Chapter Fifteen

Since Bessie was busy in the kitchen, Holly answered the doorbell when it rang and came face-to-face with the man she’d hoped to never see again. Fear gripped her, nearly paralyzing her until she realized she wasn’t a child anymore. She could fight back.

“How’d you know where to find me?” she demanded, proud that her voice sounded strong and firm.

Burt lifted the hat from his closely cropped gray hair and grinned. She’d always hated that grin. “Followed you from the place you have your brother stashed.”

“You stay away from me. From Liam.”

Burt rubbed the edge of his bulbous nose. “Or you’ll what? Call the police? No one will believe you. A woman who was a teenage runaway and a thief to boot. I ought to file charges against you for running with your brother like that. I am still his guardian.”

Holly could already guess, but asked anyway. “What do you want?”

“I want you to do one final job, and I’ll have everything I need. I’ll be set for life. Then I’ll be out of your life for good, I swear. Otherwise, Liam and I are going to be working together.” He winked at her. “I gotta know by midnight.”

“No. I don’t care what you threaten me with. I won’t let you near Liam again.”

He smirked. “And how do you plan to stop me?”

“I know what you did to Jake’s brother when you were a guard and I’m going to tell him who you are. Now leave. We are so done.” She could tell by his expression that her announcement troubled him. She’d seen a quick flash of fear in his eyes.

His eyes narrowed. “We’ll see, darlin’. We’ll see.”

Holly crossed her arms and waited at the door to make sure he left. Hours before Burt’s arrival, she’d wished she had something that could force him to back off and leave her and Liam in peace. She’d searched for information and had found a retired employee at the now defunct juvenile facility where Burt had worked. She’d called him and the man had shared what he’d known, then told her to look up old news on Jake’s brother. What she’d learned had been so much worse than the truth she’d imagined.

She’d printed out page after page of the ugly details. No wonder Jake acted like he didn’t have a heart. His had been crushed. Holly went back to her room and spread the papers across the desk. The first stack was a copy of the newspaper article detailing Jake, Mason, and Cole’s involvement in an arson fire, the trial and their sentencing to Butler Field Correctional Center.

The second stack was article after article of their exoneration after a friend of Olivia’s father had come forward and admitted that they’d later learned the boys were innocent. Yet, they’d left them in the facility.

The third stack was articles about the death of Jake’s brother Adam. An undetected heart condition, the autopsy had stated in one of the articles. But Jake and Adam’s grandmother, Martha, had disputed that along with Jake and his friends swearing a guard had killed his brother through brutality. No one had listened.

Holly closed her eyes, the name of that guard burning in her gut. Burt Varner. Her uncle. He’d always managed to portray himself as the innocent victim in everything. He’d never once mentioned taking part in anything that had led to the death of one of the juveniles, and Holly had been too young and too focused on surviving to pay attention to what was going on in the news.

As soon as Jake came home, she’d give him this information and tell him everything she knew about her uncle’s actions. She chewed her lip, unsure if it was the right time to announce the pregnancy, too.

She put the information she’d printed out aside and wandered into the kitchen to find Bessie. The woman was on a stepstool digging through a shelf in the walk in pantry.

“Need help?”

Bessie turned around and backed down off the stool. Perplexed, she scratched her head. “I could have sworn I picked up cinnamon the last time I was at the store, but apparently, I grabbed nutmeg instead.” She cast a worried eye toward the oven. “I have to keep an eye on dinner. There are still a couple of steps to it, but I need the cinnamon for the cream cheese cinnamon rolls I’m making.”

“I can run to the store for you,” Holly offered.

Bessie clapped her hands. “Wonderful! Let me grab some money from the household account. Get your coat, and drive safely. The temperature is dropping and there might be black ice on some of the roads.”

“Yes, Mom,” Holly teased.

Bessie made a shooing gesture.

Holly was glad to run the errand. It would give her a chance to go over how she wanted to tell Jake about the baby-to-be. She would present him with everything she’d dug up and then lay out how she could help him get justice for what her uncle had done to his brother. She’d tell anyone who’d listen what he’d done to her and her brother. Humming to herself, she left the house feeling full of hope that everything might possibly work out for both of them.

…

Her car wasn’t in the driveway. Holly not being home thwarted Jake showing her the photo of Burt. He set his keys down on the kitchen counter and searched the refrigerator for a bottle of orange juice. The meeting with Wade Aerodynamics had lasted longer than he’d anticipated. He realized now that not turning Holly in to the police in the beginning had been the right move. Regardless of whether it was her, her brother, or unknown other parties who’d planned the break in, that information being made public would have hurt their chances to do business with the Wade family. The elder Mr. Wade had gone on and on about how much security meant and that because of Jake’s company’s reputation, it was the only one they’d wanted to get in business with.

God, he was tired. He drained the last ounce of the juice, then stepped on the trashcan lever to open it. He tossed the bottle in, then stared down into the can. “What the hell,” he muttered. Stooping, he reached in and removed a pregnancy test box. The stick slid from the open end and clattered onto the marble tile floor. Jake bent to retrieve it, feeling like he was moving in slow motion. He could smell supper cooking, hear the ticking of the clock on the wall, and the caw of crows outside the window, but it was like the scent and the sounds were inside a tunnel.

Turning the stick over, he saw the two lines. His eyes darted to the explanation on the side of the stick. One line meant not pregnant. Two meant pregnant. There were two lines. There are two lines. “Bessie!”

The other woman ran into the room, her hand over her heart. “What?”

He waved the stick. “This is a pregnancy test.”

“Yes,” she said calmly.

“Is this yours?”

Bessie laughed. “That door shut two decades ago, son.”

Right. He wasn’t thinking clearly. “Then…” His mouth opened, but he couldn’t form words. He closed it, then tried again. “Was your daughter here?”

“No.”

“It can’t be…Holly’s. Shit!” He threw it away and raked a hand through his hair. Of course she was pregnant. She’d said she couldn’t…and now…she…

“Jake—”

He waved her off. Hadn’t he suspected Holly of being cagey? A pregnancy. That was her end game. She’d wanted to be the mother of his child. He’d been so focused on finding out what she was hiding that he hadn’t even considered she’d…wait a second. The condom broke. Holly hadn’t had anything to do with that. Unless somehow she’d stuck a needle through it to poke a hole. That had happened to a friend of his. His mind racing, he headed to his room. He would…he would what? There wasn’t a damn thing he could do until she returned and he could— He glanced into her room as he passed and saw papers everywhere.

Stepping into the room, he picked up the first pile he reached. Every story was about him. His friends. His brother’s death. A photo of Adam was in the corner of one of the articles. Hands shaking, he dropped the pile and the papers scattered everywhere. He had to get out of here. As he turned to leave, he spotted a copy of an email addressed to Holly with a subject line that said “good job.” But the name on the sender—Burt Varner—was what made his blood run cold. In the message, he congratulated Holly for returning the drive because she realized she was better off taking Jake instead. He’d instructed her to get millions or whatever she could from him.

The sense of betrayal washed over him like relentless waves crashing on the shore.