Page 85 of See You There
Luke pressed his fingers to his temple. He was going to murder his little sister. “I was interested in finding out more about my client. I foolishly thought my little sister would be a discreet source.”
Anne laughed. “Your sister is terrible at keeping secrets.”
“She did a pretty good job this past year,” Luke snarked.
“Fair point. You won’t distract me. What’s she like?”
Luke took a sip of his wine. “There’s nothing to tell. She’s nice.”
Anne let out an exasperated sound. “That’s all you’re going to give me?”
“Yup.”
“Fine. Be difficult. Enjoy your night and remember you don’t need to call every night. Especially now.”
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Luke said with a smile. “I love you.”
After setting the phone down on the small table, he leaned his head back against the chair and sipped his wine slowly. Luke wouldn’t have chosen a cabin in the Blue Ridge mountains as his preferred vacation destination. Typically, he liked his mountains to have snow. But sitting in the growing twilight, listening to the leaves blow in the evening breeze, his muscles eased, his mind relaxed.
Luke had worked nonstop over the last couple of years building his firm, and years before that, making a name for himself in a stressful career. When his father had died last year, and the drama started over the will, Luke felt like he’d been putting out one fire after another for too long. He breathed in deeply through his nose and let out a slow breath, his shoulders sinking further into the chair.
“Can I join you?” Dahlia asked quietly behind him.
“Of course.” He straightened a little as she sat in the chair next to him, her own glass of wine in hand.
Dahlia pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her bare feet on the seat of the chair. “I saw you on the phone and didn’t want to interrupt.” Her eyes went to the darkening view. “It really is beautiful up here.”
Luke studied her profile. “It is.” Almost as if she sensed his perusal, Dahlia turned her head to gaze at him. Luke cleared his throat, looking to the mountains. “I talked to James while you were in the shower earlier. The police might have a lead on Hank. They’ve gone to speak with his mother, and she said he might hide out with an old girlfriend. They’ve got the girlfriend’s place under surveillance.”
“What about Chandler?” Dahlia sounded unsure. “I don’t particularly like him, but I’m having a hard time imagining him part of a plot to kill me.”
“The police questioned him. He denies any knowledge. Chandler also wouldn’t corroborate that the tattoo in the photo is Hank’s. He didn’t deny it outright, just that he never noticed.”
Dahlia’s lips parted in a soft laugh. “That’s easy to believe. Chandler doesn’t pay attention to other people.” Dahlia lowered a foot to push the chair into motion. “It occurred to me he might have set up the robbery to look like a hero. There’s something I didn’t tell the police.”
Dahlia turned her head to face him, and Luke’s stomach hardened. James had suspected as much, but he hated for it to be confirmed.
“What is it?” Luke kept his voice calm, hiding the anger beginning to build inside him.
“I didn’t lie. I was afraid. The reason we were there that night—at the casino—Chandler owed the people who run it a lot of money.”
The hair lifted on the back of Luke’s neck. Chandler owed the Bratva money?
“He’d been avoiding them, and two of the men approached us at Phipps Plaza, presumably to collect. Chandler drove away before I knew what was going on.” Dahlia took a deep breath. “The next day when I came out of my Pilates class, they were waiting in the parking lot.”
Luke surged forward. “Did they hurt you?”
Dahlia shook her head. “No, just scared me. They’d seen the publicity about me and Chandler and thought we really were a couple. They wanted me to make sure he paid.” Fear skated across her eyes.
“They threatened you?” Ice ran through Luke’s veins when Dahlia nodded. His nostrils flared. He wanted to shoot Chandler himself for putting her in danger.
“They insisted I had to go with him to pay. Chandler said he had the money, and when Matt Crawford was in the car, I assumed he must be bankrolling it. I thought everything was fine. But once we were there, I realized Chandler was lying. That’s why I was with the fan by the door. I was going to make a run for it.
“The next thing I knew, the door is busting in, Chandler is shot, and Matt’s telling me we have to leave.”
Luke thought he knew the answer, but he needed to hear her say it. “Were you worried that Matt or Chandler would get in trouble if you told the police? Were you protecting them?” Luke forced himself to keep breathing while he waited for her to answer.
Dahlia looked appalled. “No! That’s what Matt was worried about, but my sole reason for staying quiet was I didn’t want to get involved. Men coming to collect on loans is not new to me, but even Scott never got involved with the Russian mob!”
