Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Dylan paced in the kitchen. He’d lost it back there with Raleigh. Blown it completely. Gabe had told him that they were digging into Clark, and it didn’t look good, but he had nothing solid yet.
His heart rate had skyrocketed like he’d just chased a perp down a dark alley. He couldn’t let Raleigh go to the wedding by herself. It didn’t matter if a million people were there. If Clark wanted to hurt her, he’d manage it somehow. If only he could hurt Clark first.
He slammed his hands down on the counter. He’d come to care for Raleigh and was scared for her. What if…?
No, he wasn’t going down that road. Nothing bad was going to happen to her. He couldn’t stand it if she got hurt.
As much as he heated to admit it, Raleigh was right about one thing.
If he went to the wedding, all hell would break loose.
He couldn’t blame Jenn for that. She had a right to have a great wedding day without her ex-fiancé in the audience.
Lydia’s head would spin around for sure.
Short of tying Raleigh up, there was no way he was going to be able to keep her away from the wedding.
Maybe he could at least be in the parking lot.
He could drive Raleigh there and wait just outside the door.
It wasn’t the perfect solution, but it was something.
He started pacing again and then stopped. Better yet, if he couldn’t stop Raleigh from going to the wedding, maybe he could stop Clark. It was a big decision, one there was really no coming back from. If he did this, there would be no more ESU or SWAT. He would be forever persona non-grata.
He crashed down on the stool. Two months ago, he never would have contemplated doing something crazy like this. Hell, two days ago it would have seemed crazy but now…now it just seemed like the next logical step.
Was he really that ready to give up being a cop? He thought about everything that happened. All the decisions he’d made, and he knew deep down he would make the same choices all over again.
Would he miss SWAT? Hell, yes. Would be okay somewhere else?
He was more and more sure he would. If he did this though, he couldn’t even be sure Gabe would hire him.
It was going way out there on a limb. Shit.
He was letting his emotions get the better of him.
He couldn’t kidnap Clark. But maybe he could question him. It was worth a shot.
He went into the bedroom and changed into a light grey suit. He pulled on his shoes and ran a comb through his hair. He’d at least take Raleigh as far as the door to the church. If he had to lurk in the shadows, he’d lurk in the damn shadows. He’d find a way to keep her safe.
But what if he could stop trouble before it started?
He took his gun out from the box and checked it.
Good to go. He tucked it in the small of his back underneath his jacket.
Then he walked to the hallway and looked in the direction of Raleigh’s door.
He’d been mean to Raleigh earlier, throwing her fear in her face and making it look like she was weak.
In truth, she was one of the most courageous people he knew.
He’d definitely screwed up any hope of an actual future with Raleigh, but he still wasn’t going to let anything happen to her.
“Raleigh, I have to go out for a few minutes. The hotel security guys are still outside. Don’t leave for the wedding without me.
I’ll be back shortly.” He waited a beat but heard nothing in response.
So be it. He glanced at his watch. It was still a too early for the wedding guests to be heading to the church.
He walked over to the lobby and used the house phone to call Clark’s room.
“Calvin Clark’s room,” Josh’s voice greeted Dylan.
“Hi, Josh. Is Clark there? I need to speak with him for a minute.”
“He’s getting ready for the wedding. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“No thanks, Josh. Do you know when he’ll be available?”
Josh sighed into the phone. “Let me check his calendar but probably early next week.”
Dylan’s hand tightened around the phone. “I meant today, Josh. I need to speak to him today. It’s very important. I might have some information that could affect the election.” It wasn’t a total lie. People finding out Clark was a stalker would definitely influence who people voted for.
“Just a second,” Josh said.
He heard mumbling and assumed that Josh had put his hand over the receiver while he told Clark what Dylan said.
Josh came back on the line. “He can meet you in twenty minutes in the lobby bar. Will that work?”
“Yes. Thanks, Josh.” Dylan hung up. He did a circuit of the lobby, so he had the lay of the place fresh in his mind.
Then he sat in a chair facing the door so there was no way he would miss Clark.
Part of him was worried that Clark would take this opportunity to hurt Raleigh, but he was counting on the man’s curiosity and ambition to keep her safe.
Clark wouldn’t give up an opportunity to get ahead.
Dylan was getting antsy sitting there when Jenn hurried across the lobby.
“Jenn,” he called. He’d a question or two to ask her—it was now or never.
She reluctantly moved in his direction.
“What are you doing here?” he asked. “I thought you’d be getting your dress on and stuff.”
She came to a halt directly in front of him. “I had to get a nail fixed,” she said, flashing her blood-red nails at him. They looked like talons. “I’m on my way to my room to finish getting ready now.”
It dawned on him as she stood there that she was his past, and he was done looking back.
Being with Raleigh had shown him that there were better choices out there. A woman of courage who would be a true partner. Even if he’d screwed it up with Raleigh, he knew now that the future was a bright place, not the darkness he’d been imagining. Profound relief flowed through him.
“I hope you’re happy, Jenn. I truly do. You deserve to be happy.”
“Um, thanks.”
“You seem to blame me for something, and you were really upset yesterday. I wanted to apologize for whatever it is. I certainly didn’t mean to do anything to hurt you.” He watched her face very carefully.
“Well, that’s unexpected.” She looked into his eyes. “I appreciate that. Of course, the damage is done, and nothing can change it. No matter how much I might want it to.” She frowned. Then she took a step back and started to turn away.
He caught her arm. “Jenn, I know you don’t really want to marry Andrew and blame me for introducing him to your father.”
The blood left her face. Her mouth opened, but then she closed it again.
“Why did you throw me away, Dylan?” she asked.
The question surprised him. He’d left her because he was a mess and didn’t want to drag her down with him.
“You didn’t even try to talk to me again. Nothing, not even a text after you dumped me. How could you do that to me? I was alone. You should have been there for me.”
Guilt washed over him. She must have seen it on his face because she took a step back.
Suddenly, he saw the whole picture. Andrew had sold his soul to get the girl and the big-time tech career.
He was but a pawn in the king’s game. And the queen—he looked down at Jenn—was about to be sacrificed.
“Jenn”—he reached out and took her hands—“you don’t have to do this.
You don’t have to marry Andrew, not if you don’t want to. ”
She laughed bitterly. “Yes, I do. Do you think Daddy will let me get away with not marrying Andrew?”
“Jenn, it’s your life.”
She rolled her eyes. “You never understood, did you? I have to do what Daddy wants. I can’t stand up to him.”
“Yes—”
“No, Dylan—I can’t. If I did, he would cut me off, and I can’t live like that.”
That hit him hard. Here it was in black and white the difference between Jenn and Raleigh. Jenn lacked the courage and the backbone to be her own woman. He understood her so much better now.
He wasn’t willing to give up just yet. “I…I’m so sorry I wasn’t a better boyfriend to you. I cared a lot about you, Jenn. I still do. You don’t have to do this. You’re stronger than you think you are.”
She shook her head.
“Postpone the wedding then. Give yourself a chance to figure out what you want.”
“No, Dylan. I can’t stand up to my father…
and I’m not sure I want to. Andrew and I will have a bright future together.
I’ll be the wife of a tech guru. Daddy is planning on a possible political career for him.
So maybe he’ll be a congressman or senator or even the future president.
It’s what I was born to do. I won’t throw it all away because I don’t love my husband.
That would be stupid.” She shook her head at him, something like pity on her face.
“I hope you enjoyed the wedding weekend, Dylan. I doubt our paths will cross again.” With that, she turned on her heel and disappeared across the lobby.
All he could think about was how lucky he was he hadn’t ended up with her.
It occurred to him again how different Jenn and Raleigh were.
Raleigh had been put in the same position by her parents, but she’d bucked their attempt to control her.
She was a fighter. Her spirit was one of the things that had drawn him to her.
He looked at his watch and then saw Clark entering the lobby. He was walking with Josh. They stopped and seemed to be having some sort of fight. Clark turned his back on Josh as if to dismiss him.
Josh’s face filled with rage the moment his boss’s back was turned, but it only lingered for a second before the mask he normally wore clicked back into place.
It couldn’t be easy working for a man like Calvin Clark.
Josh seemed to deal well with it most of the time, but this weekend was obviously getting to him.
Hopefully, after today, if they got everything right, Clark wouldn’t be a problem any longer.
“Clark,” Dylan said as he approached the bar, “thanks for meeting me.”