by Maggie Thom
“We already have a plainclothes officer guarding your father.”
Tijan placed her hand over her mouth, although about twenty questions started firing through her brain. She shoved them aside, deciding she’d ask them later. “Okay. But you may need more. Can’t you do something to arrest that man?”
“Mr. T, you mean? He wants control of your business so he can run more drugs and do some money laundering, using the hotel as a front.”
Tijan put her hand to her forehead, surprised to find it cool but damp. “Look. I have to go. Keep my father safe.”
“Stay where you are; we’ll pick you up and put you in protective custody.”
“Keep my father safe.” Tijan hung up and peeked out the bathroom door. Her phone rang. Startled, her hand automatically opened wide. She fumbled with her cell for a moment before clutching it in her hand and answering it.
“Tarin. Where are you?”
“We’re now zipping through downtown Toronto with a tail.”
“This is crazy.”
“Guy is on his way to pick you up. Stay out of sight.”
“August is on his way as well.”
“I know. They should be there in about fifteen. Go out the back and make your way to the parkade. That’s where you’ll meet them both. Be careful.”
Releasing her hair from the tight bun she’d gotten in the habit of putting it in, she shook her hair so it draped forward. She then dropped her head so it would better cover her face. She came out of the bathroom and turned left, following signs to the parkade only to discover there was more than one. As she stepped into the open lobby trying to decide which direction to go, she looked toward the front of the building. Two men were standing just outside the doors. She was sure she hadn’t seen the men before but it didn’t take much to know who they worked for. They had that beefed up, brawn look that said if they couldn’t stop a Mac truck with their muscles their fierce, I’ll-kill-anything demeanor would have.
Unfortunately, one of the guys turned at that moment. Her body suddenly felt zapped with adrenaline but she didn’t stop to think as she turned and fled out the back doors. Something told her if she’d been smart and just casually turned, she might not have attracted their attention. As she glanced over her shoulder, she saw them charging through the lobby, heading in her direction.
She ran, barely noticing the signs giving her directions. Her head felt like it was on a swivel stick, snapping around to see if there were any others and how close they were to her. Heavy breathing and a lumbering sound had her looking behind her. The two gorillas were still chasing her. She’d never been so glad to have her runners on but wished at that point she had a horse.
Heading for the large parkade structure, she was about to zoom inside when someone stepped out of the shadows. She jerked back almost tripping over herself in an attempt to stop. She spun around and was about to sprint away, when she heard her name in a familiar voice.
“Tijan.”
She wasn’t sure what kept her upright because her whole body seemed to have dissolved into jelly. August was soon by her side, wrapping his arm around her and steering her into the darkness of the underground parking. He held her close while they stood in the shadows and she was never so thankful that she didn’t have to do this on her own. A beige SUV pulled into the parkade and stopped.
Tijan’s breath caught in her throat as she clutched August’s shirt, whispering. “They’re right behind me.”
The driver’s window lowered and then the vehicle slowly started rolling forward. Tijan dropped down, yanking August with her so they were hidden behind a truck.
“August. Tijan.”
Not that she knew Guy’s voice well, having only heard it a few times, but she was never more thrilled than recognizing that friendly voice. Running awkwardly in a crouched position, she and August made their way to the vehicle.
“There she is.” A gun shot rang out.
August yanked open the back door and they both dove in. Guy stomped on the gas pedal. As they hit the street an ambulance with lights flashing and sirens blaring roared past. Guy hugged their bumper as they soared through the heavy afternoon traffic.
Chapter 48
“Where are we going? What about Tarin? Chance?”
“Chance is fine. He’s with Grandma at Caspian. It’s like a fortress. No one will get in. Geoff wouldn’t even have even been able to get in.” Guy was maneuvering in and out of traffic like a race car driver.
Tijan was thankful he was getting them out of there despite being tossed around the back seat—although having August to cushion some of the blow wasn’t hard to take.
“Geoff?”
Guy expertly moved them across four lanes of traffic and then shot through a light just as it turned red. “Long story. You’ll get the edited version later.”
“Is my father going to be okay?”
“He’s been moved. As soon as we knew what was going on, we had him loaded into an ambulance and moved to another hospital.”
“The ambulance you were following?”
“That was your father.”
Tijan breathed a sigh of relief and would have closed her eyes but Guy was careening around another corner. August’s warm, calloused hand took hers. She curled her fingers around his as she looked at him. It was the first time she felt like she was feeling something real. She knew what callouses were. They were from hard, physical labor. Something she knew, something she could relate to. That’s when she realized her hands, although they had been getting a break from her usual hard work, were still a lot rougher than most women’s. It dawned on her that it was funny where her mind had gone with all that had happened.
“Thank you.”
August leaned forward and gently kissed her. Guy zipped in and out of lanes, tossing them around in the back. They were both soon flopping sideways, unprepared for his driving. Tijan giggled. August kissed her again and then sat up, helping her to as well.
“Feel like a teenager, trying to cop a feel in the back of your parents’ car?”
August snorted with laughter.
Guy looked at them questioningly in the rearview mirror. Tijan smiled but shrugged. It felt good that August was holding her hand; it gave her something solid to hold onto.
“How did you get to the hospital so fast?”
“Taxi. $50 extra bucks was enough incentive for the guy to step on it. And man did he.”
“Good.” Tijan though was already distracted, her mind retraced all that had happened. The men her father was dealing with weren’t joking around. They weren’t just angry men or even normal men, they were the ones who set their own rules and made everyone else play by them. Tijan knew people like that existed but they didn’t in her world and it surprised and shocked her that they existed in Canada. She knew she was probably naive but she’d liked the safe, secure bubble she’d been living in, even if it had been a bit delusional. In some ways, she definitely needed to leave the ranch more but in others she was more than happy with the safe, secure life she led. Her mind tried to make sense of all that had happened. It felt like they drove forever but it couldn’t have been more than twenty minutes later they arrived at an isolated area.
She found herself on a pockmarked road surrounded by trees that seemed more like the cow paths she often traversed when going out into the field.
When the car stopped, she was hesitant to get out until she spotted Tarin coming around a clump of trees. Running before her feet hit the ground, she collided with her sister and they tumbled to the ground.
“You’re alright?”
“You’re alright?”
“Geez. I was so scared for you.”
“I was so scared for you.”
As they continued to talk, Tijan realized they were both saying the same thing at precisely the same time. She sat up without releasing her grip on her sister. They gazed at each other for a long time. Tijan felt a conflicting wave of joy and sorrow swarm through her. She had an overwhelming
sensation of being complete but yet she also wondered why she’d never been allowed to experience it before; why she and her sister had been torn apart.
“Chance is okay?”
“He’s with Grandma. He’s fine. He’s been out there pretty much the whole time. Allison, his nanny, is amazing and she’ll protect him with her life.”
“And since been trained as a bodyguard no one is getting near our son.” Graham sounded like a proud papa. He now stood with Guy and August a few feet away. All looked at the two of them.
Tijan gazed questioningly at her sister.
“We had some trouble a few years back. We thought it better to have someone who would keep Chance safe.”
“Have these awful guys that Dad is dealing with been after you for a while, then?”
Tarin glanced at Graham and Guy. Getting a slight nod from them, she said, “Come, let me show you this place and I’ll give you the Cole notes version.”
The five of them made their way back the way Tarin and Graham had come. As they rounded the corner, Tijan was surprised to see a scorched area with burnt stubs of trees sticking out of the ground. And a brand-new house without siding sat in the midst of it, well hidden from the road.
Tijan had a ton of questions but wasn’t sure if she should ask any.
“I don’t even know where to start.” Tarin obviously knew she was confused.
Guy stepped forward. “Let me. Bailey, my wife, who is also at Caspian with Chance, was kidnapped as a baby by her great uncle. She never saw her family until I found her thirty years later. She was just getting reunited with them when her uncle again tried to kill her by blowing up the house that was here before this one.”
Tijan’s eyebrows shot skyward as her gaze swiveled from the destroyed house to Guy and then her sister.
Graham said, “We thought Geoff, the uncle, had been killed in this house, but it turns out he’d built himself an escape tunnel. He was way sicker than we thought. Anyway, it turns out, he is—”
Tarin squeezed his hand, before standing on tiptoe to kiss him. She turned to face Tijan. “He’s Chance’s father. He had me drugged and impregnated. It still sounds really awful.”
“He what?” Tijan pressed her hand to her chest, sure she’d heard her wrong.
“I’ll give you the long version, another day. Anyway, at the time, I didn’t know who the father was. He decided when Chance turned two it was time to mold him into what he wanted him to be. He wanted to take Chance away from me and raise him. Thankfully, I had these two men,” she nodded toward Guy and Graham, “to save me and my son. We set up a plan that almost backfired but by some miracle, didn’t. We got him.”
Tijan remembered what she’d read when she’d first been sure she’d found her sister. She looked at Guy. “Your wedding. Was that what that was about?”
Guy nodded. “Yeah, it was a little more excitement than we wanted but we knew we had to do something to draw him out. We thought of everything except how devious he was. He won’t be bothering anyone again.”
Tijan felt like throwing up. She knew what they all went through hadn’t been easy; that was clearly written on their faces despite how they talked about it with such ease.
Tijan took her sister’s hand. “You know it was the picture from Guy and Bailey’s wedding that led me to you.”
Tarin pressed her fingers to her lips. “Really? But I wasn’t in any. We made sure of that.”
Tijan reached for her hand and rubbed her finger over the birthmark that adorned her hand in the webbing between her thumb and index finger. “This is what made me think I had found you. This forward ‘C’.”
Tijan slipped off her shoe and showed the birthmark on her foot. “Mine is a backward ‘C’.”
Tarin threw her arms around Tijan and started to cry. Tijan hugged her back, tears pricking her eyes. It truly felt like coming home.
Chapter 49
“So, what’s the plan?” August looked pointedly at Guy and Graham. He’d learned quickly these two were prepared for anything.
Guy jerked his head sideways, indicating that he and Graham should follow him. “We don’t have any proof that Mr. T shot their father. The police have a lot of speculation but nothing concrete. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service also has a lot of circumstantial evidence but any witnesses soon disappear.”
August looked over his shoulder at Tijan and Tarin sitting on the grass just looking at each other. He couldn’t imagine how it must feel to find a sibling that was a mirror-image.
“We need to set up another sting.” Graham also turned to look at the two women. “I can’t put either one of them through that.”
Guy nodded. “I know but I don’t know what else we can do.”
“Why can’t I be put in charge?” August wasn’t sure where that came from but watching Tijan definitely brought out his protective nature. It was interesting that he could look at the two identical women and know which one was Tijan. The hair did help but he was quite sure he could tell them apart even with the same hairstyle and outfits.
Both men looked at him.
“I don’t want to put either one of them back into that situation. But couldn’t you guys create an agreement that states I’m the one to take over for their father? We can say we kept it a secret.”
A strange look passed between Graham and Guy. Guy spoke up, “Bill—”
August frowned. “Bill? The guy at Knights Computers? What’s his story?”
Guy said thoughtfully, “There might be something to what you suggest. We could draw up some fake papers that say you’re the one who has been given the authority over the company. We could say that you’re actually Tarin’s, well Tijan’s, husband. That would carry more clout. It’s a world of men. They don’t like to deal with women. Sad we’re still in those times but we are. But then what do we do so Mr. T doesn’t shoot first and ask questions later?”
“It can’t be that hard to find one of his goons. I’m sure if you checked with hotel security, a few of his men are camped out there, waiting for Tijan’s return.”
“Right and we have to act fast. He’s capable of storming in there and taking over whether or not he has legal papers—which reminds me Tijan had some legal papers when she climbed into the SUV. Do you know where they went, August?”
It took him a moment to realize that Guy was talking to him. He’d been fascinated with listening to the two go back and forth. He shrugged. “In the vehicle, I guess. I’ll get them.”
He was back quickly with some crumpled papers.
Graham took them and looked them over. “Ooh. This guy is good. This is quite a legal and thoroughly laid out document. I wonder who he used?”
“You can recreate those, right? And use Jason, our lawyer, to go through them.” Guy nodded towards what Graham held in his hands.
“What are you guys talking about?” Tarin asked as she moved to stand by Graham
Graham smiled at Tarin. “We’re just going over the legal papers that Mr. T wanted Tijan to get your father to sign. Well you were meant to but she was standing in for you, so she was going to do it. By George, I think we have a conundrum.”
August snorted with laughter. Graham seemed to have a way of making light of things when it was really needed. His English accent impersonation was terrible but it did the trick.
“And what are you thinking we should do to take down this guy?” Tarin said. “And get that look off your faces, guys. I can’t speak for Tijan but I can tell you, you aren’t going in without us. So start talking.”
“Woman, you are going to make me old and grey before my time.” Graham flipped back his head of shaggy blond hair as if it was long and flowing. Then he grabbed Tarin and kissed her hard.
“Okay. So, we thought we’d put August in charge—”
“Oh no, you’re not. I’ll go back as Tarin.”
August thought about debating her suggestion, but he’d discovered Tijan wasn’t about to back down just because it was difficult.
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br /> “So, how are we going to get a hold of Tesimmon?” Tijan held her hands palm up.
“It just dawned on me,” Tarin said. “I have Dad’s personal belongings, like his cell phone. There must be something on there that might help us. I’ll need the password though.” Tarin walked up to Tijan. “I need to meet with him. I need some answers—or at least some passwords.”
August could tell how hard it was for Tarin to say those words. She was essentially telling Tijan that she couldn’t come. The time wasn’t right. There was an identical look of understanding intermixed with pain on each woman’s face.
Tijan nodded but didn’t reply. In fact, August noticed that she remained quiet for the rest of the conversation.
“How could we possibly send you back with August? Tijan said Mr. T knows all about Tarin, Chance and I.” Graham tapped his fist against his chin.
“Actually, I told him that you and Tarin were finished and he needed to up his Intel.”
Graham roared with laughter. He grabbed Tarin in a bear hug and swung her around. “Damn, she’s like you. So, how do we bring August into this so Tesimmon buys him being there?”
“I told him I was her business adviser.” August had never had siblings or much of a family but being with this group made him wish he did.
“Great. But we’re going to need a tighter connection. This is a serious situation and we can’t underestimate him.”
Tarin took Tijan’s hands in hers. “We could say he’s your husband or partner and if anything happens to you, it’s all left to him, including C-Lite Hotels.”
“Is that a good idea, though? Our father said he’d found a husband for Tarin. He couldn’t mean Tesimmon, could he?”
Tarin shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. It won’t happen. We’ll make August your love interest, so if something happens to you it reverts to him and if something happens to him, it reverts to someone else.”
August didn’t move but his eyes scanned the group to gauge their reaction. He didn’t want to seem too eager but the suggestion sat right with him. It was only to ensure that Tijan was safe, he told himself. The group was quiet for a time while he and Tijan conspicuously avoided looking at one another.