“Why didn’t anyone ever say anything about the bribe during the trial?” Elijah asked as he turned his attention back to Mia.
“Because halfway through the trial, the doctor pleaded guilty, and it was over. That evidence was never presented to the jury. It was just in the file.”
Elijah raked his hand through his hair. “But wouldn’t my mom have been in trouble?”
“You really haven’t given your mom enough credit. She was actually brilliant. Which brings me to the other smaller withdrawal that was made around that time. The accountant that was working for your dad was the one that allowed her to withdraw the money. They were apparently having an affair. He forged Elijah’s signature.”
Taylor looked at Elijah, but she was directing the question to Mia. “How? Elijah wasn’t supposed to have control of the company or bank accounts until he was thirty. Right?”
“That’s true, but what I can gather is that your mom had convinced the bank you were on board. Documentation was presented that you were indeed going to take over the company once you completed college. She made it look like you were in school instead of the Army, and they bought it.”
“Wow. But back to the doctor and this bribe and all of that…” Elijah said.
Taylor’s heart was in her throat. She could see the emotions playing on his face. He was hurting so badly. A serious heart-to-heart was going to have to happen once this call was over, and she was going to have to find a way to beg forgiveness. No, she hadn’t felt like she had a choice, but to Elijah, it was still betrayal.
Mia took a deep breath. “Okay, the bribe. In the documents submitted as evidence, it looked like Ruth was just donating to the hospital, but there was a condition. It was to go to that doctor. That was where a little over one million of those dollars went.”
“Well, we had almost that in medical debt, and I’d put up my business for a loan too, and that was paid off,” her dad said.
Mia held up her finger. “Again, Ruth was brilliant. She negotiated with the hospital because, at the time, this doctor was sought after for his research. Having him come to the hospital was a big deal. She had a relationship with him. Now, this is just a theory, but my guess is that she donated the one million for the doctor and negotiated a lower bill. In exchange for that donation, and because she had that relationship, they figured she’d convince the doctor to come to the hospital. She settled the debt for not even half. The mortgage on the house and your business loan were then able to be taken care of.”
Elijah took a deep breath and sat on a stool. He looked pale and broken. Her heart ached for him. His mom had done all of this for money. If it was her, she’d feel just as bad or worse.
Joseph dropped his arms to his sides. “And when she showed Taylor, she made it look like I did all that?”
Mia nodded. “Yes, sir, and it looked real. For Taylor, as young as she was, and not knowing what she was looking at…to her, you were in trouble. And she had a reason to be scared for you. Bribery doesn’t have a statute of limitations, and these documents were convincing.”
“That’s exactly what she told me,” Taylor said. “That if I didn’t go along with it, she’d have Mom pulled from the program and get that doctor to go to the police and tell them you bribed him. Mom was doing so much better after starting it, and I didn’t know at the time that the trial was unapproved.”
“And Ruth most certainly did,” Mia added.
Her dad sucked in a sharp breath. “That trial wasn’t approved, and Ruth knew it…and funded it? If she was alive…” He looked at Elijah. “Son, I’m sorry. She was—”
Elijah shook his head. “No, sir. I agree. I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt. Tried to see things from her perspective, but I can’t anymore. I don’t hate her, but I’m done with her. I’m not sorry she’s gone.”
“Elijah!” Mia said.
“What? She loved money. Not me. She hurt Taylor. She hurt Taylor’s family. How do I know that trial drug didn’t kill Momma Mabrey even faster? And my mom had a hand in it. I’m the one who needs to be sorry. I didn’t—”
Her dad grabbed Elijah and pulled him into a bear hug. “No, son. This was all on Ruth, but Mia is right.” Her dad held Elijah out from him. “The woman died in misery. Don’t stoop to her level. You’re better than that. You always were.”
Elijah cast his gaze to the floor as he nodded. “Yes, sir,” he whispered. He lifted his gaze to Taylor, and tears were pooling in his eyes. “And you didn’t tell me that she was doing all this?”
“Elijah,” Mia said. “Taylor couldn’t. There is communication between your mom and the doctor on file. They went over every scenario that could have happened. That doctor was going to feed her dad to the sharks if Taylor did anything, using the fake bribery documentation they had created. And, there’s more…”
More? Taylor’s was mind was in a whirl, and Ruth had done more?
“Like what?” Elijah asked.
“That second large withdrawal a few months before she died?”
“Yeah?”
“Your mom took a hit out on Taylor.”
Her dad’s mouth dropped open, and it was as if the air was gone from the room. A hit on her? What on earth? Taylor knew Ruth was vicious and greedy, but a killer? His mom wanted her dead? Why? Taylor hadn’t spoken to him in the entire nine years since she’d broken it off with him.
“Why?” The question tumbled off Taylor’s tongue before she knew she’d even asked it.
Elijah’s jaw dropped as he sucked in a sharp breath. “What?”
Mia sighed. “I’m so sorry. I found a diary buried in one of the program files on her computer. She’d even gone to the trouble of poorly encrypting it, but it’s all laid out. But…I will say, a lot of it didn’t make sense. When I saw that, I pulled her medical file. I don’t know how long she had that tumor, but she wasn’t thinking straight at the end. After she hired the hitman, it wasn’t but a few days later that the entries stopped. That’s when she was put in hospice.”
Elijah stumbled back, perched on the edge of the stool, and laid his forehead against the counter. He was breathing hard, and Taylor could see that each word was hitting him harder and harder. “I didn’t know she was in hospice.”
As in shock as Taylor was, she could only imagine how Elijah was feeling. To find out his mom hired someone to kill her? She couldn’t fathom the darkness that could propel someone to do that.
“This person she hired. Is it someone she knew?” Taylor’s dad asked.
Mia shook her head. “No, I can’t find any trace that she knew them. There’s a trail, but it’s her paying them. They got half up front, and the rest would be paid when Taylor was killed. According to the offshore bank, instructions were left, but the account it was to be transferred to is at another offshore bank. Noah is trying to get that information, but they’re being incredibly difficult.”
“Don’t they know why we want the information?” asked Taylor.
“They know, but they also offer their clients protection. That’s why they’re used,” Mia replied.
“But Ruth is dead. The hitman won’t get any more money if they finish the job. Why are they still after me?” Taylor asked.
Her dad shook his head. “They obviously don’t know she’s passed.”
Elijah lifted his head and stood. “Mia, I need a few minutes.”
“Sure. Call me later, okay? We love you, Elijah. I’m so sorry I had to tell you all this.”
He smiled. “Thanks. I’m glad it was you, though.” His voice broke.
Mia looked at Taylor. “I’ll talk to you later too.”
“Okay.”
The chat ended, and the three of them stood in the kitchen, not saying a word. What was there to say? How could they even process the information they’d just learned? Taylor’s mind felt like a hurricane was whipping through it. Her emotions were all over the place.
She looked at Elijah. “I’m so sorry.”
He rubbed his face with
his hands. “I need some time to think.” He strode out of the room, and she heard his feet hitting the stairs like he was running.
“Daddy…”
Her dad bear-hugged her. “Sweetheart, don’t. You were young, and that woman was evil. I love Elijah, and I don’t want to cause him even more grief, so I’m saying that to you and no one else. That woman has caused too many people grief. I won’t let her cause another moment. We’ve got Elijah back, the truth is out, and now we’re going to fix our family.”
Taylor pulled back. “I don’t know if he can forgive me. I’m not sure I could forgive me, but I sure do love him. I always have, and I always will.”
“I know you do. Just give him some time to sort through this. It’s a tough thing for a man to hear that his momma is a bad person. I think that’s what’s shaking him. Not about you taking the money, but that she was behind this whole thing.”
Looking over her shoulder in the direction Elijah went, she nodded. “I hurt for him. That had to be so hard.”
“I know it was. It would have killed me. But he’s a good man. Give him the space he needs, and let him come to you.”
“Okay,” she said, hoping her dad was right. If she lost him a second time, she’d never recover. She’d betrayed him, but she hoped there was a chance for a new beginning. A way to start over from scratch and build something new.
What if her dad was wrong, though? What if, after all this, Elijah didn’t want to be with her? How was she going to move on this time? She’d never really moved on before. If things ended now, they’d be done and over. There’d be no more hope. The thought made her ache so thoroughly and deeply that she felt sick.
For now, she’d do what her dad said. Give Elijah space and pray like she’d never prayed before. She loved him, and there would never be anyone else for her.
Chapter 22
In his bedroom, Elijah paced in front of his bed. If confusion had a picture next to it in the dictionary, it would be him. He knew Taylor didn’t have a choice, but at the same time, why couldn’t she have told him? The night he went to her home, she could have said something then, but she wouldn’t even let him inside. They argued on her front porch.
It was a moment in time he’d never forget. Something that was so seared into his memory that he could still feel the way his heart broke in two. How miserable it was realizing that she didn’t love him, and then thinking his choices were gone too. That the Army was the only way to move on and leave everything behind.
Had he missed something that night?
His phone rang, and he answered it without checking the caller id. “Hey, Mia.”
“How did you know it’d be me?” she asked.
“Just a feeling.” He walked to the edge of his bed and sat. “I’m not sure I can talk right now.”
“Good. Then you can listen, because if there is anyone who has an idea how you might be feeling, it’s me.”
He lay back. “It’s not the same. Noah had a reason. A good reason.”
“And so did Taylor. What would you have done?”
“She could have told me. In secret. We’d have figured something out.”
Mia scoffed. “Oh yeah? Like what?”
“I don’t know. Something. There had to be something.”
“And what if you’d failed? What if her dad got into trouble back then?” She paused a second. “I’m turning this to video chat.”
Elijah sat up. “Fine.” He answered the video chat call and set his phone on the nightstand.
Mia sighed. “Seriously, Elijah, your mom was brilliant. If Taylor’s dad got into trouble, they would have had not only her mom’s medical debt, but a legal bill as well. They’d have lost everything.”
That was true. He couldn’t imagine them fighting battles on two fronts. “I know.”
“If you know, then forgive her and go to her.”
“It’s just…she took money from my mom. You weren’t there that night. I was begging her to tell me what was going on. Why she was dumping me. She was…an iceberg that night.”
Mia sighed. “Then go ask her.”
“What if I don’t like the answer?”
“And what if the answer puts everything in perspective. When I found out that Noah had lied to me, I was devastated. Beyond so. But finding out the why put everything into place. Go find your answers. I seriously doubt Taylor did what she did because she wanted to.”
He furrowed his eyebrows. “How did you know about the threats against her dad?”
“When you were in Roswell, she told me everything. I’ve been trying to piece it together since.”
What? His pulse jumped. Mia knew the whole time? “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because she asked me not to, and I can see why. She was afraid. Your mom hired this hitman three months ago. That’s when the threats started. Your mom really was sick at the end. I’m going to hold on to the theory that the tumor was affecting her thoughts and actions.”
Elijah grunted and looked away. “I won’t. That was her. It was always her.”
“Yeah, but you need to let it go. Forgive her and move on. You have a chance to make a life with someone you love. Don’t let your mom take it away from you a second time.”
He brought his gaze back to the phone. She had a point. A second chance was staring him in the face. If he blew it, it would all be on him this time. “Okay. I’ll go talk to her.”
A smile spread on Mia’s lips. “Good. Once you’ve talked, call me back. I have more things to discuss, but you need this settled before we go further. You’ll need your head in the game for the next part.”
“Okay.”
She ended the call, and he stood. He’d find Taylor and talk things out. This time he wasn’t walking away. Not without the girl.
* * *
Taylor chewed her thumb as she looked out the back window in the kitchen. Mostly, she was absentmindedly focusing on the overgrown hedges that lined the large covered patio. The outdoor kitchen looked like it had been abandoned years ago and made her wonder if it had ever been used. She couldn’t remember Elijah ever telling her they were having a party at his home, and she certainly couldn’t see Ruth actually cooking.
The sound of footsteps behind her made her turn. Elijah stood just inside the kitchen, his arms crossed over his chest, and she could feel a chasm of distance between them.
“Why didn’t you tell me? You could have told me. That night I came to your house, you could have let me in on what my mom was doing.”
Taylor shook her head. “No, I couldn’t. Your mom was standing in the hallway, listening to every word I said.”
“My mom was there?”
“Yeah. She didn’t trust me to go through with it, and honestly, near the end, I almost caved.”
He dropped one hand to his side while he raked his other through his hair. “My mom was there listening to you break my heart? Why didn’t you call me after? I kept the same phone number for weeks. I tried calling. I…”
“I couldn’t. The day after you left, she barged into my home while I was changing to go back to the hospital and demanded to see my phone. She thought I was the reason you’d left. Ruth even went to Julie and checked her phone to make sure I hadn’t used her to talk to you.”
His eyebrows knitted together. “Julie?”
“Yeah. That’s why I never answered the phone when you called my mom. I didn’t think I could keep it in. I was afraid I’d break down. And once my mom died, you called, and then I knew for sure I couldn’t. I would have told you everything, and I couldn’t lose my dad too.” Tears pooled in her eyes, and she tried to blink them back. “I didn’t know you’d join the Army, get captured, and then tortured. I didn’t know all I’d cause—”
Elijah crossed the room and took her in his arms. “Stop. If anything, I need to apologize for the way my mom treated you. I should have known with as desperate as she was that she’d try something. I should have had more faith in you than to just accept that you’d
push me away like that. If anything, all of this is my fault.”
His fault? She couldn’t hold back the tears now. “No. There is no way I’m letting you apologize for any of this. I should have been stronger. I should have been smarter. I should have taken you to the middle of a field and told you back then, but I was a coward.”
He crushed her to him in a tight embrace. “You were as strong as you could be. You and your family were going through something most people couldn’t handle. I’m sorry I wasn’t…”
She palmed his chest and leaned back. This is why she loved him. His ability to put others first, but this time, she needed to put him first. “Elijah, I’m so sorry I let this go on for so long. The moment I saw you, I should have just come clean. Will you ever be able to forgive me?”
“I’ve already done it. I only intended to come talk, but by the time I hit the first step, I knew whatever you had to say wouldn’t change how I feel about you.”
She slid her hand up his chest and cupped his cheek. “I love you. I have always loved you, and I’ve never stopped loving you. I’ve been walking through life half-alive because I didn’t want to live without you.”
He held her gaze a moment. “I’ve never stopped loving you. I have loved you since tenth grade, and there has never been anyone else that I’ve loved as much as I love you. You think you can forgive me for not having the faith in you I should have?”
Taylor circled her arms around his neck and kissed him. “There was never a moment that I held anything against you. Never.”
“I think this is a good solid place to start. What about you?”
“No more secrets. Never again.”
“It’s a deal. You have my heart, Taylor Mabrey.” He smiled, leaned down, and kissed her.
He was all hers. She’d dreamed for years that she’d get the chance to be with him again, and now, here she was, in his arms, knowing that forever was a reality. This kiss they were sharing was more than a kiss. It was an unofficial I do for her. This was her promising him all of her tomorrows. That she would hold his heart with the care it deserved, and she’d be a woman deserving to be loved by someone like Elijah. It was a kiss that made up for all of the ones she’d missed over the years.
The Ranger's Forgiveness (Army Ranger Romance Book 5) Page 14
