by N. J. Young
“And what if he goes after someone else you care about to get back at you?” Gray called to his retreating back.
Luke stopped in his tracks. Harper looked at him, her blue eyes wide in her face.
“Your whole family’s here, right, Price? Everyone but Foster?”
Becca gasped, clutching Luke’s arm. “Oh God, Luke, what if he goes after Mom? She’s giving a speech. She makes a pretty big target.”
He cursed under his breath and turned back around.
“I’m calling in backup now,” Gray said. “This ends tonight. We’re going to get this guy. But listen to me, all of you.” He punctuated his sentencing by jabbing his finger at Becca. “No one goes anywhere alone tonight. Do you understand? Stay in groups.”
Becca seethed and perched her hands on her hips. “Why are you looking at me?”
Q threw a casual arm over her shoulders. “You have to admit, little one, you do have quite a knack for getting into trouble. Why don’t you come back to the bar with me?”
Becca shook her head, but Luke didn’t miss the longing look she gave Q as soon as he turned his face away from hers.
Q’s jaw clenched. “Grayson, talk some sense into her. I don’t have anyone else to close the bar tonight. If she comes back with me, at least I know that no one else can get to her.”
A hard look of frustration tightened Becca’s face as she shoved her hands onto her hips. “Zachary Quigley, I am a grown woman. I do not need a fucking babysitter.”
“Watch your language, little one.” Q’s tone was arctic.
“Enough.” Luke sure as hell did not have time for drama with Becca’s love life. “It’s okay, Q. She’s with us.” When his friend didn’t take his seething glare off of Becca, Luke clapped a hand on his arm. “Q, it’s okay. I’m not going to let anything happen to Becca.”
“Neither am I,” Gray added.
Finally, Q gave a curt nod.
Luke entwined his fingers with Harper’s as he put his other arm around his sister. “Let’s go find Mom. I want to get this damn ceremony over with so we can get out of here.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Luke’s arm was so tight around Harper that it was nearly painful, but she welcomed it. The fact that she finally had a man in her life she could count on, who would stand up for her … she’d never thought she’d have that. She tightened her own arm around his waist as they waited near the giant ribbon for his mother to walk up and give her speech.
“You okay, Pretty?” He turned to her and reached up to brush the hair from her face. “We’re going to be out of here soon. I don’t want you to worry. Then we’ll go home, and everything will be fine.”
“And then what, Luke? How long does this continue? Until he sends another note, or worse? What happens if Gray doesn’t catch him tonight?” She could feel the pinpricks of tears in her eyes. “I don’t want you to be in danger. I don’t want any of you to be in danger because of me.”
His large hands came up to cup her face. “Harper, none of this is your fault. If anyone is in danger, it’s because of some sick bastard. Do you understand? And they will catch him. This ends tonight. I feel it. But you do not worry. I’m not going to let anything happen to you, okay?”
But he misunderstood. That wasn’t at all what she was worried about. She reached up and felt his silky hair slide through her fingers as she pulled his head down to hers for a sweet kiss. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” she whispered against his lips.
“Luke, sweetheart, you two can kiss later.” Sally Price laughed as she patted her son on the back. “Come on up here with me.”
The boys hadn’t yet filled Sally Price in on the events, and Harper had a feeling the older woman was not going to be very happy about being kept in the dark once she found out the truth. Luke gave her hand one last squeeze and looked over to where Becca stood with Gray.
“It’s okay, lover-boy,” Becca said. “We got her.”
Harper stood next to Becca as she watched Luke go up and take a seat on the makeshift stage. His mom stood at the podium, ready to make her speech. Behind her sat Sam Torrance, Luke, and the hospital’s chief of staff.
Harper looked at each of the individuals. Sally looked elegant as ever in a dark blue cashmere dress, her genuine smile drawing in the crowd. Sam looked around until he seemed to have caught someone’s eye, and then smiled. Harper glanced over to see Carly’s mom, Marnie, smiling back at him.
And then there was Luke. His eyes were narrowed, doing a slow sweep of the crowd, carefully searching the faces, as if he could read the minds of each and every person there. As if just by looking, he could tell who the threat was and take them out with a glare. If anyone could take someone down with the intensity of a glance, it was definitely Luke Price.
When his eyes stopped on someone, Harper could nearly feel the tension rolling off of him. He turned to see who he was looking at, and she locked eyes with Max Forrester. The intern seemed oblivious to anyone else around him. His eyes were locked on her, making her shiver with unease.
Becca leaned in. “Who is that? He does not look happy. Do you think that’s your guy?”
She glanced at Becca. Gray was standing behind her and his hand firmly grasped her shoulder. She saw his fingers tense as he obviously noticed Forrester, too. “We’ve already checked him out. Nothing popped up as suspicious, but there’s something about him…”
Becca looked up at the detective. “So arrest him!”
“I can’t arrest him on a hunch, little one. It doesn’t work that way. If I go after him again with no proof, he could sue us for harassment.”
“I’m still not convinced it’s him,” Harper said, not taking her eyes off the man. “He’s creepy, I’ll give him that, but he honestly didn’t seem to know anything about the letters when I confronted him.”
“Well, I don’t like the looks of him,” Becca said stubbornly. “Can’t I just kick him in the balls in case he’s the guy?”
“Rebecca…” Gray’s voice was a warning, silencing the younger woman.
Harper kept her eyes on Forrester until he looked away. When she looked back up at the stage, Luke’s eyes were on her. She could see how anxious he was. Sally Price was just finishing up her speech, and Luke rose from his seat to help his mother with the giant pair of scissors. With a flourish, Sally cut the ribbon, and the crowd applauded. She had to hold Luke’s arm so he wouldn’t run off before the press could get a picture, but everyone else had started to trickle off the stage.
Kai and Derek walked over to stand next to them. “Hey, Dr. Love. B-Becca.” Derek stammered a bit as he greeted the women.
Harper turned to the two men, surprised to see them. “You’re back! Luke told me you guys wouldn’t be back in time for the party.”
“Just got into town.” Kai looked at the new hospital addition with pride. “Didn’t want to miss the big grand opening, you know? Not after all the work we put in.”
Becca offered them a smile. “You guys here alone? I figured you two would have yourselves some hot dates.”
Derek looked down and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet as a flush rose in his cheeks. Harper almost felt sorry for him. Poor guy didn’t know how to deal with the whirlwind that was Becca.
Flirting seemed to be Becca’s default mode, and it was obvious Gray didn’t appreciate it. His icy blue eyes practically shot arctic daggers at the two construction workers.
Kai seemed to notice, too, because he inched away from Becca and turned his attention to Harper. “So what’s up with the big boss?” he asked her. “He looks extra grumpy this evening.”
She glanced up at Luke, who had disengaged himself from Sally and was making his way over. “He just has a lot on his mind today. That’s all.”
“Well, if anyone can ease his tension, I’m sure it’s you.” Kai gave her a lascivious wink, and she laughed. It seemed odd to her that a look from someone like Max Forrester could make her feel like she needed to take
a shower, but an inappropriate comment from Kai just made her chuckle.
Luke’s strong arm slipped around her waist and hugged her tightly to him. Something inside of her immediately relaxed. He greeted his men, and they talked for a few minutes about the crew’s time in Kansas City before he turned to her. “You ready to go, Pretty?”
Kai looked at them, surprised. “Go? You guys are leaving? But the fireworks are just about to start.” He looked from one of them to the other, but then a slow grin spread across his face. “Oh, I get it. You’re more interested in your own personal fireworks.”
“Well, the private celebration is going to have to wait because you need to drop Becca off with Q,” Gray said.
“Q?” Becca crossed her arms in defiance. “Luke can take me home. I don’t need a babysitter, Michael.”
Harper’s eyebrows rose at Becca’s frustrated use of Gray’s first name.
“You two can argue about this later.” Luke didn’t release her, but he reached over with his free hand and grasped his sister by her upper arm. “Come on, Bec.”
“I’m actually heading out, too,” Derek said. “It’s been an exhausting trip. Wouldn’t be a bad idea for me to make it an early night. I’ll see you at work on Monday, Boss.” He smiled and gave them all a friendly wave before he headed for the parking lot.
Kai looked at his coworker’s retreating back. “What is it with you people? No one knows how to party.”
Luke gave him a hard pat on the shoulder. “Have fun for us, man.” He began to escort the ladies away, Grayson looming behind them, looking like a Viking bodyguard.
They walked silently, stopping at the edge of the crowd. “You headed back to your place?” Grayson asked.
Luke hugged her tighter. “Yeah, right after I drop off Bec.”
An exasperated huff came from Becca as she propped her hands on her hips. “But—”
“Rebecca!” both men said in unison.
Her eyes flared a bit as she looked from one man to the other. “Fine,” she grumbled.
Gray gave a quick nod. “I’ll keep you posted. If anything happens, you’ll be the first to know.”
She opened her mouth to thank the detective, but was interrupted by a frantic voice. “Mr. Price! Luke! Detective Grayson!”
They all turned to see Derek running toward them from the direction of the parking lot. His face was flushed, and he was slightly out of breath. “There’s someone in the parking lot messing with Dr. Love’s car.”
Luke immediately went on alert, his whole body going tense next to her. “What do you mean ‘messing with her car’?”
Derek shook his head, trying to catch his breath. “I don’t know. I couldn’t see who it was, but someone was around her car, and then I saw him get on his knees and crawl under the car. I ran straight back here.”
“Shit!” Gray was already taking steps toward the lot.
“I’m coming with you,” Luke said. He looked down at her. “Harper, you and Becca stay together.”
“I can stay with them until you get back, Boss,” Derek offered.
Luke looked at his employee gratefully. “Thanks, man.” Then he turned his attention to Harper. “I will be right back. You stay right here, okay?”
She didn’t like the idea of Luke running toward danger. “I will.” She tilted her head up to meet his eyes. “Please be careful, Luke.” She threw her arms around his neck and gave him a fierce hug. “Please.”
“Luke, come on,” Gray said impatiently.
Luke pressed a quick kiss to her mouth. “Always, Pretty.” Then he turned and headed off to the parking lot in a jog next to Grayson.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“What the fuck do you think he’s doing to her car?” Luke asked Grayson as they reached the parking lot.
Gray offered him a grim look. “I don’t know, but the note said ‘boom’.”
Fear rolled through him, a feeling he did not particularly like. “A bomb? You think he’s going to bomb her car?”
Gray’s blue eyes searched the lot. “I’m saying we need to find her car.”
“Over there.” He pointed to the portion of the lot that had been sectioned off for employees. As they reached the lot, he saw Harper’s Honda Accord parked next to a Price construction truck.
As they made their way over to her red car, he didn’t see anyone around. “Shit, no one in sight.” He wanted this to be it. He wanted to catch the bastard. His fist slammed against the hood of the construction truck in frustration.
“Luke, he’s sloppy tonight. He’s got to be on the security tape, leaving that note. And this lot’s monitored by security footage, too. I have men reviewing the tapes now. One way or the other, we got him.”
Luke grumbled as he got on his knees to look under Harper’s car. What the fuck was taking so long to go through the security footage, anyway?
“Hey, what’s going on? What were you banging on the truck for?” Kai’s voice was curious as he strolled up to the lot, holding a bottle of water. “And does anyone know why the hell they’re not serving beer at this event? Dude, your mom’s head of the hospital board. She really needs to do something about that.”
He ignored Kai’s comment. “Derek said he saw someone out here messing with Harper’s car.”
Kai’s face grew serious as he surveyed the Honda.
“I can’t see anything,” Gray called from the other side of the Harper’s Honda. “I need to run and get a flashlight from my patrol car.”
“Here, man.” Kai set his water bottle on the hood of the truck. “There’s a flashlight in the truck. Hang on.” He unlocked the passenger door and yanked it open.
Luke stood up and leaned against the door as Kai rifled through the center console. As Gray’s phone rang, Luke turned to him, on full alert.
“This could be it,” Gray said. He tapped a button on his phone. “Grayson.”
“Nothing here,” Kai was saying. When he came up empty after going through the console, he turned to the glove-box and clicked the button. The door to the glove-box fell open, and a stack of blue paper and envelopes slid out, spilling to the floor of the truck.
Luke stood in shock for a moment. He’d seen that paper several times now. He was quite familiar with it. But Kai? Kai was his employee, his friend. And he was now grumbling as he tried to pick up the paper and shove it back into the glove-box.
But Luke didn’t give him the chance. He grabbed Kai’s shirt by the back of his collar and yanked him forcefully back. Turning him around, he slammed Kai up against the side of the truck hard. “You son of a bitch.” Red clouded his vision.
“What the fuck, Price?” Kai’s eyes went from annoyed to afraid as he looked into Luke’s face. When Luke fisted his hand and reared back, ready to punch Kai’s nose through the back of his skull, the man put his hands up in defense. “Whoa! Don’t hit me. Jesus, Luke, what do you think I did?”
Surely Kai didn’t think Luke was that stupid that he couldn’t figure it out at this point. “The paper, asshole.” Luke jerked his head toward the cab of the truck. “The blue fucking paper. It was you. You’re the one who sent Harper the letters. You’ve been stalking her, threatening her.”
Kai’s eyes widened. “Luke, it’s not me, man. This isn’t my truck.”
Luke’s fist was still clenched tightly, but he faltered. “What do you mean it’s not your truck?”
Kai shook his head. “I parked over there.” He nodded to an identical truck across the lot. “This is Derek’s truck.”
Luke jerked back as if someone had punched him.
“Luke!” Gray called as he ran back over. “We got him on the surveillance tape. It’s—”
“Derek,” he interrupted as fear threaded through his entire body. “Jesus Christ, we just left Harper and Becca alone with him.”
He turned and took off at a full run back toward the party with Grayson close on his heels.
The first boom of fireworks sounded overhead.
Chapter T
wenty-Eight
Harper looked around the crowd of people, who were finding their perfect spots on blankets or lawn chairs, getting ready for the fireworks, which would be starting shortly.
“Who do you think it is?” Becca asked next to her. “You think it’s that Forrester guy?”
Harper shrugged. “I don’t know. I saw him leave earlier.” Maybe it was him. Maybe she’d read him wrong.
She glanced back at Derek, who paced close behind them, looking nervous. “He is so fidgety,” she said almost to herself.
“I know,” Becca agreed. “He makes me antsy.”
“So, not your type, huh?” she joked, causing Becca to roll her eyes.
“Everybody needs to quit trying to set me up.” But her mouth tipped up in a little grin.
Harper looked back at Derek, who was looking at his phone. He was kind of attractive—good-looking in kind of a boyish way. His brown hair was cropped short, and his brown eyes darted around nervously. It was his shyness that seemed to be his biggest problem.
“Hey, it’s Luke,” he said, still looking at his phone. He tapped it and held the phone to his ear. “Yeah, boss? Sure … sure, no problem. We’ll wait for you there.” He clicked his phone off and turned to her. “Luke says we need to wait inside.”
“What?” Harper glanced at Becca, who was frowning. “But he told us to wait here.”
“I don’t know.” Derek gestured to the back entrance of the main building, behind where the crowd was looking. “He just said we need to wait for him in the second floor lounge. Said it’s safer there.”
Harper really thought it seemed safer in a crowd of people rather than somewhere secluded. But she knew better than to argue with Luke. He worried so much, and she knew if she didn’t go along with his wishes, then her backside would pay for it.
“All right. Let’s go.”
“You, too, Miss Becca,” Derek said, ushering the women.
Becca fell into step beside her. “This is dumb. Why can’t we stay outside? We’re going to miss the fireworks.”