Everything She Wanted Page 11

  With Alex safe in his crib to play and stretch after being cooped up for over an hour, she went to his dark wood dresser and pulled out several more sets of clothes and bibs. The kid drooled as much as he spit up his food. She pulled a few books from the shelves. Snagged the baby book about what to expect the first year off the nightstand. “I’m definitely going to need this.” She found a bag and several spare blankets in the closet. She stuffed everything into the oversized tote and turned back to the room.

  “What am I doing?” She didn’t know where they’d live, or what she really needed now versus for wherever they landed in the future.

  She shook her head, pulled the tote strap up her arm to her shoulder, and went to the crib. Alex smiled up at her, happy to be in his house, his room, surrounded by his things, in his bed.

  “Hi, happy baby. I promise I’ll fix this and have you back to your routine.” She didn’t know much about raising a child, but in her line of work she’d learned one thing. Kids needed stability.

  She carried Alex back downstairs to the office. She took one of the blankets from the tote and spread it on the floor, laying Alex down with a stuffed giraffe she’d also grabbed from his room. He held it by the neck and shook it, rattling the beads hidden inside. He smiled with delight and her heart felt lighter.

  With Alex happy and settled next to her, she opened the double doors on the credenza and stared at the safe. She didn’t know the combo, but pulled the key from her pocket, inserted it into the lock, and turned. She pushed the handle down and the door popped open. She sucked in a deep breath, opened the door wide, and stared at the contents.

  Margo’s jewelry. More cash. Lots of files. She pulled out the ones that appeared to have been hastily stuffed on top of several velvet jewelry boxes. She opened the first one. Divorce papers for Donald and Christina. The second contained a brand-­new will dated two weeks ago. The third held the adoption papers she’d signed for Margo to become Alex’s legal mother. She stared at the bottom of the page, a sense of dread coming over her. She flipped through the other folders, including the documents from the fertility clinic. One folder held a lab report that rocked her to the core.

  “It can’t be true.”

  She turned and stared at her son; his blue eyes stared back at her. Her blue eyes. She saw so many pieces of herself in him.

  Lost in her dark thoughts, she jumped when her phone chirped.

  BEN: Find everything you need?

  KATE: We have a big problem.

  BEN: What’s happened?

  What could Kate say? If this was true, she needed to show Ben the papers and figure out what it meant. How it happened? Who the fuck was responsible for this catastrophe?

  KATE: Unforeseen complication.

  BEN: What does that mean?

  KATE: I’ll bring you the papers and maybe you can tell me.

  BEN: Come now.

  KATE: On my way.

  She’d go to the morgue and make arrangements for her sister after she showed Ben the papers. She needed to know what this meant for her and Alex. If they were true, the Faradays might just get everything.

  The angry huff she let out startled Alex. He jumped, his eyes wide when she turned to him.

  “It’s okay, sweetheart. Mommy will take care of everything. Let’s go see Ben.”

  Alex smiled and babbled, wiggling like he couldn’t wait to go. Funny, the anticipation and trills rippling inside surprised her. She wanted to see Ben. She couldn’t wait to see him, and it had nothing to do with needing his help.

  Chapter Eleven

  EVAN DIDN’T WANT to go back to the scene of the crime. His damn mother forced him. She didn’t want to step foot in the other woman’s house. So here he stood on the steps with a fucking cop beside him.

  “I’m sorry, sir, but you aren’t authorized to go inside.”

  “This is my father’s house,” he explained for the third time.

  “No, it isn’t,” a woman said behind him, standing in the now-­open doorway.

  He turned to the sultry voice that snapped out those words. The woman was even better than the voice. Long dark hair, startlingly blue eyes dominating her heart-­shaped face. The scowl only made her lush lips more appealing. Not that tall, maybe five-­five, slender with just a hint of curve to her hips, and full breasts that would be more than a handful. The longer he stared, the harder she glared. He liked a woman with attitude.

  “Who are you?” he asked, very interested in getting to know her better.

  “Your worst fucking nightmare.”

  Her spunk only made him smile more. “Is that right? Well, do you have a name?”

  “Kate Morrison. Margo was my sister.”

  “Who?”

  “You don’t even know the name of the woman you shot last night?”

  Well, fuck. He didn’t expect that. Luckily, he schooled his features and shut down his surprise with a good dose of anger. “Hold it right there.” Evan took a menacing step toward her.

  The cop planted a hand on his chest to stop him. “Stay where you are.”

  “She’s fucking accusing me of killing her sister.” He turned to Kate. “I had nothing to do with it. The police informed my mother and me late last night that my father and his mistress were killed.”

  “You mean your father’s fiancé.”

  “He planned to marry her?” Evan should have guessed. The look in his father’s eye when he looked at the woman told him how deeply his father cared for her. Didn’t matter now.

  “He gave her a ring and everything. He loved her. He wanted to make a life with her because she was warm and kind and sweet and thoughtful.” Her voice cracked on those words. “She made him happy. Can your mother say the same?”

  No. Evan didn’t speak the word. What use was it to defend his mother and a marriage neither of them participated in for years?

  His gaze fell and landed on the car seat and the little boy dozing off with a giraffe in his hands. “Is that my brother?”

  “He’s mine now. And so is this house and everything in it. My sister’s name is on the property, not your father’s. You’re trespassing. Leave.”

  The officer perked back up again. “Let’s go, sir. This is a crime scene. No one is allowed in without permission from Detective Raynott.”

  “I need to get my father’s papers.”

  “No,” Kate snapped.

  “You’ve already gone through them, haven’t you?”

  She didn’t answer, but the gleam in her eyes was all he needed as confirmation.

  “Hand them over.”

  “I have a meeting with my lawyer. Get off my property.”

  “Your property.”

  “That’s right. Mine. My sister left this property to me and Alex.”

  Evan walked right up to her. He used his height to intimidate her. She stared up at him, not the least scared. In fact, the anger in her eyes flashed even hotter.

  “You don’t get to fucking tell me what to do at my father’s home.”

  “Are you deaf or just stupid? This is my house.”

  Evan didn’t think. He reacted and grabbed her by the throat. “Listen, you bitch . . .”

  The officer put his hand on Evan’s shoulder. “Let her go. Now.”

  Somehow she managed to slam her hand into his hand and make him lose his grip. She held his forearm, pulled it around and behind his back, kicked him in the back of the leg, sending him down to his knees and falling to the pavement. She landed on his back, her knee digging into his spine, his arm so high up his back he thought it might snap, or pull his shoulder right out of the socket.

  “Miss Morrison, let him up.” The officer stood over the two of them. “This has gone too far.”

  Kate leaned down next to his ear. “That’s a nasty bruise on your jaw you’ve got. She hit you, didn’t sh
e? She cut you with that knife. You fucking touch me again, it’ll be the last thing you ever do. You hear me?”

  “Get her the fuck off me before she breaks my arm,” he yelled at the cop.

  “Miss Morrison, please. Enough. Self-­defense is one thing, but you’re over the line. Back off.”

  “He started it.” She glared down at Evan again. “I’m the one who’s going to finish it. Count on it.” She pushed her knee into his spine harder, then jumped off him, letting him go all at once. She went to the front door, grabbed the baby, and closed the door, locking it with her key.

  It took Evan a second to gain his feet. Between her and her sister, he had enough aches and pains to make him forget he deserved them.

  Right now, he wanted to make the bitch pay, but the cop stepped between him and Kate and shook his head. “Touch her again and I will arrest you for assault.”

  Evan gained his head and thought twice about going after her again. For now.

  “I want to see my brother.”

  “No. Stay away from this house, me, and Alex.”

  “He’s my brother. I have a right to see him.”

  “You lost all rights the second you pulled that trigger and killed your father and my sister.”

  “I didn’t kill them. I was at home with my mother.”

  “No one believes that bullshit story. Soon, the cops will prove you were here last night. You killed them. I will make you pay for that.”

  Evan hated to retreat. Not his style, but she had him by the balls. Nothing he could do with a cop standing between them. “Fuck this, I’m out of here as soon as you give me my father’s papers.” He held out his hand for her to give them over.

  She smiled in a not so nice way. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Excuse me, but I’m late to see my lawyer.”

  “Ben Knight, right? I beat him before, I’ll do it again.”

  She looked him right in the eye. “You won’t beat me.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  “You will see. I’m not some weak person you can trounce with your fists or your money. If you know what’s good for you, stay away from me and Alex. If you don’t, I’ll have you on the ground again. Maybe next time, you won’t get up.”

  “Threatening me in front of a cop. Not smart.”

  “I don’t make threats. I make promises. I will keep the one I made to my sister and your father.” She eyed the cop without a hint of trepidation she might actually get arrested for threatening him. “If he comes back, arrest him for trespassing.”

  If he didn’t want to take a swing at her so bad and shut that smart mouth, he might like her. She had guts.

  Why the hell did he even come here? His mother should go to his father’s lawyers and get copies of whatever his father set up along with divorcing her. He needed to lie low before the cops did find evidence to put him behind bars for good.

  He turned without another word and headed for his car, rolling his shoulder to work out the sore muscles and tendons after Kate laid him out. God, he needed a drink, or ten. She wouldn’t get the better of him again. In fact, he planned to teach her a lesson. She wouldn’t get away with speaking to him in that haughty tone, or besting him in a fight. She wouldn’t take everything that belonged to him. He’d make sure of it. That was a promise he intended to keep.

  Chapter Twelve

  BEN SAT AT his desk, trying not to check the time again. Kate said she was on her way. She should have arrived twenty minutes ago even with traffic. According to the traffic alert on his computer, there were no accidents reported. Where the hell was she?

  A knock sounded on his door a second before the door swung open and Jenna, Elizabeth, and Marti walked right in without his assistant announcing them. He loved seeing them, but never expected them to show up at his office.

  “What are you doing here?” He might have snapped that out a bit too brusquely judging by the narrowed gazes he received.

  Jenna smiled and came around his desk to hug him. “We are here to see how it went last night.”

  “What are you talking about?” Dumbfounded, he didn’t follow, just stared in wonder as Jenna sat on the edge of his desk and Marti and Elizabeth took the two chairs in front like they owned the place.

  “Morgan’s premonition. You met her last night, right?” Marti asked.

  “Her?” he asked, trying to play dumb. He should know better.

  “Oh, come on. Don’t leave us in suspense. What’s her name?”

  Ben checked the time, worried that another five minutes had passed with no word from Kate.

  “What’s wrong?” Jenna asked, reading the concern he couldn’t hide.

  “Her name is Kate Morrison. She’s supposed to be here, but she’s late.”

  “So, we’ll get to meet her.” Marti smiled.

  “If she shows up.”

  “So, you don’t mind introducing her to us?” Jenna asked. “Your family?”

  “No. You’ll like her. She’s a lot like you guys. Strong. Independent. Tough, but nice. Beautiful.”

  “Just like us,” Elizabeth teased, using his words.

  He laughed under his breath. “Just like all of you. She’s got a good heart she hides well. She doesn’t trust easily. Not surprising since her background is in some ways like mine and in others a lot worse.”

  “She sounds fascinating,” Jenna said. “How did you meet her last night?”

  “I’ve actually met her several times. She’s a social worker down in San Jose. I got a call from a detective I know that someone I tried to put behind bars may have killed a man and woman last night. Kate’s sister was one of the victims. She pointed the finger at the man’s son. Evan and I have gone a few rounds. He killed the son of one of my Haven House families and beat one of my clients near to death. His father settled the suit by paying off my client.”

  “Now, you think he killed his father and Kate’s sister?” Marti’s eyes filled with sadness.

  “The evidence is circumstantial at the moment. We’re waiting for some lab results. I’ve promised to help Kate settle the estate for her son.”

  “She has a child?” Jenna asked.

  “A son. Alex. He looks just like her, right down to his blue eyes. Margo wasn’t able to have a child of her own, so Kate agreed to be artificially inseminated. She gave birth to Alex four months ago. Alex is Evan’s father’s son. Donald had just filed for divorce from Evan’s mother. He planned to marry Margo and they’d raise Alex.”

  “That’s an amazing thing Kate did for her sister.”

  “She’s an amazing woman.” Ben hadn’t really meant to say that out loud. To all of them.

  “So, she’s the one. Morgan was right,” Elizabeth said.

  “I don’t know if what I feel for her is because of what Morgan said, or because it’s how I really feel.”

  “You know.” Jenna reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “You’re just afraid to admit she means something to you because then you have to admit that Morgan was right. All of us have been wary of things Morgan knows, but she’s never wrong.”

  “I’m not afraid Morgan is wrong. I’m afraid she’s right. What do I do then? I don’t do relationships. The longest one I’ve ever had lasted less than three months.”

  “That’s only because they weren’t Kate,” Marti pointed out. “You’ve been waiting for her.”

  Ben shook his head. Leave it to the ladies to make this some grand romantic gesture. “The relationships never last because I’m not husband material.”

  “I call bullshit,” Elizabeth said.

  “Me too,” Marti added.

  “You’re afraid that one day you’ll wake up and find you are your father’s son.” Jenna spoke the truth he didn’t want to admit to them or himself. “That simply isn’t true. You are a kind and decent man who would never hurt a
nyone, let alone a woman. You care for the weakest, most vulnerable ­people with compassion. It simply isn’t in you to hurt ­people just because you can. Look at all the lives you’ve changed at Haven House. You can’t tell me that you look in the mirror and see anything but a good guy.”

  Elizabeth and Marti nodded, agreeing with everything Jenna said.

  He sighed out his trepidation. He wanted something more with Kate, but with everything going on, now might not be the time to pursue something deeper. She needed his help.

  “If not now, then when?” Jenna asked, reading his mind. “She’s in your life now. Don’t let her get away. If you like her, tell her. If you want to be with her, be with her. For once, Ben, don’t go into a relationship with one foot in and one out the door. Go all in.”

  A baby cried outside his office door. He was up and striding for it before he consciously thought about going to get Kate. The door opened and she walked in with Alex in his car seat at her side.

  “I’m going to kill that fucking bastard,” she announced. The anger clouding her eyes said she meant every word.

  Still worried that it took her so long to get here, he scanned her from the feet up, stopping on the red marks on her neck. “What the hell happened to you?” He reached out, laid his hand on her shoulder, and swept his thumb over one dark bruise.

  “He fucking tried to choke me.”

  “Evan?” The anger exploded inside of him and made his chest swell and his hand fist.

  “Don’t worry, I laid him out on the ground. Next time, I’ll kill him.”

  Alex let out a wail that made Ben squint his eyes against the pain in his ears. “What’s wrong with him?”

  “He needs a bottle, or a diaper, or a mother who knows what she’s doing, because obviously I don’t.”

  Ben laughed when Kate squatted to pick up Alex. “Lucky for you, I have three of the best mothers in the world right here.”

  Kate’s head snapped up and her gaze went past him to all three very interested women.

  “Hi,” they said in unison.

  Kate’s eyes closed as she exhaled deeply. “Oh, God, I am so sorry. I had no idea you were in a meeting. No one was outside, so I let myself in. I’m sorry, Ben, ladies, there’s no excuse for my poor behavior.”