A much younger Harper with a bright smile on her face. She stood on what looked like a football field, in full gear, with her arms around some other players, with a giant trophy in front of them.
He clicked on the picture and opened the page. It was an archived local news article. “LUCKY LIONS WIN BIG” read the headline. Some sort of state championship, it looked like. More interesting was that the article had a few paragraphs dedicated specifically to Harper.
Apparently she was the first woman ever on the team and had raised quite a fuss to get there. Though, considering the win, putting her on the team was a good call. And judging from the grass stains on her uniform, she wasn’t just a benchwarmer either.
He brought the picture up again. The other players were some guys named West, Collar, and, of course, Maxium.
Well hell. She must’ve been good enough that Wade still called her a friend.
For a few moments, he stayed where he was, just staring at the picture. What had happened to that carefree smile?
Maybe if he found out, he’d pass Harper’s little test.
All right, he’d admit it. Harper was a hard target. But just because it wasn’t easy to find information on her didn’t mean that everyone around her was also impervious to internet searches. He opened up the white pages website for Birdsville and entered in Harper’s last name. Sloan was fairly common, but Birdsville was small enough that there were only five residents listed with that surname.
He started doing his legwork. The first person he called didn’t answer, and the second one he talked to was an elderly man who could barely understand what he was saying over the phone. However, on his third phone call, he got lucky.
After a brief hello, Lucas launched into his spiel. “Hello, Mr. Sloan, I’m calling from Birdsville public schools. I’m doing a quick survey of our local residents. Do you have a minute to answer some easy questions?” Before the other man could make up a reason not to, Lucas started in. “Do you now or have you ever had any children attend Birdsville Public High School?”
“I, umm....” The man seemed to debate answering. “Yeah, we had a daughter go there.”
Lucas straightened a little bit. “I’m happy to hear that, sir. How satisfied were you with her education overall?”
“Fine, I guess.”
Well, this guy was a fountain of information. “Was your daughter involved with any sports?”
“She, umm.... She played football.”
Boom. He’d found Harper’s parents.
“Who is that?” called someone. The voice was muffled due to the distance from the phone, but it sounded like a woman’s voice. Probably Harper’s mother.
“It’s the school district. They’re asking questions about Harper.”
“It’s just a general survey, sir. Nothing specific to your daughter,” he lied.
“She did good in school and we’re satisfied with the experience,” her dad said gruffly. “Is there anything else you need? We have to get going.”
“Before you go, did your daughter end up going to college, and do you mind telling me which one and the major?”
The man let out a little laugh. “Harper was never the school-loving type.”
“I understand that, sir. What is she doing for a living now? Generally speaking, of course.” No, not generally. Please be as specific as possible.
“Sir, I appreciate the work you’re doing, but my daughter enjoys her privacy. If you have any questions to ask her, you should call her yourself.”
If only it were that easy. “I understand. You’ve already helped me out a lot and I appreciate it. You have a great day.”
The man said his good-bye, and Lucas hung up. From the short phone call, her parents seemed normal enough. What ended up making her as angry as she was? His mind raced with possibilities. Maybe the woman he heard wasn’t actually her mother? Maybe her dad had an affair? Maybe her dad was a little bit too freewheeling with his fists? All those theories would take more than a phone call to prove or disprove.
So what did he know about Harper now? Besides the fact that she had an attitude problem, she was athletic in high school, and didn’t go to college. It was also interesting that Wade trusted her to help Lucas in this investigation. An investigation that could lead to him going to prison. So she probably wasn’t waitressing at the local truck stop. If there’s one thing he knew, it was where troubled youth, especially smarter ones, tended to go after high school.
Lucas scrolled through his contact list on his phone until he found the right guy for the job. After a few rings, a man picked up on the other end. “Lucas, I told you not to call me at this number anymore.”
“When have I ever done what you asked me, Nico?”
“When I punched you in the face.”
“And did you punch me in the face when you told me not to call you? No. You didn’t. So really, it’s on you for not expecting my call any day.”
Nico let out an exasperated sigh. “Dahlia isn’t in town.”
Lucas smiled fondly at the memory of bright-blue eyes, bleach-blonde hair, her natural talent with her tongue, and some not-so-natural talents she had on her chest. “I’m not calling about Dahlia. I want you to look somebody up for me.”
“Isn’t your job to look people up?”
“You know, the most efficient people are the ones who know how to delegate. Should be easy. I have a name and a picture.” Lucas knew it was only a matter of time before Nico did what he asked. It had been about five years since Lucas had first become intimately acquainted with the lovely Dahlia. Of course, Lucas sleeping with the oh-so-charming Dahlia wasn’t a big deal, but when she’d let it slip about her previous affair with the young up-and-comer Army lieutenant, he knew he’d never be able to pay her back. Because at the time Nico and Dahlia had their fun, Dahlia was married to Nico’s superior officer. Talk about violating the rules of engagement.
“Give me the name. But if it’s not easy to look up, I’m not doing it.”
“Harper Sloan. She would’ve enlisted around—”
“Oh shit. I know her.”
“You’re kidding. Like you’ve met her before?”
“Oh no. I never met her. She was in the Marine Corps.”
“You know some random former marine?”
Nico was Sergeant First Class, soon to be Master Sergeant in the US Army. From Lucas’s experience, the Army and Marines didn’t play nice together.
“The girl was a little notorious. From what I know, and this is all rumor, she had crazy qualifying scores on the proficiency exam when she enlisted. Peak physical condition, could out-run half of the guys. But something happened in the showers early on in recruit training. Something that led to her superior officer ending up with a broken nose and two broken ribs and she was discharged soon after.”
“So she got into a fight. How did she turn into a mini celebrity?”
“The guy was a dick. Back then, we all just figured he was a dick and that was all there was to it. But now with all this #metoo shit coming out, it’s become apparent that Harper Sloan wasn’t the first woman he visited in the shower. Back then, of course, we didn’t know that. And the government was quick to label her as a crazy emotional woman with a violent streak, but her name has been coming up more and more lately. Kinda like the bogeyman for sexual deviance.”
“I swear to God. If I find out that you’re fucking with me....”
“Like I said, all of this is just rumors. Did you still want me to look her up?”
“Yeah, run a search on her for me. Message me anything interesting, but I think that’s enough for me right now.” He was about to hang up and remembered that he might need Nico later. “I appreciate your help,” he forced out.
“Yeah, whatever. Just remember, be careful in the showers.”
Harper leaned into the shower, letting the warm water pour down her neck and over her shoulders like a massage. That’s exactly what she needed. A massage. What were the chances that Birdsville would
have any place nice enough for her to trust somebody to touch her naked body?
Not likely. Birdsville had never been a place for trust, especially not for her. The closest she’d ever come to making a romantic connection here was making out with Shane on prom night. And even that had turned out to be a mistake.
Well, not that big a mistake. At least he’d been the first person to prove to her what a man was supposed to kiss like. But Shane had never really been serious consideration for boyfriend material. She could never be a groupie for the rest of her life, and to be in love with Shane meant traveling the country and dealing with all the other horny housewives batting their lashes at him.
Why was her gender so vulnerable to an Irish accent?
Harper shut off the water and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around herself. The motel room included a so-called king-size bed—that couldn’t be any bigger than a queen—some aged, water-damaged carpet, a flat-screen TV, and a mini fridge. Nothing luxurious, but all she needed for the night. She was just about to lie down when her phone rang. She wanted to ignore it, but in her line of work, any phone call could be important. When she glanced at the screen and saw it was Wade calling, she knew she had to answer. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Where have you been? I’ve been calling.”
“I was in the shower. Why? What’s wrong? Where’s Zoe?”
She heard a heavy sigh over the line. “I didn’t mean to worry you. Everything’s fine. But I got an interesting call from the PI I hired.”
“Was the interesting fact that you hired a PI when I was handling this already?”
“Harper, I—”
“For you to bring any outsider into this is ridiculous. What if he finds something? What if he figures out what we did?”
“You’re too close to this, Harper. We both are. An outside perspective is always good, especially when there’s so much on the line. Lucas won’t go to the police even if he finds anything. I’ll make sure of it.”
“You’ll make sure of it? How on earth are you going to make—” Suddenly it clicked in her head. “You’ve got something on him, don’t you? What are you blackmailing him with?”
“If I told you, that wouldn’t make me a great blackmailer, now would it?”
“If you didn’t tell me, that wouldn’t make you good friend.”
“Don’t throw that shit in my face. Right now I’m one of the best friends you’ve got.”
Depressing but true. “I found another box in the woods today. I want to start looking in the east side forests tomorrow. I’ll make sure there are no more scattered around.”
“Someone else has to have found one by now,” warned Wade.
“But as far as we know, no one has done anything about it. People in this town know you. They also knew how terrible your dad was. Even if they thought that you had something to do with it, they might not go running to the police. Everyone here has enough problems without adding accusing one of the richest men in the world of murder to the list.”
“Until we find out who’s putting the boxes there, I’m not assuming anything,” said Wade. “If you need to handle your business and leave, that’s fine. I’m sure Lucas can—”
“Would you please stop trying to get rid of me? I said I’m going to help you, and I’m going to. Believe it or not, I’m a pretty good investigator. Finding people is what I do for a living.”
“You’re not looking for a person. You’re looking for a ghost trying to put me in prison. There is a difference.”
“Not as much as you think.” But she didn’t want to give him any more details than she had to about her job. Instead, she tried changing the subject. “So anyway, who is this guy who you hired to replace me?”
“He’s not replacing anything.”
A likely story. “What exactly qualifies him as an investigator? What are his credentials?”
“What are your credentials?” Wade shot back, as though that were some sort of defense.
“My credentials are that you’ve known me your entire life, and if you go down, there is a very real possibility of me going down with you. Do I have to remind you that I recently saved your fiancée’s life? Don’t ask me what my credentials are. I’ve proved myself to you multiple times.”
“Fine. I’ll back off. You can’t blame me for trying to get more information on you. If anyone understands the desire to live a secretive life, it’s me. But you don’t need to be secretive around your friends.”
“Maybe I’m not being secretive. Maybe this is just how I want to live my life. I don’t need to tell you every single detail about my goddamn day to be friends with you.”
“I’m not asking for every single detail. I’m asking for some basic ones.”
She shook her head. This was a bad idea. She couldn’t handle Wade right now, and she had no idea what exactly he wanted from her. “Did you call to tell me something, or just to get on my ass about things that don’t matter?”
“I called you to tell you to go easier on Lucas.”
“Have you considered going easier on me?”
“I’m hardest on the people I care about. If you want to keep on accusing me of infringing on your privacy or getting in your way, that’s fine. Lucas is there for your own safety, and I’m not going to apologize for that. So get off your fucking high horse and, for once in your life, listen to somebody else.” The next thing she knew, Wade had hung up and the line was dead.
Well, that had gone terribly. She fell back on the bed and wrapped her arms around herself, clutching the towel to her chest tightly. What a clusterfuck. It wasn’t as if she’d ever gone to him asking for money or even for a reference. He might be her crazy rich friend, but she had never once taken advantage of him. The fact that she was helping him was purely a favor. She didn’t owe him anything; for him to act as if she did just because they were friends was ridiculous.
While she was stewing in her own anger, there was a knock on her door. She knew it was well past ten o’clock at night and there’d be no reason for housekeeping to be there. Which meant she could probably guess who was outside right now.
Groaning as she got off the bed, Harper clutched the towel tightly as she pulled open the door as far as the chain would allow. “What a surprise,” she deadpanned as she looked out at Lucas.
“I can see you’re expecting me. Why else would you just be wearing a towel?” He looked her up and down approvingly.
She contorted her body away from the opening of the door, making sure all the important bits were covered.
“I told you to come back when you knew something, and this is way too soon for you to have found out any useful information.”
“Useful is relative.”
“Maybe, but since I’m the jury in this instance, relative is what I want it to be.”
“Fair enough. So what do you want to know, Harper Sloan? You’re a thirty-three-year-old feminist who forced her way on the football team in Birdsville, Ohio?”
She frowned and cocked her head. “Did you really only go with things that Wade told you?”
“I could’ve brought up the dishonorably discharged part, but that seemed like it would be a little bit too personal.”
She sucked in a breath. She didn’t think it was possible that he’d find that out, and the fact that he’d done it so quickly caught her off guard. “Did Wade tell you that? Does he know?”
Lucas raised a brow. “No, Wade was surprisingly tight-lipped about you. So are your parents, for that matter. I had to bring in a few other contacts to find out the truth about you. For someone so focused on her privacy, it’s surprising that you even sent me off on this little side mission.”
“Consider it a job interview.”
“But a job interview I passed, right?”
She really wanted to say no, but she was a little bit impressed. As much as she didn’t want to care about Wade being upset with her, he had asked that she work with this guy. And really, despite him being a little annoyi
ng, it couldn’t be that bad to have an extra pair of eyes and ears working with her. She knew she could be headstrong and stubborn, but she tried her best not to be stupid about these sorts of things. Refusing good help, especially on someone else’s dime, was stupid no matter what way she looked at it. She shook her head as she pushed the door closed. She could hear Lucas start to protest as she slipped the chain free and opened the door again, this time wide enough for him to walk through.
“Come on in. It’s time for us to talk.”
A cocky grin spread across his face as he stepped past the threshold. Great. He wasn’t even a gracious winner. How on earth had Wade thought this would be a good idea?
“I like the towel look.” Lucas pushed the door shut with a little kick of his foot. “Easy access is always sexy.”
“Not as easy as you might think,” she muttered as she slid the chain back in place before turning to sit on the one armchair provided by the motel. That left Lucas with the option of sitting on the bed or standing.
“Wow, you’re really sticking with that towel look. I don’t mind waiting if you want to change.”
“I think it’s important for us to learn about each other. For starters, you should know that I’m not very modest. Quite frankly, I could be sitting here naked and I wouldn’t mind. You can look at my tits and my ass all you want to—that doesn’t mean you’re ever going to touch them.”
“That sounds like a much more boring option. For both of us.”
Harper didn’t directly respond to that, but she also didn’t take off her towel for him either. “Another thing you should know about me is that I’m not used to working on a team. I recognize that I won’t be the easiest person to work with, but I will try my best. If not for you, then for Wade.”
“You’ve worked on a team before though. I hear you caused quite a ruckus to get yourself a spot on the football team. I’m assuming it wasn’t your charming demeanor with the other players that allowed you to have so much success there.”
“That was a lifetime ago. You don’t really know why you’re here, do you?”
Lucky Girl (Lucky Alphas Book 2) Page 2
