He couldn’t live like that. He wouldn’t.
No more secrets, he thought darkly. Whatever it was she was running from, whoever it was, Gabe would soon know. Ian should have received the report from Washington last night and he’d bring it with him today. Everything was going to be out in the open. Whatever was in the file, Gabe told himself, he’d deal with it.
He turned at the sound of three short horn blasts. The shower was still running overhead when he walked out onto the front porch. Kevin burst out of the passenger side of the van and raced across the front yard toward him. Sunlight danced in his blond hair; his blue eyes sparkled.
“Gabe! Gabe! I won a prize, I won a prize!”
Gabe held out his arms, and Kevin threw himself into them. He smelled like maple syrup. “It’s a twirlybird,” Kevin exclaimed. “Wanna see?”
He wiggled away before Gabe could even answer, held out the bright blue plastic toy and pulled the string. The top spun off with a loud whizz and came straight at Gabe. He caught it, and Kevin laughed with delight.
“I wanna show my mom.” Kevin snatched the plastic disc from Gabe and started to run toward the front door, then stopped abruptly, ran back and threw his arms around Gabe’s legs.
Then he ran back into the house, slamming the wooden screen door behind him.
Stunned, Gabe stood there, staring at the front door. His throat felt as if it were closing up on him, his chest tightened around his heart. And still all he could do was stand there and stare.
“Got to you, hasn’t he?”
Gabe turned to look at Ian. “What?”
“He’s gotten to you.” Ian leaned back against a porch column and grinned. “Kevin and Melanie both. The Sinclair brood are dropping like flies, as the saying goes.”
Gabe frowned. He didn’t like being compared to a fly, and he sure as hell hadn’t “dropped” anywhere yet. The fact that he was well on his way was none of Ian’s damn business, Gabe thought irritably. He glanced over at the van, realized that Ian was alone. “Where’s Cara?”
“She took one look at all those pancakes this morning, then turned a lovely shade of green and ran out of the room.” Ian let out a long, sympathetic sigh. “It passed fast enough, but I took her home anyway before I brought Kevin back. I swear, I was captured once by radicals in Iran and I don’t remember feeling that helpless.”
Before Gabe had dealt with Kevin being sick, he might have laughed at Ian. But now, he simply nodded in understanding. When he spotted the manila folder in Ian’s hand, he gestured toward it. “Is that for me?”
Frowning, Ian handed Gabe the folder. “You aren’t gonna like it.”
“I never expected to.” The knot in Gabe’s stomach tightened as he took the folder.
Ian glanced at the house, then spoke quietly. “Her real name is Melissa Van Camp. She was married to a guy named Phillip Van Camp for five years, until he was killed in a speedboat accident last year. They were living apart at the time.”
“She told me about her husband. He was a bastard.”
Ian nodded. “Based on the file my resource gathered, a first-class bastard. His father had been a circuit court judge before he died from cancer three years ago, extremely wealthy. Between their money and their connections, it seems that the family considers themselves above the law. Before his death, Phillip had been arrested several times on possession, twice on assault. Oddly enough, every charge was dropped before it even got to trial.”
“Who did he assault?” Gabe asked with deadly calm.
“Calm down, Gabe,” Ian said quietly. “One incident was a disagreement with a salesclerk, the other was a police officer.”
“He hit a cop and got away with it?” Gabe asked in surprise.
“Like I said,” Ian went on, “the Van Camps are a prestigious, well-connected family. But considering that Phillip is dead, who he assaulted is not the issue at this point.”
“Then stop pussyfooting around and tell me what is the issue,” Gabe said impatiently. “What the hell is Melanie so damn afraid of?”
“Her mother-in-law, for starters.” Disgust registered on Ian’s face. “Louise Van Camp. According to some reliable resources, after Phillip’s death, Louise took over control of Melanie and Kevin’s lives, insisted they come live with her, then completely manipulated and dominated them, right down to enrolling Kevin at the same military boarding school that Phillip had gone to. That’s when Melanie—Melissa—put her foot down. Or at least she attempted to.”
“What do you mean, ‘she attempted to’?”
“She tried to move, start a new life away from Louise in Northern California, but things started happening to her that forced her back under Louise’s roof.”
“What kind of things?” A dark fury twisted Gabe’s stomach. He had to force himself to listen, to stay calm.
“A fire in her apartment, her boss at the antique store terminates her for no apparent reason, a male friend from her apartment complex has a mysterious accident and ends up with a broken arm and black eye. And nobody’s talking, including Melanie.”
Gabe’s single swearword was earthy and to the point. “That’s a hell of a lot of coincidences.”
“So is the fact that before every incident, the same man was seen either with Melanie, or in the area, a man who just happens to work for Louise Van Camp, her so-called ‘business manager.’ The guy’s an ex-con, assault and petty larceny. He’s also been a bodyguard, bar bouncer and general all-around slime bucket. His name is Vincent Drake.”
Vincent.
Vincent Drake. Gabe narrowed his eyes, felt his hands close into fists, praying he had an opportunity to meet the guy.
Gabe shook his head in frustration and disbelief. “Did she ever go to the police with any of this?”
“I went.”
Both men turned sharply at the sound of Melanie’s quiet voice from behind the screen door. She stepped out, kept her steely gaze steady on Gabe.
Gabe took a step toward her, stopped at the cold lift of her chin that warned him to stay back. “Melanie, you have to—”
“I’ve had enough people tell me what I ‘have to,’ thank you very much. But I will answer your question. I went to the police once, and for that, a good friend of mine ended up with a broken arm simply for driving me there. If I hadn’t dropped the charges, he would have ended up with his other arm broken, as well.”
Her face was pale against the damp waves in her hair, her eyes distant, her voice detached, without emotion. And though he desperately wanted to go to her, he kept his distance, afraid of what she might do if he touched her.
She turned slowly to Ian. “Would you mind if I spoke to Gabe alone?” she asked with a cool politeness.
Ian shifted uncomfortably, pressed his lips tightly together as he glanced from her to Gabe. “I’ll be at the tavern.”
Gabe nodded stiffly, watched Ian walk back to his van and drive away. A warm breeze swept brightly colored leaves onto the front porch. What an odd time, he thought, to realize that the fall leaves had already begun to change.
He dragged a deep breath into his lungs, then slowly released it. “Melanie,” he said quietly. “Let us help you. I swear I won’t let this guy come anywhere near you.”
Her laugh was short and dry. “You just don’t get it, do you? You can’t stop him. No one can. Anyone who gets too close to me, anyone who tries to help, gets hurt. I can’t have that on my conscience. I won’t have that on my conscience.”
“You can’t keep running,” Gabe said tightly. “What kind of life is that for you and Kevin?”
“A better life than living under Louise’s thumb.” Her gray eyes darkened to the color of storm clouds. “That military school she wanted Kevin to go to would ‘make a man out of him,’ she’d said. Teach him to be tough, like his father. Well, if slapping women around is her idea of a man, then she can rot in hell right next to her son when she gets there.”
“He hit you?” Gabe’s voice was brittle, cold. A fist of rage
gripped him, and he struggled to breathe.
“Twice,” she said simply. “The first time, I forgave him. He’d had a fight with his mother and he’d been drinking. I just let it go. The second time, I left him. Louise talked me into coming back, told me that he’d been under a lot of stress since his father had died. She promised me that she would talk to him, that it wouldn’t happen again. Strangely enough, it didn’t, but he continued to have affairs, and there was absolutely nothing between us anymore. I finally filed for divorce, but still Louise refused to see that the marriage was over. She pleaded with me up until the day before Phillip died to drop the divorce.”
“Why did you move in with her after Phillip’s death?” He shook his head. “Didn’t you know what kind of woman she was?”
“She’s seventy-four years old, Gabe,” Melanie said with quiet patience. “I can’t say that she was ever a warm or nice person, but after losing a husband, then a son, something completely snapped in her. Underneath that cold facade of hers, I could see that she was lonely and frightened. But then she started to cling to me and Kevin, demanded to know where we were every second, what we were doing or who we were with. She’d plan our days for us, sulk or manipulate until she got her way.”
“Until you gave in.” Gabe heard the irritation in his own voice. Her gaze snapped up sharply.
“Don’t judge me, Gabe,” she said tightly. “You have no right. You weren’t there. You don’t know what it was like, what she was like. I thought I was helping her.”
He nodded, felt ashamed that he’d turned his frustration on her. “You’re right,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry.”
She drew in a slow, deep breath, and her shoulders relaxed a bit. “She’s my son’s grandmother. Kevin is all that Louise has left. I guess I felt sorry for her. On top of that, after Phillip died, I discovered that almost everything we owned was in Louise’s name. When I lost my manager position at the antique store, Kevin and I needed a place to stay while I was looking for a new job. I had no idea that Louise was responsible not only for me losing my job, but for preventing me from finding a new one. By the time I found out, it was too late.”
Gabe’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean, it was ‘too late’?”
She folded her arms tightly around her, then stared blankly into a distant stand of maples. The sun was directly overhead in a blue, cloudless sky, and a hawk soared over the open meadow. Melanie watched the hawk circle soundlessly, then suddenly dive down, its claws extended as it skimmed the ground. Gabe saw her wince at the sight, then she slowly turned her attention back to him.
“Vincent.” Her hand skimmed the base of her throat. “Vincent Drake.”
Once again, Gabe felt his insides twist coldly at the name. “Who is he?” Gabe asked quietly. “What did he do to you?”
“Originally Louise hired the man as a driver and bodyguard, but then she starting calling him her ‘business manager.’ Suddenly the man was everywhere Kevin and I were, always watching us. He gave me the creeps. When I complained, Louise told me she was worried about kidnapping, and that Vincent’s protection was for mine and Kevin’s own good. I moved out after that. Vincent ‘convinced’ me to come back.”
“You mean he threatened you,” Gabe said with barely controlled rage.
She nodded. “His threats were subtle in the beginning, but I got the picture. When I took a second stand against Louise and moved to Northern California, he found me. This time he wasn’t subtle. My apartment caught on fire, then Paul, a friend I’d made at my apartment house suddenly had a broken arm, simply because he’d driven me to the police station to file a complaint. When Vincent threatened to break Paul’s other arm, I had no choice but to go back again.”
Gabe’s hand tightened on the folder he held. He looked forward to meeting Vincent Drake. He only hoped it would be soon. Very soon.
He drew in a slow breath to steady himself. “Go on.”
“I was afraid to go to the police again,” she said so quietly that Gabe could barely hear her. “Afraid who Vincent might hurt if I did. I secretly tried to hire a lawyer to help me. Louise found out and she was furious, told me I was ungrateful for all she’d done for me and Kevin. The lawyer never returned my calls after that. Louise began telling people that I was having some kind of a breakdown, that I was mentally unstable. I was terrified that she was going to take Kevin away from me. With her connections, with all her money, she would probably win. I couldn’t risk that.”
“So you ran.”
“I bought a car with cash, found someone who manufactured a phony ID for me, took what little money I’d managed to save and left in the middle of the night. I was going to my friend Raina’s, in Boston, but she told me someone was watching her. I didn’t think they knew about her, but somehow they found out and it wasn’t safe anymore.”
Melanie pressed her lips into a hard, thin line. “If Vincent finds me and Kevin, he’ll make us go back. That’s why I kept moving, never stayed in one place until I came here, why I wanted to keep moving.”
“I won’t let him near you or Kevin.” Gabe’s hands fisted at his sides. “If he shows up here, I swear to you he’ll be one sorry bastard.”
With a heavy sigh, she shook her head. “You can’t always be here, Gabe. And what about Cara? Or Abby? Or your brothers? Vincent likes to inflict pain, he enjoys it. How could I live with myself if any one of you were hurt because of me?”
“We take care of our own. All of us. Louise isn’t the only one with connections. Ian has a few himself. He could look into this, make sure that—”
“Wait.” Her head snapped up, and her eyes opened wide as she stared at the file in Gabe’s hand. “How did Ian know who I really am? Oh my God,” she gasped. “What have you done?”
“You were ready to bolt any minute,” he said tightly. “Ian has resources, so I asked him to run a check on you.”
“You had no right!” Her voice rose, her eyes flashed. “No right at all!”
“I took the right, dammit!” He was yelling now and he didn’t even care. “I couldn’t, wouldn’t, stand around and do nothing, then watch you and Kevin walk out of my life. I care about you, both of you. Whether you like it or not, I’m going to help you.”
She shook her head fiercely. “If your investigation alerts even one of Louise’s connections, Vincent will find me here. I can’t let that happen. I can’t!”
She turned and headed for the front door, but he moved in front of her and blocked her way. “What are you going to do?”
“Get out of my way.” Her chin lifted defiantly.
He shook his head. “Not until you tell me what you’re going to do.”
“I was going to stay,” she said with a chilly calm.
“I was coming down here to tell you everything, tell you I was going to risk everything just to be here with you. Now that you’ve done this, now that Vincent might find me, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“Melanie—”
“I need to be alone, Gabe.” Hurt darkened her gray eyes. “I need you to go into town and leave me alone so I can think.”
He wanted to shake her, wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her, but he knew he couldn’t touch her, that she didn’t want him near her right now.
Maybe it would do them both good for him to leave her alone for a little while. He could take his frustration out on his brothers and she’d have time to calm down, to realize that he’d only done what he had to do.
“You go ahead and think.” He stepped out of the way. “But I’ll be back, Melanie. You can count on it.”
Her gaze met his for the briefest moment, but he couldn’t read what was going on inside her. She moved past him, and the screen door closed behind her.
Dammit! He spun on his heels and headed for his truck.
Chapter 12
Melanie stood at the upstairs bedroom window and stared across the long expanse of lush meadow that had been Mildred Witherspoon’s front yard. Thick stands of dogwood
s and maples surrounded the property, the lush green leaves already changing. Another week or two and she imagined the entire countryside would be a beautiful patchwork of rich reds and browns, golden-yellows and brilliant orange.
But would she be here to see it?
Turning from the window, she stared at the open suitcase on the floor behind her. She’d started to pack, certain that she couldn’t stay, couldn’t take the chance that Ian’s inquiries into her life would expose her and Kevin to danger. Panicked, she’d tossed half of her clothes into the suitcase when she’d glanced at the feather bed on the floor and remembered the night before. Remembered how safe and warm she’d felt in Gabe’s arms. How protected and loved.
Only to find out that he’d gone behind her back, run his own investigation and delved into matters he didn’t understand, that he couldn’t possibly understand.
He had no right, dammit! she’d told herself over and over as she’d paced the bedroom. No right. It was her life, hers and Kevin’s. When she’d left California, she’d vowed that no one would take control of her life again. She would make her own decisions, do what she thought was best for her and her son.
She closed her eyes, listened to Kevin’s laughter as he played with his twirlybird downstairs. He was so happy here. Happier than he’d ever been. Bloomfield County was a wonderful town, exactly the kind of place she’d want to raise her son.
To raise a family.
Melanie hadn’t let herself even consider the possibility of more children, not with the life she and Kevin faced. Always looking over their shoulders, wondering if Vincent might find them.
But still, ever since Cara’s announcement last night, she’d felt a yearning, a desperate longing that had slipped in under her defenses and whispered seductively in her ear. A brother for Kevin, a little girl for her.
A dark-haired little boy. A green-eyed baby girl. Gabe’s hair, Gabe’s eyes.
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