Shielding her son, p.14
Shielding Her Son, page 14
James heard a chair squeak on the other end of the line, as if Lance had changed positions. “I’ll send Deputy Bridges over to the school now. The last bell won’t ring for another hour or so but it won’t hurt to keep an eye out.”
“Thanks. It doesn’t appear that word has gotten out yet, but Robert was irate when he found out Marcus got most of the estate. Who knows what he’ll do or say?”
They spoke about the increased security measures that might be needed soon for a few more minutes before James ended the call.
And immediately made another.
James listened to the water running in the bathroom as he waited for Ryan to pick up, and wondered what Erika would do if he slipped into the shower with her.
“James? Are you there? We must have a bad connection?” Ryan’s voice shattered the very nice daydream he’d been building.
“Yeah, yeah. I can hear you. I don’t have much time before Erika and I need to get back on the road to Carling Lake but a lot of stuff went down this morning.”
He ran through a slightly more detailed version of the meeting with the attorneys.
“Sounds like a doozy of a meeting.”
“That’s one way to put it. I want to know everything there is to know about Robert, his wife, his kids, his best friend and his wife and kids. Anybody who is in any way associated with Robert or Overholt Industries.”
“Do you know how many people work at Overholt Industries?” Ryan deadpanned.
“I don’t care.”
Ryan sighed. “How about we start with the Board of Directors and major executives and work our way from there?”
“Fine,” James gritted out.
“Now answer me this, are you just a man obsessed with protecting a woman you have feelings for or in your professional opinion,” Ryan stressed the last two words, “is Robert Overholt a real threat to Erika and Marcus?”
James thought about the question. He was plagued by the thought that he’d fall short and Erika and Marcus might be harmed, but the amount of money they were dealing with made people take extreme actions. “Both.”
“I guess that’s fair.”
“Somebody has orchestrated at least two attacks on Erika in the last week. Robert didn’t seem like he knew what was in the will but he could just be a damn good actor.”
“Okay, but you said the bridge thing and the shots were directed at Erika. Hurting, or even killing Erika, wouldn’t mean Robert gets the money, right?”
“No, but maybe Robert doesn’t know that. Or maybe he’s so upset he doesn’t care. But more likely, assuming Robert is behind the attacks on Erika, he’s figured that as Marcus’s only blood relative, he’d get custody of Marcus, and his trust, should anything happen to Erika.”
“Okay, I’ll put a guy on it and get back to you ASAP.”
“Thanks.” The water in the shower shut off. James could hear Erika moving around in the bathroom again. “I also talked to Erika a bit about the potential threats money like that can raise.”
“And?”
“She’s not happy about it but she’s agreed to look at plans for a home security system and private security.”
“I can get a team started on that, too. We’ll have to send someone out to get accurate measurements. A layout. The works.”
“I know the drill. I plan to broach the subject of staying in one of the guest rooms in the B&B until we’ve got all this sorted out, so Erika and Marcus won’t be unprotected.”
“Hmm.”
“What does that mean?”
“Our job is technically over. I canceled the contract and gave Overholt’s executors back their retainer, like we discussed. There’s no reason for you to stay in Carling Lake.”
“There’s a reason,” James grumbled. The last thing he was in the mood for was his little brother ribbing him over a woman.
Ryan chuckled. “Oh, yeah. Care to share it with me?”
“No.”
He heard Ryan’s chuckle turn into full-on laughter before he punched the button on his screen to end the call.
Chapter Nineteen
The multi-head shower in James’s bathroom was so luxurious it had Erika entertaining thoughts of what it would be like to step inside every day. It might even make moving to a city like New York worth it.
First, you suggest James move to Carling Lake. Now you’re fantasizing about moving in with him. You’ve lost your mind.
Maybe she had. James’s prowess in the bedroom was certainly enough to make any woman go a little crazy. But that was exactly what thinking about a future with him was. Crazy.
He was a war hero and private investigator from New York. She was a mother, part-time reporter and wannabe B&B owner who lived in Carling Lake, New York. Nothing about the two of them together made any sense and she had to remember that.
She shut off the shower and got out. Toweling off, she squared her shoulders and met her reflection in the mirror.
She didn’t have any regrets about sleeping with James. She’d wanted him. Truth be told, she’d wanted him from the first moment she’d set eyes on him. Truth really be told, she wouldn’t mind having him again. And again. And...
But just because she didn’t regret sleeping with James, didn’t mean it was a good idea for them to get any more involved with each other. Geography wasn’t the only concern. She also had Marcus to think about. And their life was undoubtedly about to take a drastic turn with the addition of the Overholt billions that neither of them could properly comprehend at the moment.
But despite the rational side of her brain cataloging all the reasons she shouldn’t, Erika could still feel herself in danger of falling in love with James West.
At least this time she was walking into it with eyes wide open, she thought as she got dressed. With Ronald she’d been so young and the grief of losing her mother still so fresh, she hadn’t seen her relationship with Ronald for the abusive situation that it really was until it was too late.
A relationship with James, she knew, was a recipe for disaster, although in a very different way from what she’d had with Roland. He did seem to feel badly about deceiving her, which might make him feel obligated to help her out and hang around until he was sure she and Marcus were safe. But eventually he’d return to New York and his phenomenal shower and she and Marcus would—
She had no idea what she and Marcus would do. A day ago, she had their futures planned out precisely, but now? Would they have to move? She loved Carling Lake and so did Marcus. But it was a small town and she knew that money like the kind Marcus stood to inherit brought with it a host of security concerns she couldn’t even begin to contemplate.
Concerns which West Security and Investigations could help her with. Which was why she was going to take a hard look at the proposal from West. She stepped out of the bathroom.
The bedroom was vacant but she could hear James moving around in the living room.
She opened the bedroom door.
James sat at the edge of the couch, typing on a laptop on the coffee table in front of him. He surged to his feet as she stepped into the room.
“Hey. Hi. Hi.” He rubbed his hands against the rough denim of his jeans and cleared his throat. His obvious awkwardness helped to set the butterflies in her stomach some. “I made coffee.”
He rounded the coffee table and moved into the kitchen.
“Thanks.” Erika followed, sliding up next to him and taking the coffee mug he plucked from an upper cabinet.
“Are you having second thoughts about sleeping together?” His voice was rough and she wasn’t sure if it was just wishful thinking on her part, but she thought she detected vulnerability.
She smiled up at him, set the cup on the counter and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Well, it would be a little bit too late if I were, but I’m not.”
“Good.”
She felt his body relax against hers. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t have a ton of questions swirling through my head. Like what are we doing? Where could this possibly lead? You live here and I live in Carling Lake. And then there’s all the stuff with the Overholts. And truly this just seems to be the worst time to start a relationship with anybody. Not that I’m saying we’re in a relationship.”
James kept his arms wrapped around her but leaned back so he could look down at her. “How about we put a pin in all those questions and revisit them at a later time. Right now we can just enjoy the moment and being here together.”
It wasn’t the answer she wanted, but the sparks of desire she saw in his eyes sent her questions to the back of her mind.
Her heartbeat picked up several paces and there was a familiar longing low in her body. “Umm...enjoy the moment? I’m not sure I know how to do that.” She let a seductive smile slide across her face. “I might need you to show me how.”
James’s grin bordered on lecherous. He cupped her bottom and hoisted her up. Her legs wrapped around his waist, the feel of his hard length pressed between them, spiking her desire further.
He pulled her into a brief but scorching kiss before starting toward the bedroom. “I think I can do that.”
* * *
Their second go-round in the bedroom had left Erika feeling boneless. But the tension and anxiety that had melted from her body when she’d been in James’s bed increased as they got closer and closer to Carling Lake. The meeting with the Overholt lawyers had raised more questions than it had answered. If Roger knew about Marcus, why hadn’t he reached out while he’d been alive? And why would he leave almost all of his fortune to Marcus? There had to be a catch.
James’s phone rang, cutting into the silence in the car.
James punched a button on the steering wheel. “Lance, you’re on speaker.”
“Good to know. How are you hanging in there, Erika?”
“I haven’t had a complete meltdown but I’m reserving the right to do so later,” she quipped.
“Fair enough. Listen, what’s you guys’ ETA?” Lance said.
“We’re about a half hour out. Why? Is something wrong?” James asked.
“Nothing is wrong. In fact, I finally arrested several of the people involved in that gambling ring. Susan Garraus was among them.” Erika stared at Lance in open-mouthed shock. Straitlaced Susan Garraus was the last person in town Erika would have pegged getting involved in illegal gambling. “Wow, I can’t say I saw that one coming.”
“Yeah, me either,” Lance said. “We’ve got her dead to rights on an illegal gambling charge, but she wants to deal. She’s claiming she has information on corruption within the city government, but she’ll only talk to you, Erika.”
“Me? Are you sure? I’m not exactly Susan’s favorite person.”
“She wants you. Says she doesn’t trust anyone who works for the city not to cover up the information she knows.”
She felt her heartbeat speed up again, only this time it was due to the prospect of catching the Carling Lake story of the year. It was a feeling she relished. She shot a look at James. “Would you mind?”
“Why not?” James shrugged. “We’re on our way.”
A little over a half hour later, Erika and James sat across from Susan in the sheriff’s department’s interrogation room. Lance had advised Susan that she could have a lawyer present before speaking to them but Susan had waived that right, saying she just wanted to get this over with.
Erika was just anxious to find out what this was.
“Okay, Susan. Erika is here. What is it you wanted to tell her?” Lance started the conversation off.
Susan shot a disgruntled look at the sheriff. “I wanted to talk to her alone.”
“That’s not going to happen,” James said.
Erika slid a sidelong glance at him. If you didn’t look closely, he appeared relaxed, almost as if they were just four friends, who happened to be shooting the breeze in a police interrogation room. But Erika had been around him enough in the last several days to recognize the tension in his shoulders and the tiny vein in the crease where his neck and his jaw met that popped when he was angry or worried.
“What he said,” Lance seconded. “My time is valuable, Ms. Garraus, so if you’ve got something to say, spit it out.”
Susan gave Lance another nasty look before turning to Erika. “You were right about the grant.”
Erika blinked, confused. She’d pretty much gotten nowhere with that story. “How was I right?”
“We applied for it, Ellis Hanes and I. Only we never planned to use the money to renovate city hall.”
“Okay.” Erika felt her eyebrows rise a notch. “What did you plan to do with it?”
Susan snorted. “Isn’t it kinda obvious? We planned to use it to gamble. Or rather to gamble our way out of the debts we’d run up gambling.”
James slid Erika a look. “I guess you won’t need my contact with the feds, after all.”
“Hang on. What are you all talking about?” Lance pushed away from the wall and came to stand next to the table on Erika’s other side.
Susan shot a look at Erika and gave a bitter laugh. “So you haven’t brought your boyfriend up to speed, I see. Smart girl. Men ruin everything, anyway.”
“Ms. Garraus?” Lance growled.
“Ellis and I applied for a grant from the federal government to help with the costs of restoring city hall. Only we didn’t tell anyone else on the city council because we never planned to use the money for restoration. That damn gambling outfit had sucked both of us in.” Susan hunched over in her chair, as if admitting she had a gambling problem had deflated her. “My house is in foreclosure. My creditors are garnishing my wages. Not that it matters. If I worked until I was one hundred I wouldn’t make enough to pay back what I owe the bookies.” Susan looked up, and what Erika saw in her eyes was almost a plea. “That’s why we needed so much money. We were both in so deep only a big win was going to mean anything.”
Even though she knew what Susan had done was very wrong, Erika felt sorry for the woman sitting in front of her. “How did you and Ellis come up with this plan?”
Susan’s mouth twisted into an ugly scowl. “Ellis. It was his idea. I told him no, several times. But then my debt got so large and he convinced me that as long as we worked together, no one would know.” Her expression turned sad now. “And that if we just had enough money to bet big, we could both turn our luck around. Maybe even win enough to actually pay off our debts and give the three hundred thousand to the town and honor the grant.”
Erika worked to keep her expression neutral. Of course, the chances that Ellis and Susan would have won big enough to pull off their scheme were slim to none, especially at an unregulated, and more than likely fixed, underground gambling establishment. But gambling was an addiction, and addicts weren’t known for clearheaded planning.
“How do we know you’re telling the truth about Ellis Hanes?” Lance challenged Susan. “As far as I can tell, there is no evidence, outside of your statement here, that Ellis has anything to do with gambling or this grant you’ve told us about.”
“Lance is right, Susan. Something doesn’t add up. Sam Hogan walked off my renovation job because Ellis hired him to update a wing of his hotel. If Ellis is broke, how did he hire Sam?”
Susan scoffed. “Did Sam get the money upfront? Look, believe whatever you want,” Susan shot back, “but I’m telling you what I know. Ellis’s hotel and B&B haven’t been doing well at all these last several years. The buildings do need renovations but between that new resort down Route 283 siphoning off customers and his gambling, Ellis doesn’t have two nickels to rub together.”
“Maybe,” Lance said, “but you’ve still given us nothing to support that Ellis is involved in any of the things you’ve told us about.”
Susan locked her gaze on Erika. “I know he hired that transient—” Susan made a face “—Brian, to set fire to your B&B while you were in the hospital and then sent him back to bust up the place when the fire plan didn’t work out.”
“Brian Whitmer?” Erika conjured up a vague picture in her mind of the man. She’d never employed him but she knew he was one of many who picked up work in town during the height of tourist season. If Susan was telling truth, Brian had not only attempted to set fire to the B&B, he’d most likely also broken in and taken those shots at her, Marcus and James.
Damn Ellis Hanes. He could have killed Marcus. It took a moment for Erika to beat back the rage that flared in her chest. By the time she did, Susan was speaking again.
“I made a tape of me and Ellis I discussing the grant. Several, actually. Once we got the money, I didn’t trust that Ellis wouldn’t somehow try to pin the whole thing on me if it went south. They’re at my house in my safe.”
Lance’s expression still telegraphed his disbelief. “James, Erika, can I talk to you out in the hall for a moment.” Lance started for the door without waiting for an answer.
Susan caught Erika’s hand as she and James rose to follow Lance. “I want a deal, okay? I’m not going to lie about that. But I asked that you be here because I know you aren’t going to just allow them to pin everything on me and brush Ellis’s part in this under the rug.”
Something Ellis said when he’d confronted Erika in the park the other day jumped into her mind. “Susan, did you tell Ellis that I’d questioned you about the grant?”
Susan nodded. “Yeah, I freaked out. I was convinced you’d figured us out. I called Ellis, told him everything. He told me to keep my mouth shut and you wouldn’t have anything to go on.”
Erika mentally slotted the puzzle pieces into place. She had thought Ellis’s harassment was centered on the potential competition her B&B posed. But she could see how her questions around the missing grant money posed just as big, if not a bigger threat, to Ellis if what Susan said was true. Her inquiries could have pushed Ellis to go to extremes, like taking a shot at her outside of her house.
