“Well, I’m not asking you for a ride to the mall.” She smirked. “I want to be able to pay for a service without it linking back to us.”
“Are you buying dates now?” Mathew quipped, smiling behind his coffee mug. “If you’re that desperate I can fix you up with a guy I know.”
“It’s for a forensic lab to gather evidence. I want to send money to pay for it.”
“Harlan,” Mathew exhaled, the wrinkles next to his eyes leaving as his smile faded away. “Dallas called me already about this.”
“Oh great, I’m glad everyone is up to speed on all the details of my life. You don’t get to decide how I spend my money. If this keeps up, the girls and I are going to take off. You all want to be in our lives, but you can’t run our lives.”
“Are you done?” Mathew asked, with a loud huff. “That’s not what I meant. Dallas called me to let me know that the car associated with the case was found torched this morning. Someone got to it first. It was under an overpass down by the water and burned for hours before anyone called it in. There’s nothing left to it.”
“What?” she gasped, heat rolling up her body. “But that was going to be the break in the case. Dallas must be devastated. Was he?”
“I’ll be honest with you,” Mathew said, clearing his throat. “Guys don’t really do devastated with other guys they don’t know. He sounded pissed, I guess.”
“I wonder if he’d already told Tim and then had to break the bad news to him.”
“What I do know is if someone was motivated to torch potential evidence it means Dallas’s instincts were right about getting you here. If there is something to cover up, you don’t want to be the one trying to uncover it. It’s better this way.”
“I could be helping,” she maintained. “I’m not helpless.”
“You could also be in the trunk of that burned car right now,” he reminded her. “I need you to do me a favor, Harlan. Please.” Mathew turned toward her and took her hand. “Don’t ask me to stop being your big brother. It’s been my job all these years, and I’m not willing to stop. It’s intrusive and annoying, but don’t leave. Don’t take the girls and go because I would only have Emmitt left to be a big brother to, and he’s an asshole. Don’t do that to me.”
Harlan cracked a reluctant smile. “Fine,” she agreed. “But I’m making changes in my life. I’m taking back control. You can still worry, you can still hire people to protect me, but we are going to live freely.”
“I’ll do my best, I promise.” Mathew went back to sipping his coffee and reading his paper as she stood to leave.
“You really care about him?” he asked as she made her way across the room.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said with a long exhale. “We don’t always get what we want.”
Chapter 26
The buzzer over the door rang out loudly as a guard slid the metal bar to the side and let Dallas in.
“They’re bringing him out now,” the pug-nosed guard announced as he ushered Dallas into the small familiar room.
Dallas had screwed up, and now he’d have to crush his friend’s fragile hopefulness once again. “Hey man,” he choked out as Tim came shuffling into the room.
“I didn’t expect to see you so soon,” Tim said through a wide smile, but it crumbled quickly. Dallas’s expression was probably speaking volumes. “What happened? They couldn’t have already gone through the car? We didn’t even get enough money together yet, right?”
“The car was torched,” Dallas explained, pushing his words out over the lump in his throat. “Someone got to it last night. It was completely destroyed.”
“Damn,” Tim croaked, dropping his head down. “I mean I didn’t have very high hopes that all this time later they’d be able to find something in the car. But I thought at least it was worth a shot.”
“It means we were right though,” Dallas justified, forced optimism in his tone. “There is something out there to be found if they’re willing to destroy evidence. We know now that Azeela’s men might be somehow involved with Larry. And that they’ve got some incentive to keep you in here.”
“Right,” Tim said, a faraway look in his eyes. “Thanks for coming in to let me know. You should head out. You’ve got that pretty girl to spend time with.”
“No,” Dallas said, shaking his head. “It’s not going to work out with her. It was a mistake. I’ve got nothing but time. I can hang out a while.”
“How?” Tim asked. “How did you fuck that up already? I told you not to get overly involved with the case right now. I begged you.” He slammed his hand on the metal table, loud enough to draw the guard’s attention.
Dallas raised a disarming hand to wave the guard off. “It was more complicated than that,” Dallas lied. In fact, Harlan had been the least complicated thing in his life. “Don’t think about that now. Let’s focus on what we have to do.”
“We?” Tim questioned, his raised voice echoing off the walls in the small room. “We are done. We aren’t doing anything anymore. You need to leave. I don’t want any more help on my case. Now you’ve kicked the hornet’s nest with Marc Azeela. You’ve thrown away another chance at being happy. I’m telling you now this is done. If you come to visit, I’ll refuse. I’ll tell Melissa not to take your calls anymore. Move on, Dallas.”
“Move on?” Dallas brayed in disbelief. “What the hell is wrong with you? If I were in here I’d be doing everything I could to get out. What is it you aren’t telling me? What is it you’re hiding?”
“Guard,” Tim called loudly, “I’m ready to go back.”
“Why are you doing this?” Dallas asked, reaching out and grabbing Tim’s orange jumpsuit. Pulling him half across the metal table he pleaded, “Why?”
“You’ll thank me someday,” Tim whispered as the guard came in and broke them up.
“You’re a fool,” Dallas scolded. “You’re throwing your life away.”
“I am,” Tim agreed. “But I’m in prison. What’s your excuse?”
Chapter 27
Harlan had been home for four days. In her own home with her children in their own beds. The house had a newly installed, upgraded security system, and three rotating guards were assigned to them. But otherwise she’d managed to make it as normal as possible. The house was small compared to the compound her mother lived in, but that was why Harlan had chosen it. Still on the property, but outside of the gates and security perimeter of the main house it served as living quarters for the main house staff decades ago. Coming home to it offered a tiny bit of healing. It was hers, and it was familiar.
Turning on the television, she sank into her plush, oversized chair and pulled a blanket over her lap. Jessica’s advice had resonated with her. Harlan was readying for war. She was going to battle her way to happiness by any means necessary. The wheels had begun to turn in her head, and small glimmers of hope were sparkling in the darkness.
The intercom buzzed and a voice from outside filled the room. “Miss Kalling, there is someone here to see you. Dallas Rockland.”
“Uh, send him in, I guess,” she stammered.
“Are you sure? I can ask him to call or come back tomorrow.” The man sounded excited at the idea of tossing Dallas out on his ass.
“It’s fine,” she said, more confidently this time. “Send him in.” Her large hooded sweatshirt had a couple of bleach stains on it, and her hair was twisted into a messy bun. She’d long since washed off her makeup, but none of that mattered. Dallas had already seen the rawest parts of her spirit; she knew he wouldn’t care about her clothes.
When he slinked through the front door she nearly lost her breath at the sight of him. The fleeting bit of worry she put into her appearance melted away as she saw the state he was in.
Bloodshot eyes, hair unkempt, and clothes wrinkled to nearly unwearable. “Dallas, what happened to you?”
“I haven’t been home in a few,” he said, trying to smooth his hair down as though he just realized how bad he looked. “I�
��m sorry to come back here after telling you I wouldn’t.”
“It’s all right,” she assured him, walking him to the couch. “I heard about the car. I’m so sorry that happened.”
“This security team seems better,” Dallas said, gesturing with his chin over at the door, the shadow of a big man still on the other side of the glass.
“Emmitt pulled out all the stops this time. He hired a company with a great track record. I haven’t talked to these guys much, but they seem good.”
“I can’t imagine why you don’t want to talk to them.” He hung his head and groaned. “I’m sorry for how things happened Harlan. I shouldn’t have—”
“Careful what you apologize for,” she interrupted. “If you apologize for taking me to the safe house, or for what we did while we were there, it might break my heart.”
“No,” he said, his head shooting up, and his gaze fixed on her. “I don’t regret a second I spent with you. I just regret the circumstances. I regret letting anything put you or your girls at risk.”
“Why did you come here tonight?” she asked, her chest tight with anxiety. She hoped he might say just the right thing or the whole world outside had changed enough to make things simple between them.
“I had something I wanted to tell you in person,” Dallas replied. “It’s about Rylie.”
“What?” Harlan asked wearily. There was no room left in her heart for bad news.
“He went back to see my friend Lilly. He’s been there almost a week now. She said he’s making great progress, going to meetings every day and getting help from doctors on staff. It’s a slow process but he’s saying the right things right now. It seems like he has a chance.”
“A week?” she asked, imagining the clarity that must have returned to Rylie now. She couldn’t recall the last time he’d gone that long without a drink.
“He’s not asking to see the girls yet or anything. But I’m sure eventually he’ll reach out. I wanted you to know there’s hope for him.” Dallas, with some effort, stood and cleared his throat. “I know it’s hard to trust people, and I haven’t given you any reason to do so. But I hope for the girls’ sake he pulls himself together. They deserve to be happy.”
“Thank you,” she said, wiping away the hot tears that were streaming down her cheek. “Hope isn’t a cornerstone of my life philosophy right now, but I’d like my girls to have a chance at it. That’s all you came by for? How is Tim doing?”
“I’m not sure, he won’t see me anymore. He kicked me out and won’t take visits from me.”
“Because of what happened with the car?”
“No,” he explained. “Because I blew it with you, and he is tired of me doing that. There’s more to the story though. I just can’t get him to tell me what it is.”
“You should go home and get some sleep,” Harlan suggested. “Or crash here on the couch.”
“I’m not giving up on the case,” Dallas replied quickly, trying to answer the question Harlan didn’t have enough courage to ask. Does this mean we can be together?
“You’re not?” she asked, an arrow plunging into her chest. “Even though he’s told you to?”
“He’ll have no choice but to see me once I get him a new trial. Or if I get him exonerated completely by proving Larry committed the murder. I’m not stopping.”
“Right,” Harlan said quietly. “Well, take care of yourself. Watch your back.”
“I’m glad to see you’re keeping your security team and not giving them trouble. It’s the right thing to do.” Dallas swallowed hard.
“I’ve made some important decisions,” she explained as he trudged toward the door, feet shuffling slowly. “I’ve figured out how to get some control back in my life and still stay safe.”
“I’m glad,” he nodded, knocking lightly on the door as not to startle the man on the other side. “I’m sorry again,” he apologized as he stepped outside.
“Stop being sorry,” she ordered. “Just sleep, feel better.”
“I hope Rylie calls,” he forced out. “I hope things work out for you.”
“Maybe you should start saving some of that hope for you, Dallas,” she suggested. “You count too.”
Chapter 28
It was right there in the local small circulation newspaper Harlan had picked up in the lobby of the girls’ dance school. The answer that Harlan had been waiting for was finally right in front of her. Now all it would take was the courage to actually put her plan into action. That was an entirely different challenge. It had taken a few days to work herself up to it, but today was the day.
“Mom,” she said, peeking her head into her mother’s darkened bedroom. “I need to ask you a favor.”
“Sure,” she said drowsily, sitting up slowly from beneath her comforter. “What time is it?”
“It’s really early. Five thirty in the morning. Krissy is at my house with the girls, and I need some help with something.”
“What could you need this early?” she asked, wiping the sleep from her eyes and reaching for her robe. “Is everything all right?”
“I need a diversion,” Harlan whispered. “I need to slip away from Horace, my security, for the morning. I won’t be long, but it’s important that I get some privacy. You can help me.”
“Oh Harlan,” her mother groaned, shaking her head. “Your brothers have been very clear. You made a commitment; you promised them your number one priority would be your safety.”
“I said I would do it for the girls. That’s exactly what this is about, so I’m technically keeping my promise.”
“You were always good at finding a way around the rules.”
“It’s only for about an hour, and I promise I’ll be safe.” That was a stretch. Her destination was the equivalent of walking into the lion’s den, but it had to be done. And it had to be done by her. That was the only way it would work.
“How in the world am I going to create a diversion?” Her mother was out of bed now and stepping into her slippers. “You give me too much credit. I’d make a terrible secret agent. You know my ears turn red when I lie.”
“I already have a plan. You remember the time you made those blueberry muffins?”
“And I nearly burned down the house?” she laughed, slapping her hand to her head at the memory. “I certainly would never win on a cooking show, that’s for sure.”
“Yes, all the batter flipped into the bottom of the oven when you dropped the muffin tin in. I think that would have people running your way this morning. Remember how much smoke it made?”
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing? I worry so much about you.” She glanced in the mirror and pinned up her hair the same way she did every morning. Creature of habit was far too gentle of a phrase for her mother. She was a slave to it.
“I’ve given this a lot of thought. It’s something I have to do. I’ve weighed out all my options, and if I ever want to walk around this world without some dude two steps behind me waiting to pounce on looming threats, I have to do this. I know this is a lot to ask, Mom. It’s not easy for you.”
“It might look from the outside that nothing is easy on me. That’s not true. You make my life wonderful. All of you do. I don’t know where I’d be without you.”
Harlan felt the lump in her throat double in size. She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t seriously considered grabbing her kids in the middle of the night and disappearing to some far-off place. There would be no obsessive habits of her mother to worry about. No threat of a gambling relapse from her father. Guards would be a distant memory, and her children would frolic joyfully. Did kids still frolic? In her imagination they did. Across a beach, out in a field, wherever they wanted. Now with her mother’s damp eyes staring at her expectantly, Harlan knew more than ever she couldn’t run from this. It would need to be faced head-on. Which meant they had some muffins to burn.
It took surprisingly long for her mother to make a perfect batter, considering she was about to dump it on the bo
ttom of her stove. “You know messes like this kill me. I’m going to be thinking about the burned-on batter for a week. I’ll dream about it long after it’s cleaned up.”
“I know,” Harlan said, leaning in and kissing her on the cheek. “Which makes me appreciate this so much more. Are you ready?”
“Yes,” she grumbled and rolled her eyes. She was still not completely convinced she was doing the right thing. “Are you, Harlan?”
“I’ve got this,” she promised as she slipped out of the room and into the study by the front door. When the smoke began and everyone ran in to help, she’d be able to dash for her car.
It was a long shot, but miraculously it worked. When smoke reached the alarm and it started to blare every security member came in, anxious to help. Her mom moved out the back door and any man not attending to the smoking oven went with her to ensure she was all right. Harlan was not alarmed by her mother’s coughing. It gave Harlan just the window she needed to get away.
When her key turned in the ignition she felt a rush of excitement. She was on her way to something incredibly risky, but the reward would outweigh any threat of danger. Or at least that’s what she kept telling herself.
Chapter 29
The ice rink was cold and loud, the buzz of fans and cooling equipment adding an intrusive hum to everything. Children shouted and whistles blew; hockey sticks made a smacking noise against the ice.
Harlan took a seat at the top of the bleachers to the left of the rink and watched. She wasn’t in a rush. According to the newspaper article she’d read, the team would be playing back-to-back games. It was important for her to watch first. To asses if her gut had been right.
After the first period she had her answer. This was worth the risk. Moving down the cement stairs toward the group of parents standing at the boards, she knew she was ready.
The Barrington Billionaires Collection 1 Page 68
