”

  “I almost hate to tell you she’s a criminal.”

  Suddenly Jake was wide awake. He’d never known Leslie to let her personal feelings invade business dealings. There must have been a reason other than jealousy for her to make such an accusation. “What do you mean by criminal?” he asked. “What did you find?”

  “Look, I just want you to know that it’s not like we are out to get her or anything. Diggs and I have legitimate reasons why we are targeting her.”

  “Targeting her? That’s crazy.”

  “After what happened last night, we decided it might be helpful get a warrant to go through her house.”

  A surge of anger lifted the hairs on the back of his neck. He strode across the kitchen and leaned across the counter. “A warrant? What the hell for?”

  “It’s procedure, Jake”

  “It’s bullshit.”

  She sighed, the crease in her thin dark eyebrows warning him to cool down.

  “Okay, I’m sorry,” he said, his hands up in resignation. “Go on, I’m listening.”

  “We went in her house overnight and collected what we thought was pertinent. Among those things was printer paper left in the tray of her computer. The watermarks match the paper containing the threats.”

  He was prepared for something really damning, but Leslie’s words almost brought a laugh. “That’s it?” Jake asked. “Paper is paper. That doesn’t mean anything.”

  “Not by itself. But we also took a DNA sample of her toothbrush and compared it to the saliva on the envelope seal.”

  “And?”

  “They matched.”

  His heart dropped to his gut. He pushed away from the counter, his bare feet shifting on the cold stone. “So what are you saying? That Summer is sending herself threatening letters? Why would she do something like that?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe she wanted to throw the authorities off the trail of the investigation.”

  He shook his head. “No way.”

  “It makes sense, Jake. Say she was in cahoots with her father. If the law gets too close, she created a new suspect.”

  He rubbed his hand over his stubbled cheeks. His years of training told him the most logical theories were usually the correct ones, but everything within him believed Summer was innocent. In this situation he had to depend on his instincts. “She not a criminal.”

  “By whose definition? If what we suspect is correct, she agreed to take part in a federal crime and attempted to derail a federal investigation.”

  “Can we just keep in mind who we are really after here, please?”

  “The lipstick on the bathroom mirror is hers,” she told him. “We tested that too.”

  “And that’s what prompted you to search her house. You suspect she threatened herself at the hotel.” He shook his head. “No way, Leslie. There was no time for her to do it.”

  “You kept her pretty busy, huh?”

  He looked her in the eyes. “Just drop it, okay?

  “I can’t drop it if you’re impeding a government investigation. I can’t believe you are losing focus over some blonde.”

  “I’m not losing focus.”

  “We have evidence to bring her in for questioning, at least about the fan mail. That could generate a lead.”

  “Where the hell are you going with this? Spit it out.”

  Jake recognized her disapproving look. The one she always gave when his temper got too flared for her comfort. Licking his lips, he took a step away from her. “Well?”

  “We think Summer planned with her father to throw the match. She is sending herself threatening mail so there appears to be a motive that someone else is responsible for the attack.”

  “No way.” He finally said. “It doesn’t fit. Believe me, she’s the victim not the criminal.”

  “Jake, you have a job to do. You’re too close to catching Big Al to screw it up now.”

  “For what? Conspiracy? So what?” He threw his arms in the air. Truly he thought it would snowball into bigger offenses. He assumed Summer held the key to half the unsolved crimes in this town, but she didn’t. “Maybe this isn’t the best way to get this guy.”

  “This is the only way!” Leslie strode around the counter and shoved a finger in his chest. “Jake, this is the best chance we’ve ever had at Big Al thanks to your hard work. We have enough evidence to at least bring Summer in for questioning.”

  “I’m not bringing her in.”

  She cocked her head as if she hadn’t heard him rig
ht. “Tampering with mail is a federal crime, Jake. Of course you have to bring her in. That’s procedure.”

  “Look, I’m running the show here. I’ll tell you what procedure is.” His fingers clenched around the coffeepot handle. “I am telling you Leslie, she isn’t the person you think she is.”

  “You don’t have feelings for her, do you?”

  “Of course not.” Even he noticed the answer came too quickly.

  “My God, I don’t believe it.”

  “Leslie, don’t.”

  “Jake Harrison, you are regarded as the foremost expert on organized crime in the country. Never in a million years did I think you would let some tramp get in the way of your job. Especially not Al Riley’s daughter”

  “Look, I promise you there is a method to my madness.”

  “You could be harboring a criminal. She lied to you!”

  “She’s not lying because she told me she made a deal with her father. She agreed to throw the match but she changed her mind.” He waited a moment for Leslie to react but she didn’t, her eyes still holding the same cold stare. “I know how it sounds Leslie, but I believe her. The whole thing, her whole story. I swear. It went down just like it went down with me.”

  He sat down at the counter and buried his face in his hands. “Come on Leslie, cut the girl some slack. Her own father put the squeeze on her. I’m telling you she’s innocent. You just got to trust me on this one.”

  “Is that a line you feed all the girls, Jake?”

  Startled by the voice, he turned toward the bedroom. Summer leaned on the doorjamb in her white silk robe, her arms folded against her.

  “Damn it.” Jake breathed, running his hand through his hair.

  “Yes, I agree!” Summer declared as she came across the room. Jake looked her in the eyes but she avoided him, instead turning her attention to Leslie. “So we meet again. I see you still haven’t done anything about that facial hair. But I’m not really surprised given all the time you’ve put in keeping tabs on me.”

  “Summer, she’s not who you think she is,” Jake said, staring in his coffee cup.

  “You think I’m going to believe anything you say after you just sold me out?”

  “I didn’t sell you out.”

  “So now I suppose you’ll go to my father.” Summer spat. “Tell me, which one of you is putting the bullet through my head?”

  “That’s not going to happen,” Jake said, “We’re here to protect you.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I’m not hanging around here waiting for the consequences.” She spun around and headed back to the bedroom. Jake jumped up to follow before Leslie pulled him back.

  “You have to bring her in, Jake. You’ve worked too hard to let Al go just because of some girl.”

  “The job will get done,” he insisted. “Just give me some time. I’ll take care of it.”

  “Jake.”

  “There’s the door, Leslie!” He shrugged off her grip and nodded toward the foyer before following Summer back into the bedroom.

  ***

  Summer threw on a white tennis dress then jammed what she could in her duffle bag. She fumbled with the zipper, her fingers trembling too much to get a good hold. Blaming Jake for her own stupidity was a cop out. Every word that had passed between her loose lips was a mistake. It probably wouldn’t be an issue much longer, anyway. Big Al never allowed time for regrets.

  “Sweetheart, what are you doing?” Jake came up behind her, attempting to take her in his arms.

  “Don’t touch me!” She swung at him but he ducked. When he grabbed her wrists she wiggled away.

  “Please, just listen to me Summer!”

  “Why? So you can hand me some line about how you are going to protect me. All for a good lay, right?” She breathed hard, her gaze falling on the gun strapped around his chest. He bit his lip then slipped it off. “I can’t believe I trusted you.”

  “You can trust me.”

  “I bet you’ve slept with Leslie too, right? Just for fun, of course. I bet you made her feel like the only woman in the world. A real Prince Charming ”

  “Sweetheart, don’t go there.”

  “I’m not going anywhere with you!” She grabbed her bag and pushed passed him. She made it all the way to the front door, but he jumped in front of her and held it shut.

  “Summer, you need to listen to me!”

  “No, you listen to me!” She dropped the bag to the floor and took a step back to meet his gaze. “I didn’t ask for this. You can’t possibly know what it's like to be Al Riley’s daughter. My whole life I’ve been running from this man. I’m supposed to be his child! But that doesn’t mean anything. He doesn’t care.”

  “But he’s not going to hurt you!”

  “You want to know why I don’t like guns? Because I’ve seen what they can do. Why do you think he shipped me away so young? Because I could bear witness, Jake. ” The words flew out of her like an eruption. She couldn’t stop. She could barely see now that tears flooded her eyes. “He hurts people Jake. Kills them. He’s a monster!”

  “Don’t say anymore!”

  “What? You can’t take someone trashing your boss?”

  “I don’t work for your father! I work for the federal government, damn it!”

  It was as if all the air was sucked from the room. Panic took over, her legs buckling under her. He was lying. Had to be. Just like he’d lied about everything else.

  She lunged at the front door and threw it open, but he held her back before slamming it shut. “Let me go!” she cried.

  “I can’t, sweetheart.”

  She struggled with all her strength against him. Punching, kicking. A few times even landing blows that freed her. But in the end he was too strong. With her arms held behind her, he shoved her face-first against the door frame, his full weight crashing against her with an echoing thud. “Damn it ,Summer, you need to listen to me.”

  “You’re hurting me!” she whimpered, barely finding the breath to speak. It occurred to her that in all time she’d spent with Jake, she had never been acutely afraid of him. But at this moment, she was terrified.

  He spun her around and she gasped, her eyes closing in fearful protest. A part of her still believed in the passion they shared the night before. She didn’t want to see the coldness now.

  “Summer, I told you I’m not here to hurt you and I’m not. I want to show you something. Look.”

  The distinct scent of worn leather filled her nose. When she opened her eyes they met his in a picture, next to the official looking font reading “FBI.” Taking it from his hands she slid to the floor bringing her knees to her chest. “Why should I believe you now?” she croaked. “You’ve lied to me the whole time.”

  “I was doing my job, Summer. This is part of a sting. We’re trying to get your father, not you.” He took the badge from her then jammed it back in his pocket. “He’s the one who should be afraid.”

  Nothing made sense. His words were like another language. She shook her head, hoping to knock something into place. “Wait a minute. If you work for the FBI who does Leslie work for?”

  “Leslie works with me, not Al. So does Diggs.” His staccato breath told her he was as worked up as she was. He knelt down in front of her and smiled. “We’re all on your side, here. Really”

  That’s right. There were sides. And fine lines between right and wrong. She pursed her lips when she realized he was the judge if she’d crossed any. “The things I said,” she stammered. “You’re an agent. I could be a witness.”

  “That’s why I wanted you to be quiet. I can’t hold something against you I don’t know.”

  She dragged her hand across her tear-soaked cheek. “I’m not supposed to know who you are, am I?”

  He frowned and shook his head. “No.”

  Summer swallowed hard. She had never felt more connected to anyone than she had last night when she thought he had worked for her father. But now that she knew this man was Al’s enemy, she wanted no
thing to do with him. “I heard you tell Leslie about the arrangement with my dad. What’s going to happen to me now?”

  He stared at his hand as he caressed her knee. “They want to bring you in for questioning. They have a few things they want to talk to you about.”

  “I heard Leslie say something about the saliva on envelopes. They think I sent myself threatening mail to derail the investigation, don’t they?”

  He looked away from her like it hurt to answer. “You don’t have anything you want to tell me, do you?”

  The question alone was enough to hate him. Suddenly the fighter instinct collected inside her, drying her tears and recouping her resolve. Picking her bag off the floor, she slung it over her shoulder and opened the front door. “I suppose since I haven’t been arrested, I’m free to tell you to stay the hell away from me. I don’t need you hanging around reminding me how stupid I’ve been. I’ve got a match to train for.”

  “Summer, wait.”

  She tore down the marble stairs, his heavy steps echoing behind her. When she got to the car he jumped in front of her, blocking her reach for the door handle. “Let me go, Jake!” she yelled. “Please, just let me go.” The words felt weird falling out of her mouth. The night before she never wanted to leave his arms.

  “Sweetheart, I just need you to know one thing.”

  Curiosity stilled her. “What?”

  “The fact I told you who I am and what I do should tell you that last night meant more to me than you think. One way or another, I’m going to see you through this. I promise.”

  He rested his hand on her shoulder and the touch confused her resolve. The click of the lock disengaged reminded her. She had to leave. Now.

  She piled in the car like a thief making a getaway. When she reached for the ignition she cursed, then slammed her fist on the wheel.

  “You need these to start the car, baby. First rule of NASCAR.”

  He dangled the keys in front of her, and when she didn’t take them he tossed them on her lap. In seconds the engine was roaring and Jake was nothing more than a cloud of dust in her rearview mirror.

  She was a good twenty miles from the beach house when the pounding in her chest slowed to a steady beat. Summer never had her heart broken, but she suspected this was what it felt like. Jake made her believe he cared. She trusted him, and he used her. She was like every other blond bimbo he’d ever shared his bed with.