Seduced by a Dangerous Man (12 page)

“So it’s his fault?” I asked, though not meanly. I was genuinely curious to know if Dad blamed him for how he’d turned out. I turned to look at him.

“Pops never pushed me. He ignored me. The only time we had any real conversations was when we were hollering at each other.” His eyes were shining, and that was the most frightening thing I’d ever seen. My dad wasn’t the kind of man who cried. I’d always assumed he’d dug out his tear ducts with rusty spoons.
 

We sat there in an awkward silence. I did wonder how his father had treated him, but it wasn’t really any of my business. Obviously there was a lot Dad didn’t want to think or talk about.
 

I remembered how Corbin had seen through the things I’d said about my father. Corbin had realized I wasn’t a reliable judge of Dad’s reasons, that my wounds skewed everything.
 

“I’m sorry, too,” I said.

“Don’t be. You were a kid and you had a terrible example.”

“Rob had the same example,” I pointed out.
 

Dad dismissed this with a wave of his hand. “He takes after your mother. The things that bother us aren’t even on his radar. That need to prove to the world that we’re capable… I know it motivates you, too. That drive. That stubbornness. The refusal to back down. It’s our greatest strength, Audrey,” he said, looking at me. “Our biggest weakness, too, you know. Took me a few weeks in the hospital to realize I didn’t have to know everything, do everything, manage everything. Pops tried to tell me, but I didn’t hear him. I hope it will be easier for you.”

I nodded mutely and turned away, gathering my thoughts. Already I was forgetting details of this conversation, but I knew I’d be playing it over in my head later, trying to separate truths from convenient excuses.
 

“Hope it wasn’t too stressful coming out here.”

“I came to see you,” I said simply. “To see how you’re doing.”

Dad smiled, relief in his eyes. “Rob put you up to it, huh? We’re lucky to have him.”

I laughed and reached for my muffin, suddenly starving. Anticipation of this encounter had wiped out my appetite, but now it was back. “Didn’t want him to kick me out,” I said around a mouthful of food.

“Kick you out?” Dad asked, puzzled.

“Yeah, we’re living together. I moved out when you were in the hospital,” I said, surprised to realize he didn’t know. Then I remembered he’d referred to my apartment in present tense earlier. “It’s temporary.”

“I didn’t realize that,” Dad said. And the way he said it, I could tell he was bothered by Rob not saying anything. Dad probably hadn’t realized Rob could keep a secret.

Not only wasn’t I all bad, Rob wasn’t all good. Quite an afternoon.

“You won’t come back to Finders?” Dad asked. “I built it for you and your brother. Wish I could do the transition over. Do it better.” He turned to look at me. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about. My lawyers are already trying to get Henry out.”

Startled by this, I didn’t react.
 

“I’m embarrassed to say it’s not going smoothly. I haven’t signed the final papers, you know. What you said in the restaurant gave me a lot to think about. Then Rob took me aside and said he thinks Henry isn’t a good fit. Hell! Anyone who can’t get along with Rob is trouble. I was trying to decide how to handle things without pissing off Henry, but I ended up in the hospital before I could do anything. I want to come back for a few more years, and I want to bring you and Rob on as partners,” he said, leaning forward. “Equal votes. You earned it, Audrey.”

A slow smile spread across my face. Starting my own company was better than working for Dad, but taking over Stroop Finders was what I’d always wanted. It was my holy grail. “Equal votes in everything?”

Dad didn’t even blink before nodding. “You’re a damned good fugitive tracker. Better than I was at your age, by far.”

Eight-year-old me was ecstatic with pride, but I’d learned not to be overly confident where Henry was concerned. “Henry is a bigger problem than you know,” I said. “Rob should be the one to tell you.”
 

“Or you,” Dad said, his eyes hard. “The day you go easy on me, Audrey, I know I’m done for. I’m not that fragile.”

So I told him about Henry’s bribery schemes, leaving out the stuff I only knew through Corbin. It felt nice to rat Henry out to someone who might be able to do something about it. Henry getting kicked out wouldn’t solve all my problems, but it would help Rob.
 

Dad’s face went stiff with shock and anger as I spoke. “Thank you,” he said when I was done. He had listened without interrupting me, without defending Henry’s light-of-day reputation… and thereby defending himself.
 

Apparently he really had changed.
 

He adjusted his glasses. “Henry is gone once the lawyers get done fighting about the details,” he said solemnly. “Please come back. The place wasn’t the same without you.”

And that made me blush. “Ok,” I said, trying not to seem too eager.

Dad nodded, and I found myself slowly smiling anyway as I imagined how amazing Stroop Finders could be with the three of us working together.
 

I looked at Dad… really
looked
at him… and saw myself. But not the version of myself I hated, the one who was restless, never satisfied. Not the one who couldn’t feel empathy for herself after her role in Zachary’s death, and not the one who blamed herself for Corbin leaving.
 

Instead, I saw the good. When Dad was wrong, he was
really
wrong, but when he was right, when he settled on something, he was unstoppable. Pride welled up in me. It would take more than a heart attack and a stroke to keep him down. We were strong.

He saw something in my expression that pleased him. “I’ll talk to my lawyer today, see if progress has been made. I’m going to fix this, no matter how long it takes.” He smiled and stuck out his hand. “Do we have a deal?”

We shook. And I had to admit… it felt better than I ever imagined.

~~~

I practically floated home. Good thing, too, because Veronica would probably want to come over, and the condo needed some serious cleaning. I took a short nap, then rolled up my sleeves and got to work.

The smell of cologne, and traces of water in the shower and sink, told me that Rob had already gone out for the night. For once, he wasn’t the only one with plans.

Hours later, Veronica pushed herself off of Rob’s couch and indulged in a leisurely stretch. She was wearing a cute little black dress that hugged her curves. Seth was the designated driver, so booze-related lowered inhibitions weren’t why his gaze lingered a moment too long on her.

“Time to go?” he asked, also standing.
 

She nodded, yawning.
 

“I’m going to make some water,” he said, and headed upstairs.

As soon as we heard the bathroom door shut, Veronica and I stepped in close together. She laced her fingers through mine. “So?” she asked.

Even though I’d already given my assessment twice before, I was happy to say it again. “He’s great. Really cute, too.”

“I know!” she squealed, far too loud. She was pretty drunk. But I liked and trusted Seth, and had no problems letting him take her home.
 

“You’re going to have to make the first move,” I said. “He’s definitely into you, but I think you intimidate him.”

“He’s only had one girlfriend before,” she whispered. “They were together for four years. Do you think that means he’ll be bad in bed? Or maybe he got a thorough education and is really, really good.” Her blue eyes practically gleamed.

“Easy there, femme fatale,” I said. “Make the first move but don’t traumatize him.” I nodded solemnly, then hiccuped. There was nothing so very funny about it, but we collapsed onto the couch, laughing hysterically.
 

After they left, I began cleaning up from our little impromptu party. I realized that I felt, for the first time in ages, normal again.

Like myself.
 

Like I might not have to spend the rest of my life trying to recover from the last six months. Things were back on track. At some point—maybe even soon, with a little luck—I was going to return to Stroop Finders as a partner. I now had my best friend back—and I would
not
take her for granted again.
 

As for Corbin… at least I could imagine a life without him. A good life, even if it wasn’t what I wanted.

Though I’d had quite a few drinks, and that helped.

I turned on the dishwasher and flipped off the kitchen light just as I heard Rob coming heavily up the stairs.

“No luck?” I asked.

He shrugged, tossed his keys noisily onto the dining room table. He looked around. “Either we were robbed, or you spent the night cleaning.”

“I had a great day,” I said. “Didn’t get yelled at by the managers, then I patched up things with Dad—he’s pushing Henry out.” I nodded, beaming. “And I’m coming back. And we’ll all be partners.”

Rob whooped, but I could tell it wasn’t news to him. “High five.”
 

Laughing, I slapped his palm, and he did a clumsy breakdance. When he finished making a spectacle of himself, I said, “Veronica and her new beau came by. That’s why I cleaned.” I sat down, suddenly aware that I was still rather drunk.
 

Rob’s eyes brightened at the mention of Veronica’s name. “She’s got a boyfriend?”

“And he’s so not her type,” I said. “The exact opposite. Presentable. Polite. Pocket protector.”

“Nerd?”

I scrunched my brow, thinking. Seth was extremely attractive, and yeah, absolutely a nerd. I nodded. “Though he is in a band.”

“Can’t expect Veronica to change completely overnight,” Rob said. “Feel like a video game? Cannibal Carnival?”

Stifling a yawn, I nodded. Going to bed would have been the wiser choice, but I’d finally had a pleasant day, and I didn’t want it to end. Even if I had to work in a few hours.

“See,” Rob said while the game loaded. “If Veronica has reformed her ways, it’s proof that everyone is settling down.”

“I’m not.”

“But you want to,” Rob said.
 

That made me sigh. Loudly.

Wanting to be with only one person on the planet didn’t mean squat. And anyway, I was over Corbin. I couldn’t even remember what he looked like. Tall, maybe. I thought his hair might be dark. Probably nice eyes and a deep voice and hands smooth as silk that played my body like an instrument, and lips that laid kisses like fire along my throat… and all that stuff under his clothes.

“I’m going to bed in twenty minutes,” I said.
 

~~~

I slept through my first alarm. And the second, apparently. Something made me wake up at 4:00 and glance at the time. I lay there a moment, thinking I had the day off, then shot out of bed when I realized I didn’t.

My head pounded at the sudden change in posture, but no time to baby myself. It had to be admitted: I couldn’t keep going to bed late and then start work just a few hours after. It was killing me.
 

Rather than waste time brushing my teeth, I squeezed a pea-sized drop of toothpaste onto a finger and shoved it in my mouth. I worked it around with my tongue while I pulled on my uniform. I put jeans under the skirt. It would make changing faster.

No time to comb my hair. Though I doubted anyone would notice the difference.

I flew down the steps and onto the sidewalk. Butch was parked across the street, his enormous head propped against the glass of his car’s window, eyes closed, mouth slightly open. I didn’t have to hear him to know he was snoring like a beast.

I considered rapping on his window to wake him—he should have to suffer if he was going to tail me—but I figured he would hear my junker of a car start up, so I let him be. At the top of the street, I cast a glance into my rear-view mirror and saw he was still conked out.

It figured. The first time I had complete freedom from the creeps, and I was heading into my glamorous job.
 

Because I was unescorted, I took a little detour. It had been a few days since I’d checked on the SUV to make sure no one had smashed in the windows or stolen the tires. A quick pass now would save me a sneak-out that evening.

I turned down the street and almost immediately screeched to a halt.
 

Someone had stolen the tires, alright.
 

And everything on top of them.
 

The space the SUV had occupied was inconceivably empty, a black hole I couldn’t wrap my mind around no matter how long I sat there blinking at it. The spacing of the cars on either side suggested it hadn’t been gone long at all.

I popped my car into park and got out, stunned. There weren’t any telltale piles of shattered glass on the ground. I walked over to where the truck had been and turned in a circle, hoping I’d parked in a different spot but had forgotten. Then I checked the parking signs; sometimes the county changed the zoning with no notice. They were the same. I was actually hoping it had been towed… though I had no proof that the truck was mine, so I wouldn’t have been able to get it back.

Hell. It
wasn’t
mine.

And now it was gone.

And I was going to be late to work.

I hurried back to my car and drove away, my eyes peeled every minute of my commute in the desperate hope that I might happen across the truck, that the thieves hadn’t gotten far.

The other possibility was that Corbin had taken it. But why would he? This wasn’t like before, when I had basically ordered him to move his vehicle and he had sent someone to make it disappear.
 

And why now?
 

My eyes burned. This was punishment for having made a scene at the mountain house. Corbin was pissed.

Butch pulled up to the diner moments after I parked. He looked stressed, disheveled. Too bad he hadn’t beaten me there; that would have scared the hell out of Henry.
 

As I trotted inside, I worked my hair into a messy bun that I hoped looked sexy rather than unkempt. But despite the tiny bit of extra sleep and all the excitement of the day before, I suddenly felt drained. Crazy as it sounded, Corbin’s SUV had been a companion to me. It was my final remaining link to him. Proof that he had existed, that we had been close.