by Lisa Harris
Hollis didn’t believe her mom was the person everyone knew as West. Sharleen was too selfish for that. She followed every whim, so long as it was in her best interest. West was far too coordinated. The whole operation had multiple moving parts, which spanned over the course of several months—the wheelhouse of countless different illegal activities.
Criminal conspiracy was a stretch for her mother, a woman who only thought about herself.
Mia said, “What are you thinking?”
Hollis shook her head again.
“We can’t help you if you don’t talk to us. The FBI is looking at you and any information you can give us only strengthens your case.”
“I shouldn’t have to prove my innocence.”
Savannah moved in beside Mia. “Sometimes it’s necessary.”
When had the detective arrived? Wilcox was married to Tate Hudson. They’d eloped a few weeks back, and then disappeared on their honeymoon for a while.
Conroy rounded the desk to stand by his fiancé. “We want to help you.” He motioned at the two women. “None of us want to see you convicted of something you didn’t do.”
“And if I did do it?” Wasn’t like they’d stuck up for her earlier. They’d allowed Will to walk her out.
“You didn’t. Ted already proved that everything found on the flash drive was a fabrication. The FBI has no grounds to accuse you of anything.”
Will completed their huddle. “He’s right. I’m sorry I arrested you, especially considering the fact that something is going on with Sharleen and Frankie.”
That meant it would still have something to do with her. “I should’ve just left.”
Conroy frowned. “What do you mean?”
Hollis sighed. “When I got that text—” She motioned to the image on the phone. “—I was on my way out the door for an interview. I had my suitcase already packed. I wasn’t planning on coming back to town. Ever.”
Across the room, Kaylee gasped. The rest of them looked surprised, though no one was audible about it. Will looked mad. “You were leaving?”
She wanted to shrug off the question but couldn’t quite do it. “The landlord for the diner can work with Frankie on where it goes next.”
“And you’re done? Just like that?” Kaylee strode over. “You weren’t going to tell us, were you?”
Why would she have? It wasn’t like they were…
“We’re your friends!”
“Kaylee—”
“No.” The receptionist shook her head. “I can’t believe this. Stuart isn’t going to believe this. You were just gonna walk out and leave them all in the lurch, not caring what happened next.”
“I don’t own the diner. I’m not the manager.”
Kaylee made a pfft sound. “You run the place. Who else does all the work?”
“That was just because of Frankie’s accident. He needs a push to get back to it.” Truth was, she’d been worried about him lately. He was withdrawing in a way she didn’t like. Becoming even more distant than before. “Now I’m wondering if he’s been busy with criminal conspiracy.”
Will said, “Do you think he might be working something with Sharleen?”
“I don’t know.” She didn’t know if she was supposed to care, or if it was better that she didn’t. “How would I know? I barely speak to her, and I only talk to Frankie about one subject. The diner. Why would they even drag me into something like this?”
As far as she could see, they were free to do whatever they wanted with their lives. Preferably without dragging her into the middle of it. Why frame her, manipulating things so that she implicated herself, just to rescue Frankie from a fake kidnapping? The whole thing was seriously messed up.
Will asked Conroy a question, and the “cops” all got into a debate she didn’t understand. Stuff about probable cause, and forensics. She’d seen enough cop shows on TV she could follow along, but this was her life. Somehow it just didn’t seem as easy.
Her “parents” were nothing like the kind of people who were supposed to fill those roles in her life. They never had been, so she normally didn’t miss it. She’d found it hard to miss what she hadn’t ever had. But once in a while—like now—Hollis felt the sting. Especially when she was surrounded by good people who knew. People with compassion.
Knowing they saw people like her every day made it worse. That they worked to help them, and yet no one noticed Hollis.
Or, at her lowest, that was how it seemed to her.
She’d long given up wishing she could be on their side of things. People with loving relationships in their lives, and the resources to help others. The side that meant a good home life. A hot meal every night. A mom who wasn’t intent on living a life of crime. But that wasn’t the way her life had gone.
“Hollis?”
She looked at Mia. “Yes?”
“Do you think your mom would pick up if you called?”
“I have no idea. It’s not guaranteed.” Sometimes her mom didn’t call back for two weeks—if she called back at all.
Mia glanced at Conroy. “What about the flash drive, or gathering evidence at the diner or from Sharleen’s place?”
Savannah said, “I can go canvas for witnesses, help with evidence collection.”
“Do it.” Conroy nodded.
Will scrubbed his hands down his face, then groaned. He rolled his shoulders.
Conroy said, “That’s what happens when you jump the gun, arrest the wrong person, and wind up a target.”
“Wow.” Will blinked. “You’re not even going to sugarcoat it?”
“Do I need to?”
“No.”
“You don’t work for me. Eric is the one I liaise with at the FBI. Not you.”
Will’s jaw flexed.
Hollis unplugged her phone, gathered her purse and stood. “I can go, right?” Her car was parked outside. She could head to her apartment for her suitcase and get going. No point in staying now, right? She was only delaying the fresh start she desperately needed by sticking around here just out of curiosity.
If she was the target of a frame job, there was even less reason to stick around Last Chance. She’d rather be as far from here as possible.
In a few weeks, when they’d figured it all out, she would read all about it in an online news article. Then she would forget everything about Last Chance.
Or anyone she might have felt an obligation towards. If Frankie was tied up with Sharleen, he didn’t need her help anymore.
Hollis dug her keys out.
“Headed home?” Will moved close, speaking low, probably so no one else heard. “Rest sounds good.” He lifted his brows and stretched again.
Hollis didn’t need to be reminded she was attracted to him. “I figure if I leave in an hour, I can get somewhere with a hotel by tonight.” She looked at the time on her phone.
“Wait. You’re leaving as in leaving?”
Hollis just shrugged a little, not really sure what else to say. “I missed my interview, but maybe they’ll understand, and allow me to reschedule it for tomorrow.”
For the chance to manage her own restaurant, she would make it work.
“You’re a target. Your life is in danger, which means the only place you’re going is somewhere in protective custody.” Before she could interrupt, he continued, “Even if that protective custody is your house, fine. But we need to make sure you’re safe.”
“I’m going.” None of them had the right to keep her here against her will. Did they? “I’m not a suspect, I’m not a cop, and I don’t want to be a part of this.”
Will folded his arms. “Whether you want to or not, you still are.”
“No, I’m not. Find West,” she said. “Or not. I really don’t care.”
“And if Sharleen and Frankie get killed?”
“I’ll come back for the funerals.” She lifted her chin. “Maybe.”
“You’re better than that.”
“You know what?” She took a step away from th
em. “You guys might think I am, but the truth is that I’m really not. They raised me. Not a loving parent, or people who follow the law.”
“I wouldn’t know. I had a gunnery sergeant for a father.” Will said, “I’m pretty sure the back of my skull is flat, given how many times he slapped me upside the head.”
“Why would that make me think twice about leaving?”
“The people who were supposed to teach us loving sacrifice, and how to be a functional law-abiding citizen often find that whole thing real difficult. Mostly because they have no clue how to do it themselves. They’re still trying to figure it out.”
“Sharleen was never trying.”
“And yet you managed to know what doing the right thing is. In a way it’s engrained in you.”
“Usually it was whatever she wasn’t doing.” Which made her point now, didn’t it? “Which means if she thinks sticking around Last Chance is the right thing, what I should do is leave.”
“Someone needs to watch your back.”
Hollis spun around to Conroy. “Do I have to stay?”
“This is an FBI case.” The look on the police chief’s face gave away nothing. “If they think you should be in protective custody, it’s on their dime.”
It was like he wanted her to stay somewhere with the very Fed who’d arrested her. Hollis wanted to scream at him, ask him what he was even thinking. Instead, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
Before she could reason with them, Will said, “Doesn’t matter where you’re going, I’m your shadow until I know for sure you’re not in danger.”
Chapter Fourteen
“I know you don’t want to be here.” Will put the car in park. “This won’t take long.”
Hollis didn’t reach for the door handle. She also didn’t say anything.
“Okay?”
She shrugged one shoulder.
Will turned the car engine off. “How is your arm?”
“Fine.” She stared out the window at her mom’s townhome.
How was he supposed to admit to her that he needed her to help him figure out who West was? Especially after he’d accused her of committing the crimes. They’d been through plenty in the last 24 hours. She should be resting—not leaving town as planned. He was glad he’d insisted she come here with him instead.
“This really will only take a minute,” he said. “I’d like you to just take a look inside. There are things you may notice that the techs going over the scene may not see as significant. Because they don’t know…your mom.”
“My mom, the victim?” she said. “Or my mom, the criminal who sent those two men to kill us?”
“Or...capture us,” Will added. Then again, they’d been forced off the road. So, she was probably right. “My boss will be here soon, and I want to have more for him than what I’ve got so far. Something concrete that can be quantified.”
All this time and effort. They’d made several arrests and taken out a lot of bad people who had called Last Chance their home. Still, he hadn’t finished this job. Will needed to identify West so he could finally label this case, “Closed.”
“Great.” She grasped the handle.
Will had to hustle around the car to meet her before she shut the door. Despite the word she’d chosen, he didn’t believe she thought everything was great. In fact, she didn’t look like she wanted to be anywhere near here.
He touched her shoulder. When she lifted her gaze the inch or so that separated their heights, he said, “Thank you.”
She made a face, one that looked a whole lot like, “Whatever.”
He gave her shoulder a small squeeze. “I still appreciate it.”
They spoke with the uniformed officer Conroy had posted at the door. Inside, an officer on evidence collection was packing up. The guy lifted his chin, but said nothing.
Hollis stopped in the entryway. “What am I looking for?”
“Anything that might speak to what your mom has been up to.”
Hollis turned to him. “And I’m just supposed to be impressed by your dedication to upholding the law? This isn’t about me being where you are so you can do your FBI thing and protect me at the same time?”
Will heard a snort he was pretty sure came from the cop collecting evidence. “I just want to look around here. Then I think we both need a break and some food.”
“I feel like I could sleep for a whole day, but my arm hurts so badly it would probably be impossible. I’d wind up tossing and turning trying to get comfortable.”
Will gave her a conciliatory smile. He wanted to kiss her forehead, or hug her. Something. It was like a compulsion. He was attracted to her—seriously attracted to her. It wasn’t just Phil who’d been invested in the relationship. And now that he knew she wasn’t part of the criminal conspiracy case he was putting together? It was like the brake pedal had lifted.
“Last time I was here, I slapped a glass out of my mom’s hand so hard it shattered across the kitchen.”
“You guys fought?”
“She didn’t care that Frankie had been kidnapped. I guess I know why now.”
Will started to speak.
Hollis turned to the stairs. “Let’s just get this over with.”
She trudged up, Will following behind her, trying to figure out why she’d suddenly clammed up. What had he said or done? At the top of the stairs, she swayed slightly. Will touched her elbow. “We should go. You’re not okay.”
Hollis pulled her elbow from his hold. “I don’t need to be babied. If I didn’t think it would help, I wouldn’t be here.”
Will bit back what he wanted to say. Hollis continued on, and he followed like a lost puppy looking for scraps. “I’m not trying to baby you.”
“Well then back off.”
Will sighed.
She turned around, but before she could say whatever was on the tip of her tongue, Will said, “I had surgery.”
Hollis frowned.
“About a year ago, on my shoulder.” He’d never told anyone this story. “Soon as I was back at home, I figured I was all right. Enough I could ignore all the advice about having someone stay with you. I was gonna take a shower and planned to somehow put a new bandage on afterwards. So, I peeled off the bandage to get a look at the stitches, the wound, and I passed out. Hit my head on the bathtub and woke up with a concussion. All because I didn’t want to admit I needed help.”
Hollis’s eyebrow rose.
“I don’t think that’s what you’re doing. But I’m hypersensitive to the insistence of the injured trying to go at it alone.”
Her expression softened. “It must have been awful, waking up in pain and not knowing what happened.”
“It was.” Will said, “I know what it feels like to be alone and scared.”
Hollis closed the space between them and slid her good arm around his waist. Will laid his cheek against her hair. She said, “Sorry I’m not being very nice.”
“Sorry I made you walk upstairs.”
Her body shifted as she chuckled. “Being here is weird.” She pulled back. “I don’t think I’ve ever been upstairs in my mom’s house. I don’t even know which of these rooms is the bedroom, or the bathroom, or what?”
She wandered to the first door. As though they hadn’t just had a sweet moment that warmed him more than any other experience of his life. Well, it was in the same ballpark as the other sweet moments the two of them had shared since their first meeting.
He followed her into a room. Still feeling like a puppy, just not quite so lost this time. Sharleen’s bedroom was decorated in gold—everything. Sheets, lampshade, even the wall art.
“Wow.” Hollis chuckled. “I’m just not going to think about it too much.” She shook her head and went through the bathroom and into a walk-in closet that was bigger than his master bathroom in his apartment. The one he hadn’t been in for a year now.
“Can you get this down for me?”
Will hauled the box from the top shelf and set it o
n the shiny gold comforter.
“I think I remember…” She flipped the lid off. “A camera. I found this box years ago, and she caught me looking at this vintage camera. Saying, ‘she freaked out,’ would be a serious understatement.”
Will took the camera out. “Looks like a bunch of photos with it.”
“She didn’t have a safe. I think this is as close to hidden secrets as you’re going to get.”
He’d read the tech’s report, but she’d seemed sure when she’d made a beeline to this box. He was going to have to trust her, despite the lingering questions he still had, having just recently changed his mind about her being West, or believing that she’d been involved somehow, someway. Now she just handed him this evidence on a platter? Could be an intentional misdirection. Could be a peace offering.
Will needed to shake off the distrust and just see where this was going. After all, he’d asked her to help him get something concrete, and that was exactly what she’d done.
“Briar?”
Will twisted to the sound of his name being yelled up the stairs.
“That’s Savannah.” Hollis shuffled papers in the box.
He went to the hall. “Wilcox?”
She trotted up the stairs. “Conroy said you were up here.”
“Anything from the neighbors?”
“Apparently, Sharleen and Frankie sped away in her car looking freaked, like they were running from something. Or someone.” Savannah said, “How about you guys?”
Will gestured towards Hollis, who had a photo in her hand. “Anything interesting?”
“Huh?” She blinked. “Oh, hey Savannah.”
The detective came around him to peek over Hollis’s shoulder. “Your mom?”
“I guess. Though, for all I know, this is some random little girl in the desert.”
“Looks like New Mexico, or maybe Arizona.” Savannah looked at the box. “There’s a National Geographic in here, and a couple of other magazines. And…whoa.” She lifted out a paper. “This is an award.”
Hollis read over her shoulder. “For photography?”
