23. Chapter 23
June 29, 2011
9:32 pm
A car horn rustled Hailey from her sleep. She’d been napping on and off since she left the hospital, but this was the first time she felt strong enough to stay awake.
She squinted against the hall light as she slowly opened her eyes. Though her room was dark, its brightness seeped through the cracked door, pain igniting behind her eyelids.
Ugh. My head.
She peeked through one eye and saw Sara and Trey. Her sister’s eyes were sunken in, and her face was drained of color. Trey simply looked like he might have a panic attack, bouncing his leg as he roughly ran his hand through his hair and let out a breath.
Hailey’s eyes fluttered open and she smiled. “Bust me out of here, please. Bedrest is no fun.” Her voice was hoarse from the smoke and her throat burned when she spoke.
Sara smiled but the concern in her eyes remained. “Not yet. Doctor’s orders. They want you to rest for a few days. You’re lucky Trey has a great nurse-friend who owed him a favor, or you’d be having to rest at the hospital instead of at Trey’s.”
Hailey shook her head and quickly stopped when pain rippled through her skull. “Ow! Oh, gosh.”
“What's wrong?” Trey took her hand and gripped it tightly. She thought he might break it.
“Relax, my head just hurts.” She eyed her hand. “You’re going to break my hand if you’re not careful.”
He let her go. “Sorry, Princess.”
Hailey gave a soft smile as she rubbed her temples, wishing her headache would go away.
Gosh, her lungs burned.
Her eyes did too, though not as much.
After a few moments, she quietly asked, “Are they both dead?” She looked down and picked at a loose thread on the blanket that lay across her, terrified of Trey’s answer.
Trey said, “Loretta is. Eli is in the ICU right now and it’s been touch-and-go.”
Hailey sunk back into the pillows even more. She wished this nightmare would end. All she wanted was to find the truth. And clearly, someone else had different plans.
Hailey closed her eyes, trying to recall details of the man who’d been in the house. Nothing came, though. It had been so dark from the smoke and her body was beginning to panic from lack of oxygen. Her senses had been working overtime, but they offered no details about the shadowed figure.
Hailey continued, “I bet I startled him when I ran inside.”
Trey bristled and his face contorted in pain. But it was the anger in his eyes Hailey took note of.
He said, “Which you shouldn't have done. How could you be so stupid?”
She turned her head away from him as if she were a teenager getting reprimanded by her parents. She couldn’t blame him for being angry, though. What she did was stupid. But as much as she hated that he was angry with her, she also knew he was scared.
And truth be told, she was scared too. Someone tried to kill her and would have succeeded if Trey hadn’t saved her.
Trinity threw open the door, grabbing everyone’s attention. To Hailey’s surprise, she was followed by Gavin and Carter.
Hailey smiled at the sight of her daughter. “Hey, Sunshine-”
“Mom, how could you do that? Why would you run into a burning building?!” Trinity yelled as she threw herself into Hailey’s arms.
Hailey winced as she pulled herself up to sit. She really didn't have much of an answer, at least none that would suffice her daughter. She looked to Sara who had a brow raised, anxious to hear Hailey’s excuse as well.
“I don’t know. I just saw the smoke and knew they were inside. It wasn’t my brightest moment, but I just wanted to save Mr. and Mrs. Washington.”
“Too bad he didn’t burn,” Sara said as she sat back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest.
Hailey rolled her eyes. “I didn't ask for your opinion.”
Hailey knew she shouldn’t be too hard on Sara for her feelings toward Eli. After all, the man who claimed to be family had taken away thirteen years of her life.
“Nice to see you two getting along so well,” Carter quipped. Trinity giggled, pleased by the man’s sarcasm. He gave her a fist bump.
Sara eyed Gavin and Carter. “I see Trey called in reinforcements. Or are y’all just glorified babysitters now?”
Gavin smiled at Sara’s remark. “I don’t care what I’m doing as long as I get to see you.”
Sara blushed and quickly looked away, but not before Hailey noticed.
Trinity spoke up, “Yeah, Dad hired them as security. Kinda cool, if ya ask me. Makes me feel like I’m in a movie.”
Trey put his hands up when Hailey shot him a look. “I’m not taking any chances after today.”
Trinity peeped up again, “I just think it’s funny that Dad asked your ex-boyfriend to keep an eye on y’all’s kid.”
Gavin’s eyes rounded in horror and Trey shook his head.
Carter smiled. “The kid has jokes. Trinity: twenty points, Mom and Dad: zero. You two better get it together or she’ll be the boss around here.”
“You’re telling me.” Trey said.
Hailey looked at Trinity. “Who told you that?”
Trinity shrugged. “Lauren.”
Hailey inwardly groaned. Hadn’t Lauren gotten the hint the first time Hailey talked to her about sharing details of Hailey’s past?
Trey looked at Trinity. “Listen, Kid, I trust both of these guys.” He pointed toward Gavin and Carter. “So, you listen to whatever they tell you, understand? If they tell you to run, you run. No questions asked.”
Trinity nodded, sensing the severity of the situation.
“How are you feeling?” Gavin asked Hailey, changing the subject.
She sighed. “I’ve been better, but I’m doing okay.”
Gavin stared at Hailey, his eyes narrowed, and his lips turned down at the corners.
“What is it?” Hailey asked.
“Nothing. It’s not my place to say.”
“Just say it.”
Gavin paused before saying, “What you did was really stupid.”
“Thank you, ex-boyfriend!” Trinity said as she threw her arms up in the air.
Carter laughed as Gavin rubbed his face. Sara raised a brow at Trey who shook his head. Hailey simply looked annoyed.
Gavin continued, “You need to be careful. Something is clearly going on, so use your brain and trust your gut. Believe me, my gut has gotten me out of a lot of tough situations. It’s usually right, so listen to it.”
“He’s right, Hailey,” Carter added. “I know we just met, but I’d hate to see something happen to you that could have been avoided. Someone is killing people, and you seem to be right in their sights. That’s serious.”
Trey took her hand, and she looked at him. “Listen, Princess, I know you don’t like being told what to do, but you almost died today. You’ve got to stop being so impulsive. Stop trying to be a hero.”
Hailey looked away, eager for everyone to leave the room. She was a grown woman, and she hated that everyone was treating her like a child…even if they were right.
Trinity chimed in with a fierce attitude and a wiggling finger. “Yeah! I know you clearly don’t care about dying, but I do. So don’t be dumb.”
Trey put his hands on Trinity’s shoulders. “Whoa, Kid. Cut your mother some slack. She was trying to do the right thing.”
Trinity huffed at being scolded.
When everyone fell silent, Trey looked at Gavin and Carter. “Keep a close eye on David. You can’t trust anything that comes out of his mouth. Not to mention his track record with putting his hands on his daughters.”
Carter lifted a brow but didn’t comment, something Hailey was thankful for. Gavin glanced at Sara who looked away.
It was painful to know your father hated you enough to hurt you. It tore through her heart on a level she had no intention of visiting. Hailey would rather ignore it all together.
Trey’s phone vibrated and he pulled it out of his pocket. “Chief Harbor.”
There was a long pause accompanied by muffled inflections of a voice on the other line. Whatever they were saying was serious and they had Trey’s complete attention.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
Another pause.
“Okay, I’ll be there in twenty.”
He hung up the phone. “That was one of my officers. They found Nicole House’s car.”
Hailey’s eyes widened. “Is she alive?”
Trey shook his head. “I don't know, she wasn’t there. I’ve got to go check it out.”
“Now do you think Nicole’s disappearance is related to my mother’s case?” Sara asked.
Trey sighed. “At first, I wasn't sure, but there’s too many coincidences for me to believe they’re not connected. It just seems suspicious. Especially because she could potentially have a lot of information that would ruin David.”
Gavin asked, “Could they all be in on it?”
Hailey hadn’t even considered that. If Morgan was the one standing in the way of Nicole and David being together, it would give both of them motive. And Ryan, well, if he was jealous of the life Hailey and Sara lived, Morgan would be a good target for that rage. Plus, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities for there to have been a recent tiff between Nicole and one, or both, of the men. Which would explain her disappearance.
Trey clenched his jaw. “I guess we better find out, and fast. Because if I had to guess, Nicole likely isn’t the only liability. Which means I’m probably going to find some bodies if I don’t figure this out soon.”
He kissed Hailey on the lips and then kissed Trinity on the forehead and said his goodbyes.
Gavin and Carter followed Trey out to the living room. It was somehow eerie to know the three of them were discussing a plan that would keep them all safe from this faceless killer. Hailey just hoped they would catch him before he killed again.
Not long after, Hailey fell into a deep sleep, plagued by nightmares of sticky blood, scorching fire, and the dead body of her mother crying for Hailey to help her.
Sara looked around the bar for Jasmine Johnson. She spied her sitting in the back corner, eyes already trained on Sara. She could tell the woman didn't miss a beat, just like Sara.
Jasmine was stunningly beautiful, her skin a warm golden brown that accentuated her striking amber eyes and curls that highlighted her high cheekbones.
Sara walked toward her, clutching her mother’s diaries as she did. Stealing them out of Hailey’s car had been easy since she was on bedrest, and everyone was completely focused on her. Not that Sara didn’t feel a little bad about that, but it’s what needed to be done.
When Sara contacted the reporter a few days ago, Jasmine had requested that Sara bring proof of her father’s affair, or she’d never run the story. So, Sara took them from Hailey’s car. And now she was here to tell her side of the story and burn her father at the stake.
Jasmine stood and extended her hand. “Hi, Miss. Gallagher.”
Sara took her hand. “It’s Sara.”
The woman nodded. “I’ve got to say, I was surprised to receive that phone call from you. Why did you call me ?”
“You’re not afraid to get your hands dirty in order to get the truth out. I didn’t kill my mother, my father set me up. And now I want revenge. He ruined me so it’s time I return the favor.”
Jasmine smiled. “So, the princess gets revenge on the king who locked her in the tower. Okay, I like that. So, what’s your story and why should I believe a convicted murderer?”
Sara appreciated that Jasmine didn’t shy away from speaking her mind. Her bluntness was a breath of fresh air.
Sara said, “If I was guilty, why would I want to bring all of this up again? It would be easier to act like it never happened- for people to naturally forget about it- than it would be for me to lie about my innocence.”
Jasmine considered Sara for a moment, then said, “Okay, I’ll bite. Give me the summary of what story you’re wanting to sell.”
Sara sat back. “Everyone loves Mayor Gallagher. But what they don’t realize is that he’s an abusive narcissist who would beat his wife and daughters, all while claiming to love them as we posed for the cameras. He had me tossed in jail for killing my mother when he knew for a fact I had an alibi. He even paid off the witness so there would be no proof. And, to top it off, he had a years-long affair that resulted in a baby.”
Jasmine raised a brow and took a sip of her margarita as Sara began flipping through the pages of one of the diaries. If she hadn’t learned how to be so detached from her emotions, she may have burst into tears at the sight of her mother’s handwriting.
Instead, she pointed to the entry that detailed the affair and the pregnancy.
Jasmine pointed to the book. “May I?”
Sara nodded and Jasmine picked it up and began reading. “Shit. Do you know who the kid is?”
“Ryan House.” Sara smiled slyly.
Jasmine’s eyes widened. “The son of the missing woman?”
“One and the same.”
“Sounds like I might have just found myself in the middle of a crime piece,” Jasmine said as she sat back and smirked.
“Sounds like it.”
Sara’s phone buzzed and her breath caught in her throat when Gavin’s name popped up on her screen. She knew it wouldn’t be long before he called to check on her. She had left abruptly, and he had been curious about her secrecy, but didn’t press her.
Thankfully he gave her space when she needed it, but he had already been suspicious when she left. Plus, they were all walking on eggshells since Hailey had been hurt.
She ignored the call but knew she had to cut the meeting short. “Look, I gotta go. Is this enough proof for you to run a story?”
“A beloved Mayor who’s actually a monster? The public will eat it up. But I have to have more proof to run anything other than the affair or I can be sued for defamation. Get me something irrefutable and I’ll greenlight it. For now, the story of the affair will run in about a week or two, maybe sooner.”
Sara nodded. “Thanks. I’ll be in touch.”
Sara ducked out of the bar and made her way back to Angie’s. Now, it was time to watch David Gallagher’s kingdom crumble right out from under him.