Chasing Morgan

by Jennifer Ryan

  “I’ll tell you why. Because our father didn’t care if he had to beat me to a bloody pulp to get the information he wanted. Sometimes, he’d lock me in a closet for days. He didn’t care if I was hurt, or hungry, or scared. All the better to get what he wanted. Then, he figured out the best way to get me to talk. If beating me and the closet and starvation didn’t work, hell, let’s beat her mother to get her to talk. It worked every time. He hit her once, a slap across the face that sent her thudding to the kitchen floor. He never had to do it again. From that moment on, if he went for her, he knew he’d get me to cooperate.”

  Jillian went completely still and stared hard at Morgan. Tyler sat stunned, his hands balled into fists on the table beside her.

  “He wouldn’t have hurt me? I’m not like you.”

  “And you think that would have saved you. Do you really think he would have believed you can’t do what I can do? Do you think he wouldn’t have beaten you to be sure you couldn’t help him get what he wanted? If you believe that, then you’re stupid on top of being angry about something Mom did to protect you.”

  Morgan took a deep breath and tried to keep her carefully constructed walls in place. But they were crumbling. Fast.

  “I’m glad you weren’t there. I’d take your anger and hatred any day over knowing he hurt you because of me. I wouldn’t wish one single day of my life with that man on you. I’m glad you had a good childhood. You have a great life. Be happy, Jillian. It’s all I want for you and from you.”

  “It should have been you, not her. Why didn’t he just kill you?”

  “Because he wants to use me to get what he wants. He’ll stop at nothing to make that happen.”

  Tyler broke free from his stunned reaction to Morgan’s admissions. He couldn’t believe everything she’d said. It was all so cruel and sad.

  “Jillian, you said your father told you Morgan made him kill your mother. When did you talk to him? Has he been in contact with you?”

  “He’s written me off and on over the years from prison. Since his release, I’ve spoken to him a few times. He wants to build a relationship with me,” Jillian said to Morgan. “He understands the injustice of my being taken away from him.”

  Morgan closed her dropped jaw, flabbergasted. “Do you really believe the man who killed our mother in cold blood deserves a second chance at being a father? Do you really think that’s what he wants?”

  Morgan didn’t believe it for a second. James wanted something from Jillian. She meant to find out what that something was before her father ruined the life Jillian had made for herself. She didn’t want her sister to get hurt. She didn’t want James using her niece and nephew to get what he wanted either. The thought of those children suffering at her father’s hands turned her stomach.

  “Jillian, you can’t let that man into your life or near the children. He only wants to use you.”

  “He’s my father.”

  “He killed our mother.”

  “You killed her,” she snapped. “It’s your fault.”

  “But the children,” Morgan pleaded, hoping her sister would see beyond her father’s manipulation that he believed she’d been cheated and abandoned. Her father would feed Jillian’s anger, bring her around to sympathize with him, and take everything from her without regret.

  “You stay away from my children. They aren’t any of your concern.”

  Morgan didn’t know what else to say. She couldn’t get Jillian to set aside her anger and hurt to see what their father really wanted. Jillian didn’t want to believe he could be evil enough to do those terrible things. Much easier to believe her insane sister was to blame for everything.

  She simply nodded her agreement to stay away.

  Jillian may not want Morgan in her life, but she did want something from her. It broke Morgan’s heart when her sister’s misguided anger turned to selfish greed.

  “You’ll continue with the account.”

  Not a question. A demand, and one her sister expected Morgan to follow. Irritated her sister could be so consumed with hatred toward her and in the next breath demand she give the children money.

  “The children will have their college funds. It’s my gift to them.”

  “Yeah, you’ve made sure of that, since you’re the only signer on the account. How do I know you won’t change your mind?”

  “You don’t, and since my word doesn’t mean anything to you, I guess you won’t know. When the time comes for them to go to school, I’ll make sure they have the money they need. It’s the best I can do.”

  “You could put the account in my name.”

  “Why?”

  “Then, you don’t have to be involved.”

  Maybe Jillian was more like their father than she’d previously thought. “I could, but what difference does it make who signs on the account, so long as the children get their money.”

  “You just don’t trust David and me to take care of the money and investments for them.”

  Before tonight, she might have considered changing the signing authority on the account. Now a strange undercurrent rippled in the air.

  “You know, you’re right. I don’t trust you. There’s a reason you want access to that money, and it isn’t so you can manage the account. I have a lot of experience with stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. I made all that money. Why do you want access to it? Are you and David having financial trouble?” As a teacher, her sister made an okay salary along with David. They lived a comfortable life, but extras were an indulgence they probably had to forego to meet their monthly bills, especially with two growing children.

  No, she and David had a good, solid life. Jillian’s request came from something else. Or, more likely, someone else. “Does this have something to do with your recent calls from James?”

  “He said you’d refuse. The money belongs to us.”

  “It does? You didn’t work for it, I did. The money is mine, until I pay the college of the kids’ choice. You won’t see a dime. It’s for them.”

  She made sure Jillian understood the money would go to the school, not to her or the children directly. Encouragement for the kids to go to college. If she simply gave them the money, they may not go. She wanted them to have every opportunity. Money would come later if they had a good education behind them.

  “Why would you tell him about the money?” Tyler asked, his mind working overtime, trying to figure out what angle her father was working this time.

  “He wanted to know what you’ve been doing all these years. I told him about you playing the stock market and doing really well. He wanted to know how I knew that, and I told him about the money and investments you made for the kids. That’s all,” she swore, biting her bottom lip and glancing away.

  “That’s all? Hardly. You’re hiding something. And it has everything to do with James.”

  Jillian looked around the room, nervous about something. Tyler had seen enough liars to read all the signs. She never met his or Morgan’s gaze. She fidgeted with her purse strap. Her voice went high and she spoke too fast, the words tumbling from her mouth. “I have to go. My family is waiting for me. We’ll talk about this another time.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  * * *

  “SHE’S A REAL piece of work,” Tyler couldn’t help pointing out, angry Jillian would confront Morgan in public and in such a nasty way. “She hates your guts and demands money all in the same breath.” Pissed off, his anger seeped out in his words, though he tried to hold it back for Morgan’s sake.

  She’d been sitting there quietly for the last ten minutes. He’d given her the time she needed to settle down. In that time, she slowly transformed again before his eyes. Her sister sapped all the light out of her. When she left, the glow and vitality in Morgan slowly returned. Her eyes brightened, her skin returned to the warm, sun-kissed glow she’d had before, and her hair went from flat to bouncy once again.

  Sam was right: people’s anger physically harmed her. He imagined she reacted
to anyone with a strong emotion. He wondered what she’d be like in the heat of passion. Just the thought sent a shaft of white-hot lust through his system, and he shifted uncomfortably.

  Morgan came back to herself all at once at Tyler’s words. For a moment, she’d completely forgotten about him, and still she felt like a part of her was safe knowing he’d always be there.

  “I forgot you were here.”

  “You drifted away. I held your hand and waited for you to come back. Looks like you’re almost all here now. Have a sip of your tea. It’ll make you feel better.”

  It felt too good to have him care about her well-being. She took a sip of her tea and let out a big sigh.

  “Let’s get out of here. Where’s the waitress? We need to pay the check.”

  “Already took care of it. She came by a few minutes ago,” he said with an easy tone and smile.

  “She did?” She didn’t remember the woman coming by the table. She hated when that happened. Very disconcerting to blank out and not know what happened around her. She thought of her house in Colorado and the peace and safety she’d found there. She wanted to go home, and yet sitting next to Tyler felt almost as good.

  “Yep.”

  She ran her hands through her hair and held her head between her hands and rested her elbows on the table. “She must have thought I was a complete space case. I’m so sorry I embarrassed you.”

  She looked so upset over something so little. He didn’t care if she spaced out for a while. It gave him a chance to study her without her being aware of it. He liked looking at her beautiful face, the soft curve of her jaw, and the small pale freckles on her cheeks. She had the longest eyelashes. They swept up, a soft brown against the striking blue of her eyes.

  “You didn’t embarrass me. I told the waitress you were in shock because I told you I wanted to rip your clothes off and make love to you all night when we got home.”

  “You did not!”

  “Sure did. She said if you weren’t going to take me up on it, she’d be happy to take your place.” Her shocked open mouth turned into a small grin. “That’s just about the same smile you had when she said it.”

  “Oh, really.”

  “Yeah. I don’t know if you were laughing at me or her.”

  “You’re incorrigible. Listen, Tyler. You have to understand, I’ve been alone for a long time, and you and I have shared a kind of long-distance relationship . . .”

  He stopped her right there. “We’ve shared a very one-sided long-distance relationship where you gave and gave and I took and took. Don’t think for a minute I haven’t figured that out. About the ripping off clothes and hot sex, it was just a joke to get the waitress to leave. Relax.”

  Her shoulders went lax and the intensity in her dimmed.

  “Feeling better?”

  She’d missed it. “You just did all that to take my mind off of that horrible scene with my sister.”

  “It worked. You’re looking better every minute. Besides, we learned a few things about her and your father.”

  “He wants something from me, and he’s going to use her to get it.”

  “Exactly. He knows there’s money set aside for the kids. He’ll probably be wondering how much he can get out of you based on how much Jillian told him you’ve set aside for them.”

  Morgan rolled her eyes. “I think my sister’s thinking along the same lines as my father, only she’d like to get her hands on the children’s account. He’s probably told her that he can”—she made air quotes with her fingers—“invest the money for her and make her ten times as much. Then, she and her husband will have all their dreams come true,” she said with a sarcastic and whimsical note and rolled her eyes.

  “How much are we talking about?”

  “In the kid’s accounts?”

  “Yes, and how much could he expect to get from you.”

  “He’s not getting anything from me.”

  “What if he took one of the kids? How much would you pay to get them back?”

  She put both her hands over her face. “He’d do it. He’d hurt one of them to get me to cooperate. I know he would.”

  Tyler hated to put the possibility to her, but she had to face what could happen. “How much?”

  “All I ever wanted was to have enough money to live my life the way I wanted. I’ve worked really hard to put some money away and buy the property in Colorado. It’s my sanctuary. I can be there and no one bothers me. I don’t have to worry about the guy next door, or across the street. I don’t have to put up blocks and guard myself, like I do when I’m here.”

  “If you don’t want to tell me how much, then say so.”

  “It’s not that. The first year I started, I took what little money I had and hoped I didn’t lose it the first day. It turns out I have a knack for investing. Like I said, I wanted to make enough to live on and buy a home. I earned enough the first year to do both, though I didn’t buy the property in Colorado for a few years. I rented a house in Texas before I moved. After that, I continued to work at it and set my goals higher.”

  “So, what are we talking about? A hundred grand? Several hundred grand?”

  “And then some,” she said and smiled sheepishly. She didn’t want to brag, or seem like a snob about how much money she made.

  Her evasion told him he wasn’t even in the ballpark.

  “Are you trying hard not to tell me we’re talking in the millions?”

  “A few,” she said vaguely.

  “What’s a few? Two? Three?”

  “About nine.” She sat back in her seat and stared at the table. “I told you, I’m good at it. I’ve been doing it for the last five years. I have a lot of time on my hands. When I had enough for a house and to live on comfortably, I used the rest to invest. I figured if I lost it, I could start over with the money I make on the website. It isn’t much, but it’s enough of an income to cover my monthly expenses. Sometimes things go my way, and other times they don’t. I turned a little bit of money into a lot. I set aside some money for the kids. It’s some long-term investments that will grow and be enough for them to go to any college they want. Right now, there’s about forty thousand dollars.”

  “Forty grand. That’s a lot, but not enough for your sister to use without jeopardizing the kids’ education.”

  “Forty grand each. There’s eighty thousand all together.”

  “Damn, where are you sending these kids to college? Europe?”

  “No.” She laughed. “I want them to go wherever they want, and be whatever they want. What if one of them wants to be a doctor? That’s four years of college, four years of med school, internships, and whatever else. That will take years, and that takes money. Law school would be the same. What if they want to get a PhD?”

  “I see your point. I think I need to start saving now.”

  “You don’t have any kids.”

  “If that’s what college is going to cost me, I’d better start now.” He smiled and liked that she smiled back.

  He couldn’t compete with her wealth, didn’t know why he felt he had to. So she made more money than he did. It shouldn’t matter. It didn’t matter to Jack that Jenna had millions and ran Merrick International. It didn’t bother Sam that Elizabeth came from an extremely wealthy family and was worth millions herself. Cameron was rich and Marti was even richer than him. They all seemed fine with it. He would be too. It would just take some getting used to.

  “I just want to know what we’re dealing with, so that when he calls me, I’m prepared.”

  “Why would he call you?”

  “Because he knows I’m in touch with you. He’ll try to get to you through me. Jillian will probably tell him she saw us together. Does she know where you’re staying?”

  “No. You don’t even know where I’m staying.”

  “Why is that? Did you not want me to know, or was that all Sam and Jack’s idea? You know Sam won’t let me live down the fact he’s seen you naked.”

  Pre
tty in her embarrassment, she turned a bright pink right before his eyes.

  “It’s not that I didn’t want you to know, I thought you needed time to be alone and clear your head. Besides, I thought you didn’t want to see me. When I got here tonight and saw you, I knew it would be impossible to avoid seeing you. How’d you know I’d be here?”

  “FBI, remember. Sam told me about your sister. I figured at some point you’d come see her.”

  “You staked out my sister, so you could see me?”

  “Is it so hard to believe I desperately wanted to see you? Besides, I thought seeing your sister and her family would teach me something about you. You’re truly unique and special.”

  She turned her head and looked at the table instead of him. Uncomfortable, she changed the subject. “You know, I couldn’t help it, Sam had to undress me. I was passed out.”

  He rubbed his hand over her back and shoulders and pulled her to his side. “I know. You were hurt. I should have been the one to take care of you. I’m sorry. How’re the back and arm?”

  “The stitches itch, but they’re healing. They don’t hurt anymore.”

  He kissed the side of her head. “I’m real sorry I wasn’t more cooperative. You should have told me about what happened. Maybe I could have helped and made it less debilitating for you.”

  “You weren’t in the mood to listen, let alone help me.”

  “I’m sorry. You’re right. I didn’t get my head screwed on straight until about four o’clock yesterday morning. Those late-night reflections of one’s life take a lot out of a man. I finally straightened myself out and realized if there are things in my life I want, I have to work to get them, and that means putting in as much as I take out.”

  “Four o’clock in the morning, huh?”

  “Honestly, I found it hard to sleep knowing you were out there somewhere.” He gestured to the room and world at large. “Knowing you were close by, and I’d been the one to push you away, only made it worse. I wanted to hear you tell me I wasn’t alone, like you used to. I needed to know you were all right. I wanted you to tell me we were back to being close. Instead, you were physically close, but I couldn’t reach you. I tried really hard, but it didn’t work. You know, you’re really doing a number on me.”