That woman knew something. And if it took an entire bottle of expensive champagne, he was going to find out what it was.
* * * *
Shane took his coffee as the waitress handed it to him. Though he would have preferred something harder after his brawl with Ryan Newberry, none of the local bars served alcohol this early in the day.
Taking a hot sip, he marveled that life was beginning to feel a bit like walking a tightrope. But he hadn’t come as far as he had to fall off now. He was used to fighting for everything he had. And after all of his efforts, the opportunities he’d long sought were almost within his grasp.
His phone buzzed and he barely looked at the screen. Thankfully it didn’t appear to be who he’d thought it was, unless the man who typically nagged him every ten minutes had shrunk five inches and grown a very fine pair of breasts. He looked at the message he’d received.
Can’t make it tonight. Something came up—a family emergency. I’ll call you tomorrow, sweetie.
Shane clenched the phone in his hand. The words ‘Do whatever the hell you want’ came into his mind, but something told him not to text that. At least not yet, anyway.
After reading the message a second time, he deleted it. Some things in life were worth getting upset over. Others were inconsequential.
Either way, things would be coming together for him very soon.
Chapter 22
The restaurant at the end of town looked crowded as Ryan drove up to it, upon insistence, in Kim’s new car. It was one of three local establishments that served lobster, and since lobster was his date’s favorite entrée, that was where they’d be having dinner. Sitting beside his ex, who was wearing a tight dress and high heels, he felt as though he’d gone back in time and entered the twilight zone.
A few minutes later, after holding the door for Kimberly and taking her arm, he approached the host, and was told that it was going to be about a thirty minute wait.
“That’s fine,” he agreed, and gave the gentleman at the counter his name. He could hardly think straight, and the idea of driving to another restaurant that served lobster was more than his brain was up for.
He’d thought that being around Abigail made him feel out of control. The truth was, Ryan had never felt more out of control in his life. For one thing, he was on a supposed date with a woman he’d vowed never to speak to again. For another, he couldn’t protect Abigail anymore, not from the unemployment office. He sure as hell hoped he learned something tonight, because his ex was literally his last chance of figuring out what criminal activities had led to the hotel murders.
This wasn’t going to be easy, he thought, as he led Kim off to a bench on the side of the building. It was just a hunch, that the guy Kim had cheated on him with had something to do with the untimely deaths that occurred in the old wing at Washington Valley. But ever since she’d smiled at him earlier that afternoon, Ryan hadn’t been able to get the idea out of his head.
Though they’d both been caught in an inter-office relationship, Ryan had been the only one to be let go from the Red Fox. He was told that was because he’d held the managerial position, but it had always seemed strange to him that Kimberly’s position had been spared. It was shortly after that that he’d found his tramp of an ex in bed with that sleazebag, whose face he’d been too repulsed to get a better look at. For a while, he’d actually convinced himself that his ex had been sweating it up with the same man who’d fired him—Brent Lombardi. But her actions earlier that afternoon had caused him to seriously rethink that idea.
When he kissed Kimberly behind the hotel earlier that morning, he saw something in her eyes. Guilt—the same guilt he’d seen in her expression right before he’d learned she was fooling around behind his back. He was willing to bet that there was only one thing that could cause her to look at him that way again. She was still sleeping with the prick responsible for ending their relationship.
According to the rumors, Lombardi resigned from his position, and relocated to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, following Ryan’s termination. If he was right about Kim, and the mark above her collarbone wasn’t a rug burn, then the chances were that the person she’d slept with wasn’t Lombardi, but someone who worked with them now, someone she was still sleeping with, who could have pulled strings to get her the job at the Washington Valley Hotel.
“What are you thinking about?” Placing her hand over his, Kim said, “You’ve got that weight-of-the-world look in your eyes.”
“I was”—Ryan smiled tightly—“thinking about last winter, when we came here for our anniversary.”
“And we ordered those blackberry margaritas?” Kimberly laughed. “A big mistake. One we won’t make again.”
“A lot of mistakes were made last year,” Ryan agreed.
Kim’s hand tensed. Curling her thumb around his pointer finger, she said, “I really don’t know what to say. I want to make it right, Ryan. I just don’t know how I can do that.”
“You can’t.” Placing his other hand on top, so hers was sandwiched between his, he said, “All you can do is move forward.”
Kim looked like she was on the verge of tears. But Ryan knew her well enough to realize they were fake. Not a lot about Kimberly Russell wasn’t.
“I don’t want to move forward,” she said. “Not alone, anyway.”
This wasn’t where he’d wanted the conversation to go. But he supposed he’d have to work with it. Lowering his voice, he said, “I can’t be with someone who isn’t honest with me, Kimberly. And let’s face it. You’ve never been honest, not even about the man you slept with when we were together.”
She seemed frazzled. “Why would you want to know that?”
“I don’t. Not really, anyway. But at least maybe if I did know who it was I could get past it, instead of dwelling on this faceless figure in my mind.”
“Ryan, this is absurd! You shouldn’t be thinking about this now—you just lost your job! Who I made the biggest mistake of my life with is the absolute last thing that ought to be on your mind tonight.”
Kim’s phone buzzed inside her purse. As she took it out and looked at the screen, her face became pale. That was him—the bastard she’d been straddling that day in her bed. But Ryan could care less who Kimberly Russell shared a toothbrush with. He needed to know if the man was connected to the murders. Kim probably didn’t even know it herself. But even a small bit of information might help him put the pieces of the puzzle together.
“I have a great idea,” she said as she put her phone away. “Why don’t we screw this thirty minute wait and go back to my place? I’ll make us dinner, put on soft music. Trust me, you’ll forget all about the—”
“Kimberly, stop. In no way, shape, or form are you and I getting back together, do you understand me?”
“Well, you came out tonight.” Blinking her overly made-up eyes, she shouted, “Why would you do that unless you want the same thing I do? Don’t you like me anymore?”
Ryan blew out a hard breath. “To be honest, not really.”
“Damn you, Ryan Newberry. You’re the most stubborn man I’ve ever known. That’s why I told Abigail MacKenzie to take a hike. You’ve been confused about us for so long, you don’t even realize when you’re—”
“You did what?”
Kim’s eyes widened. “I wasn’t harsh. Just explained to her that you and I are—”
“You conniving tramp. You had no right—”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Tears caked with mascara streaked down Kim’s face. “It was wrong, and I knew it. But I only said what I did because I love you. I always will.”
Not that she’d be the only one in his life, but Kim certainly had a strange definition of the word love. Taking a deep breath, Ryan turned to face her. “I might not have a job tonight, but mark my words that that hotel hasn’t seen the last of me. And when I get my job back so help me God, Kimberly, if you ever try to manipulate Abigail MacKenzie again I will deal with you like the impertinent bitch you are.�
�
Kim’s phone buzzed. She ignored it, frantically wiping the tears from her cheeks. The number on the incoming call was hard to see, but as she moved her hand Ryan saw that the person was calling from a “225” area code, something that was definitely way out of their area. Unexpected, but perhaps it had just made this entire episode worth his while.
“You might want to get that. Cause I have a feeling whoever’s on the other end of that phone will be the only action you’ll be getting tonight.” Anxious to learn whether the clue he’d discovered would amount to anything, and having no interest whatsoever in getting back into his date’s car, Ryan started up the highway.
* * * *
“Do you think the back of this dress is too low?” Julia asked. Stepping away from her mirror, she turned to where Abigail was stretched across her bed and said, “I know it must seem strange, me wearing a dress and all. But I really think this little black number makes a statement.”
“Sure does,” Abigail replied quietly.
Julia kept her hands on her hips as she spun in a circle. “Mmhmm. I am going to have that bad boy eating out of my hand. Why, Shane, you brought me flowers? You shouldn’t have! Roses are my favorite flower, but hey. Every girl worth her salt likes daisies. Mark certainly seemed wired today, bossing us all around like some sort of slave driver. Kind of like my date tonight.” Julia smiled at her own humorous statement. Releasing a heavy sigh, she approached the bed. “All right, Abs. Spill it.”
Abigail wished Julia couldn’t read her so well. It was times like this where she really didn’t want a friend who was more like an overbearing older sister asking her questions. But when it came down to it, there was no one in the world she could trust more than Julia.
“Where do I start?” she asked.
“At the beginning.” Julia sat down. She took her cat, Marmalade, from Abigail’s arms. Marmalade settled into her lap.
Abigail took a deep breath. “You remember that day when we were sorting sheets, and I snuck out to see what they had to eat in the vending machine?”
“Yea, I remember. You were gone for like an hour.”
“I know,” Abigail said. “Well that’s because I never went to the vending machine. I went to the old wing.”
“Wow.” Julia caused Marmalade to purr loudly as she stroked her. “I knew you were determined, but I didn’t really think you’d take it that far.”
“Julia, my dad died in a random shooting. He was left for dead on a cold sidewalk outside of the restaurant he spent every waking moment of his life trying to manage. Don’t you think if I had the chance, I’d want to know why that happened?”
“Honey, of course.” Julia put down her cat and threw her arms around Abigail, who was shaking. “But there isn’t any connection between these murders and your dad’s.”
“That isn’t necessarily true,” Abigail said through her tears.
Julia drew back just enough for Abigail to see her face. “Your dad was killed over six years ago.”
“And the police never found his killer.” Abigail hesitated a long moment. She wanted to get this out on the table, but once she’d said it, there was no going back. “The day Ryan came into the ice cream parlor, just after the”—she bit her tongue—“the milkshake incident, something fell out of his pocket. A card. A business card.”
“Whose?”
“Christopher Barrows’s.”
“Okay,” Julia said after a moment. “But Christopher’s a pretty common name. You realize that card could belong to anyone, don’t you?”
“I know that. But—”
“But when you realized Ryan worked at the hotel, you thought there might be a connection between his and your dad’s murder. Oh God, Abby.”
Abigail brushed the moisture from her cheeks. “That day I went to the old wing, Ryan came after me. We argued, and in the midst of our shouting we heard someone coming. We wound up hiding in one of the rooms.”
“Who was it?” Julia teetered on the edge of the bed.
“To be honest I’m not sure. But the next day, when I was by the front desk I found something. A card with a picture of a mountain lion on it.” Abigail swallowed. “It was the same mountain lion from those ledgers I saw fall out of the filing cabinet.”
“Yikes, Abby!”
“That night I went back to the old wing. And guess who I ran into for an encore performance?” Abigail watched as Julia’s expression changed from one of surprise to astonishment. “Besides Ryan, there were three men in the building. I hid while they were talking, but unfortunately I didn’t hear much of anything that was said. Ryan hid, too.” Or at least, that’s what he wanted me to think he was doing. “We wound up in one of the hotel rooms. We argued, kissed. We argued some more and…”
“No way…Really? Oh my God Abs, really? You and Ryan Newberry? Between the sheets we spent all those hours folding and you didn’t even tell me?”
Abigail tugged the ends of her hair. Desperate for something to grab onto, she searched the ground for Marmalade, who’d apparently wandered away.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me,” Julia exclaimed. “You know that I came clean with you the minute I lost my virginity. Granted, Mike Terlecki had told half of Kennett High School by that point, but I intended to tell you first and you know that.”
“Julia, this isn’t anything like you and Mike Terlecki. I don’t mean to imply that that wasn’t important—I know Mike meant a lot to you, at least, at the time he did. But Ryan is…warm. And handsome…passionate and…” She wanted to say “loving” but couldn’t quite get the word out of her mouth.
“Are you in love with him?” Julia asked her pointedly.
Abigail had been thinking she could be. Maybe she even was. But how could she allow herself to feel that way when all Ryan did was lie to her? How could she give her heart to a man who wouldn’t answer a simple question, who did everything he could to avoid letting her know the person he really was?
“I’m not sure,” she lied. “And it doesn’t matter anyway, because now that Ryan’s been let go I’ll probably never see him again. I think that’s for the best. With all the questions and doubts I’ve had, I’m not sure we ever really stood a chance. I took this job for reasons that are a lot bigger than hooking up with some guy. Teaching is my future, and yea, if I can finally find out why that son of a bitch shot my father, why wouldn’t I want to know?”
“Abs, I get it. You have every reason to want closure regarding your dad. When my mom walked out, it was like someone ripped out a part of my heart.” Julia, who never cried, had tears in her eyes, too. “I know why my mom left home. But it doesn’t mean that I have closure. That probably isn’t something I’ll have no matter what I do.”
“Your mom ran away, Julia. As awful as that is, no one murdered her in cold blood.”
Julia’s eyes drifted to the window and Abigail wondered why the hell she’d just said what she had. She didn’t mean to keep saying hurtful things, but no one, not even Julia could understand how painful losing her dad had been. He was her rock—the man who’d taught her to ride a bicycle and build a tower out of macaroni. He hadn’t deserved to die at forty-eight years old. And as long as she lived, she would never stop trying to find out why it had happened.
“You’re right,” Julia said after a painfully long while. “My mom didn’t die, and God knows she certainly wasn’t the victim.”
“I didn’t mean to—”
Julia silenced her with her palm. “You have every right to want to know who killed your dad. I can even understand you sneaking around in the middle of the night to find out why it happened. But, Abs, I know what you’re thinking. And the person who killed him isn’t Ryan Newberry.”
“Of course he isn’t! Is that what you think I—that isn’t what I—”
“You need to blame someone. And that’s some pretty damning evidence you found against our hunk of a supervisor. But you have to ask yourself, really ask yourself, could this guy you’ve been buzzi
ng for months, this guy you cared about enough to be with in a way you’ve never been with anyone, is he really capable of such a horrific act?”
“No, he isn’t!” Abigail said emphatically, the words becoming gospel to her as she said them out loud. “But between the card, the ledgers, and the gun—”
“Gun?”
“Ryan had a gun with him that night in the old wing. It must have been for protection, I guess.” Meaning maybe he hadn’t been there to meet up with those men, like he’d said…“But you’re right, Julia. I do know Ryan. And though it’s still possible that he got mixed up with some bad people, I could never believe that he’s a killer.”
“Not with those sexy eyes, anyway.”
Abigail cracked a smile. “I guess I have been giving Ryan a pretty hard time. I came to the Washington Valley Hotel hoping to have a fresh start. All I’ve been doing is living in the past.”
“Well, maybe not the entire time, you haven’t. I mean, how can you say your life isn’t better when you’ve found the man of your dreams? You do know that’s what Ryan is for you, don’t you? Maybe he’s still something of a mystery to you, and heck, I’m sure you didn’t expect to find him so early in your life. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go for it. When it’s right, don’t hold back.”
“Come on, Julia. I suppose next you’re going to tell me that Shane Dempsey is the man of your dreams.”
“Maybe he is and maybe he isn’t,” Julia said with a shrug. “But I’m sure that when it’s right, I’ll know it. A chance like that comes along once in a lifetime. If you’ve got it, you take it for God’s sake!”
Abigail cradled Julia’s leopard-print pillow. “What about Kimberly?”
“What about her?”
“The woman wants Ryan with a vengeance. They used to date when they worked at the Red Fox Hotel. Ryan hesitated to tell me.”
“Kimberly Russell is a bimbo who dresses like a streetwalker and wears too much lip gloss. Trust me, the guy will grow out of it. As far as him not telling you about his past, your relationship with him hasn’t exactly been conventional.”
Dangerous Secret [The Pinnacles of Power Prequel] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) Page 19