Lily led him into the kitchen where she set her son on the countertop. “Wanna play with Nate,” he said.
“I know, sweetie. I’ll ask his mom, okay?” When he nodded, Lily reached for a phone on the wall, but before dialing, she asked, “So is there some reason Makay wouldn’t pick up for you? Did you guys have a fight?”
Blood rushed to Harrison’s face. “We, uh, had a few words. I’m hoping it’s a misunderstanding.”
Lily frowned as her fingers ran over the buttons. After a moment, she shook her head. “She’s not answering for me, either. I’ll call Brette. She’ll be at work, but she always picks up if I call.” Again she pushed buttons and waited.
“Hi, Brette? It’s Lily. Look, I’m trying to reach Makay, but she’s not answering and she didn’t show up to work today. Is she sick?” There was a pause while Lily listened. “Oh, I see. You can sleep here tonight, if you need to. Oh, the dog. That’s good, I guess. Does he actually like you?” Lily laughed. “I see. Guess you’re right. He doesn’t have to like you to keep intruders away. Well, I’ll keep trying to call Makay, but let me know if you hear from her, okay? Talk to you later.”
Lily hung up and looked at Harrison. “She left early this morning with Nate. Said she wouldn’t be back tonight. Brette has the idea that they were going to stay another night at her apartment. She didn’t ask why, but she assumed it was something related to one of her neighbors dying. Makay must have mixed up her work hours, or maybe the person you talked to didn’t realize she’d cleared the time off. Makay is one of the most reliable people I know. If she says something, she means it.”
Her explanation didn’t help Harrison at all. “I didn’t get the impression they even knew when the funeral was going to be yet. And the lady I talked to at her apartment said she moved all her stuff out.”
Worry crept back into Lily’s blue eyes. “Brette did say something about her taking a large duffel bag with her. She didn’t ask what it was. She also said that she brought in a few boxes, but left most of what she’d brought in her car. Brette joked about her maybe waiting to see if it was going to work out before hauling it all in.” She paused, chewing on a thumbnail. “Tell you what, I’ll call my sister. Tessa works nearby, and today is one of her half days so she’ll be leaving soon. She’s picked up Nate from school before—I bet she can find out if he’s there.” She turned to her son and helped him down from the counter. “You go find some toys to play with, okay? I’ll come play with you in a bit.” The child nodded and, with a mistrustful glance at Harrison, hurried for the door.
Harrison walked to the window and stared into Lily’s backyard. He remembered how Makay and Nate had played with Snoop there, and something shifted painfully inside him. What was he going to do once he found Makay? He couldn’t let his mother pay the blackmail money, but would Makay be able to call it off? Would she choose to?
Ten minutes later, Tessa called back and Lily looked somber as she hung up the phone. “Tessa says Nate didn’t go to school today. And what’s more, Makay emailed the teacher and said he wasn’t returning at all. It surprised the teacher that Nate wouldn’t be back even just to say goodbye. She was worried because they had some clay projects they were working on and Nate’s a bit sentimental that way.” She shook her head. “That’s not like Makay to pull him out so abruptly. Is there something you’re not telling me? This wasn’t just a simple disagreement you had, was it?”
Harrison slowly turned to face her. “I think Makay might have gotten herself into a little trouble.” He hesitated before adding, “I wasn’t very nice when I confronted her about it. That’s one of the reasons I’m worried. I could have handled it better.”
Lily’s eyes narrowed. “Wait, does this somehow involve Nate? Because Makay’s first motive for doing anything is always to protect Nate. It has been since day one. His mother was like those mothers you read about in the newspaper. You know, after their babies are found dead from neglect or abuse. She was the type of woman who would push a twelve-year-old outside at night in the dead of winter because the child drank some beer from the fridge when she was desperate for something to eat. Makay saved that boy’s life a dozen times over, and if she felt he was threatened in any way, I can absolutely believe she’d pick up and leave.”
Harrison raked a hand through his hair, thinking hard. “If I report what she’s doing to the police, it would definitely affect Nate.” He felt terrible even voicing the words. He’d seen how much Makay and Nate meant to each other.
“Report her to the police? You’d better do no such thing.” Lily’s eyes flashed, and her hands clenched at her sides. “Whatever you think she’s done, you’re wrong. I thought when she met you, things would get better. She
deserves
better.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not the one you should be telling that to.”
“I know that, too.” He started across the kitchen, pausing at the doorway. “Look, if you see her, tell her I’m sorry and that I just want to talk.” He turned to leave, but Lily’s voice stopped him.
“Makay may have done things in her life that she’s not proud of to survive, but if you had any idea what she came from, you wouldn’t be so judgmental. To my knowledge she’s never purposely been unkind or unfair to anyone.” A tear escaped Lily’s eye, and she impatiently wiped it away. “You know those little packets of syrup, the kind you get at McDonald’s or wherever? When I first met her, she told me that as a child she’d go through the garbage and hoard them at one of the parks where she’d sleep at night to escape her stepmother. The sugar made the other food she found more palatable, especially when it was old.” Lily’s face crumpled, and her tears began to fall in earnest. “I admire Makay more than anyone I’ve ever met, and every time things get hard and I think about closing this house, I put it out of my mind because I never want any girl to have to go through life like she did just so I can have a little less stress. Whatever she’s gotten herself into, I believe in her.”
Syrup. There it was again.
I am such an idiot.
Everything he knew about Makay told him something was wrong, that there was
something
he was overlooking, but in his own self-righteous manner—Eli’s manner—he’d only paid attention to his own pain. He’d completely overlooked the fact that he couldn’t judge Makay by any yardstick he’d known before. Not if any of the past Lily had hinted at was true, and he’d glimpsed into Makay’s soul enough to believe it was. Sure, he was attracted to her almost out of his mind, but that was only the beginning. He wanted to protect her, to make her laugh, to feel her hand in his. He wanted to play pool with her and Nate every day for the rest of his life.
“I’m sorry,” he said again. “If I could take it back, I would.”
“I hope it’s not too late.”
“So do I.”
Lily nodded, sniffing hard. “Don’t forget. I’ll expect you next week to install the alarm.”
“Please, just let me know if you hear that she’s okay.” Harrison left her his phone number and somehow found his way back to work.
Chapter Twenty
M
akay’s idea was simple: record Lenny telling her about the money pickup and mail the recording, the folders and everything she knew to Harrison before splitting the state. It was the only thing she could think of that might protect his family and prevent Lenny from hurting others.
Last night, she’d dreamed about Sherry being her mother. Sherry had welcomed her to her house, had hugged her and told her how happy she was to be with her. Then Eli had come into the room and thrown her out of the house. Sherry had stood with him and said, “Go away. I never want to see you again. Why did you think I’d want you after I already gave you away?”
Makay knew it was only her imagination. She knew Sherry had suffered with the decision to place her child for adoption, and whether or not she was Makay’s birth mother, Sherry had thought she was doing the best thing for everyone.
They’d already been driving for seven hours, and Nate had fallen asleep in the backseat of the Jaguar. At first he’d been excited about the trip, but after three movies on his second-hand portable DVD player and far too much sugar, he’d started whining. It was a relief for everyone when he dropped off to sleep.
“I don’t know why you had to bring the kid,” Lenny grumbled now.
“I put a blanket down. He’s not getting food on your seats.”
“I thought you didn’t want him around me.”
“What else am I supposed to do? I don’t exactly have a babysitter on speed dial.”
“You should. I would if I had a kid.”
“Do the world a favor and never have one.” A child raised by Lenny would be frightening.
Lenny faked a laugh, his mouth a sneer. “Whatever.”
“Where are we going? Can you finally tell me now? It’s not like I won’t read the signs when we pull into town.” She pressed the record button on Nate’s digital recorder inside the backpack on her lap. It was a microphone-shaped toy she’d bought him on sale last year, and while the sound wasn’t quality and the microphone rather cumbersome, it was all she had. The recording feature on her phone was worse. “Unless you’re going to blindfold me so I don’t know where you’re forcing me to go.”
He snorted, as if that was amusing. “Colorado Springs. At this speed we’ll get there in plenty of time to check in at the motel and eat before we go for the pickup.”
“Who is it?”
“You mean, whose money are you going to take?”
“Yes.” Great, at this rate the recording was doing as much to convict her as it did him. Well, she’d keep trying. “Who have
you
set me up to meet?”
“A real winner,” Lenny said with a chuckle. “This guy is practically begging for us to hit him up. He beats his wife.”
As if that made what they did okay.
“Haven’t you read the new folder I gave you?” Lenny asked.
“You didn’t tell me it was for this job. I thought it might be for one of the other scams you’ve got set up. How am I supposed to keep folders straight when you’re talking about three different jobs?”
Lenny glanced over at her. “You okay? You’re talking a little weird. You only have two folders right now.”
“I’m fine. Keep your eyes on the road.”
“I could drive this car blindfolded. Haven’t you noticed how well it handles the corners?”
“What I’ve noticed is how you love breaking every speed limit.”
“Those are only for idiots who can’t handle the road, at least along this stretch. Anyway, of course the folder is for today. But don’t worry, it’s short. Basically, he’s just a businessman who had a fling with his secretary and pretty much forced her to place the baby for adoption. The child lives in New York now and recently had a happy reunion with her birth mother. Thanks to me, I might add.” Lenny gave her a gloating smile. “Looks like our business is expanding clear to the other side of the States.”
“You mean
your
business. I’m just doing this because you make me.”
“Now, now.” Lenny rolled his eyes. “You could be involved in the other side, if you wanted, finding the birth parents who want to be found.”
“And have you be my only source of income?” Makay had once hoped to work that side of the business exclusively. From the little she had done before college, she’d found it interesting work, though she hadn’t reunited anyone in the entire six months, but by that time she’d already learned that she was far more valuable to Lenny for the scams.
“There are a few details you should look at,” Lenny continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “He might ask about the birth mother, and you’ll need to have the information about the hospital and the date of birth just in case. I’ll tell you his name when we’re ready for the pickup.”
Makay fished in her backpack for the folder. The other one was there, too. The folder with her birth date. She hadn’t decided whether or not to keep a copy before she sent it to Harrison. She probably should have been careful not to wipe off Lenny’s fingerprints in case he passed it on to the police, but it didn’t really matter because she’d need to wipe off the envelope anyway so her own prints weren’t there. Lenny would probably rat on her if the police caught up with him, but she wasn’t going to make it easy for him to accuse her.
She found herself nodding off, so she pulled out her textbooks. She was missing accounting class today, and that meant taking the online daily quiz blind. She’d get some trick questions wrong, but it would be better than not taking it at all. If the professors didn’t feel they had to justify their classes by using trick questions, she wouldn’t need to go to class ever. All the material was in the book.
They hit Colorado Springs less than four hours later. Nate had slept much of the time but was irritable and ready to leave the car. Lenny had only stopped twice to let him use the restroom, and he needed to go again.
“I’ve booked you a room here,” Lenny said as they pulled up at a motel. “I’ll be back to pick you up a little after seven. The pickup is at eight, and we’ll want to be in place well before then.”
“
We’ll
be in place?”
He gave her a predatory grin. “I told you I’m not going to let that money out of my sight. Not after the last time.”
She’d already figured that much, and it would make it hard, but not impossible to grab the money and get herself and Nate away from him.
“What’s he going to do while we’re there?” Lenny thumbed at the backseat. “I ain’t babysitting.”
Keeping Nate with him would prevent any subterfuge on her part, but Lenny seemed too stupid to realize that, for which Makay was grateful. “I wouldn’t dream of asking. It’s at a park, right?” That was one thing she could usually count on. Lenny was a creature of habit, and he thought parks were the best place for her to meet his targets—plenty of people about to limit the danger, yet isolated enough that the target would agree to the location. “He’ll play on the swings, if there’s any. If not, he’ll take a book and read under a tree.” As far away from Lenny as possible.
Lenny didn’t appear to be listening. “The room is under your name,” he said.
“What about you?” They usually stayed together on out-of-town jobs since Lenny was too cheap to swing for two rooms, and since she planned on taking off with the money and beating him back to Phoenix, she hadn’t worried much about it. But right now she needed to have a private discussion with Nate.