Wade nodded. “If we show how he’s manipulative, unfaithful, and a liar the judge will have to at least consider the circumstantial evidence we present.”
“I don’t suppose you found any outstanding malpractice suits against him?” Clint asked. “I can’t believe a guy this arrogant hasn’t screwed up somewhere along the way.”
“Oh, we found a few, but they conveniently never made it to court.” Wade flipped through a note pad in his file. “My guess is his father-in-law’s money took care of those, too.”
Emma shook her head. “Why’s he going after custody of Brian to get his hands on this money, when Loreene’s family is rolling in it?”
“Perhaps, he’s in the mood for a change of spouse?” Clint replied.
“Or maybe she is,” Anne suggested.
“Whatever the reason, he’s decided to use my child to secure his financial future.” Emma stood and paced to the window. “I knew he was a selfish, self-centered pig. But to use an innocent child? If I didn’t hate him already, this would make me wish he were dead.”
* * *
With their game plan for the hearing the next day in place, Wade and Anne headed back to the city. Clint went in search of Emma, who’d disappeared upstairs as soon as his siblings pulled out of the drive.
He found her in her bedroom, suitcase lying on the bed. His heart jumped into his throat as he watched her jam in pants and shirts. “What’re you doing?”
“Preparing.”
“For what?” He hated asking the question and realized he held his breath, awaiting her answer.
She didn’t pause as she folded another pair of jeans then shoved it in the bag. “I won’t let him have Brian, Clint. I can’t. I can’t allow my child to suffer like that.”
“So, you plan to pack your things and leave. You’re just going to run?” He closed both hands into tight fists. “Forget about me, this thing between us. Not to mention your mother who needs you right now.”
She paused and stared at him, her beautiful blue eyes full of pain. “You once accused me of being a neglectful mother. What kind of mother would I be to my sons if I let one of them fall into the hands of that monster?”
“He hasn’t won yet, sweetheart. You’ve got to stay and fight him.” Clint moved to the bedside. “If you run now, he’ll win by default. Eventually the police will catch you. Then what will happen to the boys? And what about your mother, Emma? What will happen to her if you go underground?”
“I’ll find a place for her. Someplace nearby with good nurses. You know as well as I that’s where she’ll end up soon anyway. Especially after last week’s trip into never-never land.” She shook her head and huffed out air in frustration. “What else can I do? Our case is weak. There is every likelihood that Dwayne’ll win custody of Brian. If I leave now, before he knows what I’m doing, maybe I can save my son.”
“Emma, listen to me. This isn’t the answer. Things may not be as dark as you think. Things can change.” Panic that she might disappear from his life warred with his need to keep her and her sons safe.
“How, Clint?” She stared at him, naked fear etched on her face. “What can we do to change this? How do we stop him?”
“Emma, I know you think this is the only answer. But I want you to trust me. Stay until the hearing is finished.” He pulled her to him, her head resting against his heart. “If the judge decides against you, then I promise I’ll help you hide the boys. We’ll take them and run as far and as deep into hiding as we can.”
She pulled away from him and stared into his eyes. “I can’t ask you to risk your life and your future like that, Clint.”
“Don’t you see, Emma? Without you, and Ben, and Brian, I have no future, no life.”
She studied him for what seemed an eternity. Then her head bobbed in acquiescence. She trusted him. It was a long road to travel, to be able to trust again. She would stay—for now.
Clint led her back to the bed and gently sat her on the edge. Then he knelt in front of her. “Emma, you made me promise you a while back, that no matter what, I wouldn’t hide anything from you regarding this custody battle. Remember?”
For a moment Emma wanted to plug her ears. Clint’s suddenly grave tone sent a chill coursing through her. She stared straight at him and nodded.
“Something happened which you need to know about.”
“Don’t drag it out. Just tell me.”
“Hazard’s asked his detective to arrange to have you killed.”
She couldn’t breathe. She gulped trying to take in air. None came.
“Emma?”
The ringing in her ears muffled Clint’s voice. Her lungs burned with the lack of air, yet she couldn’t seem to make herself inhale.
“Emma, take a breath, dammit.” Clint shook her.
Finally, her body’s need for oxygen overcame her shock and forced her to inhale. Then she couldn’t seem to breathe fast enough. She gasped for air and panted.
“Okay, sweetheart, try to slow your breathing.” Clint scooted the suitcase onto the floor and settled on the bed next to her, gently patted her back and breathed in rhythm with her to slow the pace. “I know you weren’t expecting this. None of us were.”
“Us?” The reality of the situation made her head swim. Dwayne was trying to have her killed?
“Gage, you, me.”
“Gage knows about this? How?”
Clint held her hand and wrapped his arm around her as he quietly told her what had transpired in Gage’s office the week before. Even though she heard the words, she couldn’t believe Dwayne was that desperate.
“No. I can’t believe he’d sink this low. Not even Dwayne could be this mean to his sons, to take away their mother.” She shoved herself off the bed and paced the room. Panting again, she shook her head and leaned against the large bedroom window. “Why? Why would Dwayne do this?”
“Who knows what he’s thinking? Maybe he realizes his case is flimsier than ours. Maybe he just wants to leave the court no other option than to give him custody of the boys.” Clint came to stand beside her, one hand on her back. “Whatever the reason, you have to face the fact that Hazard wants you dead.”
They stood that way for a few minutes, the numb panic inside Emma slowly easing. A small spark of indignation started deep inside her.
“He always dismissed me, my wants, my needs. It took me a long time to realize that. I think the boys were nearly three when it hit me.” She whispered the words, the spark building inside her. “I was sitting on the floor, folding their clothes, and the boys were playing with their toys. Suddenly, they both stopped what they were doing and threw themselves on top of me, giggling and trying to tickle me. For the first time in my life I knew deep down inside that I was the complete center of someone’s universe.”
The fire inside her flamed to life and she shoved herself away from the window and Clint. She paced the room, accenting her words with the wave of her arms. “I never had that feeling in my marriage. Never once. Dwayne came first. Dwayne’s education. Dwayne’s career. Dwayne’s divorce!”
She came to a stop in front of Clint. “I’m not insignificant. I won’t be shoved to the side or discarded like yesterday’s trash anymore.”
“No one in this room thinks of you as insignificant.”
His calm words and patient expression suddenly irritated Emma. Of course he could remain calm. It wasn’t his life being bought and sold. “And why did Gage go to you with this information, and not me? It’s my life, not yours!” She poked him in the chest, wanting some reaction out of him.
Clint grabbed her hand before she could poke him again, and hauled her against him. “Your cousin came to me because he knew how much you’ve come to mean to me. You may not see it, but everyone else in town can. I love you. I love the boys. And I’d do anything I could to protect you.”
She started to protest, but he put his finger on her lips to stop the words.
“I know you don’t need protecting. I’ve watched y
ou these past months. Anyone thinking you’re helpless, including yourself, is sorely mistaken. You are the strongest woman I’ve ever met. What you need is someone to walk through life with you and share the burdens, not take them all away.” He kissed her with a gentle slowness. “So I’m here, telling you about the contract, so you can help decide what to do about it.”
His words calmed the rage inside her. She didn’t trust herself to think about his profession of love or their relationship right now, much less discuss them. So she grabbed onto the safest topic. “You and Gage have a plan?”
A slow smile spread across his face. “If you’re done trying to put a dent in my chest, I’d be happy to fill you in on what your cousin has cooked up.”
She nodded and listened as he told her of Gage’s sting operation to trap her ex-husband.
“I want to be there,” she said when he finished.
His face grew hard and the muscle in his cheek flexed. “I wish you wouldn’t. I don’t trust Hazard. If you’re there, he might try to take matters into his own hands. You could get hurt.”
She shook her head. “He’s sneaky, underhanded, and egotistical, Clint. He doesn’t have the courage to come at me directly, like a real man.”
His jaw clenched in that stubborn way it always did when she raised the subject of paying for the supplies for the remodel on her house. “I wish you’d trust me enough to let me handle this for you. You should spend the evening with the boys.”
She pulled away from him and went to unpack her suitcase. “I’ll think about it.”
“Think about it long and hard, Emma.” He walked to the door and stopped. “Besides, if this plan doesn’t work, you’ll still have to deal with Hazard the next day at the custody hearing.”
An idea popped into Emma’s head. She held her oldest pair of jeans to her chest, and studied Clint a moment. “Once the judge rules the new blood tests a match and Dwayne the boys’ father, the old ruling for no child support will be nullified, right?”
Clint nodded. “I’d have to ask Wade, but I think so.”
“Good.” She said with confidence. “Ask your brother to draw up papers suing Dwayne for past child support along with alimony for the past seven years. Once I win this case, I intend to make him pay big time.”
Chapter Nineteen
Seated in the Wagon Wheel Tavern’s back room, Clint adjusted the headphones to reduce the background noise. He wanted to hear every word Hazard uttered when he tried to buy Emma’s life tonight. It would take all his willpower to keep from tearing off the headset and storming into the bar’s main room to meet the piece of refuse as he entered. Right now, he’d like nothing more than to ram his fist into the man’s face.
A hand settled on his shoulder.
He looked into the face of Gage’s father. Understanding and patience etched the lines of his now gaunt features. Despite the pain of his progressing cancer, Sheriff Justice insisted on being part of tonight’s operation. He’d said his sister would want him to help protect Emma any way he could.
“Keep your cool, Doc.” He squeezed Clint’s shoulder once then took the seat next to him.
To be sure Hazard couldn’t claim entrapment, Gage and his father had called in the State Police. Two State Troopers flanked the door leading from the back room into the bar itself. As soon as Gage gave the signal that his mark had entered, more officers would fill the bar’s parking lot and prevent their prey from escaping.
“No matter how much we’d like to beat the man to a bloody pulp for everything he’s ever done to our Emma,” Sheriff Justice said, “what we need tonight is information and evidence. Enough to put him behind bars for a long, long time.”
“I know, Lloyd. What kind of man puts a woman through hell, then tosses away one son and plans to use the other one to further his own greedy needs? The guy’s a complete waste of oxygen.”
“Yep. It’s a shame we can’t bury the bastard six feet under.” The Sheriff put on his own earphones and tested the recording equipment. “Doc?”
“Yes, Sheriff?” Clint listened to the noise from the bar in his ears as he studied the older man.
“You and I both know I don’t have long left on this earth.” Lloyd held up his hand to stop Clint’s attempt to argue with him. “I want to know that you’ll take care of my sister, my niece, and her boys.”
This time it was Clint who gripped the older man’s shoulder. He understood the sheriff’s need for some reassurance that Emma’s life would be easier from now on. “I plan to keep them all safe for a long time.”
“Good. They deserve a good man in their lives now.”
Clint hoped he could live up to his promise and the other man’s opinion of him. If things didn’t work out tonight, he could’ve just promised the impossible.
The sound of the bar door opening and closing sounded in the headphones. Next came two short taps, followed by a long pause and then one more tap, Gage’s signal that Hazard had arrived.
“Looks like the game’s on.” Lloyd turned on the tape machine. A third agent put on his headphones, his cell phone at the ready to bring in the troops.
* * *
Emma paced the length of the house, front door to the kitchen door, for the thirtieth time that evening then stared out the back door into the cold night. The waiting was intolerable.
What if Dwayne didn’t show at the bar? What if he figured out Gage was taping him?
She needed to do something. The boys had gone to sleep over an hour ago and Mama sat dozing on the couch in front of a sitcom rerun. Now she only had her worried thoughts to keep her company. It felt like she was waiting for a piano to drop on her.
Determined to get her anxiety under control, she grabbed the new lightweight mop from her closet and put fresh wash pads on the bottom. She refilled the fluid canister and started mopping the kitchen floor.
Things just couldn’t go wrong this time. Fate couldn’t be so cruel as to let Dwayne win again. Dammit, it was her turn. She wanted to see his face when they put the cuffs on him and carted his sorry behind off to jail, but she’d promised Clint she’d stay safely at home.
Forcing her mind away from her ex-husband and what might be going on at the Wagon Wheel, she concentrated on running the mop across the floor in long steady strokes. Every so often, she slowed and scrubbed extra hard on the black scuffmarks the boys continually left behind.
Her breath caught in her throat and she paused her mopping. Would there be half as many if Brian left?
Just stop it! Negative thoughts won’t help anything.
Once she finished the floor, she leaned against the mop and looked at the clock. Only fifteen minutes had passed.
What was taking so long? Why hadn’t Clint called her? What if something had gone wrong and somehow Clint had gotten hurt?
A knock sounded at the front door.
She stashed the mop in the closet once more and hurried to the door. Maybe the trap for Dwayne was finished and Clint had come to tell her what had happened.
Only it wasn’t Clint who greeted her at the door.
“Harriett? What are you doing here this time of night?” Emma opened the door and Harriett bustled inside, carrying her overnight bag and knitting.
“I came to stay with your mother and the boys while you go down to the Wagon Wheel.”
“I’m not going to the Wagon Wheel, Harriett. I promised Clint I’d stay here.”
“Now that’s just nonsense, Emma. “ Mama said from behind her. “Men always think they know what’s best for us. But sometimes a situation just calls for a woman’s touch.”
Emma stared openmouthed at her mother. Did she really understand the situation going on around her? Was this a rare moment of clarity? Or was she giving advice from some fantasy reality? Looking for some divine intervention or explanation, Emma clamped her mouth shut and swung her gaze back to Harriett.
“She called me.” Harriett set her things down, then pulled Emma’s coat from the closet and handed it to her. “
Besides, she’s right. It’s all good and well for you to tell the Doc you’ll stay out of the way, however we all know you’ll go stir-crazy waiting for news.”
Emma slipped on her coat. “How did you know about the meeting? It’s supposed to be a secret.”
“Honey, you know there’s no real secrets in a town as small as this.” Harriett ushered her to the front door. “You be careful down there, and don’t worry about Isabelle or the boys. They’ll be fine here with me.”
For a few minutes Emma stood on the porch, slightly stunned and debating whether to go or stay. No matter how much everyone reassured her, she didn’t trust things to go off without a hitch. She knew Dwayne better than anyone. Lord knew she ought to, she’d been married to the jerk for eight years. If there was any loophole for him to slip through, he’d find it.
She buttoned her coat against the late autumn cold, and headed to her car. Seated in the driver seat, she hesitated again. Clint had asked her to trust him. She’d even promised to stay home.
Get a grip, Emma. Make a decision. You can stay home and let others control your destiny, or you can go to that bar and be damn sure things turn out like they’re supposed to this time.
Emma stared at herself in the rearview mirror.
Clint said he loved her. If he truly loved her, he’d know why she had to be sure, why she couldn’t just sit on the sidelines this time. And if he didn’t understand how important this was for her to do, then maybe losing him would be for the best—now, before things went too far.
Her mind made up and her future on the line, Emma put the car in reverse.
* * *
Gage sipped his whiskey at the table in the corner furthest from both the jukebox and the pool tables. He wanted to get the cleanest tape of this transaction as possible. Brian’s future might depend on it.
It was nearly an hour after the scheduled meeting time when the door opened and in stepped a man as out of place as a beauty queen at a pig wrestling contest.
Close To Home (Westen Series) Page 26
