All They Ever Wanted (23 page)

“We got Diesel's message that you were somewhere safe,” Bruce explained. “But we were a mess not knowing where you were and if you needed help. We came as soon as we saw the news.”

“I'm sorry,” Lori said through her tears. “I'm so sorry about everything.”

Her mother pulled back, and with the pads of her thumbs, she gently wiped the tears off Lori's cheeks. The smile she gave her was one Lori never thought she would see directed at her ever again. There wasn't a trace of disapproval in it.

“Stop blaming yourself. Your father is the villain here, not you,” she said.

“I should never have left you like that. Not for him, that's for sure.”

The sound of her mother's rich laughter was like a balm to Lori's battered soul.

“You aren't the only one who was a rebellious nineteen-year-old,” her mother said. “Nor are you the only one who fell for Leonard Dykstrom's charms. I guess I got the biggest consolation prize, though.” She cupped Lori's chin in her hand. “I got you out of the deal and I will never regret that part of my rebellion.”

Lori leaned her head on her mother's shoulder. “Still, I never should have left. I can't believe how stupid I was to think that life with him would be better than life with you. I know I gave you a lot of grief whenever he came to visit and you wouldn't let me leave with him. Thanks for showing more common sense than I did.”

Bruce and her mother exchanged a distressed look. Lori understood its meaning without them having to explain.

“He didn't want me to come with him, did he?” The realization should have been a shock, but after everything she'd learned about her father, it wasn't.

Her mother shook her head sadly. “Half the time he didn't remember your birthday or Christmas. Bruce and I would buy you gifts and say they were from him.”

Tears clogged the back of her throat. “And you two would give me some token gift because you couldn't afford anything more.” Lori gulped back a sob. “Why would you do that for him?”

“We didn't do it for him.” Her mother pulled her into another hug. “We did it for you. So you'd feel loved.”

“It might have been better to let me feel unloved. I would have appreciated you two more and I could have enjoyed a stress-free life in Oregon.”

Her stepfather laughed. “Oh, I don't know about stress-free,” he said. “We would have put you to work full-time and traveled around.”

She looked from her stepfather to her mother. “That would have been perfect.”

Miles cleared his throat. “I hate to break up this little reunion, but who is Ian?”

Lori would have laughed at Miles' apparent irritation had she thought he was actually jealous. Since she knew he didn't love her the same way she loved him, jealousy likely wasn't the cause. In all probability, Miles was just anxious to get the situation resolved so he could fulfill his Dudley Do-Right obligation and get back to saving his campaign.

“Ian is my half brother,” she explained. “He has Asperger's.” Her throat grew tight just thinking of the young teenage boy. How frightened he must be to have been uprooted from everything he was familiar with—the things that kept him stable—and dragged someplace where the people might not even speak the same language.

“Our reports indicate the nanny went with them,” Matthew said.

“Of course she did,” Lori said. “She's sleeping with my fath—Leonard.”

“What about the child's mother?” Lamar asked.

“Carole?” Lori scoffed. “She's ashamed of Ian and much more concerned about her status among the elite than about how her son is faring.”

“She was in on the whole Ponzi scheme, wasn't she?” Matthew asked.

Lori shrugged. “She had the connections. He told me he couldn't have carried it off without her.”

Matthew pulled away from the wall. “So he admitted it to you? When exactly was that?”

Miles took a step into the center of the room, putting himself between her and the FBI agent. “Is this a formal interrogation?”

“Time is running out, McAlister,” Matt growled. “I won't be able to help her once she moves up the chain of command.”

Her mother squeezed her hand. “Bruce and I are here now. We'll protect you. You just have to tell the truth.”

“But who is going to protect Ian if both his parents are in jail!” Lori bounced up from the sofa and began to pace the room. “I was livid when I found out Leonard had been using my restaurant to launder money—money he had stolen! But I was hurt and angry when I found out
you
”—she shot a menacing look at Matthew—“had used me, too. I didn't know what to do, so I went to his office and begged him to turn himself in. For his son's sake. I told him I'd take care of Ian.” She turned to her mother and Bruce. “I was going to bring him home to Oregon. He'd love living at the inn on the farm.” Lori had told her younger brother about the barn with its horses and kittens, the free-range chickens and the ducks in the pond. Ian had grown up trapped in a New York high-rise because his mother was embarrassed by her less-than-perfect son. The idea of being in the country both intrigued and frightened him, but Lori knew he would be happy there.

“What did Dykstrom say when you confronted him?” Matthew's face mirrored Miles' in its lethal intensity.

Lori's heart sank remembering that January night. “He told me to go back to my apartment and wait for him. He was going to call his lawyers and draw up the papers to make me Ian's guardian. Or so he said.” She wrapped her arms around her midsection to stop her body from trembling as she recalled what came next. “His lawyers showed up early the next day, but Mr. Thomlin was only interested in what I had learned from the FBI and what I might have said in return. Ian called me to say they were going on a trip and would I bring him some purple Skittles because he didn't like plane rides. By the time I got to the penthouse, they were already gone. The story broke that day and I was named as one of the suspects. I never even knew I was under suspicion.” She glared at Matthew again.

“You said Ian called you.” Matthew was quick to hone in on that one minor detail. “That call didn't show up on your cell phone records.”

Lori's stomach lurched. “You were tracing my calls? Were you listening to them, too?”

Matthew's face remained impassive. He ignored her question. “There wasn't a record of a call coming from any of Dykstrom's lines that morning, either.”

Seething, she squeezed at her temples. “How dare you!”

“Mal, focus,” Matthew commanded. “You can rip me a new one for doing my job later. Right now, I need you to tell me how you and Ian communicated.”

Her mother nodded with encouragement. Lori let out a resigned sigh. “We have a set of Captain America burn phones that I gave him for Christmas. He liked the idea of us being superheroes who communicated on our special phones.”

She could feel the tension ratchet up a notch in the small room. Even the sheriff was now sitting on the edge of his seat. Lori swallowed harshly.

“Please tell me the kid still has his phone,” Matthew pleaded. “And it still has minutes left on it.”

“He still has it,” she said quietly. “I try and talk to him for a few minutes every Sunday.”

Matthew took a step forward, but Miles blocked his path.

“Hold on there, Kovaluk,” he said. “What does Lori get in exchange for the information?”

A heavy silence settled over the room. Matthew puffed out a breath as he seemed to consider Miles' question. “The original deal was she'd walk if she testified against Dykstrom. Ian wasn't ever factored in.” He paused again before meeting her eyes with his solemn green ones. “I'll make the case with the DA that you were only looking out for your half brother. None of the evidence points to you being involved in the overall Ponzi scheme. No one was happy about Dykstrom being tipped off, but they can't put you in jail for that.”

Guilt squeezed at Lori's stomach as she realized how much trouble Matthew must have been in when she had warned her father. Again, she hadn't taken into consideration all the consequences for her impulsive actions. No wonder he'd been searching high and low for her.

“I'm sorry for ruining your undercover operation,” she said, really meaning it now.

His lips curved up into a wolfish grin. “You know how you can make it up to me.”

Miles tensed beside her and Lori put a hand on his chest to keep him from presumably decking the FBI agent.

“I have two conditions,” she said.

Hanging his head, Matthew unleashed a string of expletives.

“I won't leave Ian unprotected,” she told him.

Matthew nodded. “I figured as much.”

“He can't go into foster care.”

“Fine, that will be part of the deal. What else?”

This part was going to be a lot harder to pull off. She risked a peek at Miles' stony face. He needed to be protected as much as Ian did right now. Lori loved both of them too much not to make sure they got through this unscathed. Dudley Do-Right wouldn't like what she was about to do, but it was for his own good.

“I want to talk to Tanya Sheppard. To make a statement that exonerates Miles from all of this.”

The room erupted as Matthew and Miles both tried to outdo each other with the obscenities.

“I don't think that's a very good idea, honey,” her mother said.

“You can't talk to the media! The agent in charge will have my ass if I let that happen,” Matthew yelled.

“I'd pick someone other than Tanya Sheppard,” the sheriff muttered.

“Quiet!” Miles shouted and the room went still. He turned to Lori. “As your attorney, I can't let you do that. The feds can take your statement and use it against you.”

“Oh,” she said. “I guess I really had three demands. You can't be my lawyer, Miles.”

Those blue eyes she'd fallen in love with were stunned before he narrowed them at her. “Don't be ridiculous. Who else is going to defend you in this town?”

“Certainly not the man whose dream it is to represent the people of Chances Inlet.”

“They'll get over it.”

She shook her head sadly. “No, Miles, they won't. I know you're just trying to help and I love you for it, I truly do.”

His head jerked back a fraction at her declaration of love.

“And it's because I love you that I'm going to have to insist on this,” she continued before turning to Matthew. “I won't give you Dykstrom unless those three things happen.”

“Fine.” Matt yanked his phone from his pants pocket. “I'll make some calls.” He was already barking into his phone as he left the small office.

The sheriff cleared his throat. “Mr. and Mrs. Hunt, can I buy you both a cup of coffee? We may not be in the Pacific Northwest, but the Java Jolt brews a decent blend.”

Bruce nodded. “We've been up all night, so a cup of coffee sounds delicious.”

Her mother gave Miles a discerning look before kissing Lori on the cheek. “We'll be right back, sweetheart.”

Lori pasted an encouraging smile on her face. “I'm not going anywhere.”

An awkward silence settled over the room when the three departed. Miles dragged his fingers through his hair. “You need to be careful. They could still arrest you. I know some attorneys in New York. At least let me have one of them help you.”

“If it comes to that, I'll find someone myself. You need to distance yourself from me. Starting right now.”

He grabbed her arms and pulled her against him. “As long as you promise to come back when this is all over.”

Her chest grew tight at his command. “As what?” she whispered. “Your mother's cook and maid?”

Miles' mouth descended on hers. His kiss was angry and demanding and Lori let him have his way while she soaked up as much of him as she could, storing up her memories for the lonely days ahead.

“We could still have this, you and I.” His voice was raspy as his lips cruised her jaw. “This works for us.”

“Are you offering me what you considered giving Greer?” The question was unfair and Miles stiffened at her words. But Lori asked it anyway despite the fact she knew the answer. “Are you proposing a loveless relationship?”

He jerked away. “Damn it, Lori, you knew the score up front.”

She pulled in a deep breath to keep the tears at bay. “I did. And you've been nothing but honest with me. I fell in love with you anyway. But, hey, I've got a track record for being impulsive and making bad decisions. I'm trying to rectify that situation now.”

Miles was incredulous. “I'm not a bad decision.”

Lori couldn't help the smile that formed because Miles was one of the best decisions she'd ever made. She couldn't even regret falling in love with him. Her only regret was that he could never return the feeling.

“No, you're not,” she reassured him. “You're what this town and this country needs, Miles. Being elected to represent the people of Chances Inlet is all you ever wanted. I can't let you throw that away for me. You may think your integrity makes you invulnerable, but the other party will destroy you. And deep down, I think you know that.”

He stood there with his hands on his hips and his chin on his chest.

Lori reached up to cup his cheek. “I know you can't love me, but if you care anything about me, you'll let me do this for you.”

Miles opened his mouth to speak, but Lori silenced him with her lips. The kiss she gave him was soft and comforting. She lingered, savoring his taste and feel, committing all of him to memory for when she left him.

“What we had was amazing and I thank you for it. But our lives are diverging now, Miles,” she whispered against his cheek. “We both need to go on and do the things we were meant to do. And that starts with you walking out that door and getting back to your campaign. Please, do it for me.”