Sharing Hailey (14 page)

Chapter Thirteen

“My Daniel?” Hailey blurted, forgetting for a moment that he wasn’t her Daniel.

“He wanted to see you. Had his suitcase like he was ready to move in.”

Hailey shook her head. She hadn’t seen his number on her phone in a few days. She figured he’d moved on. She’d been certain of it.

Goose bumps crept up her arms. “I don’t understand. What is Daniel doing in Hawaii?”

“He wants you back.”

She rubbed her palms up and down her arms. “But he didn’t tell me he was coming.”

“It’s the grand gesture. He lets you think he’s making a sacrifice to come be with you. You forgive him and take him back.”

“It’s kind of late for that.”

Tony raised his eyebrows. “I hope so.”

“There’s more, isn’t there? What happened?”

“Jake told him you weren’t there. Daniel wanted to stay until you got back. Jake told him you’d gone to Maui for a couple of days and he wasn’t welcome at the house. Daniel wanted to know where you were staying in Maui. He acted like the two of you were still together until Jake told him he knew about the breakup. Daniel got angry—told Jake it wasn’t any of his business. Nikki tried to calm everyone down.” He took a deep breath. “That’s where things get confusing.”

Ice-cold fear shot through her. “Oh my God. What did he do? Is it Nikki? Did he hurt her?”

“He was rough with her. He either choked her or shook her or pushed her, depending on who’s telling the story. Everyone agrees he threatened her, called her an interfering bitch.”

“Is she okay? The baby?” She held her breath, waiting for his answer.

“They’re fine. A little shaken. Meredith sneaked up behind him and hit him over the head with a wine bottle. It stunned him long enough for Nikki to get free. Jake and Landon beat the crap out of him and threw him out then called the police.”

“So he’s in jail.”

Tony shook his head. “He was gone before the police got there.”

It didn’t make sense. Daniel didn’t have time for a vacation. But not only was he in Hawaii, he’d manhandled Nikki, threatened to hurt her. Oh God. When had her life turned into an episode of
Jerry Springer?

“We can’t go back to the house,” she said. “He could show up again. Someone could get hurt.”

“We can stay here. Mark can change the name on our reservation—use an alias—so Daniel can’t track us down.”

“What about Jake and Nikki? What if he goes back to the house? They need to get out. Meredith and Landon too.”

“They’re already packing.”

“Are they coming here?” she asked hopefully.

“Too dangerous. Daniel could follow them. Jake’s taking Nikki back to Austin.”

She’d ruined their vacation. They hadn’t even been in Hawaii a week. Guilt and shame slammed her like a rogue wave. She’d been kidding herself for months. Telling herself Daniel wasn’t dangerous because he’d never hit her.

The moment he’d grabbed her arms hard enough to bruise, he’d hit her.

When he’d slammed her against the wall, he’d hit her. He’d hit her hard enough to knock the air out of her.

When he’d thrown her against her car, he’d hit her. The couple walking by had known it even when she hadn’t.

And because she couldn’t be truthful with herself, she hadn’t been truthful with the people she loved, the people who loved her. So they’d been blindsided. If Meredith hadn’t acted, what would Daniel have done to Nikki?

She begged him to understand. “I’m sorry. I’ve ruined everything. I should have told them. I should have told you and Mark.”

“Told us what?” Tony asked.

“He hit me. He slammed me against the wall hard enough that I couldn’t breathe. It bruised my back and left a lump on the back of my head.”

Tony didn’t speak. He closed his eyes, and his lips tightened in a grim line.

“He did it again that morning we broke up. Threw me against the car.” Her hand crept up to her neck. “He held me there with his hand against my throat. I was so scared. I couldn’t move. If we hadn’t been in public, if that man hadn’t said something, I don’t—” She choked on the words and shivered.

She had to
do
something. She retrieved her phone from her pocket. Her hand shook, although her voice was firm. “I’ll just call him and tell him to go away.”

Tony placed a hand over hers. “How do you feel about calling him? You look a little shaky to me.”

“I’d rather not talk to him, but I don’t know what else to do. He still thinks there’s a chance we’ll get back together. That’s not gonna happen. I need to make it clear to him.”

“He’ll want to talk to you in person.”

Her stomach churned at the thought. She didn’t want to go anywhere near him. “I won’t meet with him. I’ll just call him and tell him to go home.”

“You can’t tell him where you are,” Mark said. He was standing behind Tony, the cell phone gripped tightly in one hand. “Jake told him you’re in Maui. If he asks, that’s where you are. Can you lie to him?”

She nodded.

Hands still trembling, she pulled up Daniel’s number and punched the send button. A computerized voice informed her she needed to dial the area code. This time she entered the numbers manually, but her hands were shaking so badly she misdialed.

“Damn, damn, damn,” she said under her breath as she tried again.

Daniel answered on the first ring. His voice sounded tight. “Where are you, Hailey?”

“Maui,” she answered in a shaky voice.

“I’m assuming you’ve talked to your brother.”

“Yes.”

“So you know I’m in Kona. I came all this way to be with you. I’ll get a flight to Maui today. Where are you staying?”

“Daniel, I don’t want to see you.”

His voice softened into the seductive tone she’d heard so often when he was trying to get his way. It had worked on her until a couple of months ago. “I’m sorry you felt like I didn’t care about you. I know if we spend a few days together, I can make you see reason. No one will ever love you like I do. You know that, Hailey. Hell, even your business will suffer without me. How many clients have I landed for you?”

She thought of all the times he’d shown up unexpectedly when she was meeting with a potential client. The first time he’d claimed it was a coincidence, and she’d believed him. He’d charmed the woman and later claimed it was him who’d landed her business. He might have been right. She didn’t know, but there had been a few more surprise meetings after that before he insisted on “helping” at all her interviews. She’d been embarrassed and uncomfortable, but the clients didn’t seem to mind, so she’d gone with it. However, after a few more meetings, his “help” had almost lost her several jobs. His compliments of her work had turned to subtle criticism. His charm had disappeared, and he’d almost seemed to bait clients into arguments.

“You can’t make it without me. Admit it, and you’ll be happier.”

His certainty angered her. Her muscles taut, she began pacing around the pool. Thankfully, Mark and Tony didn’t follow her. She took a deep breath. “We’re done, Daniel. You need to go home.”

He chuckled. “Tell me where you’re staying so I can change your mind.”

The churning in her stomach worsened. “You can’t change my mind. We’re not good for each other. We make each other miserable.”

His voice became menacing. “You worthless fucking bitch, I took time off from work to be with you, and then your fucking brother kicked me out of the house like I was a stray dog.”

Had he already forgotten what he’d done to Nikki? He was lucky Jake hadn’t killed him. “Daniel, I—”

“I could lose clients. I could lose my job.”

“I’m sorry, but—”

“You’ll regret this,” he hissed. “I’ll find you, and when I do you’ll—”

Hailey flipped the cell closed, ending his tirade. She swallowed hard and tried to settle the nausea in her stomach. She glanced across the pool at Mark and Tony. They were clearly worried. She attempted a smile to reassure them but knew she hadn’t succeeded. “He’s angry.”

“How do you feel?” Mark asked.

“He’ll leave now, right?”

Mark and Tony looked at each other then back at her. They didn’t answer. That wasn’t good.

Hailey’s nausea worsened. She was going to lose her breakfast. Clamping a hand over her mouth, she ran to the bathroom and leaned over the toilet. As she sank to her knees, the contents of her stomach spewed into the bowl.

Tears spilled from her eyes. She heard Tony and Mark enter the bathroom behind her. Mark gathered her hair back, and Tony placed a cool, wet cloth on the nape of her neck. Then he rubbed his hand in small circles up and down her back.

“It’s okay, babe,” Mark said, his voice soothing. “It’s okay. Shhh. It’s okay.” His calming words continued as she threw up.

When she was sure her stomach was empty after a couple of dry heaves, she sat back on her heels and grabbed the wet rag draped over her neck. Her arms weak, she sloppily wiped her face with it. Tony handed her a cup of water so she could rinse her mouth. After swishing and spitting, she handed it back to him and wiped her lips. She slowly pushed away from the toilet, plopped her butt on the floor, then leaned against the wall, her limbs limp, her body damp with sweat, her throat raw.

Well, this was certainly attractive. She closed her eyes. If this didn’t scare them off, nothing would. A psycho ex-boyfriend and a weak stomach. She’d probably wake up with a migraine tomorrow.

Lovely.

Mark lifted her into his lap and cradled her like a baby, tucking her head under his chin.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered hoarsely.

“Nothing to be sorry for,” Mark replied.

She was too tired to argue. Instead, she peered up at him. “So you panic when I cry, but you’re perfectly fine when I puke?”

He blinked then flashed a self-deprecating smile. “Yeah, I guess that’s weird.”

Tony flushed the toilet. “He’s had more experience with puking than crying.”

“True” Mark said. “Too many keg parties in college.”

She started to shiver as the sweat cooled her body. Mark hugged her tighter and Tony left the room, returning with a blanket. He draped it over her and tucked it in as best he could.

“We should put you to bed,” Mark said.

“Not now,” she croaked as she burrowed further into his chest.

“Hey,” he crooned softly. “We won’t let him hurt you anymore. You know that, right?”

“He was really angry.” She hated how small and weak she sounded. “When he finds out I’m with y’all, I don’t know what he’ll do. He’s never liked you.”

“Duh,” Mark said.

“Yeah, I guess it wasn’t exactly a secret.”

“We’ll get through this, sunshine. It’s good to be cautious, but don’t let him upset you.”

Jake’s about-face suddenly made sense to her. She pushed against Mark’s chest and sat up straight. “Jake changed his mind because of Daniel, didn’t he?”

Tony and Mark exchanged glances before Tony answered. “He decided you were better off with the two of us than Daniel. Plus, he knows we’ll protect you.”

She sighed. “I guess we should be grateful to Daniel for that.”

Tony shook his head. “Jake would have come around without Daniel’s help.”

“Did you get a chance to talk to him about Nikki?”

“No. I’ll call him later.”

“I’m fine. You can call him now.” She really wanted someone else to be the center of attention for a while.

He spoke to Mark. “You need to give the front desk an alias.”

Mark nodded. “I’m on it.” He stood and helped her to the living room before settling her on the couch. “Can I get you something before I leave?” he asked her. “A soda or water? Something stronger?”

A soda sounded really good right now. “Do we have Cokes?”

“Yeah, I’ll get you one.”

Tony sat beside her, already punching Jake’s number into his cell. Mark returned with a cold bottle of Coke. As he handed it off to her, he leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips.

When he lifted his head, she wrinkled her nose in disgust and said sarcastically, “That must have been pleasant. I have barf breath.”

He grinned. “I’ve tasted worse.”

Hailey sipped her soda while she listened to Tony reassure Jake that she was safe, that Daniel wouldn’t find them and that he and Mark would continue to protect her when they returned to Albuquerque. Jake’s voice was loud even when he wasn’t angry, so Hailey could hear him clearly through the phone.

Finally, Tony brought up Nikki’s pregnancy. His voice became firm, no-nonsense and soothing—his doctor voice. Did they teach that in medical school? Because she didn’t understand how he could meld all those qualities together at the same time. Tony asked questions about Nikki’s heart. Jake answered and asked his own questions. He and Jake were still talking when Mark returned.

Mark sat on the other side of her and draped his arm over her shoulders. His fingers caressed her arm as he sat quietly and listened.