“I can’t believe this has happened. Mason is doing everything he can to get to the bottom of it.”
Liz brushed the tears from her cheeks. The enormity of the situation hit her. “I can’t believe they’ve been investigating the garage for months!”
“And you had no idea there was anything going on?”
“No, I swear! Did Mason tell you about the investigation?”
“I just found out about it this morning, Liz. It killed him not to tell you. You have to believe that. Have you seen anything strange happening around the garage? Anything at all?”
“No, Livvy. That’s just it. I’ve been wracking my brain trying to remember any little details that might have escaped my notice, but there’s nothing.”
There was a beat of silence as Olivia thought about what Liz had said. She lowered her voice. “Do you think Paul might have seen something?”
Liz’s stomach sank. “What? Olivia, there’s no way! Paul loves the shop as much as I do.”
Relief and regret infused Olivia’s voice. “I’m sorry, I had to ask. They’ve had him answering questions down at the station practically all day and only just let him out. Mason said they’ve been grilling him hard. They even brought Jimmy in, but his interview barely lasted an hour.”
Liz felt awful. “Poor Jimmy. I’m sure this wasn’t what he was expecting with his new job. Who else could have been transporting drugs through my garage without my knowing?”
“I don’t know. Mason did say that the Chief is gunning for you. Your disappearing act has him convinced you’re involved. Agent Hagen seems to be keeping an open mind, so far. I’m not sure which is worse – you being on the run, or being at the mercy of dirty cops.”
“Do you think it would be better if I came in?” The thought put a bad taste in Liz’s mouth. She couldn’t think of anything much worse than being locked up in a jail cell with Josh holding the key.
“No. Mason still hasn’t been able to find anything out about that phone number you gave him.” There was a knocking in the background and she could hear Olivia’s muffled response before she came back on the line. “Listen, Liz, I have to go. I’m assuming Alex is still with you?”
“Yeah.”
“Huh. Seems kind of odd, considering his name hasn’t come up in the investigation. Do you think you can trust him?”
Liz looked through the open archway between the living room and the kitchen. Alex had just opened the oven and was pulling the garlic bread out. Her heart melted a little watching him. “Yeah.”
Olivia sighed. “I hope you’re right. Okay, let’s try to talk again soon. Evenings around this time will probably be best. Love you, Liz. Stay safe.”
“I’m trying to. Love you, Livvy. Tell Fiona I love her, too.”
The minute she hung up the phone, Liz felt a vast hollowness in her chest. A void so great it threatened to swallow her whole.
“You okay?” Alex stood in the doorway, his face shadowed by the light streaming in behind him.
“Oh sure, just peachy.” Setting the phone aside, she stood up. The stress of the situation was overwhelming and making her feel antsy. She needed a way to blow off steam. “Is dinner ready?”
Alex handed her a plate. “It is.”
The two of them filled their plates and sat down at the kitchen table. For the first time since being attacked in the garage, neither one of them seemed to know what to say. Instead they concentrated on the first few bites.
Silence stretched between them.
Unable to stand it anymore, Liz looked up from her plate. “This is good. Thanks for making dinner.”
She watched as Alex reached for his wine glass and took a sip. “Glad you like it.” He held her gaze. “I think we need to figure out what to do from here. This is a nice opportunity to regroup, but we won’t be able to hide here forever.”
With such an unpleasant topic to discuss, Liz almost regretted the loss of the quiet. Unwilling to let it ruin her meal, she took another bite and chewed slowly, thinking about what he’d said. “Do you have any suggestions about what our next step should be?”
“Actually, I’ve been thinking about that. I know you’re still unconvinced we shouldn’t be going to the police. Ordinarily, I would agree with you. The main flaw with that plan is that it’s our word against Josh’s. I can’t help thinking we’d be on the losing side of that scenario.”
“Right. If it makes you feel any better, Mason and Livvy agree. Which is why we need to find some proof of his involvement,” Liz said.
“Or a way of tipping the scales further in our favor. What if we introduced another witness into the mix?”
“Okay, but how do you propose we do that? We’re the only ones who saw anything.”
Alex shook his head. “That’s not true. Peter and Jonesy were there, too.”
“Yeah, but you saw how they were under Josh’s thumb! Not to mention that they’re drug addicts. I hardly think they’ll be considered credible witnesses.” Liz set her plate aside.
“True. On the other hand, Peter is probably familiar with some – if not all – of the operation. He might be able to direct us towards other avenues of proof.”
Alex leaned forward. “Think about it, Liz. You were probably the closest thing to a friend he had in high school. He may not have helped us out of the car, but it was obvious he recognized you and felt bad about what was happening. Maybe we can play on that.”
Liz gnawed on her bottom lip as she considered Alex’s idea. She’d been appalled to discover the path Peter’s life had taken. “Okay, it’s worth a shot. Although I don’t know how much good it will do. He seemed lost to me.”
“Me too, but we have to try.” Alex looked down at his plate with regret. “I wish I had known back then what I do now. I never would have given him such a hard time.”
She appreciated his self-reflection. Liz took a moment to reach across the table and give his hand a squeeze. “It’s true that it wasn’t right to bully him, but you can’t take full responsibility for his actions, either. In the end, it’s our choice whether we let those experiences tear us down or strengthen us. There were a lot more factors working against Peter than just a couple of jerks at school.”
She shot him a quick smile to soften the blow of calling him a jerk. His hand felt good in hers. His fingers were long, his palm lightly calloused from working in construction. A thought of what it would feel like caressing sensitive skin had her blushing and pulling away.
“I guess that’s one good thing that came out of me being sent away to school. I’d hate to think how I would have turned out if I’d stayed here.”
“Everybody was shocked when your dad sent you away. I don’t think the football coach ever fully forgave him for that.”
Alex chuckled. “Hell, it took me forever to forgive him for sending me away, too. It was years before we were able to have a conversation that didn’t end in yelling or a cold silence that dragged on for days. And even when we did start talking again, I was so angry with him. My life had been good here. Comfortable. It’s easy being a big fish in a small pond.
“It wasn’t until after I left that I started to get a sense of how small the pond was. I resented him for taking me out of my comfort zone. I felt abandoned. It was further proof that he didn’t want me after my mom died.”
“Oh Alex, I’m sure he was trying to do what was best for you.”
“I figured that out eventually. Although I’m ashamed to admit how long it took me. By the time I was old enough to set my resentment aside, we’d both become used to the distance between us. I don’t think either one of us knew how to close the gap.”
“What changed?”
Alex leaned back in his chair, giving up the pretense of eating. “One day, I got a call from him. He told me he was sick and needed my help. That’s when I decided to come home.”
“That must have been hard for him, and you.”
“I’ll admit, it’s been an adjustment. I never realized just how
much I’d acclimated to big city living until I came back. It makes me wonder if Bath was always this small, or if it was me all along.”
“Oh, it’s small,” Liz smiled, “but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The town rallied around my sister during everything that happened to her this past winter. I can’t imagine the same thing happening in a big city. Just because we live in a small town doesn’t mean we’re small-minded.”
“You have a point. I always assumed this move would be temporary, but the longer I’m here, the more I’m tempted to stay.” He seemed to shake himself out of his reverie. “What about you, Liz? It seems like ever since I’ve known you, you’ve wanted to be a mechanic. Now you’ve taken over the shop your dad owned. How’d that happen?”
Liz thought back to those days, remembering what it had been to like to go to school with Alex. By the time she was a sophomore, she’d already been working at the shop for years, and had been familiar with the flow and feel of the place. “I guess that’s one thing I’ve never had to doubt. Even after my parents died and everything was in such a state of upheaval, I knew that I was meant to work on cars.”
“Not everybody finds that sense of purpose, especially at such an early age. You’re lucky to have that.”
She shrugged. “Well, you know how awkward things were for me at school. Anything to limit my interactions with people was welcome. Being able to climb under a car or stick my head under a hood and shut out the rest of the world was everything to me. After my parents died, that urge to push the rest of the world away grew even sharper. I was lucky that Paul stepped in and helped me direct my energy towards something productive.”
“You two seem close.”
“We are. I mean, he’s always been like an uncle to me. Even when I was younger, Paul always knew when I’d had a bad day. He’d tug on my ponytail, then offer to teach me something new. I think in some ways he understood where I was coming from, even better than my dad did.”
“How so?”
Now that the subject had changed, Liz found she was still hungry. She took another bite of pasta, thinking about her answer for a moment. “I don’t know if you ever met my dad, or how well you remember him, but he had this way about him that people naturally responded to. He was the kind of guy everybody could relate to and liked instantly. Actually, you’re a lot like him in that way.”
Liz paused, a little surprised by her own observation, but at the same time realizing it was true. It was an aspect of her dad that she’d always admired, so it shouldn’t be a wonder that she’d gravitate towards someone who shared that same quality.
She pulled herself from her musings and continued. “On the other hand, Paul and I would much rather limit our interactions with others. Partly because we’re uncomfortable with people we don’t know well, but also because neither one of us has any patience for the majority of them.
“After my dad died, Paul made sure I knew I was still welcome at the garage. When everything felt out of my hands and became overwhelming, he gave me a safe place and something useful to do. I was able to regain my sense of control when working on a transmission or rebuilding an engine. It gave me a chance to positively influence the world around me and made me feel like I could contribute something worthwhile.”
“Wow. I never thought about it like that. I imagine that would be a heady feeling considering everything else was in turmoil.”
“Exactly. Dad had already stipulated in his will that his half of the garage would go to me, to be held in a trust until I turned eighteen. After my birthday, it reverted directly into my ownership. But it was Paul who made sure I had the skills I’d need in order to honor it.”
“I can understand why you feel so much loyalty to him. I’ve only had a chance to talk to him a few times, but he sounds like an amazing man.”
Liz mulled over that time in her life for a moment before answering. “You know, for someone who never had kids, Paul managed to step into a parental role seamlessly. Not just for myself, but for both of my sisters, too. Now I see him doing something similar for his nephew, Jimmy, and it’s remarkable watching it happen from the outside. Especially since I know how it feels being on the receiving end of that kind of attention.” Talking with Alex about the shop and how much it meant to her reminded her of their current situation.
Her brows grew furrowed. Seeing the direction her thoughts had taken, Alex said, “You know this is only temporary. At some point, the truth will come out and you’ll be able to get back to work.”
“I just wonder how much damage this will do to my business in the long run. It’s taken me a long time to build up a good reputation. It was especially hard both because it’s a male-dominated field and because I’m young. It pains me to know my reputation may never recover.”
“You said yourself, this is a small town. Once people know you didn’t have anything to do with the drugs, they’ll rally around you.”
Feeling restless and wanting to change the subject, Liz stood and began gathering their plates. “I hope so.” The long-term ramifications of this situation were just another thing she had no control over. What she could do was make sure the kitchen was clean. With that thought in mind, she methodically began washing the dishes. After a moment, Alex got up and started putting the leftover food away.
For a few moments, they were each content to concentrate on the chore at hand, but too soon Liz turned the water off. “This faucet drips.”
She heard Alex move directly behind her. “I’ll make sure it gets taken care of before we rent it out.”
Warm, strong fingers gripped the spot where her shoulders met her neck, kneading the knots he found there. She couldn’t stop the low groan that escaped as she bent her head forward, encouraging him to continue.
After a moment, Liz shuddered and fought the urge to lean back into his arms. It would be so easy to bury her head in the sand and forget the predicament they were in.
But then what would happen tomorrow? Or the next day? They had no way of knowing how long this was going to last. Sure, he may be willing to help her now, but what about a week from now? Or months?
The fact was, Alex’s name hadn’t been reported to the authorities. Best case scenario was that, he had a chance to go back to his life and pick up where he left off.
Worst case scenario was that, he was involved somehow, and she was a fool for starting to trust him. The scene at the café between him and Cynthia flashed in her mind. Even if he wasn’t behind the drug ring, that didn’t mean he wasn’t romantically involved with someone else.
The last thing she wanted to do was rope him in any deeper than he already was. She knew that if they pursued the attraction between them, he’d feel even more obligated to help her.
Oh, but his hands felt so good on her shoulders, his fingers just the right combination of strong and gentle. She could practically feel the stress draining from her body and being replaced with something needier.
With a sigh of regret, she straightened and turned. She stared at his chin, hesitant to meet the question and awareness in his eyes. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure. Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted and could use a shower.”
“I took that nap, but I’m still feeling tired myself. I might go see what books are on the shelf in the living room and retire early. If we’re going to find Peter and convince him to testify, it’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”
He briefly stroked his thumb across her cheek before letting his hand fall down to his side and taking a step back. “Good night, Eliza.”
It was only after she was safely tucked into her bed that she admitted she’d liked hearing her name on his lips.
Chapter Twenty-One
The next morning dawned bright and clear. Despite being hyper-aware of the sexy man sleeping in the room across the hall, Liz had managed to get a decent night’s sleep, and was eager to get something constructive accomplished.
At six-thirty, Alex walked into the kitchen, yaw
ning, and automatically grabbed a coffee mug out of the cupboard. “Mornin’.”
Liz sat at the dining room table, eating a bowl of cereal. “Hey. How’d you sleep last night?”
“About as well as can be expected, I guess. You?”
“Same.”
He poured some cereal into a bowl and sat down next to her. The morning domesticity felt a little too cozy. Liz quickly finished her breakfast. She felt his gaze follow her across the room as she got up to rinse her bowl in the sink.
Fifteen minutes later, they were both walking out of the house.
“I’ll drive.”
She shot Alex a deadpan look. “She who hot-wired the car, drives.”
“Shit.”
Liz laughed. “That’s what I thought.”
The levity was short-lived. Backing the car out of the driveway, Liz hesitated to pull out onto the street. “So, how do you propose we find Peter? I’m not exactly familiar with where the local heroin addicts are hanging out nowadays. Not to mention, we don’t even know if he’s still in Bath. The way our luck is going, he could be down in Portland by now.”
“I don’t know. Maybe we can just drive around to some of the rougher parts of town and see if there’s anyone we can ask. There have to be clinics or places that addicts congregate, right?”
“I can’t think of anyplace like that in Bath. But I’m guessing hospitals might have some information. The closest one is in Brunswick, which isn’t too far from here.”
Alex put his seat belt on. “Do you think we can get there without being spotted?”
Liz shrugged. “It depends on how quickly the owner of this car discovered it was missing and reported it. The sooner we head over there the better, I think.”
“Okay, let’s do it.”
They managed to hit the road before morning rush hour, glad that the traffic was still light. Since the lakeside cottage was on the outskirts of Bath, it only took them twenty minutes to pull into Brunswick. It was a far cry from the shoeless trek in the woods the day before.
Liz pulled into the parking lot of Mid-Coast Hospital, careful to stay towards the perimeter and near the exit. Putting the car into park, she turned to Alex. “Now what? I think we both know I can’t go in there.”
Secret Need (The Harper Sisters Book 2) Page 11
