by Lila Kane
Jake walked into the kitchen and stopped at the edge of the island, hesitating. “Mom, you made her cry already?”
Cecilia walked over and swatted him on the arm. “Women do these things, I’ll have you know. Just because we’re more in tune with our hearts doesn’t mean it’s wrong.”
“Yeah, but she just got here. You could have waited until after dinner.”
Cecilia smiled at him, and then shared a more secretive look with me. “Life’s too short to wait on matters of the heart.”
It was like she’d heard the words Finn had spoken this morning. Or maybe he’d told her exactly how he felt. He wanted to marry me right away and start on our life together. And maybe, just maybe, both of them were right.
Dinner in the garden was beautiful, nothing like one of Cecilia Moore’s grand parties. No, this was intimate, comfortable, and full of laughter. We ate pot roast, making me feel like a little kid again, and opened more bottles of wine.
The sun sank into the horizon and instead of stars coming out, we got a low layer of clouds just like the night before, though it trapped in the heat and kept us out talking in the candlelight.
“Finn said I have to be good,” Cecilia told me from her chair on my right, “but I can’t help it. Can’t we talk about the wedding a little? Can’t I at least have a date or a venue or colors or…anything?”
“Mom,” Finn warned.
I set a hand on his arm. “No, it’s okay.” He frowned but clasped my hand in his. “Really. We just haven’t had much time to talk about it.”
“What’s more important than that?”
The table fell silent and Cecelia looked to Shane, who stood at the edge of the garden, alert and ready for action in case something happened.
“Ah,” she said. “Okay. Well, Finnigan Moore, you could have told me how serious this was.”
He only shook his head. “It wasn’t my place.”
“It’s my ex,” I told her. “He was abusive when we were together. And when I tried to leave him, he got worse.”
Cecilia’s mouth opened and then closed. Her eyes softened and she reached out for me. “I’m so sorry.” When I smiled at her, Finn cleared his throat. “There’s more, isn’t there?”
“Why don’t you let me fill her in?” Jake asked.
Finn’s teeth were gritted but he nodded. Jake was more impartial. He could talk without getting as upset. He kept it brief, telling his mom about the notes and letters and ending with the kidnapping.
“That bastard,” Cecilia said.
She grabbed the bottle of wine and filled her glass before taking a long swallow. “I’m sorry, but who the hell does he think he is? Finn, we should talk to—”
“Curtis Powell is helping us, Mom,” Finn said.
She nodded. “Well, that’s a good start.” Agitated, she stood, taking her wine with her. “That just pisses me off. No wonder you guys haven’t had time to enjoy the engagement or tell anyone.” She stopped and set a hand on my shoulder. “Listen, Charlotte, you’re a Moore now. You mess with one of us, you mess with us all. I’m not going to let this be ruined for you. I’ll do whatever I can to help. And in the meantime, don’t let anyone take this away from you.”
I nodded, tears forming in my eyes.
“I’m serious, Charlotte. There’s so much joy to be had. Show that asshole you can and will still live your life.”
I stood and grasped her in a hug, holding on tight and closing my eyes. “Thank you,” I whispered.
“You mean a lot to me Charlotte, and I can’t wait to see you and Finn married.”
She pulled back as the first raindrop fell. Then more started, hitting the dishes and the glasses, making the candlelight flicker.
“It almost held out long enough.”
I started grabbing the dishes, glancing up at the sky doubtfully.
“Don’t even worry about it,” Cecilia said, stacking her arms with plates. “You’ll stay here tonight. Work it out with your man. Please.”
“Uh…” I glanced at Finn. “I’m not sure—”
“Convince her, Finn. Jake, grab that wine and those plates.”
They vanished into the gardens, racing to the house. “Finn,” I started, but he didn’t move.
“We should stay,” he said, “if you want.”
Finn took the plates from my hands before I could protest and returned them to the table. Then he took me in his arms.
I laughed. “Finn, it’s raining.”
“It’s nice, right?”
A raindrop dripped down his cheek and I wiped it away, only to have more fall on us. Harder this time.
He lifted me off my feet. “Was dancing in the rain on your list?”
“Anything spontaneous is on my list.”
“Then dance with me, Charlotte.”
He dipped me low, making me laugh out loud, and kissed me as I hung there, my hair almost touching the ground.
“You’re going to be my wife,” he said with a smile, pulling me upright again. He spun me around and caught me close once more. “We’re going to have a wonderful life together.”
As the rain fell on our heads, I smiled at him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Starting now.”
His eyes locked on mine. “What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean.”
“Charlotte, I need you to say it.”
With a laugh, I pulled away from him and danced in a circle, unabashed to see Shane still standing at the edge of the gardens. “I want to be your wife, Finn. I’m ready for our future to start now.”
He snatched my hand as the rain fell harder. “Come on, let’s get inside.”
“But the dishes—”
“We’ll get them tomorrow.”
Then we were dashing off the patio and through the gardens. Shane was behind us one moment and then when we entered the house, clothes dripping, he made himself scarce.
“Champagne,” Finn said, grinning and walking to the refrigerator.
I found two glasses in the cupboard near the stove.
“I see you still know your way around here.”
I nodded. “I remember a lot about this place. A lot of good things.”
“Me, too. Like that first night in my room, and you with that lacy red bra.” He angled his head. “Should we try that again?”
“It’s not your room anymore. Your mom told me she made it into a guestroom.”
He started toward the stairs. “Because she wants us to come stay here as guests as often as possible. I told you my mom’s been planning for a bigger family for years. She’s ecstatic.”
We entered Finn’s old bedroom, which didn’t look all that different, save for a larger bed and an updated color scheme. His mom had somehow managed to put a basket of toiletries for us on the bed—unless she’d been planning this all along.
“I think your mom and my mom are going to get along just fine,” I said. “Champagne, please.”
I held out the glasses as he popped the top and poured.
“You think?”
“Absolutely.” I lifted my glass to drink, but Finn shook his head.
“Hold on a minute. Can we just sort this out?”
“What is there to sort?” I asked.
He sat on the bed, patting the space next to him. “Sit.”
“I’m all wet.”
“Then take off your pants and sit.”
Rolling my eyes, I sat next to him, my thigh bumping his.
“Did you really mean what you said out there?” he asked. “About being ready to start our future?”
I took a breath. “Yes.”
“I mean, telling everyone we know, venues and wedding gowns or whatever that all entails? All of it?”
I shifted to face him. “Yes. I’m ready. But—”
“Shit. I knew that was too good to be true.”
“No, Finn. I’m ready. I promise. There’s just one thing I have to do first.”
His gaze turned wary. “I’m not sure
I want to hear this.”
“Then don’t. Not right now. Live in the moment. Take your mom’s advice. Life’s too short not to enjoy this and each other.”
He hesitated, but when I lifted my glass, he tapped it on mine and drank. “To us, then. And tonight. To enjoying each other.”
I grinned and set my worries aside. “So, should we test out this new bed?”
CHAPTER TEN
“I’m really not happy about this,” Finn said through clenched teeth the following week.
I gave his hand a soothing squeeze, though inside I was a mass of nerves. We stood inside the doors to the police station, waiting to meet Detectives Stone and Winters, with Curtis lingering behind us, looking as comfortable as ever.
But I could see how watchful his eyes were.
Unlike Finn, he hadn’t protested my coming here. But that didn’t mean he approved. I knew, however, all of us would be easier if we knew where Mark was. Which meant I needed to talk to John.
On the bright side, Dr. Palmer had backed me up. He’d seen it as a chance for closure and believed that I could handle it.
Standing here with Finn’s hand tight around mine, I hoped he was right.
“Let him do most of the talking,” Curtis told me.
I nodded at him.
“Stay on topic.”
“I will,” I promised.
“He’s going to want to talk to you,” Finn muttered. “He might not even tell you what you want to hear. He—”
He broke off when the detectives met us in the hallway. Detective Winters gave me as much of a smile as he could manage while Detective Stone shook my hand warmly.
“I really appreciate you coming,” Detective Stone said. “Hopefully we’ll make more headway with this if he’ll open up to you.”
“Follow me,” Detective Winters said.
Finn kept as close as physically possible as we walked through the busy hallway and past an area scattered with desks and buzzing with chatter and ringing phones.
They didn’t say anything about Curtis or Finn being with me as we wound through a few hallways and finally ended up in a small room with two chairs. Just like in the movies, it had a large pane of glass that let us view the room next door.
I stopped in my tracks when I saw John sitting at the table, his wrist handcuffed to a secure metal ring on the surface.
Finn set his hand on my back. “Charlotte.”
“He—I—” I took a calming breath. “I mean, I didn’t know he was already here.”
“You could have warned us first,” Finn said.
Detective Stone smiled. “I’m sorry. We thought you might want to see him first. See that it’s safe, and then we’ll go in.”
“Of course.” I walked all the way into the room with Curtis following behind me.
He shut the door and I fought the urge to panic.
“He can’t hear us, can he?” I asked. I knew he couldn’t see us, but he might be able to hear the low murmur of our voices. Or the nerves in mine because I wasn’t sure what to say to him.
“No,” Detective Winters said.
I walked closer to the window even as my breathing picked up. John looked tired. Older. He had a jumpsuit on, a terrible color for him because it just made him look even paler than he had before.
“I’ll be in there with you,” Detective Stone said.
“So will I,” Finn said.
I turned around even as Detective Winters shook his head. “The rest of us will stay in here.”
Finn opened his mouth to argue, but I set a hand on his arm. “It makes more sense this way.”
He frowned at me. “I don’t think so.”
“Listen,” I said, glancing nervously to the window. “He flipped out when he saw my engagement ring. That’s why he took it. He doesn’t like you, Finn, because he thinks you’re a threat. If you’re not there, maybe he’ll be more willing to talk to me.”
Detective Stone said, “She’s right. I’ll guide the conversation if necessary, keep him on topic. He said he’d tell us about Mark and admit to everything else if she was here.”
“He won’t admit to everything else,” Curtis said.
Detective Winters frowned. “We’ll take what we can get today.”
“Today?” Finn said. “This is it. This doesn’t happen again, so—”
Detective Stone held up a hand. “We’re focusing on today, okay? One thing at a time.” He turned to me. “Charlotte, I want you to follow my lead. Try to be understanding or agreeable, at least—”
“You want her to sympathize with him?” Finn growled.
I rubbed my hand over my face. “I just want to get this done. Please.”
He closed his mouth and crossed his arms.
“Keep him on track,” Detective Stone said, repeating what Curtis had told me earlier. “If he strays, go back to whatever you were talking about before. Let him do most of the talking, and if we’re not getting anywhere, we’re out of there.”
I gave a shaky nod, and got another firmer one from Curtis. They had faith in me. I could do this. I’d placated Mark for years, this was the same thing. Keep emotion out of it and stay focused.
Before we could leave the room, Finn gripped my arm and pulled me close, his mouth by my ear. “Don’t let him rile you. If you feel uncomfortable, you don’t have to stay in there.”
I nodded. “I know. I love you.”
He kissed me, fingers tightening on my arms for a moment before he released me. As an afterthought, I turned back to him and wiggled the engagement ring off my finger.
His jaw clenched when I passed it over. “Hold this for me, will you?”
“Charlotte, I don’t—”
“Just so it doesn’t make him more upset.”
He lowered his voice, though I was sure everyone heard. “I don’t fucking care if he’s upset, I care if you’re upset. It—”
He bit off the rest of what he was going to say, clasping the ring in his hand. “Let’s get this done.”
Straightening my shoulders, I followed Detective Stone from the room. We paused outside of the other door and the detective turned to me.
“Will you be okay with your fiancé watching? I know this is hard for both of you.”
“We’ll handle it,” I told him. We had to.
He nodded and opened the door. He walked in first, drawing John’s gaze, but when I entered the room, John shifted in his seat.
He looked like he tried to get up, remembered the cuffs, and settled for leaning forward in his seat. He almost smiled.
“Charlotte,” he said.
“John.”
“You’ve got your visitor,” Detective Stone said. “She’d like some answers.”
“Sit,” John said. “You should sit.”
I didn’t want to. I wanted to be as mobile as possible in case I needed to get out of here. But I checked the impulse to run and settled myself at the table. If this was going to make him talk, I could sit for a minute.
Detective Stone stood next to me at the table. “Please tell us how long you’ve been in contact with Mark Dublin.”
John spared him a glance, looking irritated. “I just wanted a few minutes.” He returned his attention to me. “I didn’t mean for things to happen the way they did.”
Feeling everyone’s eyes on me, even from the other room, I forced myself to open my mouth. “They probably wouldn’t have happened that way if not for Mark, right?”
He grimaced and nodded. “Right. I had to work fast.”
“What do you mean work fast?” Detective Stone said.
John’s mouth twisted, his eyes flicking to him again. He wasn’t responding well to the detective’s inquiries, so I tried to keep his attention on me.
“You were worried about what he might do,” I said, leading John.
His shoulders rose and fell with his deep breath, and he leaned in a little. I tensed, but tried not to show it. “He’s known where you were since the beginning. Before you went to
Oasis. He had me track you down and keep an eye on you so we’d see where you were going. It was easy to get a job at Oasis after that.”
“How did you meet Mark?” Detective Stone asked.
John ignored him. His eyes flashed to my ring finger and back to my face. His eyes softened, and I was glad I’d taken off the ring. Another reason for him to open up to me.
“Do you know Mark well?” I asked John, trying to pick up on Detective Stone’s questioning.
John shrugged. “Mutual acquaintance. But he’s got serious issues. I didn’t want to be involved with that anymore.”
I swallowed, trying to think of the perfect thing to say to him. “I’m glad you were trying to stop him.”
John’s eyes lit up. “He would have hurt you.”
“What was he going to do?”
I could picture Finn in the other room, his fists clenching as he waited for the answer. He didn’t want to know, and neither did I. But we needed evidence and I was working my way around to John giving it to us.
John shuddered. “I have emails.”
“Where?” Detective Stone asked.
John ignored him again. “I’m really glad you came. I wanted to know you were safe.”
“You think Mark’s coming here,” I surmised.
He nodded. He moved again, one hand reaching out. I jerked back in my seat. Detective Stone set a hand on my shoulder.
“No touching,” the detective said.
John glared at him. “You said I could talk to her. You—”
“John, listen,” I said, “this is important. How do you know Mark’s coming here?”
John’s jaw clenched. His shoulders hunched in frustration. “That was the plan all along, and I had to stop him. He had me make a new ID.”
“What name?” I asked, my heart racing. We needed a name, we needed more, or it was just our word against Mark’s.
“I’m the one who was trying to help you,” John said, his voice tortured. “Not—not security, or Finn. They were making things worse. I knew Mark, I knew what he was capable of, and if you just would have stayed with me, it would have been better. I would have kept you safe.”
“Tell us a name,” Detective Stone said.
“I would have been the one you needed,” John continued.