Pass Protection (Fair Catch Series, Book Five)

by Christine Kersey

  “I’m so sorry about this,” she said as her stomach churned with worry. “I’m sorry I did…” She looked upward and shook her head. “Whatever it was I did.” Then she met his gaze, which was unwavering from hers.

  He folded her hands together and cupped them in his. “Look. The past is the past. We can’t change it so let’s meet it head-on.”

  His tone was so confident that for a moment Olivia had complete faith that he would know what to do, that he could fix it.

  “Okay,” she said. “What now?”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Greg had no clue what to do next, but with Olivia looking at him with such trust, those blue eyes bright with hope, he knew it was up to him to come up with a solution. But first he needed more information.

  “Does this guy…” He grimaced. “Let’s call him BG.”

  “BG? Why BG?”

  Greg chuckled. “For Bad Guy.”

  That earned him a smile.

  “Okay,” she said. “Makes sense.”

  “So, does BG know where you live?”

  Olivia’s forehead puckered. “In that memory he said he did, so I guess he does.” Her shoulders were tight as she looked first toward the hallway and then toward the window as if she expected BG to burst into the room at any moment. Which, as far as Greg knew, wasn’t a crazy assumption.

  The sun shone brightly—the extra long days of sunshine was one of the best things about June. “I have a good security system on our property, Olivia.”

  Just to prove it, he jumped up and went to a control panel near the door and activated the alarm before coming back to sit beside her.

  Wrinkling her brow, she said, “What if he’s already scoped this place out? Or what if he, I don’t know, comes by boat? You know, on the lake? There’s nothing between us and the lake.”

  “If anyone tries to open a door or a window, the alarm will sound.”

  She nodded, but her hands twisted together in her lap.

  Her phone rang, startling them both.

  She picked it up and looked at the screen. “It’s my mom.” Her eyes were wide with fear, although a tinge of hope shone there as well.

  Olivia couldn’t believe her mother had finally called her back. Eager to speak to her, she swiped the phone to answer, then to show Greg that she had no more secrets, she put the phone on speaker and set it on her leg.

  Not wanting to waste a moment, she jumped right in. “Mom, what’s going on?”

  “Olivia?”

  “Of course it’s me. What have you gotten me involved in?” Her voice rose in pitch with every question. “What agreement did I make? Who is this guy who doesn’t give second chances?”

  “Oh, baby. I’m so sorry. I didn’t want you to get involved, but you insisted. You insisted, Olivia.”

  “Insisted on what, Mom? Tell me.” She thought her head might explode if she didn’t get an immediate answer.

  “Am I on speakerphone?”

  “Yes, Mom. I told Greg everything I know. Which is pretty much nothing. He wants to help. Tell us, both of us, what you did.”

  “I’m sorry, Greg. You’ve done so much for me and this time I wanted to solve my problems on my own. But I messed up. Badly.”

  “Look, Caroline,” Greg said. “I’m not happy about any of this, especially that you dragged Olivia into your mess. Now we’ve got to fix it. But that won’t happen if you don’t tell us everything.”

  A soft sigh came across the line. “Okay.” Her voice was resigned.

  Olivia looked at Greg and mouthed the word Finally. He nodded, but his mouth was tight.

  “You know I’ve tried to stop,” her mother said. “But it’s a disease. An addiction. You know that, right?”

  Olivia hated hearing her mother talk like this. This was not the mother she remembered. Hearing her say the words was so much worse than when Greg had broken the news that her mother had a drug problem. Then, she could almost believe he was lying. But there was no denying this. Her heart was heavy. “Right. I understand.” Although she didn’t understand at all.

  “I had to get what I needed. What my body needed. I had to get it somehow.”

  As Olivia pictured her mother strung out, desperate for a fix, tears flooded her eyes.“Why didn’t you come to me, Mom?”

  “I have come to you—you and Greg—too many times already. I couldn’t…I just couldn’t do it again.” Her mother’s voice cracked. “I was desperate, Olivia. You have to understand.”

  Trying to get her emotions under control, Olivia drew in a ragged breath before slowly exhaling. Moments later Greg’s arm went around her. Grateful she wasn’t alone in this, she leaned against him. “Mom, what did you do?”

  Her mother had always been so practical, so on top of things. The idea that she would do something crazy, something dangerous, just to get a fix was…well, it was hard for Olivia to wrap her mind around.

  “I found someone who was willing to help me.” There was a defensive edge to her voice.

  “Help you how?”

  “He gave me what I needed. That’s all.”

  And by giving her what she needed she meant giving her drugs. Olivia understood that, although it made her sick. “He didn’t just give the drugs to you, Mom. What did he want in exchange?” And what did it have to do with her? How was she tied to this?

  “You’re right. He did ask a favor.”

  “A favor?” Olivia looked at Greg and shook her head. He didn’t say a word. Just looked stoic. “What was the favor?”

  “He asked me to deliver a few of his, uh, his products. To some other people.”

  Greg went rigid. “He had you distribute, Caroline? That’s a felony.”

  “I know.” Her voice had the defensive edge again. “But no one found out.”

  “That doesn’t make it okay, Mom.” Who was this woman and what had she done with her mother?

  “Was it just the one time?” Greg asked.

  Silence for a several moments. “No.”

  Olivia’s lips turned down. “How many times?”

  “I don’t know. I didn’t count.”

  “Oh my goodness,” Olivia murmured as she covered her face with her hands. Then she dropped her hands to her lap. “What does this have to do with me?” Her mother was a hot mess, clearly. But why on earth had Olivia gotten involved? Why had she insisted on getting involved—if her mother was to be believed.

  “On one of the runs there was a…well, an incident.”

  Her mother spoke of this run like it was a regular errand, like going grocery shopping. Olivia looked at Greg, who was shaking his head. He’d caught the casual way she’d spoken too.

  “What incident, Caroline?”

  “Someone must have known what I had, because a man robbed me. Took all of the product and all of the cash that I was supposed to give to Eddie.”

  “Eddie?” Olivia asked, but the moment she heard the name, she knew it was the name of the man from her dream memory. The man who had sent the text.

  “Yeah. Eddie’s the one I was doing the favor for.”

  “Sounds like more than a favor,” Greg interjected. “Sounds like you work for him.”

  “It doesn’t matter what you call it.” Her mother huffed a breath. “That was only the beginning of my problems with him.”

  “What else happened, Mom?”

  “I may have…uh…kept some of the…of the product for myself. Once or twice.” She sighed. “And maybe some of the money I was supposed to turn over.”

  Olivia couldn’t think, couldn’t face what her mother had done. She’d stolen from a drug dealer. “Why did he trust you to deliver the…product…in the first place?”

  Her mother laughed, actually laughed. “Who would suspect me? A middle-aged woman?”

  “Right.” Olivia’s voice nearly cracked.

  “Anyway,” her mother said, “he wasn’t happy when he found out.”

  Olivia couldn’t stop herself. “Imagine that.”

  “Do
n’t get smart with me. I’m still your mother.”

  Somehow their roles felt reversed, but she held her tongue.

  “Caroline,” Greg said, his voice soft and resigned. Tired. “How is Olivia tied to this?”

  That’s when Olivia remembered that Greg knew about each and every time they’d helped her mother. Had been there from the beginning. Had dealt with all her issues. Guilt that she’d brought so much trouble into his life sunk into Olivia’s heart and she wished she could take it all away.

  “I didn’t know who else to call,” her mother said.

  “So you called Olivia?” Greg’s tone was incredulous. “You called my wife to help you out of a jam with a drug dealer? What were you thinking?”

  As much as Olivia hated what was happening, hated what had become of her mother, she didn’t like the way Greg was speaking to her. Maybe her mother deserved it—probably did deserve it—but it still didn’t sit well with her. Placing her hand on Greg’s knee, she shook her head. His lips clamped shut and his nostrils flared, then he looked away from her.

  So this was why she hadn’t told him that her mother had contacted her and that she was helping her. Because she had known that Greg had reached the end of his patience with her mother. That he would refuse to help again.

  Wanting Greg to know she did care about him, about what he thought, she gently squeezed his knee before saying, “Then what, Mom?”

  “You said you’d help me.” Her tone was soft, almost meek.

  Greg leapt to his feet and stormed across the room, pausing with his back to Olivia before turning around and walking toward her, stopping a few feet away and glaring at the phone, his arms folded across his chest.

  Heart pounding at the fury emanating from him, Olivia was tempted to take the phone off speaker, but she knew he needed to hear the whole story. “How did I help?”

  “Eddie…he threatened to…well, to kill me.”

  Olivia pictured the man she’d met with in the car. The man who scared her so deeply. Trying to imagine how her mother had felt when he had threatened to kill her, Olivia’s heart traveled into her throat. It was obvious now why she had agreed to help her mother. How could she not?

  Her mother continued. “He said he would only give me one chance, but that if I paid back the money I’d taken and paid for the…the product I’d taken and what was lost in the robbery, plus some extra to pay for the trouble I’d caused him, he wouldn’t…wouldn’t kill me.”

  Olivia rubbed at her temples in an attempt to stop the headache that was blossoming there. What a horrible, horrible mess. “So you came to me?”

  “Yes. I…I couldn’t get my hands on that kind of money.”

  “How much, Caroline?” Greg’s tone was even, controlled.

  “A hundred thousand dollars.” Her tone was just above a whisper, as if she didn’t want to admit how deep a hole she’d dug for herself.

  Olivia’s mouth fell open. “A hundred thousand dollars?” She’d never had that much money in her life. Why had she agreed to help? How could she have possibly helped? Then it dawned on her. Greg must earn millions. Was a hundred thousand dollars disposable income to them?

  Olivia looked at Greg, whose mouth was set in a grim line. His eyes bored into Olivia. “Why didn’t you come to me?”

  Frustrated and upset, Olivia felt her hackles rising. “How should I know? I don’t remember any of this.”

  With a shake of his head, Greg looked away, his jaw tight.

  Angry at herself and angry at her mother, Olivia stared at the phone. “Why did I meet with this guy? Eddie. Why did he even have to know I was helping you?”

  “You didn’t trust me with the money,” her mother said.

  Olivia almost said something snarky, but she held back.

  Her mother went on. “You said you wanted to talk to him directly. Work out the details with him.”

  “What were the details, Mom?”

  “I’m not sure exactly. I just know you were supposed to give him the money four days ago but you hadn’t gotten it yet. I imagine he wasn’t very happy that you didn’t come through.”

  So now this was her fault?

  “Four days ago?” Greg asked, a funny look on his face.

  “Yes,” Caroline said.

  Olivia looked at Greg, whose forehead was creased.

  “Four days ago,” he said, “Olivia crashed her car.”

  “Do you think that’s why I didn’t give him the money?” Olivia asked.

  Greg looked at the phone. “When on that day were they supposed to meet?”

  “If I’m remembering right,” Caroline said, “Olivia told me she was supposed to pay him that morning.”

  Greg’s eyebrows rose. “I got the call about your accident just after lunch.”

  “I don’t understand,” Olivia said. “What are you thinking?”

  Greg ran his hands through his hair, then with his eyes closed, he loudly exhaled. After a moment, he lifted his gaze and looked straight at Olivia. “Your car crash was no accident.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Shocked to think someone—Eddie—had purposely run her off the road, Olivia felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Then again, maybe she was misunderstanding what Greg was implying. “What are you saying?”

  “I think your mother’s business partner—”

  “He’s not my business partner!” her mother shouted over the phone.

  Greg shook his head, then he focused on Olivia. “I think when you didn’t show up to pay him off, he tracked you down and ran you off the road. To teach you a lesson.”

  Olivia had to admit that it made sense. And it seemed he wasn’t the type of man that you stood up. Especially when it came to money.

  “It’s all my fault,” her mother said, her voice on the edge of tears. “I should never have called you.”

  “That’s right,” Greg said. “You shouldn’t have.”

  Not able to deal with Greg’s hard feelings or her mother’s remorse, Olivia threw her hands in the air. “Stop it.” Then she looked at Greg. “Maybe my accident was just a coincidence.” Although she didn’t really believe that.

  Greg had had enough of Caroline and the problems she’d caused them. He scooped up Olivia’s phone. “Caroline, I want you to contact this Eddie and tell him that Olivia won’t be bailing you out of your mess and that you’ll figure out some other way to pay him. Let us know after you talk to him. And do it asap.”

  Without waiting for her to reply, he stabbed the screen to end the call, then he looked at Olivia, who was staring at him, her mouth open in disbelief as her eyebrows jerked together.

  “Why’d you do that?”

  Okay. Maybe he’d been a bit rash. But, dang it! He was tired of all of this, tired of Caroline putting them through so much grief. He’d needed to do something drastic to get the message across to both her and Olivia that she needed to fix her own problems. But maybe hanging up on her and putting it all on her when it seemed doubtful that she’d be able to fix it had been the wrong thing to do.

  “I can’t believe you just did that.” Olivia’s eyes snapped with fury. “What do you expect my mother to do?”

  Clenching his jaw, Greg’s emotions emotions bounced between anger at Olivia for volunteering to help her mother when such a dangerous person was involved and adoration for her willingness to put aside her own safety to help someone in need.

  Loudly exhaling, Greg scraped his hands through his hair. “Look. Let’s give her a chance. She knows this guy. Maybe…” he shook his head. “Maybe she can work something out.”

  Olivia’s lips pressed together, but she didn’t reply.

  Exasperated with her, but loving her nonetheless, he sat beside her and held up her phone. “I want to show you something.” Then he pulled up the message thread that they’d had with Eddie. He scrolled through the thread and pointed to the text that said Looks like you didn’t hear ME, but if that’s how you want to play it…

  Olivia
read it, then looked at him. “What about it?” Her tone still held an edge of irritation.

  “See what he says there? Inferring that he sent some kind of message that we didn’t pay attention to. I’ll bet he’s talking about running you off the road.”

  Even as he spoke, a memory blasted into Olivia’s head.

  Driving along a back road, her mind in turmoil over how to get the money to end the awful situation she found herself in. Debating whether to tell Greg, arguing with herself over what to do. Worried about not showing up to pay Eddie what she’d promised, fearful about the consequences.

  Another car appearing in her rearview mirror, getting closer, closer. Pulling up alongside her like he was going to pass her, but instead, without warning, ramming his car directly into her front end, forcing her off of the road, rolling over at least once and coming to rest in a ditch. Her car slamming into the dirt, her body jerking painfully against the seatbelt as her right leg jammed against the floor.

  Moments later, a man at her window—Eddie. His eyes cold and hard, his lips curled in fury. Pounding on her window, then screaming through the glass. “I want my money!”

  Olivia cowering in terror. Eddie leaving. Olivia, still terrified, opening her door and carefully getting out.

  As the memory ran through her mind over and over, her entire body went cold with fear and she began trembling.

  “You remembered something,” Greg said.

  Nodding, Olivia battled the panic that made her want to curl into a ball in a corner of the room.

  “What is it?” Greg asked as he put his arms around her.

  She sank against him, his physical strength, his powerful commitment to her, bringing a sense of comfort and security. After several moments she managed to control her trembling.

  “You were right,” she said, surprised at how calm she sounded. “It wasn’t an accident. It was Eddie. He ran me off the road.” Then she told him what she remembered, ending with, “The last thing I remember is getting out of the car.”