By Request Collection April-June 2016. Оливия Гейтс
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happens to Annie.” Exhaling, he shoved a hand through his hair. “I don’t mean to sound like an uncaring bastard. My mother’s been depressed since my father died, and of course I’ll continue to be there for her… .”
“But you keep circling back to Annie?”
“Yeah. As if we’d been together for years, not days. Listen.” He looked at the cabin, then back at Jesse. “This is going to sound nuts, and I swear there isn’t anything to make me believe she’s in danger here, but if anything should happen while I’m gone—”
“I’ll take care of it,” Jesse said. “Don’t worry.”
“It could mean getting her out of here. Maybe all the way out. I mean, north.”
“I understand. And I’ve got it covered. But nothing’s going to happen. Do me a favor and focus on driving, huh? She needs you back here.”
Tucker stuck out his hand and they shook. “Thank you. For everything.”
“I’ll see you later.”
Tucker got in the SUV and took off. Carefully. It would defeat the purpose if he got himself killed in a traffic accident. Didn’t mean he’d stopped thinking about Annie. Or his mother. With Annie it was about protection, with Irene it was concern. When he thought of his brother, there was only uncertainty. Why leave the seed money? Why not take everything? Unless he got into some trouble he couldn’t get out of. He might have stolen the money as a Hail Mary pass. Which would mean he didn’t go into the partnership with the intention of making Annie the fall guy.
The end result was the same, but it made it easier for Tucker to swallow. Christian was still Tucker’s brother even though they’d been barely more than strangers for so much of their lives.
The drive passed more quickly than he’d assumed it would, and then he was on the phone, cursing under his breath because Kalispell was too small a town to have a courier at the ready. Something he would’ve anticipated if he wasn’t so distracted by worry. He’d started to panic when he finally found someone who’d do it for triple pay. But it was still going to take longer than he’d like.
For a few moments he thought about flying it out himself, but that meant leaving Annie behind and he couldn’t do that. Better to bargain with her to extend the deadline she’d imposed on him.
As he went through his files, he made a couple more calls. He’d already put a lot of the videos on a flash drive, so he completed the set, then went down to the hotel’s business center. It was closed, but the manager opened it for him, and by the time he’d copied his case file, the courier had arrived.
George was doing the same thing with his files. There would be duplicates, but Tucker didn’t care. The more information, the better. Though he worried there wasn’t going to be enough time for his attorney to read through everything, let alone make any cogent suggestions.
When Tucker got back, he’d just have to make Annie see reason. Jesse and Shea were on his side. He’d shamelessly use them to make Annie listen if he had to. Especially since there was another issue besides the time constriction. It made sense for her to go back to Dallas with him. To wait there where he could keep an eye on her while the lawyers slugged it out.
The thought of her facing this alone made him irrational, so he’d have to watch his words. That’s what happened, he supposed, when a man fell in love. Jesus. Somehow, he’d thought it would be simpler.
His laughter surprised him. None of this was funny. Especially that no matter what Annie decided, he wouldn’t be able to let her go. Not that he’d force her into doing something she didn’t want. He just knew walking away wasn’t an option.
SHEA HAD BROUGHT A ROLL of toilet paper and a glass of water to the table. It took Annie a minute to remember she hadn’t bought tissues in a while, and that made her smile, even though she was still blubbering away.
She wiped her face, though, and looked at her uncomfortable friend. “Sorry,” she said, sniffling grossly. “It’s been a tough day.”
“I can only imagine,” Shea said. “Do you need anything?”
Annie shook her head. Blew her nose. Then sniffed again. “You were right.”
“About what?”
“I’m in love with him.”
“Oh.”
“You can’t tell him,” Annie said. “I can’t let my feelings for him change anything.”
Shea blinked at her and frowned. “It’s already changed everything.”
“No. It hasn’t. He’s just being nice. Don’t you see, he’s only in this because of his brother. And his mother. I can’t make him choose me over them. That would be horrible. I’d never forgive myself.”
“Annie—”
“I’m serious, Shea.” She pulled off another bunch of paper. “It’s bad enough that I’ve disappointed my family. Hurt my friends and ruined my own reputation. You think I want to take him down with me? I should just leave. Go find somewhere else I can hole up. Only this time, I won’t make so many mistakes.”
“Like having a friend who puts your picture up on the internet?”
Annie stared. “How did you know?”
“I’ve been thinking about it a lot. He was very clever. If he’d approached us any earlier, it would have been obvious, but he waited a while. Remember?”
“It’s not your fault.”
“I know. But it’s not your fault, either.”
Annie shook her head, frustration making her clench her fists. “People keep saying that when it’s not true. I can’t sit in this cell a minute longer. Walk with me?”
“Sure.” Shea got up, headed for the door, then backtracked until she could grab the toilet paper. “I’ll bet Jesse is almost done. Do you want to avoid him?”
“No, of course not. Thank you, by the way, for keeping my secret. It must have been difficult.”
“Not so much,” Shea said, closing the door behind them. “I can’t tell him anything about my classified contract work, either. but he understands.”
“Of course he does.”
“Just like Tucker understands your situation.”
“You may be right, but that doesn’t mean I should take advantage of him.”
The walk got quiet except for the sound of their boots on gravel. the crunch sounded like home to Annie. How strange. Even when she’d worked at the stables in Central Park, there hadn’t been gravel underfoot like this. Home used to sound like the click of high heels on a sidewalk. Of taxis and diesel engines, and the buzz of Manhattan.
“For the first six months I was away, I dreamed about New York every night.”
“The city itself?”
“Mostly streets that I knew well. Restaurants. My apartment. Things happened in the dreams—mostly I was captured or chased or thrown into oncoming traffic, but the backdrop didn’t feel like part of the nightmares. I missed the rhythm of the city, as if I’d had to leave my own heartbeat behind. Now, I can’t imagine myself anywhere but here.”
“You’d do okay in Texas.”
“I’m not going to end up in Texas,” Annie said, as fast as the words would tumble out of her mouth.
Shea shrugged as they neared the barn. “How do you know that?”
“Don’t. I can’t go there. I can’t pretend that everything’s going to be all right. It’ll kill me if I do. I ran from a subpoena.”
“You were never served.”
“That’s