Somewhere Only We Know (10 page)

He shook his head in frustration. "Mitch is trying to find someone to blame. I understand that. But he's not going to get anywhere. And he should know that by now. The last private investigator he hired quit after spending a lot of Mitch's money and coming up with nothing."

"Maybe you should just talk to him, Burke."

"I don't want to talk to him. I didn't like the guy before Leanne died, and I like him less now. And it's none of his business what was going on in our relationship."

She could see by the steel in Burke's eyes that his mind was completely made up when it came to Mitch Warren, and she couldn't really blame him. She did think he could defuse the situation by being more open, but he obviously didn't see it that way. She knew from experience that when Burke made his mind up, it was difficult to sway him in another direction.

They finished eating in silence. The waiter had just cleared their table when her phone rang. It was not a number she recognized, but the area code was local so hopefully the call had nothing to do with Paul. "Hello?" she said warily.

"Hi Maddie. It's Nicole. Remember me?"

"Of course I remember you," she said, a warm pleasure running through her at the sound of Nicole's voice. "How are you?"

"I'm great. I would love to catch up with you. Emma said you're back in town."

"I am."

"Well, it's about time you decided to come home."

She didn't really know if San Francisco was home anymore, but maybe it could be.

"Listen, I know it's super short notice," Nicole continued, "and you're probably busy, but I'm hosting a family birthday party for my mom tonight, and Emma and I both want you to come."

"But it's a family thing," she protested, her gaze moving to Burke who was listening to her side of the conversation with a curious look in his eyes.

"There will be lots of people there, not just Callaways," Nicole said. "And it's my party, so I can have whoever I want. I have to tell you I'm not going to take no for an answer. The party starts at seven, and I'll text you my address. Okay?"

"Uh, I'm really not sure."

"Please come, Maddie. It's been ages. I want you to meet my son Brandon. And I know Ryan would love to see you again."

"Could you hang on one second?"

"Sure."

She put her hand over the phone and looked at Burke. "Nicole wants me to come to a party tonight."

"So that's who you're talking to."

"What should I say?"

He hesitated, then said, "Say you'll go."

"Are you going to be there?"

"It's my mom's birthday, so yes."

"It wouldn't bother you if I went with you?"

"No, it's fine, unless you have something better to do."

She was a little surprised at his answer. "Obviously I don't. But would it be awkward for you?"

"Actually, it would probably be less awkward for me if you're there. More attention on you will mean fewer questions for me about what happened with Mitch at the club last night."

"Okay." She took her hand off the phone. "I can come, Nic."

"I'm so happy."

"What should I bring?"

"Just bring yourself. Actually, if you're seeing someone, you could bring him, too."

She looked across the table at the very handsome Burke and felt her stomach tighten, but when she replied to Nicole, she just said, "I'm not seeing anyone, but I will see you tonight. Thanks for the invitation." She set down her phone and said, "Looks like we're going to be spending a little more time together, Burke."

"It looks that way." He met her gaze, a small smile playing around his lips. "It might actually be fun to show up at the party with you. It will shock the hell out of my family, and it's been a long time I've surprised anyone with anything."

"They might get the wrong idea about us—why I'm staying at your place. They might think we're—you know…"

His smile broadened. "I don't really care what anyone thinks. You and I know what's going on."

She stared back at him and said the first thing that came into her mind. "Do we?"

Chapter Seven

Burke thought about Maddie's question all the way home. Did he know what was going on with Maddie? He liked spending time with her. Today had been one of the best days he'd had in a long time. Maybe that's all he needed to know right now. He'd been planning every step of his life for far too long, and where had those plans gotten him? His career was on track, but his personal life was a mess.

So he was going to wing it for a while.

Maddie lived on the edge, and he felt embarrassed to say he hadn't been close to the edge of anything in forever. He'd been hibernating, playing it safe, staying within the bubble of his life—until today.

Riding on that beach with Maddie had lit a fire inside of him. He wanted more days like this. He wanted to be free, to have fun, to enjoy his life.

"Uh-oh," Maddie said, pointing her finger toward the front of his apartment building.

His heart sank at the sight of Mitch Warren. "What the hell does he want?"

"Are you going to talk to him?"

He was tempted to drive straight into his underground garage and not answer the door, but Mitch had already seen him and was flagging him down.

Deciding to get it over with, Burke pulled into the loading zone in front of his building. "Stay here."

As he exited the car, he heard Maddie's door open and close. He turned to give her an angry look. "You don't need to be part of this."

"I'm already part of it, and you should have a witness for whatever is about to be said. Save your breath. I'm not getting back in the car."

"Fine," he grumbled, turning to face Mitch.

Mitch looked haggard and exhausted, dark shadows under his eyes and an unhealthy pallor to his skin.

"What do you want?" Burke asked.

"Who's she? The new girlfriend?" Mitch tipped his head toward Maddie.

The last thing he wanted was for Maddie to get tangled up with Mitch. "It doesn't matter. I repeat—what do you want?"

"You know I hired a private investigator."

Burke's gut tightened at the sudden gleam in Mitch's eyes. "And he found nothing. Yes, I know that."

"That was the first guy. I hired another one a few weeks ago, and he's managed to find some information that I think you'll find interesting. I know I did."

"About the accident?"

"No, about Leanne." Mitch reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He handed it to Burke. "This is a copy. I have the original."

"What's this?" He stared down at what looked like a page from a medical chart. There was a stamp at the top of the page that said West Bay Medical Center.

"Read it," Mitch ordered.

Burke felt strangely reluctant to move his gaze down the page, but he was also too curious not to look. Leanne's name appeared at the top of the chart. A date was followed by vitals: height, weight, blood pressure. It was the words that followed that almost stopped his heart.
Bloodwork confirms a pregnancy of 7.1 weeks. Patient wishes to discuss options for termination.

His vision blurred as his head began to spin. Leanne was pregnant?

He tried to refocus, his gaze seeking the date of her appointment. She'd seen the doctor two weeks before her death. Why hadn't she told him?

The last line of the report danced in front of him again:
Patient wishes to discuss options for termination.

What options? What the hell was she thinking—that she wouldn't have his baby? That was unimaginable.

He slowly lifted his gaze to Mitch, shocked to see a gleam of triumph in his eyes. "Where did you get this?"

"My investigator found it. Now I know why you and Leanne were fighting. She told you she was pregnant, but she wasn't sure it was yours. You found out that Leanne and I slept together and that she might be having my baby. So you decided to get rid of the baby."

"You're out of your mind," he said, reeling from the shock of Mitch's accusation.

"Maybe you didn't think Leanne would die. Maybe you just thought she'd be injured and would have a miscarriage."

He swallowed a knot in his throat as he began to understand exactly what Mitch was saying. Mitch's words finally began to make sense in a horrifying, unacceptable way. "You slept with Leanne?"

Mitch met his gaze. "She finally realized she was in love with me."

"You son of a bitch."

Blind rage ran through him at Mitch's suggestion, at everything he'd just learned, and this time he was the one to throw the punch. His fist cracked against Mitch's jaw.

Mitch stumbled backward, bouncing off a nearby parking meter. He put a hand to his bloody nose. "You didn't think anyone would ever figure it out, did you? But I know the truth. I know she was having my baby. I know you got someone to hurt her, and I'm going to prove it."

"Leave me the hell alone," Burke bit out, ripping up the chart note and throwing the shreds of paper into the street.

He walked back to his car and got in, gunning the motor. He pulled into the parking garage with a protesting squeal of his tires. It wasn't until he was in his space that he let out a breath and realized that he'd left Maddie on the street with Mitch.

"Shit!" He hit the steering wheel with his hand, fury and shocked confusion sending his blood pounding through his veins.

Leanne was pregnant?

Leanne had cheated on him? With Mitch?

He didn't want to believe any of it.

On the other hand…it was hard to dismiss the medical chart, the statement that Leanne wanted to discuss options for termination. Why would she do that? Was it possible everything Mitch had said was true? That she'd cheated on him, found out she was pregnant and decided to get an abortion to hide what she'd done? Was that why she'd been distant, why they'd been fighting about nothing? Had she been holding in a terrible secret?

He felt sick at the thought.

How could Leanne have slept with Mitch?

They were in love. They were getting married.

When would it have happened?

Hell, it could have happened at any time. In his job, he was gone several nights a week. It would have been easy to cheat on him. But opportunity didn't explain the motivation.

He drew in a breath and slowly let it out, trying to calm down so he could think more clearly.

Even if Leanne had cheated on him with Mitch, even if she'd been pregnant with another man's child…none of that explained the accident. Because he had known nothing and he had done nothing. Mitch was wrong about that.

Maybe he was wrong about the other stuff, too. Maybe he was making up the fact that Leanne had slept with him. She was the only one who could disprove that, and she was gone.

The baby she was carrying might not have been Mitch's; it might have been his baby.

A whole new wave of pain ran through him. Had he not only lost his fiancée but also his unborn child?

He sat in the car for another fifteen minutes asking himself questions for which he had no answers, letting the anger run around inside of him until it finally began to disappear. He thought he'd known everything there was to know about Leanne, about her accident, but now he felt like he knew nothing.

So he would find out. He would get the answers he needed—somehow. He just didn't know how he would do that yet.

Forcing himself to get out of the car, he took the stairs to the lobby level and then walked across the entry to open the front door.

Maddie was sitting on a low brick wall outside. There was no sign of Mitch.

"Are you all right?" she asked. "That was quite a scene."

"I'm sorry I left you out here with him."

"Don't worry about it," she said, getting to her feet. "He's gone."

"Did he say anything to you?"

"Not much. He left pretty quick."

There was something about her manner that suggested she was holding back. "But he didn't leave without saying something. What was it?"

"It doesn't matter—"

"Maddie, just tell me. I can't handle any more secrets."

Her lips tightened. "He told me you were dangerous. If I valued my life, I'd get away from you as soon as possible. I told him I didn't know what was going on, but I knew one thing for sure, that you would never ever be responsible for getting someone hurt."

He stared back at her unwavering gaze. "Thank you."

"I was speaking the truth."

"I don't know what the truth is anymore. Come on in."

They didn't speak on the way up to his apartment. Once inside, Maddie gave him an uncertain look and then sat down on the couch. He paced restlessly around the living room, his mind still racing.

"So what do you think?" Maddie asked finally.

"I don't know what to think." He perched on the edge of the chair. "If I believe that Leanne was pregnant, do I have to believe she cheated on me with Mitch?"

"No. While there may be proof she was pregnant, there wasn't anything on that paper about the father, was there?"

"I don't think so. I shouldn't have ripped it up. I should have hung on to it. I should go down to that clinic and talk to that doctor and find out the truth." He jumped to his feet. "What was the name of that place? It was something with Bay in it."

"Burke, you need to take a breath."

"What I need is information, Maddie."

"Which you'll get. But you'll have a better chance of getting it if you take a minute and think about everything you've learned. You have to consider the fact that this information is all coming from a man who doesn't like you and is apparently still very obsessed with Leanne."

He stared back at her. "Is he obsessed because she slept with him? I thought it was all one-sided. I thought I could trust her. We were engaged."

"I don't know, Burke. Mitch could be lying."

"Or he could be telling the truth, and that's why Leanne and I were suddenly at odds with each other. Maybe she felt guilty. Maybe was trying to find a way to drive me away or punish herself." He paused, drawing in a much-needed breath. "The medical chart said that she wanted to discuss options for termination. That's what makes me think Mitch is telling the truth. Because why would Leanne want to terminate our baby? We were going to be married. We were going to start a family."