Harlequin Romantic Suspense March 2021

by Anna J. Stewart

  He plopped down again, propped his feet. “Sounds like you had as much fun tonight as I did.”

  “I’m guessing you had more. What happened?”

  “Which do you want to hear about first? The faceoff with my dad before dinner or the one with my sister right over the table?”

  “You sound like the life of the party,” she said dryly.

  “I guess you could say that. Somewhere between those fun moments, I managed to eat my mother’s roast beef. You missed out on that, but I’m glad you didn’t come tonight.”

  She turned on the couch so that she sat crisscross facing him. “Why’s that? Because you wouldn’t want me to see the arguments, or you wouldn’t want to share the roast beef? Or were both fights about me?”

  “In part, I guess.”

  “I shouldn’t be staying here. It’s hurting you both at work and with your family.” And maybe she cared about that—and him—more than she wanted to admit. He shifted on the sofa to face her and sighed. “We’ve talked about this. You can’t stay alone. We still don’t know who sent the email or the flowers or if they’re even connected.”

  “Still, you didn’t bargain for all this when you recruited me.”

  “Neither of us did. I don’t think you came back to Grave Gulch hoping to have your dad be at the center of another murder investigation and, as a bonus, have a stalker pursuing you.”

  Tatiana rolled her shoulders, not wanting to continue this conversation. If she did, she might be tempted to tell him the truth about the flowers. How could she tell him now when she’d already lied to him? It was too late. Would she see the betrayal in his eyes if she admitted she was a liar? He would never forgive her, and she only now realized that life without Travis Colton would be no life for her at all. Because she wasn’t ready to face those consequences, she took the coward’s way out and asked about his father instead.

  “As usual, he didn’t think a few of my decisions were good ideas.”

  “Working with me at Colton Plastics and letting me stay here?”

  “Those exact two.”

  “He’s right that neither is in your best interest.”

  “He’s not right. About that or any other of his suggestions.”

  “Like I said before, parents worry.”

  He lifted a brow. “Are you sure you weren’t there tonight? My mom said almost the same thing.”

  She watched him for so long that he shifted on the couch and crossed his arms. “What?”

  “You don’t have any idea how lucky you are, do you?”

  “How’s that?”

  “You have two parents and three siblings who at least want to be involved in your life. I’m sure they drive you crazy. They probably stick their noses in your business and offer unsolicited advice, but what I wouldn’t give...”

  “I’m a big jerk, aren’t I?”

  She couldn’t help grinning. “No, just a small one.”

  “Well, thanks for not disagreeing. I keep complaining about not fitting in with my family, and you’re—”

  Tatiana appreciated that he stopped himself before saying “alone,” but it didn’t prevent emotion from settling in the back of her throat. She had to clear it before she could speak again.

  “Someday Bean here will want to get to know his or her grandmas and grandpas.” She rested both hands on her belly, lacing her fingers. “I won’t be able to give my child that. Mom’s gone, and Dad will either be in prison or on the run.

  “If our child is ever going to have a relationship with grandparents, they will be your parents. So, do what is required to heal that relationship so you can share them with your child.”

  “I will.”

  Though he continued to look forward toward the television, he watched her out of his side vision.

  “You haven’t spoken a lot about your mother. Does it hurt too much to talk about her?”

  “I haven’t?” Guilt filled her that she hadn’t shared more about Marcia.

  “Were you two close?”

  Immediately, those last days filtered through her thoughts again. So much regret tied up in an already tragic situation.

  “We were.” She stopped because it hurt too much to say the rest.

  “But you were closer to your dad, weren’t you?”

  “How did you know that?”

  “The media portrayed you as a ‘daddy’s girl,’ which must have been where the stalker got it. But I sensed it was true.”

  She tightened her arms to her sides, not sure whether to appreciate that he’d understood her or resent her own transparency. “Dad and I just always seemed to understand each other. I don’t know what that says about me.”

  “It doesn’t say anything.”

  She shrugged. “I felt bad about always being closer to him, particularly after Mom died. I wondered how often she must have felt left out of our inside jokes.”

  “That’s why you got the tattoo.”

  Automatically, her hand moved to her rib cage, where the pink ribbon painted her skin. Of course, Travis had seen it. He’d viewed, touched and tasted so many areas that night. But this patch had been more private than the rest, and at that moment, she was glad she’d shared it with him.

  “It’s more that I wanted to keep part of her with me, and I guess permanently on my skin was as close to forever as I could make it. I felt terrible that I hadn’t tried harder to get to know her. Hadn’t tried to have our own inside jokes.”

  Travis surprised her by scooting closer on the sofa. She held her breath, not sure if this would turn into a repeat of the other night, but when he was close enough to touch her, he gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, and then he moved his hand away. Strange how a platonic touch had never felt so personal before. She felt its absence deeply, too.

  “I’m sure she was proud that you were her daughter and probably didn’t feel as left out as you thought she did. But since you were closer to your dad, that must have made his arrest even harder on you.”

  She couldn’t look at him as she answered. “Nothing like learning that your whole life was a lie.”

  “Yeah. I can’t imagine. Do you think your mother ever knew?”

  “Gosh, I hope not.” She considered it for a few seconds and then shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. Mom thought that the sun rose and set with him.”

  Good thing she’d never had to see all the darkness behind all that light. Len had saved that opportunity for Tatiana.

  Neither spoke for a few minutes, and then Tatiana looked up. “You see, your family situation could be a whole lot worse.”

  “I was thinking the same thing.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and started typing.

  “What’s that?”

  “A group text apology to my family,” he said as he continued drafting his message.

  “For getting into arguments?”

  He tapped the arrow to send and then looked up again. “Kind of. They didn’t want to talk about the search for your dad because we’re roommates. Can you believe it? They didn’t trust me not to tell you what they said.”

  “Would you have?”

  “Probably.”

  “Then I guess you do owe them an apology.”

  He lifted an index finger to ask her to wait, and then he typed a second message. He gestured to the phone when he was finished. “I told them I probably wouldn’t have trusted me, either.”

  She chuckled, but the sound felt forced. He wasn’t the only one who needed to apologize, but how was she supposed to tell him the truth about the card now?

  He must not have noticed as he leaped up from the couch. “Could you eat anything?”

  “Depends on what it is.” She followed him into the kitchen, anyway. “What did you have in mind?”

  “First, we’ll scare up something healthy for you. Then
I’ll make up some chocolate chip cookies. My mom’s recipe. I didn’t get any dessert and—”

  “And you’re my hero,” she finished for him.

  “But I’m warning you, I won’t let you lick the bowl no matter how many times you try to tell me that raw eggs are fine for pregnant women.”

  “What kind of animal are you?” she joked.

  “Wow, that was quick. From hero to animal in record time.”

  That was how it would be for her when she admitted she’d lied to him. Again. He’d done so much for her. He’d taken on his whole family for her. And all he’d asked for in return was the truth. She couldn’t even give him that.

  It didn’t matter that she just might be falling for him. He’d been through something like this with his ex-fiancée, and he wouldn’t repeat it for her. When he found out the truth, he would walk away from her as fast as his feet would carry him. And she would be exactly what she’d been before and what she deserved to be again: alone.

  * * *

  Travis entered the outer office in Tatiana’s executive suite early Monday morning, pulling up short when a young woman with dark skin, a tall bun and a wide smile stood up from the desk and stepped into his path. Of course, the new administrative assistant was supposed to begin work that day.

  “Excuse me,” she said.

  She lifted her shoulders, trying to appear taller, a feat since she barely broke five feet.

  “Were you wishing to see Tatiana? Do you have an appointment?”

  “I guess I don’t. You must be Haley Rollins.” He extended a hand. “I’m Travis Colton. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Oh, Mr. Colton. I’m so sorry.”

  He waved away her apology. “It’s Travis. And don’t be sorry for doing your job. My administrative assistant wouldn’t let anyone get past her, either.”

  At least someone was trying to protect her when he had to be in his office on the opposite side of the building. It wasn’t as if he could be with Tatiana every minute when they both had work to do.

  “Is that Travis out there?”

  Tatiana opened the door and stepped behind her new assistant. She looked like she’d seen a ghost, her face ashen, her arms pressed close to her sides.

  “ I was just getting to know your new assistant.”

  “Oh. I’d planned to introduce you after your meeting with suppliers.”

  “Saved you a step. We’re already old friends, aren’t we?”

  Tatiana cleared her throat and looked around again. “Well, it’s good that you’re here. I need you to look over that financial report.”

  “Then I have good timing.”

  She turned back to her assistant. “No calls, please, Haley.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Haley quickly turned away and returned to her desk. Tatiana waved him inside her office.

  He followed Tatiana inside and closed the door. She didn’t stop until she’d rounded her desk and dropped into her chair.

  “What is it? What happened? Another delivery?”

  Instead of answering, she stared at her computer screen. She’d been acting strangely ever since she’d received the flower delivery that could have come from the stalker. They needed to take the card from those flowers to police. He shouldn’t have let her talk him into delaying. With every unfamiliar vehicle in the parking lot, he became more concerned about her and the baby’s safety. He sensed that someone was recording his and Tatiana’s every move as well. Even now he’d shown up in her office since he couldn’t bear to have her out of his sight.

  Finally, she turned her laptop toward him. “There’s another one.”

  Her in-box was open on her screen, with one message visible. The heading said, Tatiana Davison—Colton Plastics New Co-CEO, but the words in the body of the email were terrifying.

  Did you see my work at the park? I knew you’d love it. Just like your daddy’s. I’ll make you both proud.

  PS Call me Daddy. I like that.

  Travis’s breath froze in his throat. He had to swallow several times before he could speak again. “The guy just confessed to murder.”

  Tatiana stared at the back side of the laptop, curling her shoulders forward as if she was trying to hide.

  “He says he killed that guy, Patrick Kowalski, for—” She stopped and shot a look at the office window. “For me?”

  “When did you get this?”

  “Just now. I was leaving a message for Ellie because the guys from IT keep insisting that they have to load some software on my computer that I don’t have, and—”

  “You called Ellie? At work?”

  She crossed her arms. “That’s what you’re worried about right now?”

  Travis shook his head and lowered into the seat across from her. He didn’t care that she hadn’t invited him to sit. “No, that’s not what I’m worried about.”

  “We thought the first message was a prank. I think we were wrong.”

  “I think so, too.” He was ashamed now that he’d ever allowed himself to believe it. How could he have put the mother of his child at risk just to avoid drawing more attention to Colton Plastics? The panic that flashed in her eyes tempted him to pull her into his arms, even with Haley right outside the door and the windows allowing anyone on the second floor to see them.

  She pushed back from her desk and stood up to march across the room to the window before he had the chance.

  “Why didn’t we put those things together right away? Even Ellie suggested the possibility that the stalker might be trying to make news like the copycat murderer. Why didn’t we consider that it could have been the same guy?”

  “Neither of us wanted to believe something like that,” he admitted. He still didn’t. How was he supposed to protect her from this person, who could be anywhere? The guy had killed before. What would stop him from murdering Tatiana if she didn’t return his creepy affections or didn’t show proper appreciation for his flowers?

  “We have no choice now.” She spun to face him. “It’s time.”

  “For what?”

  “For us to go to the police.” She stared down at the floor a few seconds and then looked up again and nodded. “And for me to tell them what I can about Dad, too.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I am.”

  His phone vibrated then, so he pulled it from his pocket to read the text. “It’s from Ellie. She said you shouldn’t have called her while she was working.”

  “Tell her I’m sorry,” Tatiana said.

  He clicked reply and started typing a response, but the phone rumbled in his hand before he was finished. He read the second message and looked up at her again. “You’re sure you’re ready to talk to the cops?”

  She nodded, though he would have sworn she’d seemed less confident than before.

  “Well, good, because Ellie just said that first email you received was internal.” He waited for the enormity of those words to sink in. Her eyes widened with what could only have been a fraction of the fear threatening to close off his throat. “Someone at Colton Plastics might be a murderer.”

  CHAPTER 16

  Less than an hour later, Travis and Tatiana sat in Chief Colton’s office, at the far-left corner of the GGPD building, receiving the dressing-down that Tatiana knew they both deserved.

  “You should have come to me right away.” Melissa crossed her arms over her uniform, causing the bottom tines of her shiny silver badge to point at them across the desk. “Not my department’s tech expert.”

  Travis shifted in his seat like a student in the principal’s office.

  “After all that fun the other night at Mom and Dad’s, did you really expect me to come to you?”

  “Don’t give me that crap, Travis Colton. You asked Ellie to help well before that dinner with the family. Anyway, it doesn’t matter if y
ou’re mad at your sister. Right now, I’m talking to you as the chief of police, and you took unnecessary risks by waiting so long to file a report about the stalker.” She pointed at Tatiana. “You took risks with Miss Davison’s safety.”

  She must have known that her words would hit a mark with her brother. When he glared at her, her lips lifted slightly.

  “Fine.” Travis spoke the word in a huff. “We didn’t think it was a big deal, and we wanted to keep it quiet if we could.”

  “Oh, just your run-of-the-mill stalker instead of one who might be a murder suspect as well,” Melissa said.

  He dampened his lips. “When you put it that way—”

  “How am I supposed to put it, Travis? You knew the GGPD had open investigations for multiple, possibly related, murders, and then you held back information on someone targeting a prime suspect’s daughter. And you knew it was a big deal. Otherwise you wouldn’t have gone to Ellie Bloomberg for help. She’s in hot water, too.”

  “Don’t blame Ellie,” Tatiana piped up. “We begged her to help us. She tried to get us to go to the police.”

  “I’ll deal with her later. For now, I need you to tell me everything you know about your stalker, no matter how unimportant you think it is.”

  Melissa paused and looked at Tatiana with the same intensity she had her brother moments before. “And when you’re finished with that, I hope you’re ready to tell me everything you can about your father. Whoever is targeting you is fascinated with him. You won’t be safe until he’s taken into custody. Neither of you.”

  Tatiana swallowed and slid a glance to Travis. What kind of awful person had she been to let him put himself in danger to protect her?

  “There’re just those two emails.” She pointed to the printouts resting on the police chief’s desk. “Ellie only knew of the first one, which she told us came from someone inside Colton Plastics.”

  Travis cleared his throat. “Aren’t you forgetting about the flowers?”

  Tatiana shook her head, her shoulders lifting toward her ears before she forced them back down. “Right. And the roses.”