Chapter 15
Grant’s jaw flexed as he gritted his teeth while they shoved him into the back of the police cruiser for the second time in as many months. His mind raced, trying to sort through the situation and the fallout, but confusion and anger reigned.
He’d been on his way to whisk Julia away for a private lunch to take a step forward in solving their issues. He’d misjudged her earlier, and he needed to fix that. Now, he had no opportunity to resolve anything.
The cruiser pulled away from the curb, on its way to the station. Julia’s face, a mix of complex emotions, floated past his window. Her eyes, usually clear and expression, were muddled with fear, worry, and something else he couldn’t decipher. It gnawed at him. The uncertainty of her feelings toward him made the situation even worse.
Had she had enough of this charade? She’d been angry at him when she’d stormed from the house after explaining her so-called indiscretion.
After this embarrassment, would she prefer to cut ties before anything else went wrong? They weren’t on the best of terms. This couldn’t have come at a worse time.
As the towering buildings passed by his window, their silhouettes casting long shadows in the afternoon sun, his mind parsed through the incident itself.
He had intruded on a scene that, at first glance, appeared uncomfortably intimate between Julia and the doctor. The memory of their proximity followed by the doctor’s accusations and desperate attempts to “protect” his wife from him churned in him, a mix of jealousy and protective instinct roiling.
This time, he hadn’t immediately jumped to any conclusions about them, but the uncomfortable look on Julia’s face made him rush toward her. He’d noticed the doctor’s interest in her yesterday. Yes, his jealousy had flared again, but this time to protect her, not to accuse her.
What he’d walked in on, however, hadn’t been anything like he’d anticipated. Was his judgment this poor when it came to her?
“This woman is being abused.” The doctor’s declaration to the police reverberated through his mind. How had things spiraled to that point? What had led the doctor to make such a damning declaration?
Had Julia said something to him? Something innocent that had made him think that? He seemed insistent. Insistent on protecting Julia.
While he could understand the urge to protect her, he couldn’t understand how any of this had happened and how he’d ended up in the back of a police cruiser again.
In a horrible repeat, they hauled him from the cruiser’s back seat, leading him through the sterile, echoing corridors of the police station. Each step felt heavier than the last. Somehow this time seemed worse than his murder charge. That time, Julia had stood by his side, waiting at the police station for him. She’d believed him.
This time, he had no idea if she’d stand by his side. After their argument this morning followed by a second, very public confrontation, she may avoid him entirely. Would even their contract fall apart?
He finally found himself alone in the cold, uninviting embrace of the interrogation room, its barren walls a stark reminder of his isolation. As he sat alone in the starkly lit room, a sense of impending confrontation weighed on him. He braced himself, knowing whatever came next likely wouldn’t bode well for him.
A second later, the door popped open. The same detective who had interrogated him over Evelyn’s disappearance strode in, a smirk on his sharp features.
“Well, well, well, here we are again.”
Grant shook his head with a sigh. “Wrongfully accused again.”
The man slapped a folder onto the cold metal table before he dragged the chair across the concrete floor. It echoed loudly in the space before he sank into it. “It’s funny how that keeps happening, isn’t it?”
“I don’t find it amusing in the least.”
“Neither do I. Only this time, I don’t think you’re wrongfully accused.”
“You haven’t learned anything from the last time, have you?” Grant asked.
“I think we’ve learned quite a bit. It’s interesting because the last time I saw you I came to the same conclusion that the good doctor did.”
Grant’s jaw tensed as he worked to keep his emotions in check. The last time the man had mentioned Julia’s fear of him, he’d lunged across the table. He couldn’t afford to do that again.
Instead, he bit into his tongue to keep his mouth shut.
“So, tell me what happened? This guy ogle pretty little Julia a minute too long? Maybe she was into him, too?”
The statement burned through him, but he kept his anger in check, though he clenched his fists under the table. “I didn’t throw the first punch.”
“You’re saying the doctor did?”
“Yes, he did. Ask anyone there. Ask Julia.”
The man flicked his gaze up to Grant’s face. “We will. Tell me, though, why would I believe this? Why would an upstanding man like Dr. Kyle Carter punch you?”
Grant lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “You’d have to ask him.”
“He didn’t say anything to you at all? Nothing to prompt this supposed attack?”
Grant recognized the tactic designed to draw information that he may not have and paint him into a corner. “I think I’ve said all I’m going to say until my attorney arrives.”
“Well, we have a witness who says you were quite aggressive with both him and Mrs. Harrington just before the altercation. Can you explain that?”
“I’ll wait for my attorney.”
The man snorted a laugh. “That’s typical. Lawyer up. I’ll tell you, though, with the amount of trouble you seem to be getting yourself in, it’ll be a miracle if this latest marriage of yours lasts the year.”
The man rose, tapping the folder against the table as he stared at Grant for a minute before striding from the room. Alone again, the walls seemed to close in even further around him. Was Julia here? Were they questioning her? Would she admit their tenuous attachment?
The door opened again, though this time Mitchell strode in, his stern expression only slightly lighter than the last time they’d met in the same room.
“We really need to stop meeting like this, Grant,” he answered as he slid his briefcase on the table and snapped it open.
“Tell me about it. And tell me this one will be easier to get me out of.”
Mitchell grabbed a legal pad from his briefcase and slid a pen from his jacket pocket. “Well, it’s not murder, this time. But much of this will depend on what both Julia and this other person…” His eyebrows furrowed as he scanned his notes. “Dr. Kyle Carter say in their statements.”
“You’ll be able to get me out of here well before they make their statements, though, right? I really need to talk to Julia.”
“That may not be wise, Grant.”
Grant knitted his eyebrows. “What does that mean? She’s my wife. I’m going to see her when I go home.”
“The police are going to recommend she not stay at the house tonight. Whether or not she does is entirely up to her, but if she does not return to Harrington House, do not seek her out. No calls, no texts, no contact at all.”
Grant’s heart kicked up from a slow thud to a quick pounding. “What?”
“Grant, where did these accusations come from?”
“I don’t know. I…I can’t fathom how this started.”
“Is there anything Julia may have said that could have been misconstrued? Did you have a fight recently?”
Grant’s mind flicked to the incident this morning. “We…there was an incident this morning. There have been a series of misunderstandings. I was on my way to clear it all up when this happened.”
“An incident?”
Grant stared at the reflective surface of the metal table as Julia’s angry words echoed in his mind again.
“Grant? Look, I don’t believe any of this, but I need to know what I’m dealing with here. I don’t want any surprises.” He tapped his pen on the notepad with a sigh. “And if it helps, Julia called me. She seemed…upset.”
“Upset? Upset how?”
“Upset with the situation. She’s here. I haven’t spoken with her yet. I wanted your side first so I can work on getting these charges vacated.”
Grant considered his statement, trying to read through the simple words and discover Julia’s mindset.
“Grant? The incident with Julia this morning?”
“A misunderstanding. We…I thought Julia had been with someone else. There were pictures of her with another man. Sierra confronted her. She explained it was her brother-in-law, though she was frustrated at the accusation.”
“Did you work it out?”
“No, she left the house for the board meeting. I went into town to take her to lunch and explain, but I found her with the doctor. He hit me minutes into the conversation.”
Mitchell flicked his eyebrows up as he jotted a note. “So, he struck you first?”
“Yes. He grabbed Julia and pulled her away from me before he punched me right in the jaw. I retaliated because he tried to take her.”
“Take her? Julia?”
“Yes, he said he’d take her somewhere safe.”
“All right.” Mitchell jotted a few more notes. “Let me see what we’re looking at here and see if we can make some headway.”
“Thanks, Mitchell.” The man rose, packing up his briefcase before he pulled it off the table. “Oh, is it possible for me to see Julia?”
“That’s not wise given the abuse claim. Let me talk to her first, see if I can get a feel for what may have caused this.”
“Thanks. Please tell her…” Grant tried to search for suitable words. “Tell her we’ll talk soon.”
Mitchell bobbed his head before he left the room.
Silence stretched in the small room as Grant’s anxiety mounted. He imagined Julia sitting in a small room like this one, a barrage of questions flung at her, probing and prodding for personal information. How would she handle it? And would her resentment toward him grow?
If only he wouldn’t have let his emotions rule him earlier, the terse exchange about the photographs may have ended very differently. She would have come home instead of going to lunch with a man obviously interested in her. And now, he may not have been sitting in an interrogation room with a jail cell looming in his future.
“Oh, Julia,” he said as he heaved a sigh. “Why must things be so complicated between us?”
Was it the contractual boundaries that muddled their relationship or something deeper that kept her at arm’s length?
His mind conjured the image of her face, filled with unreadable emotion as they took him away in the squad car again. He hoped he had the chance to explain.
Lost in thought, he stared at his distorted features in the reflective surface of the marred metal table. Even if he explained, could he ever make a woman like Julia happy?
As his thoughts continued to spiral, the door creaked open. A chill ran over him, an unexplained sense of foreboding hanging over him. He expected Mitchell to enter and give him bad news.
“Tell me something good,” he said, his eyes still focused on his broken reflection.
A snorted laugh pulled him back to reality. He glanced at the door, his heart skipping a beat as he stared at the figure looming there.
Dr. Kyle Carter hovered just inside the door as it slowly closed behind him. His piercing gaze locked on Grant. “I’m sorry, Grant. I don’t think I can do that.”
Grant’s jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed as he stared at the man, annoyance mixing with anger. Kyle’s lips tugged back in a smirk as he casually slid his hands into his pockets.
Grant resisted the urge to throttle the man as his emotions ran high. Images of the man’s hand grabbing Julia’s, of his intense interest in her flitted through his mind, stoking his rage.
He hoped this confrontation wouldn’t end worse than the last one.
“Get out.”
The doctor offered a soft chuckle again, a wicked grin on his still boyish features. “Another request I can’t accommodate.”
He slid into the chair across from Grant, his icy eyes sizing him up. “I hope the accommodations here are to your liking. It seems you’ve been finding yourself in these situations more and more often.”
Grant replied through clenched teeth. “Thanks to a string of false accusations.”
“Unfortunately, there is nothing false about this one.” The man rubbed his chin and winced, a playful smile darting across his face after. “And I have the bruises to prove it. Oh, along with several cell phone videos that captured your overly aggressive behavior perfectly.”
“You hit me first.”
“To save the lady.” His features remained amused as though they were playing a game. “I’m the white knight here. Just out to protect sweet Julia.”
Grant’s fingers tightened into fists. “Don’t say her name.”
Kyle’s features twisted into a broad smile. “That really gets to you, doesn’t it?” He flicked his gaze sideways as though processing the information before he bobbed his head.
“She is my wife. I prefer to see her protected always.”
“It’s too bad you’re in handcuffs, though. Rather difficult to do from behind bars, isn’t it?”
Grant narrowed his eyes at the man.
Kyle raised his unrestrained wrists. “I, on the other hand, am free.” His lips twitched with a mischievous smile. “Poor Julia. She’ll need a shoulder to cry on. And my arms will be available to hold her when she does.”
Grant’s features twisted as the man made a direct threat.
Kyle turned pensive. “She really is beautiful. I’ll bet she’s just as beautiful when she cries. Do you know? Have you made her cry before?”
“If you lay one finger on her–”
“You’ll what?” The playfulness disappeared from Kyle’s features, replaced with an aggressive stare. “Kill me? Go ahead, Grant, threaten me. Play right into the groundwork I’ve already laid about how dangerous you are.”
“I would never hurt Julia.”
Kyle pretended to ponder it. “That may be so, but when I’m finished, she won’t know what to think. And with your history? Well, I wouldn’t be so certain that she’ll continue to defend you. She really was something at that news conference after your first arrest. How long do you think this pattern can continue before she realizes what you are?”
Grant’s jaw clenched as the doctor’s insinuations struck at his heart. He’d wondered the same thing not an hour ago.
“What do you want?”
Kyle raised his eyebrows. “So we’ve come to the point. Oh, good. I’ve been dying to get here.”
He chuckled as though he was intensely amused. “What do I want? Such a simple question. And yet, such an expansive answer.”
“Get to the point.”
Kyle flicked his icy gaze toward Grant, his eyes filled with anger and hatred. He gripped the edge of the table, his knuckles turning white as his jaw clenched. “I want your life dismantled, piece by piece. And I’m going to start with Julia.”
Grant read the raw emotion in the man’s face. A cold dread settled in his chest. He’d faced adversaries before, but something about this one seemed personal. This was a vendetta–a relentless pursuit for a yet unknown reason that threatened to shatter everything he’d built.