He softly laughed as her cheeks turned pink. “I’m not making any inappropriate suggestions, Haley. It was just a figure of speech.”
Her face grew darker. “I know.”
“I have to get busy now.” It was all Hardy could do to turn and walk into the sheriff’s office. Once inside, he sat in front of the computer.
Using a password he’d hoped to never use again, Hardy found himself on a very secure website. On it was everything the police and FSA had on the Dohner organization, including photographs. Mitch had asked him if there was some way to make sure he was right about the sketch not being a Dohner employee. Aside from finding the guy and persuading him to talk, this was the only way.
His eyes grew tired as he studied photographs. Those with people Hardy recognized were easy to bypass. It was ones with several subjects that were hard to look at. He took his time and examined them carefully, determined not to miss the man in the sketch if he were there. But when he finally closed the last file, he hadn’t found anybody remotely close.
It was thirty-five minutes after he was supposed to get off when Hardy next looked at the clock. He couldn’t believe he’d been at it that long. It seemed like just a few minutes ago Haley had stuck her head in and told him goodbye. He’d have to get going or be late for dinner. After spending hours studying photographs, Hardy felt confident the man in the sketch did not work for Dohner.
That opened up a whole new line of questions, though. Was the man himself behind everything? Or did he work for somebody else—somebody who wanted to hurt Hardy?
To hurt him . . . Wait a minute. If somebody wanted him dead, it stood to reason at least an attempt would have been made. But if he wanted to hurt him…What better way than to kill H.B.? But did that mean everybody Hardy cared for was in immediate danger? His mom? His sister and her family? Haley?
His mind raced. Would she be safer if he distanced himself from her? No. Nothing had changed. If somebody wanted to hurt him by hurting Haley, it was already too late. People in town already accepted them as a couple. If he broke things off, it wouldn’t help her; it would just leave her on her own. At least he could keep an eye on her this way.
But he needed to warn her. He didn’t want to scare her, but she needed to know what to watch for. He hoped she would still want to be with him. He could no longer imagine his life without her in it.
Chapter 46
“Lock my car doors when I get out and as soon as I get back in. Make sure my windows at home are shut tight and locked. Don’t go outside by myself after dark. Don’t answer the door without first looking through the peephole. If I see or hear anything strange, I’m to contact Beau or Mitch immediately.” Haley stood in front of her fish tank, her hands on her hips. “Got that, Ozzie?”
She walked over and sank into the sofa, her head in her hands. Instead of the promised kisses last night, Beau told her about the suspicions he, and now Mitch, had. She glared at the sketch on the coffee table in front of her. The man had most likely been hired by somebody, his job to hurt Beau. And since it was common knowledge Beau cared about her, Haley was in danger.
Okay, Lord. I asked for Beau to stay and make his home with me. I asked for him to love me. I knew he was in danger, but I forgot. And now I’m probably in danger, too. I don’t have to tell you how I feel about danger. So, I’m asking for a big miracle now, Father. I’m asking this man and whoever hired him be caught. While I’m at it, please make that Dohner person be caught, too, so Beau can go back to being who he really is. I love him, and I want him to be safe. I want both of us to be safe. Please.
Haley immediately felt better. Now, if she didn’t get her purse and get out of her apartment, she was going to be late for work.
A scream caught in her throat when she opened the door a few minutes later, to find Wyatt Millan standing right there.
“Wyatt!” She put her hand over her heart. “You scared me half to death.” Then she really looked at him. It looked like he hadn’t shaved for days, and his clothes looked like he’d slept in them. Something was wrong. “What happened?”
He grasped her arm tightly enough it brought tears to Haley’s eyes, and before she could even think, he shoved her through the door. “Your boyfriend has to help me. He killed those other guys, and now he’s going to kill me.”
Haley tried unsuccessfully to pull her arm free from his grasp. “Let go of me, Wyatt. You’re hurting me.”
“Listen to me!” He released her arm only to grab her by the shoulders and shake her like a rag doll.
“Stop!” Her mind raced. How could she get away from this madman?
Wyatt’s face was close enough Haley could smell liquor on his breath. “I’ve been working for the man who wants to hurt Harding Davis. I was supposed to make him care about you. Now that I have, I don’t think he’ll protect me anymore. The Janitor is coming after me, and I don’t know who sent him!”
“You . . . ” She couldn’t have heard him right. “I don’t understand.”
“Tell Davis if he wants to know who’s after him, he needs to meet me at the abandoned warehouse over on Willow Street in an hour. I’ll tell him everything, but he has to help me.” His hands tightened on her shoulders. “Do you understand?”
“Yes.” Blood was pounding in her head. She nearly collapsed when he finally released her and turned and disappeared.
Beau. She had to talk to Beau. She picked up the purse she hadn’t even realized she dropped and shakily stepped back into her apartment. It took her three tries before she was able to throw the deadbolt and latch the security chain. She didn’t need Wyatt Millan to come back and gain entry.
Her fingers were so unsteady she was afraid she wasn’t going to be able to push the keys on her phone to call the station, but somehow she did.
Ray Fine, the night dispatcher, answered.
“Ray, it’s Haley. I need to talk to Beau Da . . . Harding immediately. It’s an emergency.”
“He’s on a call, Haley. Will Mitch do?” The older man’s voice sounded worried.
No. She needed Beau. But maybe Mitch could get him. “Yes.”
Haley heard Mitch’s voice an instant later. “What’s going on, Haley?”
“Wyatt Millan was here. He works for somebody who wants to hurt Beau and now they want to kill . . .” Kill. Was she really saying this? Had Wyatt forced his way in and threatened her?”
She vaguely heard her name, but the enormity of what had happened . . . danger . . . The room began spinning. Before she could ask for help, everything turned black.
“Haley . . . sweetheart.” A deep voice spoke closely to her ear. “Please, my love. Wake up.”
The light was blinding as her eyes somehow opened, causing her head to throb. Her mouth felt like sandpaper as she spoke.
“Beau?”
“I’m here, Haley.” Relief was evident in his voice. “She’s awake, Mitch.”
What was going on? Why were Beau and Mitch at her apartment? Why was she still at her apartment? She’d been on her way to the station . . .
“Wyatt!” She tried to set up, only to find herself tightly cradled in Beau’s arms. “Beau, Wyatt Millan works for somebody who wants to hurt you.” Panic was once more setting in.
“Haley, listen to me,” Mitch, kneeling beside them, spoke in a firm voice. “You have to calm down and tell us what he told you. If you want to protect Hardy, we need to know what Millan said. You can’t tell us if you don’t calm down.”
He was right. Her eyes met Beau’s as she drew several deep breaths.
“Can you sit up now?” Beau asked.
She needed to if she were going to think straight. “Yes.”
With both men helping her, Haley was able to get up from the floor and find her way to the closest chair, where she sat.
Beau knelt in front of her.
“Now, Haley, please try to tell us everything Wyatt told you. Even if it doesn’t seem important.”
“Okay.” Tears filled her eyes. She could st
ill feel his hands on her arm and shoulders. She looked into Beau’s eyes as she spoke, taking courage in knowing he was there.
“He has been working for somebody who wants you to be hurt.”
Mitch spoke from where he stood behind Beau. “Did Wyatt say who he worked for?”
Haley thought. “No, but he said his job was finished. It was something about making you care about me. Now that you do, he doesn’t think his boss will protect him. He’s afraid of a man . . . ” She searched her memory for Wyatt’s exact words. “He called him the Janitor. He said he doesn’t know who sent him, but I think he may suspect his boss did.” She remembered. “He said the Janitor was going to kill him like he killed the other guys.”
Beau sat back on his haunches, a stunned look on his face. “You’re sure that’s what Millan said, Haley? He said the Janitor was going to kill him?”
“Yes.” Then she remembered more. “What time is it?” She looked past Beau to the wall clock. “It’s been over a half hour! He said he’d tell you everything if you helped him. You’re supposed to meet him at the old warehouse on Willow Street. He said in an hour, and it’s already been nearly forty-five minutes.”
Haley watched as Beau looked up over his shoulder at Mitch. “We can’t leave her here like this. She needs to go to the hospital and be checked out.”
“I’m okay.” Even as she said it, she knew she wasn’t. Besides the aches from being manhandled by Wyatt Millan, her head was throbbing.
Beau turned back to face her. “You hit your head on the table when you passed out. I’m afraid you might have a concussion.”
“The ambulance should be here any moment.” Mitch had barely finished speaking when Haley heard the siren.
“Blondie!” Wayne rushed through the door, which Haley now saw lay in splinters, a few moments before two EMTs walked in.
“Wayne, will you stay with Haley while Hardy and I take care of something?” There was urgency in Mitch’s voice.
Confusion reigned on the deputy’s face as he nodded. “I won’t leave her side.”
Beau stood and looked longingly at Haley’s face. Then he leaned over and gently kissed her cheek. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Tears came unbidden to her eyes. “Be careful, Beau.”
“I will,” he promised before turning and following Mitch out of the room.
Haley watched the empty doorway until Barney Nettles stepped into her line of vision. What if that man—a janitor?—somehow found Wyatt while Beau was with him? Would they kill him too? Or what if Wyatt were lying? Would he exchange Beau’s life for his own? She didn’t doubt for an instant he would.
Even as the EMT examined her injuries, Haley did the one thing she knew would help. She prayed.
Wayne stayed with her, even following the ambulance in his squad car. He must have made a phone call while she was being X-rayed because Nancy Shepard arrived before they had Haley settled back in her bed.
“What happened?” Nancy asked. “Wayne just called and told me you’d been hurt.”
Nancy was Mavis’s aunt and had no children of her own. That was the only explanation Haley could come up with as to why the waitress was always so motherly toward her. Not that Haley was complaining. She needed a mother right now.
“I don’t know exactly what happened, myself.” Wayne defended himself to the older woman. “I just knew you’d want to be here with her.”
Nancy straightened the sheet covering Haley’s hospital gown clad shoulders. “Of course I want to be here with her.” Her expression softened as she looked at Haley’s face. “You have a bruise on your forehead. Can you tell me what happened, honey?”
“I passed out and hit my head when I fell.” That was the simple explanation.
Nancy wasn’t going to let her get away with it, though. “And why did you pass out? Wayne wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t something serious.”
Haley still hadn’t come to grips with what had happened. “Wyatt . . . Wyatt Millan showed up at my apartment and scared me. I can’t say more because it’s police business.”
Understanding dawned in the kind woman’s eyes. “Well, you don’t have to be afraid now. You’re safe.”
“And she has a concussion,” Dr. Potter cheerfully announced as he entered the room. He walked over to the bed and smiled down at his patient. “You are very fortunate, young lady, for you came awfully close to fracturing your skull. I’m going to admit you just so we can keep an eye on you.”
“But work—”
“Will wait.” Wayne spoke firmly. “You know Mitch would throw a fit if you tried to work when the doctor says you need to stay here. Now, just be quiet and listen to Dr. Potter.”
Haley bit her tongue and listened to the doctor’s instructions. He was barely out of the room before she turned to Wayne.
“Please, can you make sure Beau is okay? I have to know he’s okay.” She felt herself growing frantic.
Nancy placed a soothing hand on her shoulder as Wayne spoke.
“I’ll go see if I can raise him or Mitch on the radio. Just don’t try to get up or anything while I’m gone. Promise?”
“I promise.” She would have promised him just about anything if she could find out Beau hadn’t been hurt.
A tear trickled down her cheek as she looked at Nancy. “He has to be okay. I don’t know what I’ll do if he isn’t.”
“Let’s pray, honey,” Nancy suggested, before closing her eyes and bowing her head. Haley listened as Nancy asked God to place a protective hand over Beau. She prayed Haley would have the assurance in the midst of her fear, of remembering God was with them through all things.
Although she was still troubled, Haley felt better after the prayer was finished.
It seemed like forever before Wayne walked back in.
“He’s fine,” he assured Haley. “He’ll be here as soon as he can. Mitch couldn’t tell me what happened, but he said it might be a few hours before Hardy gets here.”
A deep breath of relief left her. “I can wait. I just needed to know he hadn’t been hurt.”
I can wait. Haley found herself regretting those words over the next twelve and a half hours as they passed with no sign of Beau. Wayne and Nancy had both left, but a state police officer was sitting right outside her door. Mitch sent him over so Wayne could leave, saying only Haley wasn’t to be left unprotected under any circumstances.
She could only imagine what had taken place at that warehouse.
It was nearly nine o’clock when she heard Beau’s voice outside her door. He was freshly showered, in jeans and a sweatshirt when he walked in a few seconds later.
“Beau.” It was the first real smile she’d had all day.
“Hey.” He walked straight to the bed and leaned down to gently kiss her lips. His hand found hers as he straightened up. His eyes anxiously searched hers. “How are you?”
“I have a concussion,” Haley impatiently answered. “What happened, Beau? Did Wyatt tell you who’s after you?”
His reluctance to tell her was evident in his face, but finally, he softly spoke. “I’m sorry, Haley. We found Millan in the alley behind the building. He was gone before we got there.”
“Gone? You mean he’s . . . Somebody killed him?” Even though the man had terrified her, she would never wish him dead. “Do you have any idea of who he was working for, Beau?”
Resolve was in his eyes as he spoke. “I’m fairly sure it’s not Dohner, but other than that I don’t know. The important thing right now is to keep you safe.”
“What do you mean?” she asked. “Why are you so concerned about me being in danger?” Was it even worse than they’d originally warned her about?
His eyes clouded. “Millan told you his job was to make me care about you. His boss wants to hurt me, and the best way to hurt me right now is to hurt the woman I love. Mitch is arranging for around the clock protection for you.”
Haley fought her fears away as she considered his words. “Did he make y
ou care about me, Beau? Was it because of the way he acted toward me that you responded—”
“I promise you, that man had nothing whatsoever to do with my feelings for you.” There was steel in his voice. “I responded to him the way I did because I already cared for you. I won’t have you thinking he had anything to do with us.”
She breathed a pent up sigh of relief as she saw the truth in his eyes. “What’s going to happen now? What are you going to do?”
“I have a meeting with Mitch and some other officers in the morning. There’s some information I can gain access to that might help us.” His hand tightened on hers. “But tonight, I’m going to go home and try to forget what I’ve seen today. I’ve never liked this aspect of my job.”
“Is there anything I can do?” she softly asked, wanting only to ease his pain.
He looked deeply into her eyes. “You’ve done it just by being here. I’ll think about you and our future together tonight. That’s how I’ll cope.”
There was only one thing she could say. “I love you, Beau.”
“I love you, too.”
And that was enough for both of them.
Chapter 47
“So, tell us what you know about the Janitor,” Mitch instructed Hardy.
Hardy stood and walked to stand beside the sheriff. He looked around the room at his fellow deputies and half a dozen state police officers. He had just gotten off the phone after an hour-long conference call with his brother-in-law, Tom Fowler, and Rich Stephens, and now had solid information to share.
“The Janitor is a very expensive hit man with a reputation for finishing the job.” Those had been Elliott’s exact words. “He always works alone and cares about only one thing—money.”
“Has Ted Dohner hired him?” Mitch steadily asked.
“The Chicago undercover unit doesn’t think so, and neither do I.” He could see the skepticism on his boss’s face. “As I said, the Janitor is a paid hit man. Dohner has his own men, who would be effective enough on their own. He would view it as a sign of weakness in his organization to hire from outside it” Mitch had explained Hardy’s knowledge of the situation to the state police by introducing him as a former organized crime expert, not revealing who he really was.
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