Her Best Friend's Keeper (Finley Creek Book 1)

by Calle J. Brookes

  Because they loved her. They were family, even those who weren’t tied by blood.

  There was a reporter crammed up next to where Mel and Jillian stood next to the hospital administrator. “Is it true what happened to your sister and Chance Marshall has to do with the Marshall Murders? There’s some speculation that she stumbled onto some crucial new evidence in her work with the TSP.”

  Mel sent the reporter a quelling look. “What we know at this time is that my sister and Chance Marshall were attacked by a trio of men in a stolen vehicle. As far as we know, the attackers were simply trying to cover their tracks and preserve their own hides. Any other questions about that should be directed to the Texas State Police.”

  “Does this case have anything to do with who shot you, Ms. Beck?”

  “Of course not. The men responsible for shooting me are in prison, where they belong. Now, I’m sure you all understand, but standing here is rather painful for me, and we need to get back to our sister.”

  “Rumor has it Handley Barratt of Barratt-Handley Enterprises is directly involved in the attack and the Texas State Police is looking for him. Is this true?”

  Mel stilled. “If the TSP is looking for someone, shouldn’t you be asking the TSP? I’m hardly out there looking for anyone. I’d probably fall over if I tried.”

  The crowd laughed lightly. Another reporter stepped closer. “Ms. Beck, if the Barratt family is involved, is there anything your family wants to say to them?”

  “Only that we have complete confidence in Elliot Marshall and the rest of the TSP. Whomever was involved in the attack on our sister will get what they deserve. It’s just a matter of time. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. But we really do need to get back inside.”

  Gabby watched the rest of the newscast with McKellen at her side. He was frowning. “How the hell did Barratt’s involvement get leaked? That was something we were keeping under wraps until we knew more. Chief Marshall is not going to like this. Not at all.”

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX.

  ***

  ONE of the benefits of having almost unlimited amounts of cash was that Houghton could hire just about anything he needed done.

  The Beck family weren’t the kind to hide who they were from the world. Houghton took advantage of that.

  He had spent the hours since the TSP had left his office internet searching every one of the key players in whatever it was that was going down. There was a lot of spec articles out there to search, too.

  Elliot Marshall, head of the Finley Creek TSP, was the brother of the guy who had been missing with Brynna Beck. He understood Marshall’s fury to some extent. When he’d found out about the guy’s family, he’d really understood the anger. Had felt for the guy a great deal, honestly.

  Houghton’s own mother had been murdered when he was a toddler. He’d felt that loss in so many ways. Felt his own anger, still.

  The FBI agent who had come to his office was connected to the Beck family somehow, from what he could find. And was damned good at what he did for the FBI. No clue why an FBI bigwig would be looking for his father, though. So many connections.

  He wouldn’t see his father railroaded by a bunch of cops and agents who were in each other’s pockets.

  But it wasn’t the agents and Marshall he was concerned about.

  He’d found nothing to indicate Brynna Beck was a liar. Or anything else than what she first appeared on the surface. She was a very pretty young woman in her mid-twenties. He’d studied her photo for a while, trying to figure out why she reminded him of someone.

  She had a good reputation at her job, had developed software to help law enforcement agencies across the country, still lived at home with her father and three of her four sisters, and seemed to be as innocent and wholesome as a newborn puppy. She had a sister with the FBI—which explained his federal visitor. He’d also found mention of her social disorder that gave him pause. Made him wonder if someone was forcing this innocent young woman to lie about his father. Was she just a pawn?

  Marshall and his brother, perhaps? Were they after a twisted sort of revenge for what had happened to their family a decade ago? Had they focused on his father for some strange reason?

  Houghton knew what he was doing was risky. If someone caught him outside Brynna Beck’s home, he’d probably be arrested. He could just imagine what the press would have to say about that. Billionaire’s Son Stalks Brynna Beck: New Angle in the Story!

  Bound to be a sensation.

  They were already vilifying his father. It didn’t surprise him that someone had leaked the information to the news station. Channel 7 KUFC was notorious for going after the big sensational cases quickly. Sometimes before the facts.

  Houghton considered just buying the news station and putting some filters on the damned channel. He’d considered it before, when Channel 7 turned a bit trying.

  Houghton’s attorneys had told him to remain neutral and noncommittal if questioned about Brynna Beck. It was his best chance of weathering this storm.

  He just wanted his father back and safe.

  That wasn’t so much to ask, was it?

  A car parked in the driveway and three redheads climbed out. He recognized them from photos in the dossiers his people had provided him. The driver was around twenty-two or three, if he recalled correctly, and working toward a nursing degree. There was a girl still in high school; she was easy to pick out, complete with purple and black backpack.

  And the elder Beck daughter was right there.

  The one he was waiting for. Houghton smiled, seeing her.

  He’d read the reports about her over and over, committing them to memory. Once he’d looked at the photos of her he’d been provided, his decision had been made. Once he’d confirmed she was the one he needed.

  She was a truly beautiful woman. She’d lost weight since she’d been injured, though. He’d studied photos of her probably longer than he should have.

  She paused and looked around, like she was feeling his eyes on her. Houghton smiled; she’d feel more than just his eyes on her soon, if he had his way.

  He watched her longer, ignoring her younger sisters completely.

  Melody Beck used a metal crutch—he’d read the medical reports he wasn’t supposed to have access to—and made her way carefully to the door. She wasn’t fully recovered from the bullet that she’d taken a year earlier, and was still in therapy. He’d even researched the reputation of her physical therapist closely.

  Everything. He wanted to know everything about her.

  She was his ticket to fixing this entire situation. He needed this woman.

  Houghton had been looking for her for a very, very long time. Eighteen months and two days, to be exact.

  And now he had found her. Finally.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN.

  ***

  HIS hands shook when he picked up the phone, but Benny forced himself to do it. Just like he’d forced himself to take a few shots at the Marshall brothers at the hospital. It hadn’t been easy. But he’d did it. Just to scare Gabby off.

  He’d never expected Brynna to survive what had been planned for her. Or Chance Marshall. He had looked at both of them with his own eyes for a few minutes the night before.

  The trust Brynna and her family had in him had allowed him into the sanctum of Brynna’s hospital room, had allowed him to sit with her and just talk.

  She’d looked so young, so fragile, so damned vulnerable, he’d nearly been sick when he learned of how badly she had been hurt.

  But she was supposed to be dead.

  How was he supposed to be happy that she wasn’t, when she had the power to ruin everything he had built? Power in her tiny, scratched up hands?

  He’d excused himself after half an hour—she was tiring, and refusing to rest. And already talking about when she returned to the TSP.

  He didn’t want her there, he wanted her to do what her father suggested and take a few months off to recuperate. Benny had told her that he would b
e happy to rearrange the department a bit, to give her that break.

  But little Miss Hard-headed had turned his offer down, claiming that the only real way for her to heal mentally was to return to her routine.

  Brynna clung to her routine like a baby monkey to its mother. Benny understood that.

  The phone rang.

  “About time you called, Russell. We have a problem.” The voice on the other end of the line was cultured, educated, and seethed with contained power. “And you will be the one fixing it.”

  “Like what?”

  He listened with growing horror as the plan was outlined, as just what the cost to him would be.

  “I won’t do it! There are too many other things that could happen. What if someone else walks in?”

  “Those bitches hold the key to unraveling everything we have worked toward for years. I am almost at the point where I need to be, and I will not lose it because of some damned women. Get them out of the way or I’ll make it known to everyone you hold dear that you are the mastermind. You and that worthless brother of yours. But with him dead, who do you think will be the one to suffer most? You? Nora? Those pretty little daughters of yours? Now, what do you think would happen to them if Daddy is the one responsible for the Marshall Murders? It would destroy them, wouldn’t it? Law school? Med school? What’s little Addie’s plans, Russell? Teaching little children? You’ll ruin their lives.”

  “I’ll do what I have to do.”

  But first he had to think.

  “This is exactly what you’ll do. Everything you’ll need is in the evidence room, right above your lab. Convenient, isn’t it?”

  CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT.

  ***

  CHANCE watched from the front entrance as Dr. McGareth wheeled Brynna toward the exit. She was dressed in a loose knit dress that made her look young and pretty. She had big brown sunglasses perched on her nose, making her look like a little bug. He smiled when she tilted her head back and let the sun soak into her.

  He had checked the perimeter of the hospital parking lot twice himself, and he had an old friend of his prowling around, as well.

  He’d made the officers his brother had assigned within two minutes. No one would be hurting Brynna today.

  Her father’s SUV pulled up and Kevin hopped out. He carefully lifted his daughter, even over her protests, and placed her in the backseat.

  Chance walked up beside them. “I’ll follow you back.”

  “Chance, I wasn’t aware you were going to be here,” Beck’s eyes were suspicious. Chance understood—Beck didn’t want him near his precious, innocent little daughter.

  Innocent, like hell. She hadn’t been well tutored, but she had been as in to him as he had been into her. Every touch she’d given him had been full of need.

  She’d needed him almost as much as he’d needed her.

  “I’m trading off guard duty with Erickson for the next few days.” A lie, but Chance didn’t give a damn.

  He was going to stay where he could watch over her, no matter how he had to do it.

  Chance looked in the backseat. She was watching him, wasn’t she? Those sunglasses didn’t hide half of what she thought they did. “Brynna…fasten your seatbelt. I’ll be around.”

  CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE.

  ***

  GABBY spent most of the next three days with Brynna and Mel. Elliot had told Benny she needed a break, and her supervisor had agreed. He’d told her to go take care of her friend. To pamper Brynna and herself—that they both deserved it.

  Said he’d see everything was taken care of at the TSP.

  Elliot hadn’t liked leaving her at the Becks, but he had. He’d kissed her goodbye at the front door each morning, then set his guards to watch over the both of them. Mostly it was Erickson, but Chance was there part of the time, though he spent most of his guard duty glaring at Brynna and making sure she barely moved at all.

  Brynna treated him with polite courtesy—she was actually more welcoming of the big blond Erickson. Chance treated her with orders and frustration. Until she moved wrong or forgot her medication—then he was right there. Everyone knew Chance had it bad for Brynna. Except maybe Brynna—and Chance. Talk about clueless. Gabby felt torn loyalties—he was Elliot’s brother, after all.

  Chance caught Brynna off the couch around noon on the third day and went through the roof. Gabby and Mel escaped down the hall into Mel’s room. Gabby collapsed on the bed, giggling. “Did you see his face?”

  “She threw Cheerios at him. So classically Brynna.” Mel’s face was bright red and she was pulling in a breath as she fought a laugh.

  Gabby sobered as Brynna yelled that it had just been no-strings sex. “Glad your dad isn’t here to hear that.”

  Mel’s eyes widened. “Talk about an explosive situation. I think he’s still convinced Brynna and Jilly are virgins.”

  This was so not their normal, was it? Brynna was still yelling, something she usually only did with her family. “Do you think she’ll be ok?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “They agreed no strings. That’s not Brynna. Are we ever going to get back to normal?” She missed that, missed her home, missed what had been before. She loved being with Elliot, she wouldn’t deny that but as the days continued to go by without any real answers, she was starting to long for quiet nights watching movies or having pizza with Mel and Brynna, giggling and talking. Longed for Mel dragging the two of them to the mall to buy clothes they didn’t need, longed for coding with Brynna just to see what they could do.

  She wanted to be with Elliot out of free choice, not because it was the safest answer to a terrifying question. She wanted to be with him out in the open because they both wanted exactly that. Not hiding, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  “Oh, baby.” Mel held out a hand. Gabby took it. “I wondered how long you’d be able to hide yourself away with Elliot.”

  “He hasn’t mentioned any strings, either.” And that was at the heart of her fear now, wasn’t it? They spent their evenings together—and it was wonderful. But how could it last? When they weren’t basically forced to be so close all the time? “I don’t know what’s going to happen. With him, with whatever this is that we’ve all gotten mixed up in. When—if—this all ends, what happens next? Will we ever get our normal back again?”

  Mel stared at her for a long moment, as the shouting from the front of the house abruptly ended. “If you had a choice between our normal before and Elliot now, what would you choose, Gabby?”

  She pulled Gabby into the hall. “Look at them, Gab. What do you think they’d choose?”

  Gabby looked. Brynna sat on the kitchen island. Rice milk drenched Cheerios soaked into the back of her nightgown. Her Princess Toadstool nightgown. Brynna clung to him, her hands buried in his hair. Chance kissed her like his very breathing depended on it.

  How she felt—how he felt—was pretty hard to miss, wasn’t it?

  That didn’t mean there were strings, though. “I don’t know.”

  “This,” Mel waved her hand around lightly “This thing we’ve been dragged in to—it will end. Elliot will find the answers. When he does, go after your new normal. Don’t let something incredible slip away because you’re afraid. You’ll regret it forever. Fear…fear robs us of the future, of the entire world out there. If you love Elliot and want those strings, go tie them yourself.”

  CHAPTER SIXTY.

  ***

  SHE couldn’t hide out at home forever. No matter how appealing that idea was to Brynna. She had a life that extended past what had happened to her. She would not lose track of that, of her goals, of what was important, because of fear.

  What was it that Mel had said to her before, to Gabby? Fear robs us of the world. It had taken her a while to figure out what Mel meant, but Brynna finally understood it. Brynna didn’t want to live in fear.

  Not any longer.

  The way she saw it, she had two choices. Stay at home under guard or go back to the TSP, whe
re she was equally as guarded.

  At least at the TSP she would be doing something besides eating Lucky Charms—she’d lost her taste for Cheerios, damn him—and watching mindless television.

  Besides, she missed her life. Missed Gabby, missed Benny and Theresa and Haldyn and the rest of the people in her department.

  She missed normal.

  Gabby and Mel were cooking when she finished her shower and returned to the kitchen.

  The cereal mess she and Chance had made was gone, thanks to Gabby. Brynna owed her one.

  What had she been thinking? She should have known he’d not take to well to being challenged like that. Still, he’d made her so angry.

  He had no right to tell her what to do. No right. Just because of what had happened in that cellar, he didn’t have the right to tell her what she should do!

  No one but her father had that right, and she was a full-grown adult. She’d stopped letting him control everything when she’d turned eighteen.

  What was Chance playing at, anyway?

  He had been just as adamant of the no strings thing as she had. So why was he trying to change things between them?

  He’d told her after the kiss had ended that it meant nothing. And not to get her hopes up for something more. That he wasn’t the white picket fences type.

  It had taken her a few minutes to figure out what he meant by that. By that time the jerk was gone.

  She was left standing there with Cheerios all over her butt. And her heart breaking in two all over again.

  Mel looked at her. “You ok?”

  “Men are stupid.”