Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Joe hadn’t been sleeping very much lately. Besides the nights that he’d sat outside the lighthouse, watching out for Peterson, he’d also spent late hours skimming over the court files and police reports.
The files had started stacking up on his laptop—financial records, background reports, and the growing list of people who’d had the misfortune of crossing paths with Ted Garrison. Every new discovery made the man look worse. Reckless. Entitled. Powerful. Influential. Dangerous.
Besides the lawsuits he’d filed against Ally, he’d filed two dozen more, against past employees, businesses he frequented, such as his old law firm, and even one against the cleaning agency that cleaned his home.
When his phone rang at 2:17 in the morning, he was already half awake. Seeing Ally’s name on the screen, he jolted the rest of the way awake.
“Ally?” He sat up fast, swinging his legs off the side of the hotel bed. “Is everything okay?”
Her voice trembled through the line. “Someone’s in the house,” she whispered.
Every muscle in his body went rigid. “Where are you?”
“In Charlotte’s room. I locked the door. The alarm’s going off downstairs, but, I can hear someone down there. They’re inside.”
He was already grabbing his jeans. “Stay quiet. Don’t hang up. Keep the bedroom door locked.” He jammed his phone between his shoulder and ear as he pulled on his shirt and snatched his keys from the dresser.
He ran down the hotel hallway barefoot, shoving his shoes on as he hit the elevator button. “I’m calling Aiden,” he told her. “Help’s on the way.”
“Please hurry,” she said.
He wasn’t aware of much on the drive, only the blur of empty streets and water that ran off the windshield. Aiden’s voice on the other line was clipped, alert. “I’ll send a car. Nick’s closer. We already got the security company’s alert.”
By the time Joe turned into the long driveway, Nick’s cruiser was already halfway up the drive. The patrol car’s red and blue flashing lights reflected against the front of the place.
Joe saw the black Mercedes parked crooked beside Ally’s car and knew exactly who it belonged to.
His gut twisted. “That Ted Garrison’s car, Ally’s ex,” he told Nick as they both climbed out. “He’s not supposed to be here.”
Nick’s jaw locked. “I figured when I saw the Mercedes.”
They moved together, both of their guns drawn. The alarm was still shrieking inside the house. His heart slammed as they reached the door, which was cracked open.
Nick pushed it the rest of the way open and yelled that he was police.
Ted Garrison stood just inside, pale and sweating, his eyes glassy. He looked around as if he was confused as to where he was.
“What the hell are you doing?” he slurred. “You scared me.” He held his hand over his heart and blinked a few times.
Nick put his gun away when he noticed the man was unarmed.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” Nick said firmly.
“I got a text from Ally. She told me to come get her and Charlotte. My daughter is scared,” he almost shouted. Then he spotted him. “Of that man.” He pointed to him. Even in his obviously inebriated state, the man recognized him.
“The hell she did,” Joe growled, stepping forward.
Ted’s eyes narrowed at him.
Nick blocked him with an arm. “Mr. Garrison, you need to step outside.”
“I don’t have to go anywhere. My family is in here somewhere.” He shook his head.
“It’s not your place. This is my brother’s house,” came Ally’s voice, soft but steady. She was halfway down the stairs, clutching Charlotte to her chest. “We’re not your family. I did not text you. I don’t want you anywhere near us.”
Ted turned toward her, his expression darkening. “You’re confused. You always do this, Ally. You twist things around. You’re just playing another one of your games.” He turned to Nick. “She’s not right…” He tapped his head. “She has a history of—”
Nick’s patience snapped. “Enough. Put your hands behind your back.” He walked over and yanked at his hands.
Ted resisted, screaming several times, “Do you know who I am?”
Then, when Nick assured him that he did in fact know who he was, Ted changed his tactics to screaming that he was the DA in Portland.
When that didn’t work, he began muttering something about lawyers and rights, but Nick didn’t hesitate.
He cuffed the man and tugged him toward the front door.
Nick gave him a brief nod before leading Ted out to the cruiser.
Joe felt the smallest bit of relief but doubted it would last.
Ally was still standing halfway into the room, trembling while Charlotte clung tightly to her. The little girl’s face was pressed into her mother’s chest, and every now and then she glanced toward the door, her eyes were wide with confusion.
Joe had holstered his weapon, but Ally’s eyes kept flashing to it in the side holster he wore. He zipped his jacket over the weapon. Then he moved closer to the pair, careful not to startle them. “It’s okay,” he said softly. “He’s gone.”
Ally’s lips parted like she wanted to say something, but no words came. When she finally took a shaky breath and stepped forward, he caught her as she swayed.
“You’re safe now,” he murmured, steadying her. He grabbed Charlotte, who appeared just as shaken, and held on to them both. “Both of you are safe.”
Charlotte rested her head on his shoulder, and he kept his hand at Ally’s back. He could sense the adrenaline still racing through both of them. He moved Ally onto the sofa and set Charlotte in her lap, then covered them both with a blanket.
“I’ll start a fire.” He moved over and lit the kindling quickly, then set a few dry logs on top.
When the fire was going strong, he moved over to talk to Aiden, who had just stepped inside the front door. He filled the man in on Ally’s call and what he’d witnessed when he came inside with Nick.
“Tell me that’s a registered piece.” Aiden motioned to his weapon.
“It is.” He pulled out his registration.
Aiden’s eyes narrowed slightly at him. “I did a little digging into you.” He glanced over at Ally and Charlotte for a moment.
“I’m thankful you were here quickly to back up Nick.
” He nodded in reply. “You know, if you ever change your mind about being a PI and want to wear the badge again, I’ve got a spot for you.
Small-town cops are a hell of a lot different than city cops. ”
He thought for a moment and shook the man’s hand. “I’ll think about it.”
“How the hell did he get in the door?” Aiden asked, looking at the lock.
He frowned. Hell, he’d been too busy worrying about Ally and Charlotte to even think about that.
“I’ll find out,” Nick said. He disappeared outside.
“The lock isn’t broken,” Aiden said, examining the handle.
“Are there any hidden keys?” he asked Ally, who frowned and shrugged.
“Not that Max told me. Max and Juliette have a set, obviously. I also have a set, along with my mom and Faye and Nate.”
Just then Nick came in, holding up a single key. “It looks like a copy. He’s not saying how he got it.”
“We’ll have all the locks changed,” Joe said easily.
After Aiden and his crew and the tow truck hauling Ted’s car left, the silence inside the house felt deafening.
Charlotte was now lying in her mother’s lap as she watched the fireplace.
Neither of them had moved since he’d put them there.
He walked into the kitchen and started to fix Charlotte some chocolate milk, since he didn’t think Ally would want her to have too much sugar at this hour.
He also made Ally a cup of warm tea with honey in it.
When Charlotte had downed half the milk and Ally had only taken a few sips of the hot tea, he sat down next to them.
“Now that things have quieted down and warmed up in here, what do you say we get you both upstairs?” he suggested.
Ally nodded slightly after looking down at her daughter.
He easily picked Charlotte up, and she willingly went into his arms. Ally followed him out of the room.
“Mommy, is he coming back?” Charlotte asked when he laid her down on the bed and tucked the blankets over her.
“No,” he said before she could answer. “Not tonight.” He glanced back at Ally.
She was standing in the doorway and, for the first time, he noticed the pajamas she was wearing.
They matched Charlotte’s, only instead of a cute little dress with a red bow on it, Ally’s were pajama pants with a button-up shirt.
The pair of them looked so festive, and he hated to imagine what would have happened had he not been here. That thought scared the shit out of him.
Ally sat next to Charlotte and told her they would have pancakes in the morning. The little girl asked about whipped cream and sprinkles.
He couldn’t help but smile and turn away. Here was this cute little family, getting ready for Christmas, trying to start over, and one man had ruined it with one stupid action.
Had Ted really driven down from Portland, an almost two-hour drive, that drunk?
Something in his gut told him no.
He saw Ally hesitate at the door, as if she wanted to crawl into the bed with her daughter.
“If you want, I can stay downstairs on the sofa for tonight,” he offered.
“You don’t have to,” she started. But when he touched her arm gently, she flinched slightly before relaxing at his touch.
“I’m not leaving you two alone tonight. Get some rest. I’ll be here. Let me watch out for you both tonight. It’s the least I can do.”
She hesitated and he could see she was too tired to question him. She finally nodded. “Thank you.” She stepped back into her daughter’s room and closed the door behind her.
Downstairs, he found an extra blanket and pillow in a hall closet and settled on the sofa after double checking all the doors were locked and the alarm was set.
But sleep didn’t come easy here either. He thought about Ally and how much he wanted to prove to her that he was nothing like her ex. Why did that matter to him?