Chapter 60
Six days later
Tori parked in front of the apartment building. She had a wrong to make right with her dad. She stepped out of her Toyota and walked to his apartment.
The door opened before she rang the doorbell.
“Tori! I’m so glad you’re here.” He tilted his head, looking puzzled. “But aren’t you coming to the party later?”
“I am, but I didn’t want an audience for what I have to say.” The excitement in his voice laid another layer of guilt on her. “Can I come in?”
“Of course. I’m sorry.”
He moved back, and she entered his apartment. “It looks really nice.”
“Thanks. Join me for a cup of coffee?”
“That sounds good.” She followed him to his small kitchen and sat at the counter while he made their coffees. “I listened to your podcast with Huey Prescott the other night. He’s an amazing man.”
“You did? And yes he is.” While the podcast had been bittersweet, it seemed to bring closure to the man. Tori had been amazed to hear him say that while he was hurt that he never had a chance to talk to his daughter, he’d forgiven everyone involved, including Stephanie.
“Did I hear right?” Her dad set her cup down in front of her before he took a seat across the counter. “The DEA took the money Drew found and discovered traces of heroin on it?”
“Yeah. Once Ben’s IT guy broke into the encrypted files on the data drive and found the offshore accounts, Ben theorized Stephanie was laundering money through the convenience stores and laundromats for the drug cartels.”
Her dad shook his head. “I never took her to be that kind of person.”
“I didn’t, either. Guess that’s what greed will do to you.” She sipped the coffee. “This is good.” Almost as good as Scott’s. Would she ever get a chance to make things right with him?
“How is Eli, anyway?”
His question diverted her from thoughts of Scott. “He’s been released from the hospital. Once he learned Stephanie had told Ben that Eli was the mastermind behind the crimes, he blew up and confessed to everything.”
“So no honor among thieves?” her dad said with a hint of humor.
“I guess not. He claimed she made a play for him. Evidently Stephanie wasn’t happy in her marriage to Richard, but she’d signed a prenup saying she got nothing if they divorced.
Once Eli confided in her that Richard wasn’t his father, she convinced him he would never inherit Richard’s part if he found out—knowing her now, that was a veiled threat and he knew it. ”
Her dad shook his head. “Hard to believe. What was the trigger for Jenny’s murder and for Stephanie to go after you?”
“Jenny implemented a new system and caught the difference between what the managers reported they gave her and what was actually deposited. Ben isn’t sure how Jenny got hold of the information on the data drive, but his IT guy found an identical file on Stephanie’s computer.
In his confession, Eli claimed Jenny told Stephanie she’d mailed the data drive to me—that’s what got me in their sights.
” Thinking of Eli’s cold eyes when he held the gun on her sent a shiver down Tori’s spine.
“It’s sad, but what a complicated web she wove, all for money.” He looked thoughtful. “Which one of them killed Jenny?”
“Eli claims he had nothing to do with her death. Of course, Stephanie is denying she had anything to do with it, but she practically admitted it the night we were kidnapped.” She sipped the coffee again.
“Plus, Ben found video footage of Jenny on Stephanie’s computer—proof she was watching her.
With Eli’s testimony, there’s enough evidence for the DA to charge her with Jenny’s murder.
” She still wasn’t sure they had the right person, but that might never be known.
Just like they might never know who murdered Walter.
“How did this guy who kidnapped Drew get involved?” her dad asked.
“Calvin Russell?” She shook her head. “He was Stephanie’s cousin, and she knew his history with his wife. She used it to get him to kidnap me.”
“Stephanie told you this?”
“No. She threw him under the bus, said kidnapping me was all his idea. Once Russell recovered enough for Ben to question him, and he heard her claims, he turned on her. Confessed his part in shooting at us at the lake and trying to run me off the road and Drew’s kidnapping.
He’d put a tracker on my car and followed Drew, thinking it was me.
After he realized his mistake, Calvin thought he could use him as leverage, and he was right. But it was his downfall too.”
“But how did he get shot?”
“According to him, he and Stephanie got into an argument and she shot him.”
“She’s one evil woman,” her dad said. “Thankfully it’s all over now.”
Her gaze landed on a photo hanging on the wall. The picture of the whole family at the lake had been taken years ago. She stood and traced her finger over each person. A happy family in a happy place.
Tori squared her shoulders and turned to her dad. “But all of this isn’t what I came here to talk about.” Her throat tightened, and she swallowed. “I’m sorry for the way I’ve acted since Mom died.”
“It’s okay, honey. I understand.”
“How? I blamed you for her death, and you never said a word.”
“Maybe because I blamed myself too. Everyone told me it wasn’t my fault, but I kept thinking if I hadn’t felt so bad, I could’ve reacted faster and your mom would still be alive.”
“You don’t blame yourself anymore?”
“Not that so much as I’ve accepted I can’t go back and change it.”
“Well, I want to go on record and say I don’t think the outcome would be any different if you’d been stone-cold sober with no hangover. Sometimes an accident is just that—an accident.”
“Oh, honey . . . thank you.”
He held out his arms, and she went to him with tears in her eyes. How she’d missed this. He patted her back, and she squeezed her arms around his waist. Just like when she was a kid.
Once she had her emotions under control, she stepped back. “Thank you for forgiving me.”
“I did that a long time ago.” He smiled. “Now where’s that young man that’s been hanging around? I haven’t seen him this past week.”
She bit her lip. Tori had apologized to him for accusing him of drinking, and he’d forgiven her, but then he’d disappeared. “Neither have I. Could be that I’ve messed that up royally too.”
“I don’t think so. I saw the way he looked at you at the hospital. That man loves you.”
It’s what Tori’s heart told her too. “I just don’t know if I’m ready to take that step. I thought I’d go to the lake to try and figure it out.”
Her dad stared at her. “Do you regret what you had with Michael?”
Tori didn’t regret one minute of time that she had spent with him. “No . . . I’m just not sure I can do it again.”
“Would your life have been better if you’d never known him?”
She didn’t have to think twice about that. “Of course not.”
“Would you do it all over again with him?”
“Knowing I was going to lose him?” Would she? “I don’t know. That’s what I’m going to the lake to figure out.”
He hugged her again. “I’ll be praying for you.”
“Thanks . . . I need it.”
Half an hour later, Tori turned into the road that led to the lake. After parking, she walked down to the oak where she and Scott had taken refuge from the shooter. That day seemed like a lifetime ago.
Crazy man, risking his life to save someone he didn’t even know. She sat down at the base of the tree, and a breeze from the lake cooled her face. Could she risk loving someone again? For years she’d told herself it wasn’t worth the pain she’d gone through when Michael died.
Michael with his brown eyes so much like Scott’s and a heart that knew no bounds. He’d loved her as fiercely as she’d loved him. Tori closed her eyes.
Until she met Scott, Tori had been satisfied with the new normal she created, and it hadn’t included falling in love.
New normal. Once she’d blithely used the phrase to refer to anything that was different.
Michael’s death so close to her mom’s had taught her the true meaning, and she didn’t like it.
Yet her heart yearned for more. Scott had awakened feelings she thought long dead.
Her dad’s question ran through her mind . . . and in her heart, Tori knew the answer. She settled against the huge oak and let her mind drift, the heat making her drowsy.
“Hey, you okay?”
The soft words jerked Tori awake. She opened her eyes and stared into Scott’s dark ones. Was she dreaming? He held out his hand and helped her to stand.
No, not dreaming.
“I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Not your fault. I must’ve fallen asleep.” She inhaled a breath to calm her racing heart. “How did you know where I was?”
“Amy. Actually, Amy told me you were going by your dad’s and he told me you would be here.”
“Oh.” She toed the dirt with her shoe.
“Hey, your black eye is about gone.”
“Yeah.” Tori touched her cheek. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too.” Scott brushed away a strand of hair the wind had blown across her face, then gently traced his finger along her jawline. “Actually, I missed you a lot.”
She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch.
“Dance with me,” he said softly
“Here? Now? There’s no music.”
“We’ll make our own.”
Scott held out his arms, and she stepped into them. He drew Tori close, humming “Moon River” in her ear. As they swayed in the shade of the tree, she’d never felt so cherished, even with Michael.
Scott stilled, and Tori raised her face to his, recognizing the desire that matched her own. He bent his head, hesitating, and then he brushed his lips against hers, as if asking permission. With a moan she pressed into his arms.
In that second, sounds faded. Nothing mattered except being here. Kissing Scott. When his lips captured hers, she lost herself in the moment, matching his passion. Seconds, or maybe hours, passed . . . fears of both past and future faded. Only the present mattered.
When he released her, she rested her head on his chest.
“I’d like to do that again sometime,” he murmured against her hair.
“Anytime, mister.”
“Good. That means I made the right decision.”
She raised her head to look at him. “What do you mean?”
“It’s why I haven’t been around. I had meetings in Virginia . . . and I turned in my resignation.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“Ben offered me a job and I accepted.”
Tori was quiet for a moment as she absorbed the news.
Scott smiled at her. “So do you think we could go on a real date?”
Tori grinned. “I think that could be arranged.”
He tilted her face toward him. His lips were so close to hers. “Are you sure? I’m not Michael, and I’ll always be a recovering alcoholic . . .”
She didn’t hesitate. “I’m sure.”
“Do you mind if we start this off with a kiss?”
“I thought you’d never ask.” Tori slipped her arms around his neck.