After work, he drove by the Albertsons where he and Makay had first met. No sign of her car. Then he drove to Mesa and her old apartment building. Again, nothing. What else to do but go home? There had been no more word from the blackmailers about the impending meeting tomorrow, which didn’t surprise him. Makay was probably worried about going through with the plan now. Bitterness filled his throat. Why did he even care? He’d been used and that was that.
He was standing in the kitchen staring blankly into the refrigerator when his phone rang. He dived to the counter for it. “Hello?” he said without checking the caller ID.
“Hi, it’s Lily.”
He plopped onto a stool near the counter. “Did you hear from her?”
“Yes. That’s why I called. Wanted you to know I’d talked to her.”
“Where is she?”
A long pause. “I’m not telling you that.”
“Why?”
“She asked me not to.”
Hurt filled him. Ridiculous hurt that made no sense. After all, he’d been thinking about reporting her to the police. “Well, is she okay? Can you tell me that much?” Lily didn’t reply right off, and his heartbeat pounded out each second of delay.
“No. I don’t think so. She sounded weird when I talked to her, and that’s why I finally decided to call you, even though I’m pretty sure she would be angry if she knew.”
“What do you mean by finally? When did you talk to her?”
“Around noon. She was . . . traveling.”
“Is she coming back?”
“I hope so.”
“When?”
Lily sighed. “Look, I don’t have any more information. But I’ve known Makay for years, and she sounded bad.”
“Bad how? Sick?”
“Yeah, and not only that. She sounded”—again the sigh—“like she was saying goodbye. Look, I shouldn’t have called you. I only did because you seemed genuinely worried yesterday. I also wanted to tell you that if you hurt Makay, I’ll hurt you.”
Her vehemence took Harrison off guard. “You’re threatening me?”
“Someone’s got to look out for Makay. Whatever you think, you don’t know all the truth, and that means we’ve both been lousy friends because I don’t know it either.” Another lengthy pause. “And don’t think for a minute that this lets you off the hook for my alarm.” Her voice was choked. Was she crying?
“I’ll be there,” he growled. If Lily still trusted him for that, maybe all wasn’t lost. “Now can you tell me where she is?”
“I’m not exactly sure, but if I did know, I wouldn’t tell you.”
Her honesty was refreshing. “She’s at Brette’s, isn’t she? What’s her address?”
“See you next week.” The line went dead.
Harrison suppressed an urge to throw the phone across the room. Instead, he went to his laptop in a corner of his kitchen. He had to be able to find Brette’s information somehow on that machine. Problem was, he really didn’t even know where to start. The nearest he’d ever been to private investigating was that guy he’d contacted on the Internet to help find his father. Of course, that had ended up being a huge waste of money since his birth father was dead. Too bad he hadn’t known that a few months ago when he’d run across the guy’s Internet site. Next time the investigator emailed an invoice, Harrison would tell him where to go.
He frowned at the computer and typed in Brette’s name. Silvan was her last name, though he wasn’t sure he had the right spelling. After ten minutes of scrolling through useless obituaries and sports articles, he typed in the URL of the adoption site. The guy he’d hired to find his father might be a lousy investigator, but maybe he had an idea how to find a simple local person. The site loaded slowly, a sure sign of inferior design.
I should have known.
Harrison’s disgust turned to horror as the website finished loading. There, in full color was a picture of the rat-faced man he’d seen with Makay. Under his picture were the words
I Will Find Your Birth Parents!
slicing across the screen in flashing letters.
For a long moment Harrison didn’t know what to think. He’d been so sure Makay was responsible for setting his mother’s blackmail into motion, even if it turned out she wasn’t calling the shots. Sure that she had somehow rigged their meeting at Albertsons so she could keep tabs on the blackmail. Yet he’d communicated with this man months before he’d moved back to Phoenix. Months before he met Makay.
I knew he looked familiar.
But how did that fit into everything?
Only Makay could tell him.
Brette,
Harrison thought.
She’s the answer.
He remembered something Lily had said about Brette living in her mother’s house since her recent death. Somewhere online there had to be a notice with her full name, and from there he might be able to find her address in the phone book. Better yet, the real estate agent he’d worked with to buy his apartment had mentioned that she could look up people to see if they owed property tax or had liens against their house, which allowed her to make sure her offers were realistic and more likely to be accepted. Maybe the commission she’d earned from his purchase would be enough to buy him Brette’s address.
He found the article detailing the funeral. When a call to the funeral home didn’t result in an address, he called the real estate agent. In a few clicks of a mouse, she had the information for him. “You’d better not be a stalker.”
“No, really, I’m not. I just want to make things up to my girlfriend.” He was surprised at how the words slipped from his mouth. Maybe because they were true.
“Well, I’ve known your family for a long time—or your mother anyway. She has nothing but good things to say about you. I hope it all works out. And if it does and you need a bigger place—”
“I’ll know who to call. Thanks.” He hung up and ran for the door.
It took only fifteen minutes to get to Brette’s house, a short time in the car, but a world of difference in neighborhoods. The area was much older, and some of the small stucco houses had certainly seen better days, but Brette’s immediate neighbors’ yards were well-kept and a group of kids were playing soccer in the street. There was no sign of Makay’s Sebring, unless it was in the small garage, and he doubted that.
Twenty minutes later, Brette pulled up and parked her car in front of the garage. The automatic door rose slowly, revealing a space cramped with furniture and boxes. No room for any car there. She disappeared inside, the garage shutting behind her. Harrison’s attention returned to watching the kids’ soccer game. He wondered if they could use a goalie.
It was near seven thirty when Makay’s Sebring finally came down the road. Harrison rescued a ball from a near goal and gave his spot to another player before hurrying toward the car. Makay froze as she saw him, halfway out of her seat, but Nate ran around the car toward him.
“I thought that was you playing. Cool save!” He held out his hand for Harrison to slap it.
“Thanks, buddy.” Harrison gave the boy five but scarcely internalized his words. He was too busy staring at Makay as she finished getting out of the car. Her left eye was swollen almost shut and lined with dark purple. A clear bandage on her cheek and another on her forehead did little to hide neat rows of stitches. Perhaps even more telling, she moved with a painful slowness that belied her usual grace. Anger built inside him.
“I was hoping to see you today,” Nate added. “Makay and I’ve been in Colorado Springs.”
Harrison struggled to remain calm. “Colorado Springs, huh? That’s a long drive.”
“Yeah, tell me about it.” Nate heaved a sigh. “It took forever.”
Harrison stepped toward Makay, who was standing behind her still open door and seemed to be using it as a shield or maybe to support herself. “Who did this to you? Was it that guy? Your
friend?
”
Makay ignored him and turned to her brother. “You know what, Nate? I bet Snoop is as hungry as a lion, don’t you think? Brette might not have remembered to feed him. Maybe you’d better run and check.” She held out her keys.
“Oh, right!” Nate gave Harrison a grin. “I’ll be right back. Well, it might take a while. But don’t leave okay?” He snatched the keys and ran toward the house.
“I’ll be here,” Harrison said, more to Makay than to Nate.
He waited until Nate vanished inside before saying to Makay, “Well?”
She didn’t answer his question. “You’d better not do anything to hurt Nate.”
“I don’t plan on hurting him. In fact, maybe you should ask yourself who’s hurting him more.”
She left the protection of the car door, slamming it shut. For the first time he saw that her right forearm was in a cast. “So you’ve never lied to protect someone you love?” she asked. “Well, wouldn’t it be nice to be you? Do you think it’s been easy being a single mother?” Her voice rose with every word. “The only reason I stuck around was because I didn’t want my baby brother growing up like I did. I could have been free. I could have gone anywhere, done anything with my life, but no child should ever have to grow up like I did. So you can stand there and judge me, but you’re doing so from a soft, comfortable place I’ve never been. You never went to bed hungry at night. You never had to search for a safe place to sleep. Your mother didn’t give you up for adoption to a man who abandoned you. Don’t you dare judge me!”
She started around the car, heading for the walk. “Wait,” he said, following her. “Please. Just wait. I know I’ve been an ass. I know it! And maybe if I hadn’t been so concerned about myself and my mother, your face wouldn’t look like it does right now. Please, I just want to understand.”
“What’s there to understand?” she said, her voice tight and sharp. “I was going to blackmail you. End of story.”
“Really?” He hurried around her so he could see her face. “Are you saying you want to hurt my family? Because if you do, just say the word and I’m out of here forever.”
She had to stop walking or run into him. Several seconds of silence passed, but he saw the answer in her eyes. Her eyes that couldn’t lie. No matter what she’d said, she wanted the best for him, and if he hadn’t been so stupid, he would have realized that before he’d pushed her away.
“Whose idea was it?” he asked. “Because I’ve been wracking my brain, and unless you somehow knew my mother was going to be at that Albertsons and would call me to come there, you couldn’t have possibly set our meeting in motion. And that means you didn’t know who I was. At least not at first.” Which also meant the attraction between them hadn’t been faked.
Looking away, she skirted around him and continued walking, as though unwilling to admit to anything that might soften his feelings toward her. Maybe she wanted him to hate her so it would be easier to hate him back.
He followed her. “I don’t believe in coincidences,” he said, “and then today I found another connection. I know where I saw that rat-face guy you’re working with. He’s the same man I hired two months ago to find my birth father. He was local, and I was still in California, so I thought it would be—”
She whirled on him, grimacing with the pain the sudden movement must have caused her. “You hired Lenny?”
“Yes, only that’s not the name he lists on his website.”
“Sean Edwards.”
“Yep, that’s the name. And now I’ve started thinking that maybe it was me who put him onto my mother in the first place. While looking for my birth father, he could have done the research and found out her secret.”
Makay’s head moved back and forth, her expression crushed. “No, it was me. I was looking for my mother.”
Harrison stared at her. What was she talking about? “Your mother?”
“Lenny said he found her.” Her top teeth bit down on a lip that already looked bruised and battered. The slight space between her teeth made him crazy to feel those lips against his own.
Then her words penetrated.
“Wait. What?” His eyes searched hers. “Are you saying you think we’re related?”
She nodded. “I know what you’re feeling. I experienced the same thing. I . . .” She fell silent, but he could see the revulsion in her face, mingled with confusion and hurt.
“No.” His whole world was falling apart. He felt like vomiting onto the sidewalk. Did she feel as guilty as he did for wanting her?
“I tried to tell myself it was for the best. You’d make a good uncle for Nate.” Her eyes seemed to ask if that was still a possibility, if they could be friends. The plea only made him want her more. But this time with the desire came a surety that she was wrong. There had to be another explanation.
“No,” he said. “I mean, I don’t want to be Nate’s uncle. I want more. I
know
what I feel about you.” He reached for her, and she winced as his hands clasped her upper arms. He bet that meant more bruising under her jacket. When he found out who did this, he’d kill them.
“Don’t,” she said as he stepped closer. She turned her face away, her eyes filling with tears.
He touched her chin, gently bringing her gaze back to his. “I don’t know much about what’s going on, but I do know that what I feel for you is completely different from what I feel for either of my sisters.”
He stepped even closer, the length of their legs meeting. Warmth flooded him. He moved closer still, watching her face carefully. Closer. Closer. Their lips finally met, and he experienced a thrill of triumph when she didn’t resist. He wanted to deepen the kiss, but her face was bruised and the last thing he wanted was to hurt her further. Instead, he slid his tongue along her lower lip, slowly. With a small noise in the back of her throat, she leaned against him, and his arms went around her.
“You feel that?” he murmured against her lips. “That’s not what you feel for a sibling. Never. I can’t believe that.”
“We have to be sure.” She pulled back, not quite meeting his eyes. But a new expression filled her face, one he recognized intimately because he’d felt it himself only seconds ago: hope. “Lenny finds the targets and gives me folders with basic information,” she said. “In one folder the dates match my own, and so does the hospital and adoption agency. That’s how I realized he’d found my mother, and I made him tell me the truth. But he won’t give me a name or anything that identifies her.”
“Then it’s a different case,” Harrison said. “It has to be. You said targets. That means there’s more than one.”