Genuinely surprised, she smiled at him. “Thank you for the invite, but I’m really happy right where I am.”
“With Hunter Black?”
“Yes. I really like him.” That was as much as she was willing to say. Especially since she and Hunter hadn’t even discussed the L word. Who knew if they ever would.
“I have to say, you do seem different,” her father mused. “You glow with happiness, from the inside out. You’re much more relaxed and even more confident.”
“Wow.” Touched, she swallowed. “That’s high praise coming from you.”
A look of regret crossed his face. “I haven’t always been the father you needed, I know. I’m sorry for that. I promise to try to do better.”
Not sure how to respond to that, Layla looked down. Part of her wondered a bit cynically if Fenwick was just saying what he thought she wanted to hear in order to get her to agree to take over his mess. This line of thought made her feel guilty, but then again, she knew her father.
“You know what?” he asked, his tone brusque. “Forget I said anything about the accounting department. I’m sure I can find someone qualified from within the ranks. Dan will know who’s his best employee.”
Again, another button pusher. Layla had always had a competitive nature and Fenwick knew it.
Refusing to react the way he no doubt wanted her to, Layla nodded instead. “So, you’re saying you want me to continue to head up marketing and sales?”
“I’m saying you should do whatever makes you happy,” he replied, surprising her. “If you want to leave Colton Energy and go do something else, then you have my blessing. If you want to stay, whether it’s in your current position or in another, I’ll be happy. But in the end, it should be your choice. I’ve spent way too many years asking far too much of you. I’ve bullied and coerced, and I’m done. You’re my daughter. I never should have treated you that way. It ends now.”
Tears stung the back of her eyes, and her throat closed with emotion. He had no idea how long she’d waited to hear words like that from him.
And he wasn’t finished.
“For the record, I’m glad you found your young man. I know I might not always act like it, but I love you, Layla. If Hunter Black makes you happy, then that’s all that matters.”
Touched despite herself, she managed a nod. She couldn’t actually get any words out. If she tried, she knew she’d start crying.
Instead she took a moment to collect her tattered emotions. Finally, she felt under control and raised her gaze to meet her father’s. “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”
He nodded awkwardly. For one moment, she thought he might come out from behind his desk and give her a hug, but he only shuffled some papers instead.
“You’ve given me a lot to consider.” She turned and started for her office before thinking of one other question. “If I do end up taking the accounting position, who are we going to move into mine? I know a few viable candidates, but I don’t want to take anyone from the sales force. We need all the sales we can get.”
“I agree.” Studying her, he then said words she’d never thought she’d hear coming from him. “If you do end up taking the position, I’ll leave that decision up to you. You know better than anyone what’s needed for that job. I have confidence you can find the best person to do it.”
“Thanks.” Hurrying back to her office, she went around her desk and took a seat. Clasping her hands together, she tried to collect her thoughts. This all felt surreal and completely unexpected. She’d come in today without the slightest idea if she wanted to resign and pursue a career in police K9 training or not.
Now, she saw quite clearly what she had to do. Correction. What she wanted to do. She’d see if Colton Energy could be saved and then she’d make her father an offer. Either he’d agree to step down to an advisory role and let her take over, or she’d move on.
Chapter 17
Finally, just as Hunter had decided to head directly down to their tech specialist’s office, his phone rang. Internal call. And yes, Katie Parsons, the tech wizard, wondered if he had a moment.
“I’ll be right there,” Hunter blurted, dropping the phone into its cradle and pushing back his chair. Not wanting to attract unnecessary attention, he forced himself to walk casually, at least until he left the squad room. Once he reached the long hall, he broke into a trot. All he could think was how badly he hoped something good had been on those storage devices.
“Have a seat,” Katie said, motioning at Hunter to shut the door. Young and brilliant at her job, unconventional Katie had lavender-colored hair this week, tipped with black at the ends. Hunter liked it.
He dropped in the chair, leaning forward. “Tell me what you found.”
“Random stuff. The first thumb drive appeared to be photos he’d taken of his sports memorabilia collection, maybe for insurance purposes. We went through all that. It was boring as hell, so I assigned it to my assistant.” Katie flashed her perfect white teeth in a grin.
Struggling to hide his disappointment, Hunter nodded. “Please tell me you found something better on the rest of the stuff.”
“Oh, we did. But I’m not sure it’s exactly what you were hoping for. We found evidence—hard proof—that Devlin Harrington hacked Layla Colton’s texts and emails. He also hired Mark Hatton to lie about Layla sexually harassing him and photoshopped a couple of pictures to make them appear sexual. He kept copies of everything. All the documentation is there, in black and white.”
“I knew it.” Hunter swore. “Did you see any evidence in there about Devlin hiring someone to try to kill Layla?”
“No. But there were a few emails between the two men where Devlin is encouraging Mark to take her out. He stopped just short of offering to pay him money. It seems clear Mark is acting on his own. From what I could tell from reading the emails, he despises Layla Colton and everything she represents. Devlin’s not too fond of her, either, though he appears to resent her impending marriage to his father. He’s not only worried about losing his inheritance, but control of their company. There’s a lot of personal information in those emails. I’m sure Hamlin Harrington won’t be too happy when he learns about this.”
Hunter thought of Hamlin’s threats and smiled. “Tough. I’ll send a team to round up Mark Hatton. Or hell, maybe I’ll do it myself. What else did you find?”
Katie nodded. “The remainder of the stuff on the other storage drives was all about Haley Patton. Photos, lots of them. Most clearly were taken without her consent or knowledge. And detailed notes of conversations, texts and such. I’m thinking we need to send a team to sweep her place for cameras and listening devices. I’m positive we’ll find several.”
“I’ll let the chief know. Is that everything?”
“Yep. I know you were hoping for something concrete, information that would prove Devlin Harrington is the Groom Killer, but I really think this is a lot.”
“It is.” Hunter pushed to his feet and held out his hand. “Thanks, Katie.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll email Chief Colton a full report and I’ll copy you. Let me know if you need anything else.”
After stopping in the chief’s office to brief him, Hunter called Haley Patton and left a message. He didn’t want to alarm her, so he didn’t say anything concrete, just that he needed to stop by. He’d bring a couple of the best tech guys he knew and Goose and together they’d do a thorough sweep of her place.
“Hey, Hunter.” Tim grabbed his arm as he walked past. “Bad news. Devlin Harrington bonded out.”
“Disappointing, but not surprising. That’s okay, we’ll get him.”
Tim nodded. “We’ll just keep building the case.”
Hunter decided he’d head over to the K9 training center and tell Layla about Mark Hatton in person.
But when he arrived, he learned she hadn’t been there at all
. Pushing back a niggling worry, he pulled out his phone and called her.
The call rang and went to voice mail. He left a message. Again that prickling of foreboding at the back of his neck. Now was not the time to start ignoring his instincts. He drove to his house first, but when he didn’t see her car, he drove to her town house.
She wasn’t there, either. Then where? On the off chance that she’d decided to head in to Colton Energy, he headed there. Bingo. Her car was one of the few in the mostly empty parking lot. Even the most dedicated workers stayed away on the four-day weekend of Thanksgiving.
Hurrying through the unlocked front doors, he frowned at the lack of a security guard manning the front desk. When he’d worked there, Fenwick Colton had been vigilant about security. At least, Hunter thought, glancing around the lobby, the security cameras were still in place. Maybe the guard had left to patrol or something.
Taking the elevator, Hunter headed to Layla’s office. He felt confident she still had the same one, right next to her father’s executive suite.
When he arrived, her office was empty. But her computer was still on, and he spied her purse on the credenza behind her desk. Which meant she was around here somewhere.
He went to find her. Fenwick’s office was dark and the door was closed, which Hunter expected. But as he moved past, he heard a scraping sound and a bump from inside.
Once more, he felt that tingling on the back of his neck. Drawing his weapon, he tried the door.
Unlocked. That didn’t seem right. Briefly, he moved away and made a quick call, requesting backup. Once that had been confirmed, he went back to Fenwick’s office. While it might seem wise to wait for reinforcements, the tingling at the back of his neck had intensified, letting him know he had to act immediately. He wasn’t sure how or why, but he knew Layla was in danger.
Stepping to the side, he turned the knob and pushed the door inward with a crash. “I’m coming in,” he declared, keeping himself behind the wall. If he were to stand in the open doorway, with the light behind him, he’d been an easy target. “Coming in,” he repeated. Then he waited.
Nothing. Not a sound.
Still not quite convinced, he reached around the corner and flipped the light switch on. “I’m coming in,” he declared again. If this turned out to be nothing, good. But his gut told him otherwise.
He spotted a vase of artificial flowers on the carpeted floor. Most likely that falling over had been what he’d heard. But what had knocked it to the ground?
A muffled cry made him spin, weapon still drawn. Layla, eyes wide with terror, hands, ankles and her mouth bound with what looked like duct tape. And Mark Hatton, holding her in front of him like a shield, had a gun to her head.
“You’re just in time,” Mark sneered. “I’m not missing my chance to kill her this time. There’s a lot of money waiting for me once I finish this job. Unless you want me to shoot her right now, you need to lower your pistol.”
“No.” Instead, Hunter kept his weapon trained on the other man. The mere fact that Mark hadn’t shot her immediately meant he might still be torn about committing murder. “We found evidence that Devlin Harrington has been paying you. But only to claim Layla sexually harassed you. Not to get rid of her. From the emails and texts we saw, that was all you. You won’t make any money by murdering an innocent woman.”
Mark narrowed his eyes. “I don’t care what you claim to have. I’m tired of people who think they know everything. You don’t know me.”
“I do know you don’t really want to kill Layla. How would her death benefit you?”
“Benefit me?” Mark laughed, a humorless sound. “Life would be a lot better without her in it, I can tell you that.”
Hunter took a tiny step forward, taking care to make the movement slight and barely noticeable. “Have you ever taken another human being’s life?” he asked. “It’s not like watching a movie or playing a video game. It’s messy—lots of blood and brains if you make a headshot.”
His graphic words made Layla blanch, but he forced himself to ignore it. Right now he had one task—to convince Mark to put down his gun and let Layla go free. Unharmed.
“I’m not afraid of a little blood and guts,” Mark boasted. “Though I’d rather have run her over, whatever works, right? I almost took out old man Colton, too, but he left just in the nick of time. I got no beef with him. He’s a decent boss. I really only need to kill his daughter.”
Eyes wide, nostrils flaring as she struggled to breathe with duct tape over her mouth, Layla continued to hold herself perfectly still, as if the slightest movement might provoke her captor to pull the trigger.
Right now, with a pistol pressed against her temple, Hunter didn’t blame her.
“Yep. Layla Colton has got to die.” Mark stated again. Thankfully, he didn’t appear in any hurry to actually kill her.
Good. Because right now, taking him down wasn’t an option. Not with his finger on the trigger and the gun right against Layla’s forehead.
Where the hell was that backup?
Stalling for time, Hunter considered him. “Why? Other than Devlin Harrington wanting her gone, what has she ever done to you?”
“You want a list?” A tic worked in Mark’s jaw. “I should have her job, not her. I’m better educated, better qualified and more likable. But no, daddy’s girl gets whatever she wants, even at the expense of the company. And because she knew it, she dared to start to make a case fire me.”
Layla straightened, her blue eyes flashing. Despite the clear danger, she appeared to be attempting to speak through the tape covering her mouth. Fortunately, all that she could manage were a series of grunts.
In the distance Hunter could hear the sound of a siren. Finally.
Mark heard it, too. He swore, muttering to himself under his breath.
“You might as well put your gun down and surrender,” Hunter pointed out, praying the other man didn’t panic and shoot Layla instead. Heart hammering in his chest, he moved forward again, while Mark alternated frantic looks at the window and the door.
“Hatton?” Hunter pressed. “Surrender. You’re not getting out of this alive unless you do. They’re almost here. You haven’t got a lot of time to decide.”
All the while he watched Mark closely, waiting and hoping for a chance while his attention was diverted.
There. The slightest loosening of his grip on the pistol, allowing the weapon to sag. Not enough, since Layla would still get shot.
“Hatton!” Hunter barked. The other man jumped, pivoting instinctively.
Now. Hunter launched himself forward, chopping his arm up at Mark’s. The gun discharged just as Hunter’s momentum carried him forward. He knocked the other man to the floor, adrenaline pumping. Since Mark had dropped the pistol, Hunter pushed it away with his foot and then got about the business of subduing the smaller man.
He’d just cuffed him when Tim and another member of the team rushed through the door.
“We heard a shot...” Quickly, Tim took in the scene.
“Here. Read him his rights.” Hunter shoved Mark at them and turned to take care of Layla. The only way to get the duct tape off was to rip it, so he muttered an apology as he did exactly that. She winced but held still while he freed her hands and feet.
Finally, he gathered her into his arms and held her close. “You’re safe,” he told her, feeling her body begin to shake. “Probably in shock. Let’s get you to the EMT—Tim, did you call them?”
Tim nodded. “We called in shots fired. The ambulance should be here any minute.”
On cue, another siren sounded in the distance.
“Come on.” Releasing her, Hunter caught sight of a large amount of blood on the front of her shirt. “Layla?” he asked. “Are you hurt?”
“What?” She looked down at herself, then back at him. “No. Hunter, you are. That blood is yours.�
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The moment he realized she was right, he felt it. Pain radiating from his right shoulder. “We need to stop the bleeding,” he began.
“How? Tell me what to do.”
He opened his mouth to speak, but a wave of dizziness stopped him.
“The EMTs are here,” Tim announced. “They’re on their way up. Let them take care of him.”
Layla helped Hunter into a chair. The pain had blossomed all over, radiating from his shoulder to his chest to his throat. He tried to look down, to see exactly how badly he’d been wounded, but even the slightest movement made his vision go gray.
“Wait here,” she ordered. Then, leaning close, she spoke directly into his ear. “Don’t you dare die on me, Hunter Black. I love you too much to lose you.”
* * *
Two EMTs rushed into the room and took over. Layla stepped back, heart racing. She knew nothing about gunshot wounds, but she figured being shot in the shoulder was at least better than the chest or head. The sheer amount of blood worried her more than anything. At least he seemed to be in capable hands.
Still, watching the paramedics wheel Hunter away was one of the hardest things she had ever done. She tried to go after them, intending on riding with him in the ambulance to the hospital, but one of the police officers stopped her. She recognized him since he’d arrested her when Mark Hatton had made his false claims. Tim Lakely.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “But we’re going to need your statement first. Once we’re through here, I’ll drive you to the hospital myself.”
Barely able to contain her anxiety, she nodded. “Let’s do this quickly, then. I don’t want him to go through this alone.”
“He won’t be alone, ma’am. Chief Colton is on his way there, as are several others from our unit. I think some of the county police will show up, too. That’s one thing about working in law enforcement. We’re all family. When one of us goes down, the rest rush to show support.”
Touched, she managed a smile, though it felt a bit wobbly around the edges. She told him what had happened, how she’d been tidying up her desk with the intention of going home. Her father had just left when the security guard called to let her know he was ill and would be in the men’s room. “He never came back.”
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