by Cynthia Eden
“I need to get on that plane,” Sullivan said.
Grant nodded. “Be careful.”
“Aren’t I always?”
“No, you aren’t.” Grant’s brows lowered. “You’re running from demons, and we can all see it.”
Maybe I won’t run for much longer. Maybe I’ll face them.
“It’s been hard on everyone, I know,” Grant continued. “The more we learn about our parents, about what happened to them...the more twisted the case becomes.”
Yes, it did. Over the past few months, they’d made plenty of startling discoveries. They’d had friends—well, those friends had turned out to be enemies. A man who’d been like family to the McGuire’s...he’d been revealed to be a traitor. There were so many secrets tied to the past, and some days, Sullivan wasn’t sure if he even wanted to know the real truth. Maybe the truth wouldn’t make their family stronger. Maybe it would tear them apart.
And that’s why I’ve been keeping my secrets. I don’t want to hurt my brothers or my sister. I’ve never wanted to hurt them.
But would they understand that? Or would they look at him with betrayal in their eyes?
He heard the announcement for the flight.
“Better go,” Grant told him, voice gruff. “And be safe.”
Sullivan nodded and hurried away. One day, he’d have to tell his brothers and Ava the truth but...
That day wasn’t today.
* * *
WHEN MAC LEFT the room—after giving Davis a final glare—Davis made sure to shut and lock Jamie’s office door.
Tension had tightened every muscle in his body. There had been so much pain in Jamie’s voice when she talked about her past. And he’d done that. He’d made her feel vulnerable. Exposed.
“I’m going to see Sean,” Davis said as he turned to face her.
He caught Jamie’s flinch.
“Why?” Jamie asked. “So he can tell you how much of a manipulator—”
“Because he’s in Houston, and I think he could be the man behind the attacks.”
“H-Houston?” Jamie paled and backed up a step. She bumped into the edge of her desk. “Since when?”
“Since six months ago. And I don’t like that some jerk from your past is this close—not when these attacks are occurring. Coincidences like this don’t just happen.” He didn’t buy it for a minute. “I wanted to hear all the details about what happened directly from you before I go.”
She seemed to absorb this. “You wanted to see my face, to hear my voice...so you could decide if I was lying or telling the truth.”
He didn’t approach her. “You know I was a SEAL.”
Jamie nodded.
“I’ve been in some of the most dangerous spots on earth.” Places that he could never discuss. “I’ve captured international prisoners, and I’ve witnessed interrogation scenes...” He exhaled. “Well, let’s just say that I learned to read people really well during my time working for Uncle Sam.” He’d picked up on so much body language. Cues that had tipped him off to traitors. Signs that had shown him the guilty and the innocent.
“So...what?” Jamie asked him, her delicate brow furrowing. “You’re some kind of lie detector? Is that what you’re saying?”
“I’m saying that I can read people.” Pretty damn well. After all, he’d been the first to notice Sully’s lies. The secrets. And he’d had to tell the others.
We will learn what he’s holding back.
And Sullivan was very, very good at keeping his mask in place.
“So you’re reading me? Testing me?”
No, not a test—
Jamie marched toward him, her chin notched up in the air. “So, what’s the verdict, then? Am I telling you the truth? Or are you just the latest in the line of men to fall for my lies?”
Her eyes were shooting blue flames. A flash of red stained her cheeks. She was angry, and he didn’t blame her. He hated himself right then.
“I feel the exact way I felt before I walked into this office with you,” he told her slowly. “Like you’ve been through too much. Like you’ve been hurt too much.”
“What?” Her eyes widened. “You believe me?”
“You’re not the kind of person who would get her lover to stab her six times. Who would just callously watch while her brother died.”
Her lips trembled.
“I saw your face when you looked at his picture. I can hear the pain in your voice when you talk about the past.”
She looked down, her gaze directed at her hands, as if she could see something on them.
Carefully now, he caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger. Davis tilted her face up so that she had to meet his gaze. “Let’s be clear. I believe you.”
“What if—” She broke off and cleared her throat. “What if Sean just gives you more lies? Everyone else turned their backs on me.” She shook her head. “I don’t want you to look at me the way they all did.”
I will never look at you that way.
Things were moving fast. Far faster than he’d realized, and he was falling—getting caught in Jamie’s web. But not because of some manipulation or seduction. He wanted to be with her. “I won’t.”
“How can you be sure?” she whispered.
His fingers slid over the curve of her jaw. “Because I’m sure of you.” He bent his head. Kissed her. He wanted to do a hell of a lot more than just kiss her, but he had to get on the road and get to Houston. “Stay at the guesthouse tonight. I’ll be back.” And soon. “Mac will keep an eye on you. You don’t have to worry.”
“I’m not worried about me.” She searched his eyes and seemed to come to some conclusion. “I just want you to be safe. The last thing I want is for something to happen to you.”
He smiled at her. “Sweetheart, I’m not an easy man to hurt.” It would take a whole lot more than Sean Nyle to take him out.
Time for a little one-on-one time with the jerk.
* * *
THREE HOURS LATER, Davis braked in front of a newly constructed building. A new office, one that was still getting fresh sod set down outside.
Dr. Sean Nyle, Animal Care Hospital. There were only two cars in the lot. A slow day for the doctor. Davis took his time sauntering inside. The building was top of the line, filled with gleaming windows and decorative brick displays.
When he opened the door to the entrance, a pretty blonde looked up from behind the counter. “Welcome!” Then she frowned. “Do you... Where’s your pet?”
He strolled to the desk. “I’m an old friend of Sean’s, just in town for a little bit.” He smiled at her. “I want to surprise him. Mind if I go back and say hi to my college roommate?”
She smiled back at him as she leaned conspiratorially forward. “He’s in the last office on the right. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to see an old buddy.”
Davis winked at her. “Oh, I bet ‘thrilled’ won’t even come close to how he feels.” He turned away from her and marched down the hall. Time to see the creep who’d helped to wreck Jamie’s life.
* * *
A SOFT KNOCK sounded at Jamie’s door. She flinched, then glanced up from the pile of paperwork on her desk. “Come in!”
The door opened, and Sylvia stood there. “Jamie...is everything all right?”
Jamie forced a smile. “Of course! Everything’s fine.” If fine happened to be a waking nightmare.
Sylvia shook her head. “Your house was destroyed in a fire. And don’t think I didn’t hear about the car accident.”
She felt her smile dim a bit.
Sylvia shut the door. “Are we friends?”
“Yes, yes, of course!” Or...Sylvia was as close to a friend as Jamie had.
“Then, as your friend...” Sylvia exhaled. “I’m here, okay? If y
ou need anything, if you want to talk...” Her head cocked to the right. “If you want to ease some of that burden you carry all the time and tell me what’s really going on with you.”
Jamie sucked in a sharp breath. “Sylvia, I—” I don’t want to tell you. I could barely tell Davis. She tried to force her smile back in place. “I appreciate your concern, but I’m fine, really, I am.”
Sylvia raised one brow and gazed doubtfully back at her.
“But thank you,” Jamie added, meaning those words. “For caring enough to ask.”
Sylvia nodded. She opened the door, slipped outside—
And Mac eased in.
Jamie frowned at him.
He shrugged. “I was eavesdropping. It’s what I do.”
Not the most polite thing to do.
“Got to keep you safe, so that means staying close.” Now he shut the door.
She tensed, then tried to force her stiff muscles to relax.
“You don’t have to face the world alone, you know.”
Didn’t she? “I’ve been facing things on my own for a very long time. I don’t even know if I could do it differently now.”
“You never know, until you try. You’re expecting everyone to blame you. To shut you out. To judge. And some folks will do that.”
He wasn’t pulling any punches.
“I’ve seen it with my own family. With Ava. The looks and the gossip cut her to the quick.” A faint growth of stubble lined his hard jaw. “But I’ve also seen good people step forward. I’ve seen people stand at her side. People can surprise you, so don’t shut them all out before you see what they’re really about.” He gave her a little salute. “Now I’ll be eavesdropping outside of your door if you need me.”
Her lips had parted, but she wasn’t sure what to say. Finally, the words came. “Mac!”
He glanced back at her.
“Is this about Sylvia?”
He shook his head. “Not just her. You thought Davis had already found you guilty, didn’t you? So you held tight to your secrets. Better let those secrets go, before you lose something important.”
Her heart slammed into her chest. “What if it’s not mine to lose?” It couldn’t be happening with Davis. Not so fast.
“Like I said, you never know—” he opened the door “—until you give people a chance.”
She wanted to give Davis a chance.
She wanted to give him everything.
Chapter Eight
Davis threw open the door to last office on the right. “Sean Nyle!” he called out.
The guy behind the desk stared at him in confusion.
“Just the man I’ve been looking for,” Davis growled, then he slammed that door shut behind him.
Sean jumped to his feet. He was a few inches shorter than Davis and about thirty pounds thinner. His blond hair glinted under the fluorescent light. “Who are you? And how’d you get back here?” He grabbed for the phone on his desk. “Did Candace let you back—”
Davis snatched the phone out of Sean’s grasp. “Yes, Candace sent me back. So you and I could have a nice little chat.” He smiled, and he knew the sight wouldn’t be friendly. “I’m here to talk with you about a woman you knew years ago. A woman who went by the name of Jamie Bridgeton.”
Sean blanched. “Get out! I don’t have anything to say to you.”
“Really? Huh, that’s too bad. Because I’ve got quite a few things to say to you.”
But Sean’s jaw clenched. “I’ve already told you all everything I knew!”
You all? Interesting.
“I told you everything!” Sean snarled. “That was the deal. I tell you, you pay me and—”
“So you did get paid.”
Sean blanched. “I... You...”
“I didn’t pay you,” Davis told him, anger churning inside of him. “Because I’m not working for the Westports.”
All of the color bled from Sean’s face.
“You sold her out, again. I suspected as much. I mean, you came down to Houston to escape that scandal up north...you had an affair with your partner’s wife, right?” At least, according to the divorce papers he’d accessed. “You lost pretty much all your money in the divorce, and you needed some place to start fresh. You came down here and what? You found Jamie? You—”
“I will call the cops on you,” Sean threatened. “Get out of my office. Get—”
“Someone burned down Jamie’s house. A jerk ran her off the road. The truck she was in flipped four times.”
Sean sagged and seemed to fall into the chair. “I...I didn’t think they’d hurt her. They didn’t hurt her before.”
Rage burned inside of Davis. He stormed across the room and slammed his hands down on Sean’s desk. “Before...you mean the first time you sold Jamie out? When you were paid by the Westports and you lied about her to everyone?”
“Lied...” Sean echoed. He was staring at his desk. The guy seemed dazed. “I...” He shook his head and looked up. “Who are you to Jamie? A lover?”
Yes. “I’m the guy she’s hired to find out just who the hell is after her. And right now, my money is on you.”
“No! I wouldn’t hurt Jamie! I’ve never physically hurt her.” Sean’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “We’re friends. We have been for years. We’ve—”
“You told a Connecticut prosecutor that Jamie manipulated Henry Westport. That she tried to manipulate you. You told the court that she wanted attention from her parents. You told—”
“Stop!” Sean lifted his hand. Then he ran that hand over his eyes. “I remember what I said, okay? Every single day, I remember.” His hand dropped. “You’re a PI, is that it? I guess I knew the truth would come out, one day.”
It took all of Davis’s self-control not to lunge across that desk and grab the guy. “You were paid to lie.”
“I was paid to tell a story. That’s what I did. I wasn’t hurting anyone. Jamie wasn’t going to be punished. Henry Westport was still going to get his counseling and I—” his lips lifted into a bitter smile “—I was going to be able to finish school. All my bills would be paid, easy as can be. I mean, all I had to do—”
“Was turn Jamie into a monster.”
Sean’s smile faded. “She hated me after that. Everyone in school...they heard. People would whisper about her. They keyed her car. Broke into her dorm room. They tormented her, and she hadn’t done anything.”
No, she hadn’t.
“Jamie left after that. She just seemed to vanish. And I didn’t see her again.” Sean licked his lips. “Not until about six months ago. I was down here for a convention, and I happened to look up. Her hair is lighter, longer, but I’d know her anywhere. You don’t forget a woman like her.”
And you don’t betray her, either.
“As soon as you saw her, you put in another call to the Westport family?”
Sean shoved to his feet. “No, no I didn’t.”
“Not right away, then.” Don’t beat the hell out of him. Don’t beat the hell out of him. “But as soon as you realized you wanted to open a practice here? When you realized you needed an infusion of cash? You knew exactly where to go for that money. Just call the right person, offer the right information and boom—you get paid again.” He hated the jerk in front of him.
“I didn’t call them.” Sean held his gaze. “I get it, you think I’m a piece of crap, and maybe I am, but I didn’t call them. I didn’t. Garrison showed up on my doorstep. He thought maybe I knew where Jamie was.”
Henry’s father. “When?” Davis thundered.
“A month ago.”
Davis leaned across that desk. “So you didn’t call then, but when Garrison showed up, you were only too happy to tell him what you knew.”
“I needed the money,�
� Sean whispered. “So, yes, dammit, I told him what I knew. I told him...” He shook his head. “And he paid me for my time.”
“Blood money,” Davis snarled. He lunged forward and grabbed the guy. His hands clenched around Sean’s shirtfront. “That freak nearly killed her when she was seventeen. Why would you put her in the crosshairs again? Just for money?”
“No! It’s not like that. Garrison said he wanted to make sure she was safe. Safe! I didn’t tell Henry, and, besides, he’s supposed to be different now. He’s better. They fixed him at the clinic, he’s—”
“If the father came looking for Jamie,” Davis snapped out, “why do you think he was worried about her being safe? Maybe he knew his son was still hung up on her. He thought dear Henry might go after her again.”
Horror blanched Sean’s face. “I—I didn’t know.”
“Bull. You just didn’t care. And now Jamie’s lost her house, and she almost lost her life.” He wanted to destroy the man in front of him. Instead, he forced himself to let the guy go. Davis took a step back. He could knock the fellow unconscious in an instant, and while that would feel good, it wasn’t the right strategy.
Not for Jamie.
“The Westports aren’t the only ones with connections. And Connecticut connections, they don’t exactly fly down in Texas.” He glared at the SOB. “I think you’re going to find Houston very inhospitable from here on out. Not just Houston, but the whole state. If I were you, I’d pack up now.” He inclined his head toward the guy. “Pack up and don’t ever come near Jamie again.”
“W-what? Are you threatening me? You can’t! You—”
“I just did.” Flat. Cold. “You made a mistake, and it’s one I’ll make sure you regret.” He turned on his heel and headed for the door. He knew that Sullivan had been the one to fly up to Connecticut, not Grant, and he needed to get his younger brother on the line. Sullivan had to know about Garrison’s visit and—
“You’re involved with her, aren’t you?”
His shoulders tensed.
“I can tell, just by the way you say her name.”
Davis looked back at the guy. Don’t beat the hell out of him. Don’t—
“She gets under your skin, doesn’t she?” Sean said. “That’s what happened with me. She got close, and I didn’t even realize it.” He hesitated. “But Jamie, she won’t feel the same way. She didn’t with me. She won’t with you. I don’t think she can. Henry—the attack changed her. She’s too closed off. I don’t think she can love. I don’t think she wants to love anyone.”