The Owner's Secret Client

by Elana Johnson

  “Help!” she screamed, deciding she didn’t care if Greg came back. She should’ve found a weapon first, but what could she do? Throw a potted plant at him?

  Leaving the door, she moved around the room again, only encountering more foliage. She found her chair and the stool, and she figured she could lift both and swing them at whoever came through the door.

  The stool was made of metal, but she could still lift it. Her chair was wood, and an idea struck her like lightning.

  She could break wood. Get something sharp.

  She held the top of the chair and felt her way down to the seat and then the legs. Holding it as tight as she could, she stomped on one of the legs, the earsplitting crack of wood breaking like music to her ears.

  Scrambling around, she managed to find the broken off leg and feel the end of it. It was plenty pointy, and she took her make-shift stake over to the door. Pounding it against the metal, she screamed for help again.

  She wasn’t sure how long she’d been in the room. It could’ve been hours, or only a few minutes. She thought of Liam, and what he might do when she didn’t show up at his house that night.

  She’ll be out all night.

  You hit her hard.

  It was probably nighttime. Liam was probably panicked.

  Tears spilled out of Serenity’s eyes, and she swiped at them quickly. She didn’t have time to cry.

  She felt around the edges of the door, but there was hardly any space between it and the doorjamb. She did managed to stick a tiny tip of her stake under it, but nowhere near enough to create enough force to move the door.

  More banging on the door, the wooden stake making a louder boom than she could with her hands.

  No one came. No one was going to come.

  Serenity took another breath, her head throbbing. The hinges were cold and huge, and the pins in them didn’t move. She spun to get the metal stool. Maybe she could somehow bend something to push the pins out.

  She’d taken one step when the distinct sound of metal on metal met her ears.

  They were back.

  She grabbed her wooden stake and positioned herself beside the door, her back pressed flat against the wall.

  “Serenity?” a almost muted voice called.

  It took her several moments to process the tonalities of it and who could know she was there.

  “Liam.” She banged on the door and yelled, “Liam!” She pressed her face against the slim crack, unable to see out. “Hurry, Liam.” The panic built inside her, and she just knew they needed to get out of there quickly.

  “I got the chains off,” he said. “But I need a key.”

  “Break it,” she said. “You have to break it.” She didn’t hear anything for the longest time, and the storm inside her swirled dangerously. Had Greg returned and knocked out Liam? Had they killed him?

  Then a terrifying, horrible sound reverberated through her ears, sending her stumbling away from the door. Another hit, one more breath, and the door opened.

  “Serenity,” Liam said, and he moved forward and took her right into his arms. Sobs filled her, but she held them back.

  “We need to go,” she said. “Now.” She kept a tight grip on her stake, as if she’d drive right through the heart of the next man she saw.

  Liam guided her through the building and out the front, his pace urgent and the tension coming off of him palpable. He waved, and headlights flared to life.

  “Who’s that?” Serenity asked.

  “My brother.” Liam kept his arm tight around her, helped her into the truck, and slid in next to her. “Go, Jon.”

  Jon went, and Serenity closed her eyes and leaned against Liam’s shoulder, utterly spent.

  “Be right back.” Liam’s lips brushed across her forehead, and she watched him leave Kimmie’s room, where he’d tucked her into his daughter’s bed after she’d showered away the smell, the blood, and some of the aches in her body.

  She didn’t want to sleep downstairs alone, and he said the couch wasn’t comfortable enough, though she’d slept there before.

  He returned as promised, this time with a mug of hot chocolate and a palm full of painkillers. She sat up and took them, and he sat in the rocking chair across from her, his eyes deadly serious. He steepled his fingers and watched her, clearly something on his mind.

  Serenity didn’t want to talk tonight. She just wanted the drugs to work and sleep to claim her.

  “You promised me you wouldn’t go to dangerous places alone,” he said, his voice holding plenty of danger itself.

  “I didn’t know it was dangerous,” she said.

  “Don’t lie to me,” he said. “I’m not stupid.” He didn’t yell, and he barely moved, making him even scarier. “Kimmie told me about the black truck, and you went to that house, knowing the truck had been there.”

  “I—” She had no argument, and her damp hair made her shiver. Or maybe that was Liam’s daggered glare from across the room.

  He leaned forward, opening his mouth to say something, and then closing it. He sighed, some of his anger leaking away. “I want to be with you. Heck, tonight, when you didn’t come home and I went to find you, I realized I was in love with you.”

  She gaped at him, sure she’d heard him wrong.

  “But I have to think about more than myself now,” he said. “And Kimmie deserves to have a mother who doesn’t put herself or any of us in danger.”

  “I didn’t—”

  “You still haven’t made an appointment for a mammogram or any cancer screening,” he said over her. “And I’m sorry, Serenity, but I can’t be with someone who could die on me again, either because of her refusal to get the healthcare she needs, or because she makes stupid choices.”

  He stood and walked toward the door. Serenity reeled, trying to figure out what had just happened. He paused in the doorway and looked halfway over his shoulder. “I’ll call Heartland in the morning. I’m sure they can place you somewhere else quickly.”

  With that, he left, pulling the door closed behind him.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Liam set his alarm to make sure he woke before Serenity. Exhaustion engulfed him, but he got out of bed anyway. He had texts to send.

  He messaged Ethan and McKenna, telling them he was sick and wouldn’t be over to the orchards that day. Only contact me in an emergency, he finished, and both of them affirmed they’d leave him alone for the day.

  Someone knocked on his front door, and he got up to go get it. Jon entered before Liam could get to the door, and he asked, “Well?”

  “Well what?” Liam asked.

  “How is she? You didn’t take her to the ER?”

  “She didn’t want to go,” he said. “Said she just needed some ibuprofen and rest. She’s still asleep.” He went back into the kitchen. “There’s no coffee yet.”

  “I didn’t come for coffee.” Jon put his hand on Liam’s arm. “What are you going to do?” He searched Liam’s face. “I’m not an idiot, Liam. You’re in love with her.”

  “I broke up with her,” Liam said, lifting his chin. “Kimmie deserves better. Heck, I deserve better than what she did last night.”

  “You think it was her fault she got kidnapped and tied up in a mechanic shop?”

  “Yes,” Liam said. “She’d been to that shop before, Jon. She’d promised me she wouldn’t go into a dangerous situation or place alone again. And she went down to that woman’s house anyway.” His chest heaved, and he couldn’t get a decent breath.

  Jon fell back a step, his eyes wide. “I came to tell you Morgan busted their drug ring. The police are still cleaning out the sheds and fields. They had over fifteen hundred hemp plants there, so far. He wants to talk to you and Serenity. Needs to build a kidnapping case.”

  “Fine,” Liam said. “I need to call the au pair service. I’ll need someone new when Kimmie gets back from California.” He turned away from his brother and flipped through his phone for the number. The line rang, and a receptionist answe
red. “I need to speak with Michelle Meyer, please.”

  “Liam,” Jon said, but he held up his hand to silence his brother. This was happening. Sure, his heart hurt. Everything hurt right now. Yes, he loved Serenity. But it wasn’t the deep, lasting love he’d felt for Heather, and he’d been able to move past her. He could weather this too. Put his heart back together.

  He could, and he would.

  “Liam?” Michelle asked. “Is everything okay with Miss Silvers?”

  He hesitated, every cell inside him weeping. “No,” he finally said. “I’d like to request a replacement for when Kimmie returns in a few weeks. Can Miss Silvers be placed somewhere else?”

  “I’m…I’ll need to speak with her. I’ll give her a call and set up an appointment. Now that her mother’s passed….” Michelle cleared her throat. “May I ask what, if anything, happened?”

  I fell in love with her, he thought.

  She risked her life needlessly.

  She might have cancer.

  Liam knew his last thought was irrational, but it took up a lot of space in his brain. He couldn’t dismiss it. Couldn’t get rid of it. He’d lost a wife to cancer already. His reality was different than other people’s.

  “It just didn’t work out,” he said, not wanting to throw Serenity under the bus. And it summed up everything that had happened between them. Sometimes things just didn’t work out. Liam knew that.

  “Thank you, Mister Addler. I’ll get back to you with some potential candidates for you and Kimmie.”

  “Thank you.” Liam hung up, feeling like he’d just ripped his heart out and strung it out to dry too.

  Jon made coffee while Liam sat at the bar and stared at his phone. Neither of them said anything, and when Serenity started stirring down the hall, Liam went into his office with his brother so he wouldn’t have to see her.

  Of course, he was going to have to see her. Before he had to face her alone, though, the doorbell rang and a man called, “Liam, it’s Officer Morgan Quinn.”

  Saved by the doorbell, he thought as he went to answer it.

  A week later, Liam went to work early for the fifth straight day in a row. He and Serenity and Jon had been questioned and debriefed. Greg Henderson and Ian Flagerty were in custody, each with several charges against them.

  The news story had broken that morning of the bust of the biggest drug ring in Northern Michigan, where Greg and his buddies would ferry the marijuana across the border into Canada, where it had been legal for almost twenty years. Apparently, the distribution there was greater, and Greg had been living high—literally—for a couple of years now, eluding the border authorities and expanding his farm.

  The kidnapping was the real lynchpin against him, and Liam shook everything that had happened last week out of his head.

  He had a festival to prepare for. A special event to make sure was set and ready. And an interview at Heartland later that day for a new au pair. Why he had to go in, he wasn’t sure. But Michelle had asked him to, claiming she’d like to get to know his needs better so she could make a better match, and he’d agreed.

  “Where are we on the tents?” he asked Ethan, who stood at the head of the table, reading something in a file folder.

  “They’re confirmed,” he said without glancing up. “We’ve got twelve rows of trees roped off for the event, ensuring that our free pick guests won’t be in the way of the Picnic Pick attendees.”

  “Good,” Liam said. “And the beach?”

  “Charles has a shipment of loungers coming in on Friday. He’ll have the entire east side of the lake cordoned off that evening as well, and he’s using orchard service road number five as the entrance and exit.”

  Liam looked at the map Charles had put in his box, and then looked at Charles himself. “You cleared this with McKenna?” She was late to the meeting due to the wind last night knocking some of their fruit to the ground. She wanted to redo the sections available for free picking that day as a result.

  “Yes,” Charles said. “She said that was a good route, and we have signs being printed today.” He shuffled some papers. “No, tomorrow. They’ll be up. Everything will be marked.”

  Liam looked back at his checklist. “How many people will be checking admissions?”

  “We have four confirmed,” Ethan said, listing the names of people who held various jobs around the orchard.

  “What else, then?” Liam asked, the meeting starting to wear on him. He tried to keep any meetings short, preferring to do them via email or text if at all possible.

  “Just the food,” Ethan said. “You were going to check on the catering to confirm.”

  “Oh, right,” he said. “I’ll do that right now.” He stood up and grabbed his phone from the tabletop. He scrolled through his contacts until he found Diane at Lakeside Lunchbox. The line rang as he stepped outside the conference room.

  “Liam,” Diane said. “I had it on my list to call you today. I just had one question. We normally put the salads and chips in with the sandwiches, but did you want those separate? Then people can grab what they want.”

  “Everything separate, yes,” he said. “We’re set for Saturday morning pick-up?”

  “Yep,” she said. “Two hundred meals will be ready for you. You have a truck for all that?”

  “Yes,” he said. “Thanks, Diane.” He stuck his head back in the conference room. “Food is confirmed. I’ll take a delivery truck and pick it up at nine-thirty.” The Picnic Pick was set to run from ten in the morning to four, with tables of food, a private beachfront, and exclusive access to the best cherry trees.

  “Are we done?” he asked next, wanting to get outside.

  “Yeah,” Ethan said. “I think we’re ready.”

  “Thanks, guys,” Liam said. “It’s going to be a great festival.” He hoped word of the Picnic Pick would spread like wildfire, and it was really important to get this first one exactly right.

  But right now, he simply needed to get out into the orchards and let his caged thoughts fly free.

  “Afternoon,” he said to Michelle after she’d brought him back to her office. He sat in the chair across from her, a little nervous actually.

  She flashed a brief smile that looked tight around the edges. “I’ve spoken to Miss Silvers,” she said. “Which is why I’ve asked you here today.” She cleared her throat, obviously nervous too. “Some things are better discussed face-to-face.”

  “Okay,” Liam said, unsure of where this was going.

  “You should know she put in her resignation last week during our meeting. She said the two of you had a romantic relationship, which she knew was against our rules here at Heartland. Since she is so close to our top age, she’s decided to pursue other career options at this time.”

  Michelle delivered her words with precision and tact, and Liam could only blink at her. “She said that?”

  “Yes, sir.” Michelle pulled a folder toward her, her desk impeccably neat. “She signed this non-disclosure about the…affair, and we’re going to ask you to do the same.” She took a piece of paper out. “I just want to confirm that Miss Silvers’s story is correct? Did you have a romantic relationship with her?”

  Liam didn’t see how he could deny it. He also didn’t understand why Serenity had confessed. If she simply got assigned to another family and worked for five more months, she’d get a retirement benefit from this company. Why had she given that up?

  “Mister Addler?” Michelle prompted.

  “Yes,” he said, the word sticking in his throat. “Yes, we had a romantic relationship.”

  Michelle pursed her lips and nodded once. “I just need you to read this and sign it.” She pushed the paper toward him, but he didn’t read it. He didn’t care what it said. Signing his name felt like scratching out his heart, but he did it.

  She collected the paper and put it in the folder before slapping the whole thing closed. “Thank you. I do have to say that we won’t be able to place another au pair with you.”
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  “What? Why not?”

  “You’ve had a romantic relationship with one of our girls. We won’t put another one in that situation.”

  She made it sound like the romance was his fault. One-sided. And Serenity wasn’t a girl. She was twenty-eight years old, for crying out loud.

  Liam may have broken their rules, but he’d done nothing else wrong by falling in love with Serenity.

  Except for falling in love with her, of course.

  “Okay,” Liam said, standing. “Thank you for your time.” He strode out of the office, his synapses firing hotly. He needed someone to help with Kimmie. Full-time, not just here and there. He wouldn’t ask his mother.

  So he’d just find another nanny service. None of this hoity toity au pair stuff. Kimmie wouldn’t be home for two more weeks, and then there was another month until school started. He could figure things out until then.

  Now, if only he could figure things out with Serenity.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Serenity waited in the soft chair, her right leg bouncing a mile a minute. She did not want to be here, in this part of the hospital. But she did want Liam back, so she’d made the required phone calls and set up the appointments to get her mammogram and CT scan done.

  The incident at the mechanic shop was two weeks old now. None of her injuries had lasted long, but she still didn’t feel like herself.

  I realized I was in love with you.

  As she’d laid in Kimmie’s bed that night, she’d realized she was in love with him too. Before she could talk to him, the police had shown up at the house. She’d answered every question as truthfully as she could, and she’d seen some of her answers anger Liam further.

  That afternoon, she’d packed her bag and left his house. Over the course of that week, she’d gone back when she knew he’d be at work to get the rest of her things, weeping as she left the house she’d grown to love for the final time.

  She lived in her childhood home now, and she’d finished going through all of her mother’s items as she waited to get this screening done and out of the way. Kyler wanted to get the house on the market soon, and Serenity needed to look for an apartment that day too.