9. Chapter 9
June 26, 2011
10:32 pm
The drive back to the estate had been filled with thoughts about the past and the many what-if’s and could-have-beens. Hailey was only two miles from her father’s house when blue and red lights blinded her, and a siren pierced her ears.
Wonderful .
She slowly pulled over and grabbed the vehicle registration and her driver’s license. Pink flooded her cheeks as the officer tapped on her window. But irritation quickly replaced her embarrassment when she glanced at the man. She rolled down her window and crossed her arms, fuming, as Trey Harbor smiled down at her.
“Seriously, Trey? You pulled me over because I didn’t talk to you at the wedding? Grow up.”
Trey laughed at her accusation and she was appalled to find the sound sexy. “Really, Princess? You think I have nothing better to do than pull you over because I felt jilted?” He pointed to her dashboard. “You were speeding.”
His pet-name of ‘princess’ grated her ears. She seethed, no longer happy to hear it roll off his tongue like she once had been.
“Don’t call me that,” she said.
She blushed at how childish she sounded. Part of it was shock since she hadn't expected to see him. Plus, she was still angry at him despite needing his help, something she really ought to get over.
However, the real cause for her outburst was the secret she was keeping from him.
“Why not? You’re acting like an entitled princess. Always have.”
“How dare you!” She cringed as soon as the words left her mouth.
She knew he was provoking her. The trouble was, she couldn’t help but engage. It was something that had always marked their relationship. He would goad her, and she would let him. She would piss him off, and he would irritate her. A never-ending cycle of fights followed by laughs and kissing because they never could stay mad at each other for very long.
Funny how quickly that had changed.
Yet, here she was again, falling right into the games he enjoyed playing with her.
He lifted a brow as if to say ‘I told you so.’ “I’ll give you a warning this time, but don’t let me catch you speeding again.”
Hailey rolled her eyes and waved him off.
“I thought you’d be gone by now, anyway,” he said as he leaned closer to her window, invading her personal space.
“Not that it’s any of your concern, but I ran into some family issues that I need to sort through.” She desperately wanted to keep the conversation short so she wouldn’t have to speak to him anymore, not when she was so unprepared. He didn’t seem to catch the hint.
He put up his hands. “I was just making conversation.” He paused for a moment and then said, “How’s life been since you left?”
“It’s…fine.” She shifted slightly, finding it hard to breathe around him.
Trey said, “Are you still so upset that you can't even talk to me?”
Fire burned behind her eyes. “You never said a word to me after that night so why do you care now?”
Trey winced. “Okay, we’re really doing this then?”
“You started it.”
Trey chuckled cynically. “Wow, I see you haven't stopped being dramatic.”
Hailey shot him a look. “And you’re still an ass.”
“Right,” he said curtly. “And for the record, I’ve always cared about how you’re doing. But since you’ve never been back, I haven't exactly been able to ask.”
Hailey balked at him. “Oh, yeah, you really care, seeing as how you’ve never tried to contact me. It’s been thirteen years, and the only time I hear from you is when you happen to pull me over? If I hadn’t come back, would you have even tried to check on me?”
He didn’t answer.
“I didn't think so.”
He stared at her for a moment, and she felt as if he were peering into her soul. As much as she wanted to look away, she didn’t.
He sighed and said, “Well I’m here if you need anything. See ya ‘round, Princess .”
She wanted to yell at him for being so irritating and charming at the same time. She was mad as hell at him but still found herself soothed by his calmness, even in the middle of an argument.
He started to walk away but she stopped him. “Trey, wait.”
He paused and turned back to face her.
Despite not wanting to talk to him at the moment, Hailey knew she was only prolonging the inevitable. Swallowing her pride, she said, “I need your help.”
A sly smile crept on his face. He knew first-hand she would rather eat dirt than ask for help.
“Does this have to do with why you haven’t left yet? Because, from where I’m standing, you don’t tell people goodbye before you leave.”
Ouch .
As much as she wanted to get out of her car and berate him, she took a deep breath and ignored his slight. “Get in.”
She regretted her request as soon as the words left her lips, but still motioned to her passenger side. He hesitated for a moment then climbed into her car, the smell of his cologne filling the small space.
He still smelled the same as he did thirteen years ago, a scent that conjured up both good and painful memories. She wanted to run away, but Hailey steadied her breathing and wondered if he could hear her heartbeat.
At the wedding, she had been too angry to pay much attention to him. Now, though, she studied every part of him. She was surprised by the beard that covered his jawline. She found it rather sexy, much like everything else about him.
She wanted to crawl in a hole at those thoughts.
Lines had begun to form at his eyes. His once boyish face was now replaced with that of a man. She also couldn’t help but notice the contour of the fabric as his t-shirt pulled taut around his muscles.
A breath caught in her throat, and she chastised herself for even allowing her eyes to wander.
Focusing, Hailey swallowed and said, “This is going to sound crazy, but Sara didn’t kill my mother.”
Trey whipped his head toward her, brows raised.
She held up her hand. “Let me finish before you say anything.”
Trey slowly nodded and she proceeded, “At the wedding, Angie mentioned leaving me a video that would give Sara an alibi. I watched it and it's time stamped. Sara says she was basically railroaded into a guilty plea because my father was going to get the judge to extend sentencing if she didn’t.”
Hailey shifted in her seat. The whole thing sounded asinine after saying it out loud.
Trey shook his head. “Stop. What is it you want me to do, exactly?”
“I want you to reopen my mother’s case.”
“Based on a video, Hailey?” Trey demanded. “You’re telling me a convicted murderer claims she’s innocent and you believe her because of some tape?”
Hailey glared at him. “Don’t patronize me. I’m serious. I know it sounds like something out of a movie, but at least watch it. It even shows them parked at a gas station. You could interview people who worked there, maybe help strengthen her alibi?”
Trey shook his head. “This is crazy. I can’t exactly open a closed case- where someone has already been convicted and served time, I might add- without some solid evidence to at least suggest otherwise. I need more than Sara’s claims of innocence and a tape. And why is this coming up all of a sudden? Where has the tape been this whole time?”
A car drove by slowly, trying to see if anything exciting was happening. Once they were satisfied it was a regular traffic stop, they sped back up and their taillights disappeared into the darkness.
Hailey sighed. “After my mother died, I didn’t want to see anyone, talk to anyone, accept any condolences…my whole world had been flipped upside down between her death, our breakup, and Sara being arrested. Angie gave me a package with the tape inside but because I was so upset, I never opened it. She mentioned it at the wedding and when I got home, it was still in the box, so I watched it. And it’s pretty convincing, especially because of the time stamp.”
“I just don’t think a video is going to get the district attorney to reopen the case.”
Hailey’s heart sank but she pushed harder, “Gen gave me some of my mother’s old diaries. Apparently, my father had an affair and has a kid with someone else. That's a possible motive, isn’t it?” She quickly added, “And Sara said my father was manipulating the trial. We’ve all heard the rumors. We know what kind of a man he is; he’s not exactly above blackmail and manipulation. ”
Trey looked at her and she saw the pity in his eyes. She didn’t want his pity; she wanted his help. Though, to be fair, she wouldn’t blame him for refusing to help after the way they had left things.
“It could be a motive if someone else actually killed your mother. But at this point, everything is a theory. And closed investigations don’t get reopened on theories.”
“Please, Trey?” she said softly. “I know it’s a stretch, but I need you to help me. I need to know the truth and both Sara and my mother deserve justice.”
Trey rubbed his jaw, mulling over everything Hailey had said. She hated that she had to depend on him for this, that Sara’s innocence was ultimately in his hands. It annoyed her to her core.
But even though Hailey would much rather ask someone else, she couldn’t deny the fact that Trey could remain unbiased, already having stated he wouldn't believe Sara to be innocent until evidence proved otherwise.
Not only that, Trey wouldn’t let David stonewall him, manipulate him, or threaten him. That would likely be one of the biggest challenges they’d face once her father inevitably found out what they were doing. If her father had manipulated the trial in order to put Sara behind bars, there was no doubt he would do the same to Trey if he reopened the case.
“I can admit I’m curious to see the tape, but what if you’re wrong? Do you really want to bring all this up again? You left town when everything initially happened. Are you prepared to go down that road? Because if this gets reopened, that’s it. You don’t get to close it if you don’t like the way the investigation is going.”
Despite the obvious friction between the two of them, Hailey appreciated Trey’s honesty. Even through all the heartache, he still had her best interest at heart, despite how cold she’d been toward him. She would have thanked him if she knew it wouldn't have inflated his ego.
“If there's even a slight chance Sara didn’t kill my mother, she lost thirteen years of her life. I lost out on time I could have spent with her. Not to mention everything she missed with my daughter.” Hailey sighed and looked at her hands that were placed in her lap. “And a killer has been free while my sister paid for his crime.”
She could see Trey calculating everything, weighing the pros and cons and the likelihood and solidity of what she’d told him. There was a big possibility for this to blow up in his face. It would be easy for him to deny her request and Hailey couldn’t blame him if he did.
She still hoped he’d say yes.
“I want to see the tape and talk to Sara tomorrow. Then I’ll decide if this is worth pursuing. Bring the tape to my office and we’ll go from there.”
She smiled at him as a gust of wind from the open window blew her hair in her face. Without a thought, he brushed it away, his fingertips caressing her cheek. She sucked in a breath as she leaned into his touch instinctively.
It reminded her of a night they shared so long ago, the night she knew she loved him and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. Hailey felt those same butterflies in her stomach she had years before.
Realizing what she was doing, she quickly pulled away and ran her fingers through her hair in an attempt to hide the shade of pink that colored her cheeks.
Before anything else occurred, Trey quickly opened the door and got out.
He bent over, his arms resting on top of the car door and the roof. Her eyes wandered to the skin that peeked out just above his jeans. Heat coursed through her body, and it took all of her willpower not to blast the air.
He said, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Princess. In the meantime, stay safe. Because if you're right, there’s a killer still out there and I’m not saving you again.” He winked at her and they both knew he was lying. He may be giving her the benefit of the doubt about Sara’s innocence, but he would save her. Even if she didn’t want him to.
Just as he had done when they first met.
Him saving her life had been a running joke during their relationship, one that echoed through her mind the night she almost died, and Trey was nowhere to be found.
She shook the memories from her mind.
They were going to have to lay some ground rules if they were going to work together. He had to stop calling her ‘princess,’ and he had to stop flirting with her. Not that he would listen; he never had. She had been drawn to his defiance and bullheadedness, despite the trouble they had brought.
And as much as she had loved him, Trey Harbor had gotten under her skin like no one else in the world, even before they started their whirlwind romance. He had a knack for messing with her and Angie had always claimed it was his way of flirting. Hailey had just thought he was an ass.
But she had found him charming the more she got to know him. Then she fell in love with him and the rest is history.
Unfortunately for Hailey, they say history always repeats itself. But she would be damned before she let it happen again.