The Prize (15 page)

Chapter Seventeen

“What are you keeping from me?” Parker asked as we finished the promised breakfast.
This man could cook. I was stunned by the spread of pancakes, bacon, and eggs he whipped
up while I was dressing.

I shot him a carefully constructed look I hoped communicated that I had no idea what
he was talking about.

He rolled his eyes. “I know we haven’t known each other long, but you’re hiding something.
And I want to know what it is.”

“Is that a demand?” I teased to lessen the seriousness on his face.

“If it will make you talk, then yes.”

I giggled, my next tactic as I stood and carried my plates to the sink. “What time
does Ruth arrive?”

“Usually around noon. Why?”

I shrugged. “Just curious. Glad to know you don’t work the woman twelve hours a day.”
And more importantly, I wanted to be gone before she got there. The fewer people I
met in his life, the easier it would be to make the break.

He scooted his chair back and headed in my direction. When he got within inches of
me, face to face, he cupped my neck and tipped my head back. His eyes searched mine,
finding nothing. Finally, he blew out an exasperated breath and dropped his hands.
“You want me to call Detective Branch?”

“No. I will.” I slid out of his space and left him standing there while I continued
to speak over my shoulder. “I need to get my computer and take care of a few things
first.”

“Will you talk to your girls this morning? Please?”

“Sure.”
Not a chance
. The more I focused, the more I realized I needed to skip town. I didn’t need to
have a confrontation or a come-to-Jesus moment with anyone. It wouldn’t change anything.
Perhaps it was a copout on my part to leave the mess for Parker, but it would be so
much easier if he gave the news to Amy and Cheyenne or indirectly through Cade and
Riley. I didn’t care what he told anyone as long as he did it instead of me.

I stepped into the master bedroom, gathered my things, and stuffed them into my bag.
Next, I grabbed my cell and sent the detective a text.

I’m heading to your office in a few minutes
.

His response was quick.

Good. I have a few things to go over with you
.

Now all I had to do was somehow get out of Parker’s house with all of my belongings
without raising suspicion.

Easy.

Sure. Right.

When I turned to face the door, settling my two bags on my shoulder, Parker stood
in the frame. He leaned casually against the dark wood, staring at me with his arms
crossed loosely.

He didn’t speak.

I lifted my face to meet his and pulled up my big-girl panties. “I need to go to the
police station this morning.”

He lifted his brows. “And that requires a change of clothing and toiletries?”

I shrugged. “Just being prepared. You never know what it might require.”

“Meagan…” he warned.

I cocked my hip and rolled my eyes dramatically. “Parker, we’ve been through this.”

“We’ve been through what?” He righted himself, still blocking the door.

I pointed back and forth between him and me several times. “This. Us. I told you repeatedly
I can’t stay.”

“Seriously.” His shoulders slumped as he set his hands on the doorframe on both sides.
His stance told me it was going to be a battle to get out. “After everything we’ve
been through, especially in the last two days, you’re going to walk away?”

“I have no choice.”

His voice rose. “That makes no sense.”

“It’s complicated, Parker.”

“I’m a bright guy. Explain it to me. How is it complicated?”

I pursed my lips and stared at him. I had no interest in talking about this any further.
My weird idiosyncrasies were not his problem.

He blew out a long breath when I didn’t reply. “Where are you going after you meet
with the police?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“Why can’t you come back here? Or to my office?”

“Because you’ll talk me into staying another night.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“Every day we’re together makes it harder and harder for me to leave.”

He sighed. “Honey, that’s how I
want
you to feel. I want you to stay.”

“And I can’t.”

“Because some madman is after you?”

“That, among other things.”

“Could I have the rundown of what the ‘other things’ are?”

“No.”

Silence.

I fidgeted, shrugging my bags up higher on my shoulder.

Finally, he stepped aside, backing into the hall so I could pass him. “For the record,
I care about you a lot. I want you to stay. Hell, I want you to move in with me. If
it’s the dominance that freaks you out, we can discuss it. If it’s something else,
I can’t fix it without you explaining it to me. Just know that my door is open if
you decide to return.”

He was letting me go…

I walked past him, shocked. My chest tightened. Part of me wanted him to put up more
of a fight. The other half was relieved. I wouldn’t stay. In fact, I wouldn’t call
him again. Chances were, within a few days I would be completely untraceable. Meagan
Hollister would cease to exist.

I didn’t say another word until I got to the front door. He was close behind me, his
presence palpable without turning around. I set my hand on the knob and took a breath.
“I’m sorry. I know this is impossible for you to understand. And that’s my fault.
But we were doomed from the first time we met. It was never going to work.”

The door swung open silently when I turned the knob. I shut it behind me just as quietly
and nearly jogged to my car before I started sobbing and lost it on his front yard.

After I pulled away, I made it two blocks before I stopped, put the car in park, and
fumbled around in my purse for a package of tissues. Tears streamed down my cheeks,
and I mopped them with the tissue, trying to avoid a disaster. I wasn’t wearing much
makeup, but I didn’t need mascara smudges under my eyes.

Besides, I had cried enough a few hours ago for a lifetime.

****

It was midmorning when I walked into the police station. I stopped to tell a woman
at the front desk who I was, but Detective Branch saw me from across the room and
waved me in his direction.

“How are you holding up?”

I shrugged. “As well as can be expected, I guess. Anything new?”

“Interviewing his mother and her boyfriend this morning.”

“Any chance they know where he is?”

“Not sure. It’s a possibility. The question is, will they tell us?”

I lowered myself into the chair across from his desk and set my purse on the floor.
“Do we know how he found me?”

Branch shook his head. “Probably happened years ago. He had fifteen years to locate
you. Who knows who he paid to do the legwork? Perhaps even his parents.”

He had a good point. After all, I shot both their sons, killing one and sending the
other to jail. There was every possibility they had it out for me. “Where’s his father?”

“No one has seen him for years. The neighbors say he went batshit crazy after Michael
went to jail. But there’s a cousin, Vincent. We’ll track him down too.”

“Great. So any number of people could be after me.” I slumped against the back of
the chair.

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“Although, if his parents wanted me dead, why didn’t they take care of it years ago?”

“Perhaps because Michael wanted to do it himself. Or at least be involved.”

I shuddered.

“We need to consider a few options. How long are you planning on staying with Parker
Darwin?”

“I left this morning,” I muttered, fighting the emotions brought on by that admission.

“Okaaay,” he drawled out. “So we need to make other arrangements?”

“Yes.”

“Have you spoken to your parents?”

“Only through texts. They’re on the beach in Florida, and they said they used cash.”

He nodded. “I spoke to them myself this morning. There’s also been no disturbance
at their home in Atlanta.”

“They aren’t the ones who shot him,” I mumbled.

“True, but in my experience, when a convicted felon wants revenge, he may seek an
eye for an eye. Since you don’t have any siblings, it’s possible he could go after
your parents to get to you.”

“Shit.”

“They seemed to be settled in Florida for the time being, so I’m not going to worry
about them for now. The local police in Naples are aware of the situation. They’re
keeping an eye on things. I think we need to focus on you.”

I nodded.

He tapped the file in front of him. “We pulled several prints off the door to your
apartment and your desk. Not surprisingly, they were both covered with Michael’s fingerprints.”

I sucked in a breath. It was one thing to assume he had broken into my place; it was
another thing to have proof.

“There’s an APB out to every police station and sheriff’s office in the Carolinas
and Georgia. He can’t live on the run forever.”

“What if he does?”

“Then we’ll react accordingly.” He set his elbows on his desk and steepled his fingers
in front of him. “Have you considered relocating? At least for the time being?”

“Yes.”

“But you don’t intend to stay with Darwin.” It wasn’t a question. He could read me.

“No. I need to move on before Swarth traces me there. My presence is endangering him.”

Branch’s mouth opened, and he closed it again before speaking. “I spoke to Darwin.
I don’t mean to speak out of turn here, but he didn’t seem put out by having you as
a guest.”

I smiled wanly. “I’m sure he wasn’t. But he didn’t realize how serious this was, either.
The subject is closed. I’m not going back there.”

“Okay. Not my business. I’ll arrange for a safe house for a few days until we can
sort out something more permanent. Maybe we’ll get lucky and catch this son of a bitch
in the meantime.”

I took a breath. “Do you think he knows I stayed with Parker for two nights?”

“No. For one thing, he was in Atlanta undoubtedly when you got here. For another thing,
you came straight to my office, and then I followed you to Darwin’s place. No one
tailed us.”

I nodded.

Neither of us spoke for several moments, and then Branch leaned forward. “Again, I
know it’s none of my business, but I’d hate for you to martyr yourself and run from
a relationship simply because you think Darwin could become a target. That’s farfetched.
Besides, Darwin has the means to provide his own protection. I’m sure his house is
the safest place you could be.”

“Yeah. Except that’s what I thought about my parents’ home fifteen years ago too.”

“Touché.” He straightened the stacks of folders in front of him and stood. “I’m going
to check on the progress with his mom. I’ll be right back.” He stepped away.

The idea of that woman being in the same building as me gave me the willies. I didn’t
want to face her. I already had an image of her sobbing in the courthouse as I testified
fifteen years ago. I didn’t need to add anything to that. It was enough for a lifetime.

I understood how a parent might support their own child no matter what on a cognitive
level, but the man tied up my parents to rob them, and I had no doubt in the deepest
crevice of my soul he and his brother would have killed me if I hadn’t shot them first.
The looks in their eyes had been feral and filled with nothing but hate and malice.

I had spent years reconciling this idea in my mind. Years of counseling in which Dr.
Frost convinced me I’d done the right thing under the circumstances. The brothers
had not worn masks. I’d seen them. My parents had seen them. The robbery was a well-orchestrated
heist that would have made them both rich. They couldn’t have taken the chance of
leaving anyone alive. They’d simply been toying with us.

If they’d wanted an easy robbery, they could have chosen any number of homes. Through
the trial my parents had learned how long they’d been the focus of the Swarth brothers’
attention. Detailed plans were found in their car and their apartments. They had enough
ammunition to kill several people.

The only reason they’d let my parents live as long as they had was because they needed
them to open the safe.

I put a wrench in their plans when I woke up. Most ten-year-olds would have slept
through the commotion, but I’d been a light sleeper even then. They’d had to alter
their plan when I showed up at the top of the stairs.

They wouldn’t have killed me immediately, but I would have become a victim just like
my parents in the long run.

Nope. Shooting those two thugs was not something I carried on my conscience.