Chapter 10
Storm needed to reach Robin. Harlan wanted them on the move again. She didn’t exactly blame him. If he was right, her killer had spotted her somehow.
“I really need to use your phone before we go. My assistant is flying in today.”
“As of this morning, all the flights are delayed.”
“I don’t care. She doesn’t know where I am and she’s coming here to help me. Please.”
Harlan unlocked his phone with a passcode he didn’t let her see and handed it over. She had made it a priority to memorize important phone numbers in case she didn’t have access to her phone. Like in the old days before smartphones had turned everyone’s brain to mush. She had Robin’s number as well as many others stored in her memory.
Robin picked up on the first ring. “Hello?”
“It’s me. I’m fine.”
“Oh, thank God. Storm, I’ve been trying to reach you. I’m here.” People talking filled the background of the call like cheese puff capsules of packing foam. A car honked somewhere behind Robin too.
“Where is here?”
“In Hawaii. I went to the rental, but I couldn’t get anywhere near the neighborhood. It’s all blocked off because of the volcano. Can you believe that thing is still spewing lava?”
Storm hadn’t checked for an update, but at this point, there was no reason to doubt it. “I’m not there. I left you a message that I was being forced to leave.”
“I didn’t get it. Darn. I’m at a pop-up shelter now, not far from the house. I came here to look for you. There are at least a hundred people here. It’s a zoo. All these people displaced. I wish we could help them.”
So did Storm, but she had other things more pressing at the moment.
“Where are you? I’ll come to you,” Robin said.
“I’m on the move again. He’s here.” She had brought Robin into her mess and now wasn’t sure that had been a good idea. She had never imagined the person who wanted her dead would follow her to Hawaii.
“Who is?”
“Whoever tried to kill me. Well, we think he’s here. It’s a long story. Anyway, I’ll reach out again when I’ve landed somewhere safe.”
“Who is we? You said we. Who are you with?”
“Oh, I hired a bodyguard. I’ll explain later. Robin, I need you to find a way to go home.”
“What? I can’t hear you over all this noise.”
“You can’t stay in Hawaii. It’s not safe. I should’ve thought of that before. I’m sorry I dragged you into this.”
“We should go, Storm,” Harlan said, pointing at his watch.
“I’m not leaving now that I’m here. Tell me where to meet you. You shouldn’t be alone,” Robin said.
She didn’t have time to argue. “Can you stay put at the shelter until I can get back to you?”
“Yes. I’ll make myself useful.”
“I’ll be in touch soon. Thanks for coming.”
“Storm, wait. Your father is frantic. He called me every hour demanding I tell him where you are.”
“Please don’t tell me you did.”
“I had no choice. He threatened to fire me if I didn’t tell. He said he’d get the entire board to go along with it. I’m sorry. I didn’t see that I had a choice. And it’s your father. He deserves to know. He’s on his way to the island. He chartered a plane and intends to get to the bottom of this.”
She understood Robin’s reasoning, but she didn’t like it. Her father could be a bully when he wanted something and Storm had hoped that Robin would stand tough. The last thing Storm needed was her father involved.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll deal with him. I have to go. I’ll be in touch.” She ended the call and took a deep breath before handing the phone back to Harlan who had stood beside her the entire time. She wanted to lean against him and feel his strong arms around her if only for a minute. The whole situation became more to deal with than she could keep up with.
“What happened? You’re shaking.” He slipped the phone in his pocket and kept his distance.
“My father knows where I am.”
“And that’s bad because?”
“Because my father hates me.”
She and Kenneth Richards had very little love lost between them. Her father put up with her because she was smart and good at what she did. She could raise money for his precious school. But he resented her because she would not conform to his wishes. The only thing she had ever agreed to was a career in academia, but not because that was his chosen path. She chose it because she loved learning and inspiring students, and damn it, she was good at what she did.
She went after all the promotions because she was competitive and wanted her father’s approval like any little girl wishing her daddy would notice her. But Kenneth only noticed recognition and slaps on the back. He was a good old boy, and she wasn’t allowed in the network. He disliked that his two sons could not accomplish what his daughter seemed to do with ease. Easier than even he had.
She had embarrassed her father by being better at the game than he was. People liked and respected her. Until the recent attempt to kill her. That’s what made the list of people who would come after her hard to determine. And yet, why wouldn’t someone who was jealous not be on the list.
“I doubt your father hates you.”
“You don’t know him. I’ll tell you all about it later.” She gripped the doorknob. It was time to go, wherever that was.
“Hang on a second.” Harlan gripped her shoulder. The heat from his hand radiated over her skin. She would certainly burn up if he put that hand anywhere else.
“Storm, are you serious? Are you and your father adversaries?” He dropped his hand. His gaze jumped between her shoulder and her face.
She couldn’t read his expression. He was either shocked with pleasure or slightly repulsed.
“Unfortunately, yes. My father is a very difficult man to deal with on a good day. We put up a decent show in front of others, but we have never gotten along.” She had tried for many years to get him to say he was proud of her, but those words did not spill from Kenneth’s lips.
“Why did your mother leave?”
“She fell out of love with my father.” She never blamed her mother for that. She did blame her mother for being weak even though Kenneth was formidable. As a child, Storm had needed her mother to be something she could not ever be.
“But you didn’t live with her?”
“My father demanded custody and had the power to paint her as unfit. He saw to it that we never saw her. I don’t remember my mother being anything but soft. She loved her children, but she was no match for my father.”
“So, in other words, your father would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.”
“That’s about right. I thought you wanted to leave. Why are we still standing here talking about my parents?” She didn’t want to have this discussion any longer. Her past and her parents’ lack of emotional fortitude had no bearing on what was happening now. She was ready to get out of this hotel before the person who wanted her dead did something worse than send up a breakfast tray. Assuming it was that person, but she didn’t believe in coincidences.
“We’ll leave in a minute. Answer my last question. Did he want you to be president of his college?”
She searched Harlan’s face for what might be going on inside his head, but his expression remained neutral. He was in complete control of himself and that could be unsettling. She was good at what she did because she could read people. Harlan knew how to turn off his tells.
“I wasn’t his first choice. He was outvoted by a wide margin.” She wasn’t supposed to know that, but one of the trustees who never liked her father saw to it that she had the information. “Where are you going with this?”
“We can’t rule anything out. Your father could be the one who tried to poison you.”