Chapter Four
CHAPTER FOUR
S alem pulled into the parking space in front of Daisy’s Diner, mixed feelings bombarding her. It felt strange to not have Chloe with her, but Ms. Patti insisted she take a break and leave Chloe at the Big House. She hadn’t protested too hard, since Tessa, Beth, and Serena had all showed up, claiming they wanted to spend time with her daughter. Beth had brought along her son, and seeing the two babies react to spotting each other, reaching out like they were best buddies, had been the cutest thing Salem had seen in a long time.
That wasn’t the reason for her nerves, though. No, that sat solely with the person standing on the sidewalk in front of Daisy’s.
Gabi .
Salem had finally gotten up the courage to call her the night before, after a little not-so-subtle nudge from Ms. Patti. It wasn’t that she hadn’t planned to let Gabi know what was going on, she truly had, but Gabi had given birth not that long ago, and she needed to spend her time with her daughter, not worrying about Salem—again.
Gabi Boudreau Roberts was her best friend. Her confidant. Her sister of the heart. They’d spent so much time together, people at college had often referred to them as sisters. When they’d decided to travel around Europe after graduation, Gabi had been the one who’d warned her not to get too deeply involved with Tarik when she’d met him in Italy. Said there was something she didn’t trust about the debonair playboy, yet Salem hadn’t listened. Instead, she’d allowed the glorious Italian countryside and Tarik’s romantic overtures cloud her judgment. Who wouldn’t when they’d been starved for affection, and had a gorgeous man showered her with compliments and gifts?
For the first time in forever, there was somebody who claimed to love her despite her quirkiness, her artsy inclinations. Who didn’t mind when she lost herself in her paintings, spending hours picking out the perfect colors for a sunset. Tarik declared her work inspired him, and he’d said and done all the right things to make her fall head over heels in love. Truly in love for the first time in her life.
Never again .
She’d followed her heart once, and it had almost cost her everything—her freedom, her sanity and nearly her life. Gabi had been the one Salem had run to when she’d escaped from the Amir compound. She refused to call it a home, because there was nothing about the huge house where they lived that could be considered home-like. Gabi had been her refuge, her safe place, the one person she knew would accept her story as truth and protect her, in spite of her foolishness.
The Amir compound had stifled her, made her feel small and afraid. Armed guards patrolled day and night. The local villagers who worked on the estate were terrified of Tarik’s family. And they were especially terrified of Tarik himself, who had changed from the soft-spoken, sweet, loving man she’d become engaged to, to the domineering, ruthless despot almost as soon as they arrived at his family’s compound.
Shaking her head, she climbed from behind the wheel, and headed toward Gabi, who met her halfway. Gabi’s arms wrapped around Salem, squeezing hard enough the air rushed from her lungs.
“Can’t…breathe…”
“Don’t…care…” Gaby responded before slowly releasing her. “How could you leave without a word? I’ve been worried half out of my mind. And I’m the last one to know you’re in trouble?”
“Gabi—”
“Don’t you Gabi me. I’m so mad I don’t know whether to hug you again or smack you upside the head.” A beat later, Salem felt Gabi’s open hand pop her lightly against the back of her head. She chuckled softly, knowing she deserved it.
“Guess that answered that question, huh?”
Gabi shrugged. “You deserved worse. How could you not tell me the Amirs are after Chloe? You know I’m not going to let that happen. Nobody’s taking my goddaughter away, especially not that crazy family.”
Hooking her elbow with Gabi’s, Salem allowed herself to be led into the diner and back toward one of the booths in the corner. She was kind of glad to be tucked away, out of the spotlight. Ever since she’d arrived in Shiloh Springs, it felt like everybody’s attention was on her twenty-four hours a day. Not in a bad way, because she knew they did it because they cared, and knew she was in trouble—again—but sometimes it got to be a little much.
After a waitress came and took their lunch orders, Gabi leaned back against the padded vinyl. “Alright, I’ve got the gist of what’s going on. Now, tell me the details. Aunt Patti told me Chance has some hotshot lawyer in Dallas looking into what the Amirs are trying to do.”
Salem nodded. “Her name is Ivy McNamara-Barnes. She agreed to take the case, and she’s already found out the Amirs are planning to sue Rafe and the county for everything that happened with Tarik. A civil case because they can’t sue for murder. They’ve already been cleared by the state after a full investigation. So, they’re planning on suing for wrongful death.”
Gabi snorted. “Wrongful death? Girl, they have no idea how righteous Tarik’s death was. He held a loaded gun on me. And trust me, he would have used it too. The look in his eyes when he threatened to take you away in the middle of that thunderstorm? I still get nightmares.”
“Chance says they don’t have a leg to stand on when it comes to the shooting.” Salem paused, her fingers tearing aimlessly at the paper napkin in front of her. “Can’t say the same about Chloe’s case, though.”
“Nobody in their right mind would take a child away from a loving home and give her to strangers. The Amirs have never even seen Chloe.”
“I’d like to think so, but they are going to try.” Salem looked Gabi in the eye. “I’m scared. You know what it’s like now; you’re a mother. Just the thought of somebody taking my baby away, moving her halfway around the world? You don’t know what it was like living with the Amirs. Picturing my child being brought up surrounded by Tarik’s family?” Fat tears rolled down her cheeks and she grabbed another paper napkin from the dispenser, swiping angrily at the wetness.
Gabi grabbed her hand, squeezing it hard. “Stop. Just stop right now. Nobody is taking Chloe. You’ve got everybody working to keep that from happening. Dad said he’s putting out feelers, and he’s got connections in places you can’t even imagine. Samuel Carpenter has all his available people working on digging up all the information they can about the Amir family. You’ve got Chance and this Ivy person working the legal angles. Aunt Patti and Uncle Douglas are making sure nobody steps foot onto the ranch, so Chloe is physically safe. And you’ve got me. I’ll fight tooth and nail to keep you both out of the Amirs’ hands. Even if it means moving you down to Costa Rica to Dylan’s property there.”
Salem smiled at the vehemence in Gabi’s words, as well as the offer of her husband’s cabin in the jungles outside a small village in Costa Rica. While she appreciated the gesture, she couldn’t picture herself in an unincorporated place like that. She was a city girl, born and bred, and had no idea how to manage living without modern-day conveniences like running water and electricity. No shopping malls or grocery stores? No indoor plumbing? How was she expected to function in those kinds of primitive conditions?
“Thank you. Hopefully, it won’t come to that. Chance, Rafe, and Jack seem to think we’re okay for now at the ranch.”
“Jack? You mean Jack Sutton, Rafe’s friend with the Texas Rangers?”
Salem nodded, feeling a wash of heat flood her cheeks. “Yes. He was at the Big House when I got there.” At Gabi’s huge grin, Salem shook her head. “Don’t. Just don’t.”
“Come on, Salem. You know he likes you. He always seemed to be around when you came to visit Aunt Patti. And Rafe says he’s one of the good ones. Plus, he’s H.O.T.”
“Even if I was interested—which I’m not—thinking about dating right now is off the table.”
“At least admit you might be interested if this whole situation with Tarik’s family disappeared. Jack’s good looking, right?”
Salem pictured Jack’s ruggedly handsome face, broad shoulders, and sexy forearms with just a light dusting of hair and felt a tingle race down her spine. He was oh so very much her type—tall, dark, and handsome with a bit of mystery. But she hadn’t dated anyone since Tarik, and honestly didn’t know if she would ever be able to trust a man enough to consider opening herself up again.
Before Salem could say anything, she spotted Antonio and Heath Boudreau coming through the front door of Daisy’s. The shrouded expression on Antonio’s face told her more than words something had happened. Not waiting for them to reach their booth, she slid from the bench and stood, her insides turning to jelly.
“Is it Chloe? Is she okay?”
“Chloe is fine. But we need to go.” Antonio pulled out his wallet and tossed a couple of twenties onto the table. “Let’s head over to Rafe’s office.”
Gabi stood next to Salem and grabbed her hand. “I’m coming too.”
Heath smiled and ruffled Gabi’s hair. “Figured as much, squirt.”
She rolled her eyes and ducked out from beneath his hand. “Quit it.”
Daisy walked over and nodded toward Salem and Gabi. “How about I box up their food, and I’ll bring them over to Rafe’s office? That way they don’t miss lunch. Can I fix y’all anything to go?”
“Great idea. Four bacon cheeseburgers, two with fries and two with onion rings. Thanks, Daisy, appreciate it.” Antonio pulled out two more twenties and handed them to her.
“No problem. You know I’m always willing to help out, if you need anything.” She paused a moment, and some unspoken message passed between her and Antonio. “I do mean anything.” With a quick grin, she picked up the two twenties on the table and headed back to the kitchen. Salem was grateful she was getting her lunch, even if it was to go, because she was starving. But from the look on Antonio’s face, she had a sinking feeling in her stomach that she might be losing her appetite.
It took only a couple minutes to walk from the diner to the sheriff’s office. Salem noted right away how quiet everything was. The front desk where Sally Anne usually sat was empty. No phones rang to disturb the eerie silence. With every step a sense of foreboding enveloped her, until she felt like she was going to jump out of her own skin.
Rafe walked out into the hallway and motioned for them to come back. She couldn’t help noting he looked tired, like he hadn’t slept, and hoped she wasn’t the cause of his sleeplessness. It was a feeling she was intimately familiar with over the last couple days. Ever since she’d gotten the legal papers from Tarik’s family, she’d barely slept. Too worried about Chloe and thoughts of losing her.
“Hey, Cousin.” Gabi leaned in and kissed Rafe’s cheek, and he wrapped an arm around her waist when she pulled back.
“Good to see you too, Gabi.” He nodded toward the chairs encircling a large conference table. Salem noted Chance and Jack seated across from the door.
“What’s happened?”
“Let’s all sit down, and I’ll brief everybody at once.” Taking a deep breath, Salem slid into the seat across from Jack. She knew whatever news Chance had to share, it wasn’t good.
“First of all, Salem, stop looking so scared.”
“Sorry, I can’t help it. Obviously, you have news or you wouldn’t have had these two hunt us down.”
“The Amirs are trying to get the date for the custody hearing moved up. Ivy is trying to deal with the Louisiana legal system, which isn’t the same as anywhere else. She isn’t licensed to practice in Louisiana, so she’s working with consultants, and has applied for pro hac vice admission which means for this case only. Things would have been a lot easier if Salem resided in Texas.”
Gabi grinned. “I bet my dad can help. He’s been itching for a new case to dig his teeth into. I think he’s just waiting for Salem to come home.”
“Gator is already looking into something else for me, but if we continue getting stonewalled by the legal system there, I might have him knock a few heads together.”
“I’ve talked with Samuel. Salem, he’s going to assign a bodyguard to you for the foreseeable future.” Chance held up his hand when she started to interrupt. “Not negotiable. Until we know what the Amirs’ plans are, you will be watched over.”
While she hated the idea of having a babysitter, she also knew the Amirs would and could circumvent boundaries to get what they wanted. She wasn’t afraid for herself, she worried for Chloe. If it came down to protecting herself, Salem had a fighting chance. Chloe couldn’t protect herself if somebody tried to take her.
“I agree, for now. I’m going to have to head back home soon. I have work and school.”
She felt Jack’s gaze on her and heat flushed her cheeks, remembering her conversation with Gabi earlier. It was true, she found the Texas Ranger attractive, but she couldn’t imagine dating him. Or anybody else for that matter. Not for a long time. She didn’t rule it out forever, but Tarik had soured her on any type of sexual relationship, and since that’s what most men seemed to want, it was easier to steer clear.
But there was something about the enigmatic man across from her that made her wonder what it would be like to try again.
“Salem, are you listening?”
“Sorry. What did you say?”
Gabi smirked and Salem knew she’d picked up on her thoughts. There wasn’t anybody who knew her better than her best friend. She just hoped Gabi didn’t get it into her head to play matchmaker.
“Never mind, it’s not important.”
Daisy poked her head around the corner of the door. “I’ve got lunch if y’all are interested.”
“Yes! Feed me, I’m starving.” Heath grabbed several of the bags in Daisy’s outstretched hands, chuckling. “Looks like this meeting is adjourned until later. Let’s get on to the more important stuff, like food!”
The tension broken, food was passed around and consumed with small talk and catching up on everyone’s lives. But Salem couldn’t help the feeling that the other shoe was about to drop, and her life was going to change irrevocably. She only hoped it would be something she could live with and not the end of the world as she knew it.