“Your boyfriend is here.” Jack’s lips curved. “He looks ticked off.”
Harper fought the urge to crane her neck and stare in that direction.
“He figured you were in the water.” Jack smiled. “He’ll be here any minute.”
Harper heaved out a sigh, relieved. Jessica narrowed her eyes when she saw a shift in the woman’s demeanor.
“What was that?” Jessica asked, suspicious.
“What?” Harper let the hangdog expression from a few moments before slip back into place. “I was just … thinking.”
“No, you were doing something else.” Jessica glanced at Lupone, something unsaid passing between them. “We need to end this now. I don’t like this.”
“Oh, really?” Lupone rolled his eyes. “You don’t like this? We’re on the river and the cops are gunning for us. You don’t like this? Do you know what I have to say to that? It’s about freaking time.”
“You have to kill them,” Jessica ordered, ignoring Lupone’s sarcastic tone. “You have to do it now. We’re running out of time.”
“Oh, you want me to kill them? Perhaps I don’t want to kill them. Have you ever considered that?”
“If we’re lodging votes, I don’t like that idea either,” Zander said, raising his hand. “In fact, I think you should kill her, Mr. Lupone, and then leave us because we don’t care what you’re smuggling across the lake.”
“Who?” Jessica asked, her face blank. “Who do you think he should kill?”
“You,” Zander replied, not missing a beat. “He plans to do it anyway. He should just do it now to save himself time.”
Jessica snorted. “He’s not going to kill me. I … where do you come up with these things?”
To absolutely no one’s surprise, Lupone shifted the gun in Jessica’s direction. “Actually … he’s not wrong.”
And just like that, the game flipped again.
22
Twenty-Two
“What do you think you’re doing?” Jessica was incensed.
“I’m wrapping up all of my problems, and you’re the biggest one,” Lupone replied. “I can’t possibly pin all of this on Tim when you’re the obvious connection.”
“But … Chuck was the obvious connection,” Jessica argued, her face draining of color.
“Chuck was a connection,” Lupone corrected. “You’re the connection to Chuck. You can’t honestly tell me you haven’t figured that out yourself. Besides, I know you were planning on killing me between here and the warehouse where we’ve got Tim locked up. Don’t bother denying it. I found the gun you hid under the passenger seat of the car.”
Jessica balked. “No … I … that was merely for protection.”
“And it’s been very helpful,” Lupone said. “I’ll need a weapon when I make my escape run. I have to leave this gun with Tim, of course, since it can be traced back to Chuck’s murder, but you’ve provided me with a replacement and I’m very thankful.”
Harper risked a glance at Shawn, shooting him a small thumbs-up. She was hopeful he would realize help was close but had no idea if her message cut its way through the haze of worry clouding his face.
“What … so you’re going to kill me and then them?” Jessica jerked her head in Harper’s direction. “You need my help to control them.”
“I don’t see why,” Lupone countered. “They have nowhere to run. I’ll shoot you and then them … and then make an easy escape, stopping by the warehouse long enough to handle the Tim situation before flying out to a non-extradition island where I’ve already purchased a retirement home. It’s done.”
“It’s not done,” Jessica spat. “What about Chad?”
“What about him?” Lupone challenged. “He figured out about the smuggling the night of the boat wreck, but he has no idea I’m involved. He only knows that you, Chuck, and Tim were involved. They’re the ones who landed on the boat that night, after all. I was nowhere in sight. I’m covered.”
Harper watched Jessica’s face, grim satisfaction washing over her as the woman realized she’d been double-crossed and was now in jeopardy.
“If you think I’m going to just let you kill me, you’ve got another think coming,” Jessica snapped. “This was my plan … my dream. I’m not going to let you steal it.”
“From where I’m standing, you don’t have a lot of choice in the matter.”
Jessica stared at Lupone a moment, internally debating her options. Then, as if in an action movie, she sprang toward the shore, clearly intending to run. Because the river water was deceptively shallow on one side and dangerously deep on the other, Jessica lost her footing and slipped under the water.
Lupone widened his eyes as he lifted the gun, aiming at the spot where she disappeared. That’s when Jared appeared out from behind the trees directly next to the attorney and launched himself at Lupone. The two men connected with a loud thud and Harper dropped to her knees to cover her face when Lupone inadvertently fired the gun.
Hayley screamed at the noise as Shawn shielded her, Zander joining in to make sure the girl was completely covered. Harper, frozen in place, could do nothing as Jared struggled with Lupone’s beefy body. That’s when Jessica surfaced. She shifted her eyes to the fight, but instead of helping her partner in crime she swam toward the shore, obvious designs on escape twisting her features.
Harper wasted little time as she straightened and stood, cutting off Jessica’s avenue of escape as soon as the woman hit dry land.
“Get out of my way,” Jessica screeched, shoving at Harper. “I’ll kill you if you get in my way!”
Harper reacted without thought, gripping her hand into a fist and plowing it into Jessica’s face. The woman clearly wasn’t expecting it because her only reaction was to widen her eyes before tilting to the side and slamming into the muddy ground
Harper stared at her a moment, waiting for her to get up, but Jessica remained unconscious and unmoving.
“Heart!”
Harper shifted her eyes to the water, relief washing over her when she realized Lupone was also down. Mel handcuffed the man, two state police officers moving in to help, as Jared avoided the deep-water spot and hit the shore.
“I knew you would find me.” Harper burst into tears as she threw her arms around Jared’s neck, pressing her body to his and letting the emotion she’d been fighting for the past thirty minutes overwhelm her. They were both sweaty – and in Jared’s case wet from the river fight – but she’d never been happier to see anyone in her entire life.
“That was never in doubt,” Jared gritted out, clinging to her. “I just … I was so scared.”
“Join the club.”
“You saved everyone, Heart. You did it.”
“I left the house, though.” Harper was rueful as she pulled back. “I had to.”
“I know. I’m not angry.”
“You’re not?” Harper couldn’t help being relieved. “I thought you were going to yell.”
“No.” Jared shook his head, emotion running over him faster than the river water that pulled Lupone away from his freedom. “Harper, I need to say something.”
“I thought you weren’t going to yell,” Harper protested.
“I’m not. It’s just … I love you. I love you more than anything.” Jared thought the words would be hard to say and yet they turned out to be easy. More importantly, they felt right. This felt right. In fact, everything felt more right than it ever had before.
Harper stared at him for a moment, her face unreadable. Then she gave into the tears again and buried her face in the hollow of his neck. “I love you, too.”
“ARE YOU guys okay?” Jared kept his arm wrapped around Harper’s waist as he checked on Shawn, Zander, and Hayley. The men seemed to be fine – if a bit theatrical as they reenacted their harrowing ordeal for the state police before the troopers shuffled off to talk to Jessica – but the girl appeared listless.
“We’re fine,” Zander said, smiling. “You could’ve warned us that
Jared was close, though, Harp. I couldn’t figure out what you were doing at the time, but now I know that you were talking to Jack Corgan. He told you Jared was close, didn’t he?”
Harper nodded. “He did … and then he disappeared again. I’m kind of irritated because I want to talk to him.”
“You’ll have time.” Jared kissed her cheek. “Once this is taken care of, you’ll have all the time in the world. I’ll be with you when you get your answers, too.”
“Because you love me?” Harper’s smile was impish as she pinned him with a gaze. “By the way, I said it to you first. Sure, you were sleeping this morning when I said it, but I still said it first.”
Jared rolled his eyes. “It doesn’t count if I was sleeping. I said it first.”
“It counts.”
“No, it only counts if the other person hears it.” Jared rubbed his thumb over Harper’s cheek. “By the way, I thought it first, so if you want to get into a semantics argument … I’m still king.”
“I’m going to let you be king, but only because I’m tired,” Harper said. “We’re going to talk about the rest of it tomorrow after we’ve rested up a bit.”
“That sounds like a plan.” Jared kissed the tip of Harper’s nose before shifting his eyes to Hayley. “Are you okay, kid?”
Hayley shrugged, noncommittal. “What’s going to happen to me now?”
“What do you mean?”
“Where am I going to go?” Hayley asked. “My stepmother is a criminal and my real mother is dead.”
“You still have a father,” Harper pointed out.
“Yes, but he knew that Jessica was doing something illegal and didn’t stop her.” Hayley stubbornly crossed her arms over her chest. “Isn’t he going to jail, too?”
“I don’t know,” Jared hedged. “Probably not, though. We have to talk to him. We were listening to the bulk of Jessica and Lupone’s conversation and it sounds as if your father only found out what was happening the night of the wreck. I think he was trying to protect you when he kept his mouth shut.”
“Speaking of that, Hayley brought me the stuff Jessica was using to poison Chad,” Harper said. “It’s on the coffee table. The hospital is going to need it if they expect to counter the effects of what was being done to him.”
“I’ll make sure the state boys grab that,” Jared said, rubbing his thumb over the back of Harper’s neck as he studied Hayley. “You’ve been through the wringer of late, but your father is still your father. I think you need to give him a chance to … make this right.”
“Are you sure he won’t go to jail?”
Jared shrugged. “As long as he wasn’t part of the smuggling or murders – and it sounds like he had no idea about that stuff – then he won’t go to jail.”
“But he still married Jessica,” Hayley pointed out. “I always knew she was bad. Why didn’t he?”
“Because she moved on him during a time when he was feeling vulnerable,” Jared replied, opting not to give voice to his suspicions regarding Jessica killing Hayley’s birth mother before he had proof. That could wait until the girl was more settled. “Your mother died when you were young and your father was overwhelmed. I’m not making excuses for him but … I don’t think he’s a bad guy. I think he’s just a guy who was struggling to do right for his kid. He didn’t know.”
“Do you really believe that?” Hayley looked hopeful.
Jared nodded. “I really believe that.”
“Can I see him?”
“You can.” Jared pointed toward the river. “We’ll walk back to the house and I’ll take you to the hospital myself.”
“I’ll go with you,” Harper offered, linking her fingers with Jared’s as they began to walk. “I’ll make sure you’re safe before I leave you, Hayley.”
“But what about him?” Hayley gestured toward Jared. “He said he loves you. Don’t you want to … I don’t know … get him to take off his shirt and strut around the house?”
“Excuse me?” Jared was understandably confused, but Harper could do nothing but giggle.
“I’ll get him to take his shirt off later,” Harper said. “We need to make sure you’re safe and settled first.”
“I … well … I guess I should say thank you.” Hayley’s cheeks colored as she locked gazes with Harper. “From the very first moment you found me on that boat you did your best to keep me safe. I owe you for that.”
“You don’t owe me anything,” Harper countered. “Knowing you’re safe – and that hopefully you’ll be happy – is more than enough for me.”
“I … well … I still want to say thank you.”
Harper grabbed the girl’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “You’re more than welcome.”
Hayley shifted her eyes to Jared. “I think you picked the right guy even though these two are hot, too.” She jerked her thumb in Zander and Shawn’s direction. “This one loves you a lot. You can tell by the way he looks at you.”
Suddenly shy, Harper lowered her gaze. “Yes, well, I love him, too. Just out of curiosity’s sake, though, why do you think he’s better than Shawn and Zander?”
“They’re gay.”
Harper snorted. “Any other reason?”
Hayley shrugged. “Because he came for you when you were in danger. That’s the most important thing, right?”
“I guess so,” Harper hedged. “I think it’s more important that the person you love tries to protect you to the best of their ability, whether that be on a physical or emotional level. I honestly do believe your father was trying to do that.”
“I guess we’ll see, huh?” Hayley was rueful as she hit the water. “Do you think I can see all three of these guys shirtless before we head to the hospital? I need something to brighten my day.”
Harper snickered as she risked a glance at Jared. “I’ll see what I can do.” When Jared scowled, she merely shrugged. “It might brighten my day, too. Although … I don’t think anything could make this day better.”
Jared’s expression softened as he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth. “Oh, Heart, just wait until later. You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
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Acknowledgments
I’m a romantic at heart. A true romantic. I love the idea of a happy ending, so much so I have trouble writing a sad one. The world is sad enough. I like escaping in fiction. That’s just me. I like sarcasm and snark – but I’m not sure a sad ending is in me. If you’re looking for an edge like that, you’re probably looking in the wrong place. Just FYI.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
Books by Lily Harper Hart
Hardy Brothers Security
Deadly Intentions
Deadly Intuition
Deadly Illusions
Deadly Proposal
Deadly Prospects
Deadly Ever After
Deadly Honeymoon
Deadly Questions
Deadly Addition
Deadly Vacation
Deadly Secrets
Deadly Storm
Deadly Dealings
Deadly Christmas
Deadly Desperados
Deadly Arrival
Deadly Rivalry
Deadly Memories
Deadly Adventure
Deadly Reunion
Deadly Conflicts
Deadly Payback
Deadly Waves
Deadly Forever
A Maddie Graves Mystery
Grave Homecoming
Grave Insight
Grave Delight
Grave Misgivings
Grave Concerns
Grave Discovery
Grave Decisions
Grave Seasons
Grave Holiday
An Ivy Morgan Mystery
Wicked Days
Wicked Dreams
Wicked Times
Wicked Places
Wicked Warning
Wicked Fog
Wicked Season
A Harper Harlow Mystery
Ghostly Interests
Ghostly Issues
Ghostly Deceits
Ghostly Worries
Ghostly Images
A Rowan Gray Mystery
Welcoming Seas
Murky Seas
Ghostly Wrecks (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 6) Page 20
