by Dale Mayer
Harrison sat for a long moment. Tamara might not have been the best type of person for the military. She might have needed professional help. She certainly needed help if this was self-inflicted. And, if she’d been raped, she needed all the support that everybody had to give her. But instead she’d been forced to take what had been dished out. And take and take. Until nothing was left, and she ended up taking her life.
He got up from his laptop, anger coursing through him. He stared at his closed fists and realized that, no matter how or why it happened, he hated injustice.
He generally liked and respected most military personnel. Right now, he wasn’t feeling very cordial to any of them. That he was no longer part of that huge machine was probably a good thing. As he had loosened up, relaxed and joined Levi’s group, it had become that much harder to stick himself back into the mold of being a good SEAL. He was a better man now that he was out. He also came with a perspective that was a little easier to handle. There was just so much more to the world than the military allowed. He loved what he was doing now.
He had served his country. But with Legendary Security, he didn’t have to deal with people who gave orders when some were ones Harrison could not admire.
He walked out the bedroom door and headed downstairs. His phone buzzed again, and it was Levi. Harrison sent a text, saying he was locating Zoe for the conference call. He walked into the kitchen. No sign of her. He glanced around in the dining room, but it was empty.
Foster said, “She headed up to her room to collect her clothes.”
Harrison nodded. “Okay, I’ll go check.” He hoped that was all she was up to. Because if she was off and running again, that wasn’t good news.
At her door, he stopped and knocked. No answer came from the inside. Hating his suspicions, he pushed open the door and stepped in. The bedroom was empty, but her clothes were still here. And the bathroom door was closed. “Zoe? Are you there? We’re ready to call Levi.”
Her response from the bathroom reassured him. “Be there in five.”
He didn’t want to stay in the hall, so he stood in the doorway and waited for her to come out.
Chapter 8
Zoe put away her washcloths and towels and cleaned up the bathroom. She didn’t want to appear like a poor guest. Her mama had taught her better than that. With a last glance around, her dirty clothes in her bag, she stepped into the main suite.
Harrison leaned against the entryway to her room, his arms crossed over his chest. He glanced at her bag and said, “If you want to pick up the rest of your luggage, you can do laundry here.”
She twisted her lips. “I’ve no idea what I’ll be doing, where I’ll be going.”
“You should do something with your life.”
“Not until I get a few things settled.”
He shifted away from the door and walked toward the stairs. “You also should pick something in life that you can fight for. But fight smart.” He stared straight ahead as he spoke.
She studied his profile. What was going on behind that flat gaze? Then she got it. “Did you read my file?”
He raised an eyebrow but didn’t lie. “Of course I did. And your brother, mother and father’s.”
She hunched her shoulders. “Of course you would have.”
“Your father is dying. Your mother’s been badly beaten. In addition, your father is a senator, in a prominent position. You really think everyone is not trying to find out what happened and catch the person responsible?”
“You didn’t have to dig into my background. Pry through the details of my private life.”
“Would you have told me?”
At that hardened tone, she winced. “It’s personal and private.”
“There’s nothing personal or private about it now. You survived against all kinds of hell, and that’s a matter of record. Everyone knows you are angry. That you want justice for your friend.”
“It didn’t do one damn bit of good,” she said bitterly.
“Tell me, how can you be so sure she was raped?”
She winced, his words confirming her worst fears. “Because I knew her. I knew the assholes too.”
“And yet had no way to prove it.”
She shook her head. “Only that they’d done it before.”
He stopped and turned to stare at her. “Are you sure?”
“We met with several other women to get them to join together and have a lawyer represent them all in a class action lawsuit. But in the military, it’s not that easy. The women were terrified.” She shook her head. “I could hardly blame them. What they’d gone through was already traumatic enough. But it had to end somewhere. Unfortunately, Tamara chose her end, and I wasn’t fast enough to stop her.”
“And you can’t let it go?” Harrison sent her a sidelong glance. “Are you still fighting her fight? Are you hunting them?”
She faltered. When she regained control, she asked, “Hunting who?” From the look he gave her, she understood just how much he knew her already. She raised her hands in the air. “Not really. I want to make them pay, but legally. Yet I can’t find the way to do it, which is why I’m so angry—and frustrated. I can’t stand to let those assholes get away with it.”
Harrison nodded. “What are their names?” He pulled out his phone.
She contemplated that for a long moment. Could he do anything to help? “Paul Canley, Jeff Jorgensen, Lawrence Hitchcock, Randy Maguire, and Lee Wilson.”
He typed in the names as she said each one and sent them to Levi.
“Do you really think Levi gives a shit?”
Harrison gave her a hard glance. “Levi gives a shit about a lot of things, and there are a couple that none of us tolerate, and rape is one of them. Wife-beating is another.” He speared her with an intense glare. “We will do our best to make sure these men are held accountable for what has been done.”
She snorted. “You think I haven’t heard that from three dozen military men over the last two years?” She shook her head. “None of them meant it.”
“Well, that’s them. Not us. And maybe we can make a difference.”
She broke out laughing but with a hard edge to it.
“Shit.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him. “Do any of these men have anything to do with the attacks on your father and mother?”
“I wish I knew,” she cried out. “I really want those assholes to go down. And I want them to pay for all they’ve done.”
“They ever attack you?”
She shook her head. “One of them tried. I broke two of his fingers.”
“Good for you.”
She shook her head. “I should have broken his boner.”
“Ouch.”
“It’s what he deserved.”
Harrison shrugged. “Maybe, but as a male, I can’t say I like the sound of that.” They walked through the living room.
“Where the hell are we going?”
“Richard’s office.”
“Why?”
“Soundproofed and debugged. It has security to stop anybody from hacking in and hearing our conversations.”
“Okay, the superspy stuff. It’s kind of freaky for a doctor. Why the hell does he have any of this?”
“Because he talks with Ice all the time. Father and daughter don’t want to watch every word they say to each other.” He shrugged. “I set it up for him. It’s still very convenient for us when we visit.”
“I’ll say.”
At the office, she found Dakota and Saul waiting. She nodded at them. “Is this a conference call?”
Levi’s voice filled the room. “Zoe, Ice is on the phone here with me and a few more of our men. What exactly did you see that night you saw your father? And share anything you may have heard.”
She glared at the speakerphone on the middle of the big desk. “And if I don’t want to share?”
Levi’s response was total silence.
“She will, Levi. She’s just throwing up her defenses to fi
gure out what to say without saying anything,” Harrison snapped. “Come on, Zoe. Enough of this crap. We were shot at yesterday, and your father’s dying. Your mother has round-the-clock security at the hospital, but what if that’s not enough? What if whoever attacked her wants to finish the job?”
She slumped into the nearest chair. “Fine.” She closed her eyes, sorting through the crazy thoughts in her head, took a deep breath and began. “I was home for the weekend. My parents had an argument over dinner. My father is an arrogant, egotistical man who doesn’t believe women have a place in this world except in bed.” She took another deep breath and continued in a flat monotone voice. “My brother was there that day, and so was I. The two of us never really got along. But at dinner that night, maybe because of what had happened to Tamara, or seeing my mom once again take my father’s abuse, I snapped and to him to shut the hell up and leave Mom alone.” She reached up and rubbed her temple.
“And?” Levi asked. “What happened after that?”
“There was an odd silence at the table. My father turned red, furiously angry. But instead of blasting me like he normally did, he got up and left the room. My mom rushed around to sit beside me. She put her arms around me saying, ‘You have to run. You’ve crossed the line. You must go. Leave now.’” Zoe’s voice faltered. “My father returned in a few minutes with a gun in his hand.”
She refused to look at anybody as they listened to her. “All I could think then was he would shoot my mom. But now I think it was me that he wanted to put down.”
“What did your brother do?”
“When he heard what Mother said, Alex laughed. He’s no better than my father. He could be the next political asshole who takes bribes and picks up women, uses them thoroughly and spits them back out again.”
She tried desperately to rein in her emotions. She locked her hands together in her lap, taking several deep, controlling breaths.
“When your father came in with the gun, what did your brother do?” Levi asked.
“He got up from the table and backed away. My father pointed the gun at me, but of course, my mother stepped in front of me. She was forever trying to save me from my father’s blows.” She shook her head. “Until I got strong enough to fight back. He stopped hitting me then, and with my threat to expose his actions, my mother as well, at least when I was around. But when I was absent …”
She stared at her hands to see blood in her palms from her nails fisted so tightly inside. She shoved her hands under her thighs and raised her gaze. “You have to understand what it’s like to live with that kind of abuse. It’s a day-in, day-out conditioning. I was raised with it from a toddler. By the time I understood how very wrong it was and how much my mother took from him, I could do very little. I left the house as much as I could because my presence made my father even worse. I hated boarding school, but if it made mine or my mother’s life easier, then I went gladly. I took martial arts, and archery, shooting, and as much self-defense training as I could get my hands on. But none were very appropriate for a young lady, according to him,” she said in a caustic tone. “No, we were supposed to do ballet, fencing, and Hostess 101. None of that prepares you for a father who breaks bones and damages so much more than skin and muscles.” She shook her head. “The world didn’t want to know about him. School didn’t want to know about him. Nobody in my circle of friends wanted to know what he did behind closed doors.” She gave a laugh. “My brother knew. He just didn’t give a shit.”
She hadn’t meant to say all that. Once the dam opened, it all seemed to rush out.
“What happened when your father came into the room with the gun? After your mom stepped in front of you?” Ice asked.
“He waved the gun around, yelling at us both. My mom tried to calm him down. But he wasn’t having anything to do with it. My mother told me to leave. My father told me to get the hell out and to never come back. I figured I was the fuel on this fire, and I needed to leave, so I did. I got up from the table, grabbed my purse and walked out.”
“And again where was your brother?” Levi asked.
“He was in the dining room as far as I know.”
“What the hell happened? What did you see? That wasn’t the end obviously,” Saul asked.
“I think my father probably put the gun down and used his hands to beat my mother.” She shook her head. “You have to understand, he used her for a release of his temper. But he liked it. He loved to see her cower and cringe, broken and bleeding on the floor. She was his punching bag. You all know what it’s like to work out and feel that power in your arms, fists, and legs as you kick and beat something to a pulp. That was my father. My mother and I were his punching bags. After just one of Father’s beatings, Alex was forever saved. And I think that’s because he had a penis, and the rest of us didn’t.” Her tone turned mocking. “I don’t know if my mother shot my father. Honestly, if she did? Kudos to her. She should’ve done it a long time ago. Maybe she snapped and finally did it.”
“And yet he was shot at the front door,” Harrison softly added.
Zoe leaned back. “Maybe? Or it could be a fabrication somebody made up to fit the circumstances. If this was my mom, I’m all for it. That bastard should’ve died thirty years ago. Hell, he should never have been born. As for my brother, he’s just a weasel. Weak, but I don’t think he’s ever hurt anybody. He did try it on me once. When I was little. My mom stepped in and stopped him.”
“He never tried again?” Harrison asked.
She shook her head. “No, he didn’t. His torture became more subversive. He was much more cutting verbally. He liked emotional abuse and loved psychological. He used to come into my bedroom at nighttime, stand at the end of my bed and tell me my father was coming soon. I was a bed wetter until I was well over twelve.” She shook her head. “The nightmares that I went through—knowing he was hovering just out of sight—they were brutal.”
“Your brother is a sadistic asshole.” Saul jumped to his feet. “It would be my pleasure to beat him to a pulp for all that shit.”
She snorted. “You’d be the only one. He’s the golden child. He could do no wrong, and my father wouldn’t hear a word against him.” She groaned. “But that doesn’t mean Alex had anything to do with this either. He’s not someone to get his fingers dirty.”
*
Saul might’ve liked a few minutes alone with her brother, but Harrison knew—if he ever got his hands on her father—the guys would have to make sure Harrison didn’t kill the senator. And her brother? … Any guy who would do something like that to torment his little sister—who was already beaten and battered from their father—well, that proved Alex was broken inside. Apparently the men in her family had some major problems.
Harrison had seen families like that. He’d seen a lot of people spend their lives forgetting or hiding what they were. But eventually their masks slipped, they got cocky and relaxed. Their egos were big enough they believed they were safe. The trouble was, her brother was young. He had years and years and years where he could abuse other women. If he had kids, what would stop him from beating the crap out of them, like his father beat the women in his family? Not much.
He glanced around the room and said, “We need to find where Alex is and dig into his past a little more. He came and went at his parents’ house, having his own room there, but we need more. We should talk to his associates, his neighbors, people he works with and for. And where else did he stay when he wasn’t at home?”
Ice’s voice came through loud and clear. “We can handle a lot of that from this end. You guys need to physically track him down.”
“You’re not listening to me,” Zoe said. “I don’t think he has anything to do with the attacks on my mother and father.”
The men turned and stared at her.
She raised her hands in the air. “What? What is it you think I’m not seeing?”
Harrison shook his head. “He could be doing all kinds of things and not getting his hands dirty.
Something inside could easily have snapped, and he could very well have been the one who carried out both attacks. But we won’t know until we do some digging. Also what about the live-in staff at your house?” He looked at her. “We still can’t get any answers from your mother.”
Zoe reached her hand to her temple again.
He watched, seeing the fatigue, worry, and pain cross her features.
“Johan is the chauffeur and looks after the gardens and the yard. He also handles any tradesmen who come and go. Angelina works in the kitchen and around the house. She manages the extra staff who come in once a month to do a full clean.” She frowned, wondering where they’d been when her father had been shot. “The two are married and have worked for my father for a long time.”
“Children?”
She nodded. “Boys. Two of them. Fifteen months apart, both adults now. Neither live there anymore.”
“How well do you know them?”
“I used to know them very well. But my father didn’t think that association was a good thing. At that time, he sent them away to school. I’m sure it was to keep them separated from us. Even though we were in boarding school ourselves, our days off, holidays, never coincided. So I don’t know where the boys are now.”
“We’ll add them to the list to check out,” Ice said over the speakerphone.
Harrison gave her a few minutes while the rest of them set up schedules—who was going where, what they were to do. He turned toward the speakerphone. “Levi, did you get a follow-up from the cops?”
“Yes. A .22 handgun. Single shot to the head. The senator had an unregistered gun, but they haven’t located it yet to confirm if it was the weapon used. And no staff was home to question. Harrison,” Levi said, “get to the senator’s house and talk to the staff. See if they can confirm any of this. And see if they have any idea where the brother is, what he’s like.”
“They’re very loyal to my father,” Zoe said. “They won’t say anything unpleasant of course. They have a house on the property. They won’t say anything that would cause them to lose their jobs and their living quarters.”