Page 47 of Evidence of Secrets

He thought he and Laura were establishing a relationship. They made love, saw each other when they could, and talked on the phone all the time. He hadn’t been out with another woman, and as far as he knew, Laura wasn’t dating anyone else. He wasn’t ready to let the relationship or Laura go. He suspected she found out about his owning the apartment building but couldn’t they talk it out if that was it? He could plead his case. She’d understand. Wouldn’t she?

* * *

“I’ll call you.”

Probably never.

She watched Hank turn and leave.

Laura had been surprised to see Hank in the doorway. She’d been enjoying the conversation with Ryan. He appeared knowledgeable about old buildings and intrigued by the history of the building being a speakeasy in another life.

The conversation with Hailey had played over and over in her mind since last Friday night. Why did Hank lie to her? Although he didn’t exactly lie. He just omitted the truth, which was just as bad as lying. Laura was embarrassed Hailey knew more about Hank than she did. However, most of Hailey’s information was secondhand. Well, not even secondhand. She made assumptions based upon listening to Danny’s conversations with Hank.

She really hated being lumped in with Hank’s ex-fiancée. Hailey had told her that Heather was a gold digger, she left Hank at the altar, and how hurt he had been.

Never in her life had she taken anything she wasn’t entitled to. Never cheated on anyone. Never lied to get something for nothing. The thought that Hank could think that about her offended Laura.

Of course, her friends would say she was stubborn and needed to accept help. But that wasn’t in her nature. Her mother never did, nor would she. You work hard. And if things go wrong, you work harder.

The problem was that she felt a connection with Hank. It hurt to know that he didn’t trust her. Laura sighed. She didn’t know how to salvage what they had or if she even wanted to.

Bah. She needed to stay in the present. Ryan had walked over to look at the storage unit when Hank walked in. Did he still want to buy a restaurant. If so, it would be a quick and easy solution to her problem. First, she had to talk to the bank and try other means to get money before she sold her life away.

Then she would think about her relationship with Hank. That is, if they still had one.

Could she and Hank talk this out? She cared for him—a lot. He was everything that she wanted in a man. He was smart and kind, worked hard, didn’t take anything that wasn’t earned. Plus, she couldn’t forget he was great in bed. And sexy—especially sexy. Her brain hurt, and she wanted to go home and curl up in her bed, but dessert would not make itself.

She’d think about all this later tonight when she got home. Or not. It wasn’t like she had to make any decisions right now.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-FIVE

“Can you do it for a hundred bucks?” The man in front of Ryan nodded. When he did, Ryan took a step back. The guy was ripe. Bathing daily in humid Florida was a number one priority, but Ryan guessed the guy missed the memo.

He’d been watching this group of druggies for a week. The area they hung out at was underneath the railroad tracks. Go figure. Ryan had been following them for a couple of days and he choose the man who seemed to have it more together and looked like he could be trusted—sort of. Ryan hated to hire someone he didn’t know. But he made it clear to him after the man agreed to the price that if he screwed up or kept the bag, he wouldn’t be around to spend the hundred bucks. The man never asked what was in the bag. Ryan told him the woman was his ex-wife and keeping some important papers from him. They commiserated over ex-wives. Then they shook hands. Ryan went to the nearest fast-food joint and scrubbed for a long time.

Ryan had been watching the bistro on and off and knew Laura was fairly regular in bringing the week’s deposit to the bank. He was surprised no one told her to vary the day and time she went there. He also knew she didn’t have a car so would be walking. He shook his head. What was wrong with people? Didn’t they know the streets weren’t safe?

Things weren’t working as smoothly as he hoped with Laura. He was losing sleep worrying about Rocco and Fingers. The knots in his stomach never went away. Ryan was sure Rocco didn’t go back to Atlanta but was watching him, probably thinking something big was going down and he wanted in.

The idea of stealing Laura’s deposit came to him one night when he couldn’t sleep. The theft would put her in more dire straits. Ryan didn’t want to hurt her, only scare her. The one thing he knew for sure was that he wasn’t made for a life of crime, but money was a powerful motivator.

He hoped the man could pull this off without a hitch. Although, even if the police caught him, the man wouldn’t be able to identify Ryan. A mustache, sunglasses and a ball cap were the perfect disguise.

Everything was in place. Ryan hoped to get Laura to sell. If not, more drastic measures would be needed.

* * *

The thingabout Florida weather was one day, it could be hot and humid, the next sunny and mild, then overcast and cool, like today.

Laura liked to deposit the week’s receipts mid-afternoon on Friday. Payroll was every other Friday, and her employees counted on her to make it.

Thankfully, the bistro had a good week, and Laura had a substantial amount of cash to deposit.

Most people used credit cards, but a quite a few stalwarts still liked to pay with cash. Fine by her, since the credit card company charged her for accepting the cards. She placed the deposit in her purse and walked into the kitchen.

“Levi, I’m running to the bank. Do you need anything while I’m out?”

The chef was cleaning a counter and looked over at her. “No. I’m going to finish here and leave. Have a great afternoon.”

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