by Jen Talty
“What’s the matter?”
She jumped at the sound of Mason’s voice behind her. “Shit, you scared me.”
“Looks like something on your phone scared you first.”
“I’m just shaken up by all this,” she said, which was the truth.
“And what about this? Does this shake you up?” He shoved a picture of her and Lucas in front of her face.
“What the hell?” she took it in her trembling hands, flipping it over and staring at the words: Lucas and Heidi.
“Who the hell is Lucas, and why does a picture of you say your name is Heidi?”
Chapter 7
MASON DECIDED NOT TO TELL his boss what he’d found, because he had no idea what the picture meant. He knew only two things.
One: Harmony hadn’t stolen the puppy or broke into her own business. She’d been with him all night, except for a short period of time where she’d been with Carol, and he’d had his eyes on her during that time.
Two: Someone wanted to either frame her for puppy stealing, or was messing with her.
But why? And putting a puppy in her house seemed like an odd thing to do.
Mason let out a long breath, watching the taillights of Jonah’s patrol car disappear into the night. Crickets chirped their happy song, filling the air with the sounds of summer. Inhaling the sharp scent of grapes ripening in the hills, ready to be crushed so they could be turned into the finest of wines Napa Valley had to offer, he turned and faced Harmony.
Or Heidi.
She sat on the porch in one of the new Adirondack chairs he’d purchased just a few days before her arrival, Coop at her feet. He barely looked up at the weight of Mason’s feet on the steps.
So much for being his best friend.
He leaned against the post and crossed his arms. “I didn’t say anything to my boss about the picture and your name.”
“Good thing, because you would have made an ass of yourself.”
“Excuse me?” he said, shoving his finger in his ear, because no way could he have heard her correctly.
“That’s not me. I know it looks a lot like me, but it’s my mother and father.”
“What?”
“If you had cared to look closely, you would have noticed the woman in this picture is a bit heavier, because she’s pregnant. With me. Her hair color is much lighter and the car in the background should give away the year. My mother’s name was Heidi and my father’s is—”
“Lucas,” he muttered. Talk about jumping to conclusions, something his training told him NEVER to do, but his personal life had jaded him so badly that not only did he rush to a rash judgment, he couldn’t trust a woman.
But then she just said ‘is’ and not ‘was.’
Christ, he was an asshole.
“I’m sorry.” Regardless of his jerkiness, she had still lied and it was time to call her out on it. “But that doesn’t change the fact you weren’t truthful about the timestamp.”
“As I told your boss, I wasn’t focused on that, but on my financial records, emails, business records, and all that.”
Sounded sort of reasonable. He rubbed his temples as his mind tried to connect all the dots, only the most important ones were missing. To be fair, the only one he knew that had any kind of motive to see Harmony fail was Lilly and she was a lot of things, but he couldn’t see her breaking into any store, much less someone’s home.
Okay, so the latter he could see and had seen when she tried to surprise him with a home-cooked meal after their one and only date. Coop didn’t take too kindly to that and that dog liked just about everyone who carried food with them.
Not Lilly.
Smart dog.
But Lilly was essentially harmless. Lonely, but she wouldn’t hurt anyone in her quest for someone to marry; love didn’t need to be part of that equation. Just the desire to reproduce, something he wanted.
But not that badly.
“I’m just trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together and so much doesn’t add up.” Of course, his mind was muddled with attraction and heavy like, his police officer skills were being diluted, a fact he accepted, which is why he didn’t demand to head up this case. His judgment was beyond clouded. “The puppy thing is really weird.”
“Tell me about it,” she mumbled, shifting her feet as she stood.
Coop moaned, then stretched as he made his way to Mason’s side.
“I’m really tired.”
“All right.” He stood in front of her, staring into her eyes. There was no denying the pull she had over him, and by the way her gaze lingered, she felt it too.
He reached out, cupping her chin. “I’m really sorry about the way I’ve behaved. My trust for women isn’t very high, and I haven’t been totally honest with you about why.” He shouldn’t open himself up to her, exposing his heart to another break, but the words of his mother lingered over his head like a bad storm.
If you don’t take any risks, you’ll never find happiness.
Today, his level of satisfaction was wrapped up in a dog, who seemed to prefer his sexy, but not completely honest, neighbor.
“My mother has always told me it’s better to have loved and lost than never loved, only I’ve lost a few times.”
“Carol told me about Julia.”
His heart hitched, and Coop let out a low growl at the name.
Damn smart dog.
And Coop seemed to trust and adore Harmony, so what the hell was his problem?
“Yeah, she did a number on me,” he whispered, running his hand down Harmony’s arm. “She lied to me about everything. It’s made me trust my instincts.”
Harmony patted his chest. “Don’t let her control you like that. She’s not worth it, and you’re a good man.”
He arched a brow. “How do you know that?”
“Because instincts tell me to run for the hills. All good men make me nervous.”
“We are a pair,” he pulled her closer, tracing his finger under her eye, just above her cheekbone. “Who hurt you and how?”
“It’s a long story, one I really don’t wish to get into.” She leaned away, but he pulled her tighter.
“I won’t ask then, but I don’t want you staying here alone.”
“I’ll be fine.”
Mason arched a brow. “How about I leave Coop.”
“Won’t be necessary. I’ll lock the doors.”
“I’d feel better if I stayed here, or at least left my dog behind,” he said. He didn’t expect anything to happen, but he wasn’t going to leave her alone. He leaned in, kissing her forehead. “Or maybe I’ll sleep on the porch.”
“Suit yourself.”
He groaned, but it wouldn’t be the first time he’d slept on a porch. “I will.” Defiantly, he sat on one of the chairs, crossing his legs.
“Coop can stay out here with you.”
“Holler if you need me,” Mason said as he eased into the chair.
“Go home, Mason.”
“I don’t mind staying,” he said.
“I do. I don’t need a man watching over me. Whatever kind of weirdness is going on, it’s a prank. Your boss even said so.” Her eyes narrowed in a determined glare.
“That’s not exactly what he said.”
“You might own this cottage, but I need my sleep, and I won’t get any if I know you’re out here, getting eaten alive by bugs.”
No sooner did she say that than a few pesky little mosquitos got the back of his neck. “I’m right next door if you need me. Actually, put me on speed dial.”
She nodded. “Thanks and I’m sorry for not being forthcoming with the computer thing.”
Well, that was something. “I’m sorry for being an untrusting goon.”
“Apology accepted,” she said, slipping into the house. She glanced over her shoulder and gave him a slight smile.
For some reason, it felt like a final goodbye.
“Let’s go Coop,” he said as he made his way across the yard to his modest ho
me that he’d bought when he’d first returned to St. Helena’s. He’d bought the cottage when he started dating Julia because she couldn’t stand being in a house that he’d bought when thinking about marrying another woman.
Now he had two homes, no wife, and a lady living in one that confused the hell out of him.
Once inside, he snagged a treat for Coop. “Be on the watch,” he said. Coop headed for the front of the house and sat by the door, his ears tall, listening for the slightest sign of danger.
Meanwhile, Mason tried to resist the urge to Google Lucas and Heidi Baker.
That lasted all of five minutes.
He rolled his office chair to the desk in his study and fired up his laptop. If this were his case, he’d be doing this exact thing. The fact he hadn’t given his boss the information would have to be dealt with if anything came of it.
Which, Lord, he hoped not.
When he hit return, he really hoped he’d find images that matched what she’d claimed were her parents. Or an obituary for her parents, naming her as their only survivor. Anything to let him know he was a paranoid dick.
A few things popped up under the names, but it wasn’t what he needed. Actually, every person he found under her parents hadn’t remotely resembled the picture he’d seen leaning up against a shoebox on the mantel.
The box.
He thought it strange she had that on the mantle above the fireplace, but had been so engrossed in the names on the back of the image that he let that one slide.
Maybe he should start with Harmony Baker. The Google search came up with her business in St. Helena’s and a Facebook page, that had been opened a month before she’d moved into his cottage. Also popping up on the first page was a Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn account, all with the start dates as a month ago. He clicked on the LinkedIn account which informed him before she’d moved to St. Helena’s, she lived in Arizona and worked as a project manager for an interior design company, but when he Googled that company, he got nothing.
Weird.
He moved to the second Google search page, finding her parents’ obituary.
Herold and Ronda Baker died in a car crash on…
He didn’t bother finishing the article. Her parents weren’t Lucas and Heidi, and he knew without a doubt that the woman…the pregnant woman…in that picture had been Harmony.
Fuck.
He scrolled a few more listings that came up with her name, finding a specific pattern.
All of her social media sites had started within the last six months. Nothing prior about Harmony Baker, expect her parents, but he found something even more peculiar about those listings.
They were all dated after her parents’ supposed car crash. Everything about Harmony on the internet indicated either she’d paid for a new identity, or someone else did, like the government.
Leaning back, he clasped his hands behind his head. “Harmony Baker, who are you really, and what are you running from?”
Chapter 8
HARMONY RACED THROUGH the house, making sure all doors were locked before pulling up the email from Anna, Lucas’s sister, on her iPad.
Hi, Heidi or is it Harmony? Did you think we wouldn’t find you?
Harmony swallowed the bile that smacked the back of her throat like a water balloon exploding, stinging your skin before the warm water trickled down your skin. Anna hadn’t been a criminal, and she barely knew of her brother’s escapades, but when the Feds had come to arrest him, Anna blamed Harmony for everything. She had gone as far as to say it was Harmony who had led her brother down the path of destruction.
Then, when Anna’s mother had a heart attack right before the arraignment, that’s when things got really ugly. Anna swore she’d make sure Harmony would pay for ruining her family.
You can run. But you can’t hide. And I wouldn’t call your FBI friends to come and rescue you, because if you do, I’ll make sure your boyfriend’s family suffers. I’ll start with the youngest. Boy, what a cutie. It will pain me to make him suffer a fate that will change his parents forever.
Like you changed my mother.
Harmony hovered the mouse over the jpeg file attached to the email. Holding her breath, she clicked the file.
“Shit,” she held back a scream as she stared at a picture of Kate and her youngest child asleep in her lap. The image had been taken at the barbeque.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Anna had someone watching her, and they were probably outside right now. She turned her attention back to the screen.
If you want the children to stay safe, you will get in your car, drive to the address at the bottom of this email, and face the consequences of your actions.
She glanced to the bottom. The location was only about a half hour away.
Her life certainly wasn’t worth saving over three innocent children that had nothing to do with Lucas, his shady dealings, or his family.
“You win, Lucas,” she whispered, resolved to the fact she’d do exactly what Anna asked. No questions.
You have until six in the morning. Fail to meet me there, and Kate’s children start dying. It won’t end there, either. Kate, her husband, Mason’s parents, his dog, and then him. They will all die because you’re a selfish bitch.
“Like hell they will.” She set the iPad on the table next to her and snagged the picture Mason had found.
She held the picture in her trembling fingers. She’d been four months pregnant and thought she had the life. She had money, power, and she had Lucas. A man who gave her everything.
Until he took it all away.
Rubbing her stomach, she bit back the tears. One minute she was about to embark on the most important job she’d ever have as a human being, and with the swift kick of her boyfriend’s boots, it all disappeared.
The first beating Lucas dished out resulted in a black eye, a split lip, and a concussion that prompted a trip to the ER where she found out she was two months pregnant. Lucas swore it was the drugs that made him hit her, and he swore he’d give them up.
And he did.
But that didn’t last.
The second beating landed her in the ER where the doctor informed her that the blows to her stomach had caused the placenta to separate from the uterus, and her baby had died.
That’s when she knew she needed to leave Lucas, only that proved to be near impossible.
Enter the FBI.
“Shit, Mason. Where did you find this picture?” That wasn’t a question she could send him a text about and not expect some flack. Think. Think. Think.
Harmony Baker: Sorry to bother you, but the picture of my parents was with some other items. Did you move them? Because I can’t find them.
She hoped that wouldn’t send up a million warning signals, but hopefully, if it did, she’d be long gone.
Mason Cooper: All I saw was a shoebox on the mantel. I didn’t touch it.
With a pounding heart, she stood and made her way to the fireplace. Sure enough, a shoebox that hadn’t been there when she’d left for the barbeque lined the shelf. She looked around the area, trying to find something else that would be plausible that she’d wanted to find, which warranted a text. That’s when she noticed another photograph of Lucas when he’d been arrested that must have fallen.
Harmony Baker: Not the shoebox. But a picture of my dad.
Lying made her stomach churn as if sour milk coated the lining. Lying to Mason made her want to vomit. If he’d seen the picture, she was sure he would have confronted her about it.
Or at the very least, he would have taken the image.
Mason Cooper: Sorry. I didn’t see it.
Harmony Baker: Okay. Thanks. It’s probably in my nightstand.
Mason Cooper: I’ll leave my phone on. Please don’t hesitate to reach out, even if you think it’s nothing.
Harmony Baker: Will do. Goodnight, Mason.
Mason Cooper: Sleep well, Harmony.
She figured that would be the last communication she ever had with the man
. Turning off her phone, she collected her purse. She didn’t need anything else. She had gas in the car and since she’s going to meet someone who was mostly likely going to kill her, she figured she looked nice enough in her summer dress.
Witness protection was nice while it lasted.
Letting out a long sigh, she headed for the back door and her modest SUV. Time to say goodbye to Harmony Baker, the small town of St. Helena’s, and the sexy police officer, Mason, and his adorable dog, Coop.
Life had some fucking twisted turns.
She slipped behind the steering wheel of her older model vehicle. She knew starting it would alert Coop and most likely his owner, so she slammed the gearshift in neutral, hoping it would start to roll down the slight slope toward the street.
The sound of a vicious bark caught her attention.
“Shit.” To her left, she saw Coop racing from the front door toward her car.
Mason followed behind, only he went for the rear of the car, not the side door. “Get out of the way,” she muttered, but he didn’t listen. Instead he put his hands on the back of the car as if to try to stop it.
She hit the brakes. “Get out of my way,” she yelled as she rolled down the window.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
“None of your business.”
“Like hell. You made it my business the second you signed the lease. Now get out of the car and start telling me what the fuck is really going on.”
“You really want to know?” She snagged her phone and leapt from the driver’s seat. Bringing up the email, she clicked on the image. It didn’t matter at this point if he knew her true identity. All that mattered was that she got to the designated location to prevent more deaths. “If I don’t do what Anna says, your sister’s kids are dead. So leave me the fuck alone and let me go.”
Chapter 9
“WHO THE FUCK IS ANNA?” Mason held his ground, staring at Harmony, hands firmly planted on his hips. His heart thumped so hard that he had to clutch his chest. “And what the hell does she have to do with my family?” He peered over her shoulder, noting the suitcase in the back seat.
