Chapter 33
“So, what is my brother”s security chief doing here?” Ford asked, interrupting my train of thought. “I know you didn’t come for an update on my case.”
“No, I didn’t,” I said, pushing aside the problem of Ford and his eventual release. “I need to know about the man who attacked Quinn in her room when she was a teenager.”
“She told you about that?” Ford asked, leaning forward a fraction.
“Did you know she still can’t sleep in her room?”
Ford gave a curt nod. “It wasn’t as bad as it could have been,” he said, “but it was bad.”
“And the man who attacked her?” I pressed.
Ford raised an eyebrow. “What did Quinn say?”
“Quinn said you told her it was taken care of, that she doesn”t have to be afraid. She told me to leave it alone.”
“But you”re not leaving it alone,” Ford said.
“I’m not,” I agreed. “I can’t. For one thing, we haven”t been able to find the guy who attacked her. Her ankle is almost better, and by next week she’ll be out there, back to work, and a lot harder to protect. At this point I can’t leave any stone unturned. We”re talking about a man who has a grudge against Quinn, someone who tried to hurt her once, and he”s out there somewhere. I need to know?—”
“He”s dead,” Ford cut in.
“Does Quinn know that he”s dead?” I asked, sure she didn’t.
Ford shook his head. “No.” He straightened and looked down at his hands, examining the cuffs on his wrists as if he’d never seen them before. Finally dropping his hands into his lap, he sat back and said, “Seeing Quinn hurt woke me up. I was?—”
He paused, but kept his eyes locked on mine.
“I was lost for a long time,” he said. “Chasing what I thought I wanted, what I thought would make me happy. I got rid of Griffen. I let my father use Finn and almost got him killed for a deal. For money. And then I saw my little sister, my father”s fucking friend, our business partner, holding her down, hurting her. And everything changed.” He leaned forward, bracing his arms on the table, his face less than a foot from my own. “You ever have that happen, Hawk? You ever have your whole life change in a blink?”
I gave a curt nod. I knew what it was like to get lost in pain, get lost chasing something you thought would make you happy, only to find out you’d destroyed everything good in your life in the process. And I knew how one act, one moment in time, could suddenly make you see it all with crystalline clarity, every fuckup, every mistake laid bare. Yeah, I knew what that was like.
“I pulled him off her,” Ford said, “beat the shit out of him and kicked him out of the Manor. When he was gone, I made sure Quinn was okay, and told my father that was it with having his skeevy business associates under the same roof as my siblings. Especially the kids. Especially the girls. He didn”t like it, but he went along.”
“And the man who attacked Quinn? What was his name?” I asked. “What happened to him? I’m assuming you didn’t kill him.”
A ghost of a smile flicked across Ford’s face. “I didn’t kill him. Like I said, after I beat him up, I let him go.”
“And?” I asked, sure Ford hadn’t left it at that.
“And then I spent the next year systematically dismantling his financial empire. I went behind my father”s back and bought up loans and shares in his companies. In the end, once Prentice found out, he let it go because the destruction of his friend’s empire turned out to be profitable for us. I wasn’t in it for the money. The day I called in the final debts, I threatened to tell his wife and daughters what he”d done. He killed himself. And before you can ask,” Ford said with a lift of his chin, “I”m not sorry. I’d do it again if I could.”
Another man might have chastised him. Another man might have told him that justice was for God or the legal system to mete out. But I wasn’t that man. This was Quinn we were talking about, and she deserved that kind of vengeance. The man who”d hurt her deserved everything he got.
“Did it occur to you that it might make Quinn feel better to know that he”s dead?” I asked.
“I didn”t want to— I didn”t want her to—” For the first time, Ford stumbled over his words.
“You didn”t want it to change the way she sees you,” I said.
Ford gave a curt nod.
“She thinks you”re her hero,” I said, bluntly. “The man who attacked her has been a blight on her life since she was seventeen. Trust me, she wouldn’t fault you.”
Ford didn’t react to that statement.
“Name?” I asked. “I want to do some checking of my own.”
“Robert Sydney,” Ford said immediately.
“And did Robert Sydney have anyone in his life who might be looking for revenge? Who might go after Quinn now that you’re out of reach?”
Ford’s already pale face went sheet white at that question. After a long moment, he shook his head. “His wife had her own money, and she remarried a few years after he died. The daughters are married now, with young kids of their own. I had an investigator keep an eye on them. He said after the shock faded, they all seemed better off. From what he could find out, Sydney was a Grade A asshole. The world is a happier place without him in it.”
I’d call Sinclair and ask someone to look into Robert Sydney and make sure Ford’s info was all there was to know. But I doubted we’d find anything. From what Ford said, Robert Sydney was another dead end.
“Are you going to tell her that he”s dead?” Ford asked.
I nodded.
“How much are you going to tell her?”
“I don”t like keeping things from Quinn,” I said, telling half the truth. There was a lot I was keeping from Quinn, but nothing like this. Nothing that was about her life. When it came to the attack, she was still trying to recover from it all these years later— “She has a right to know, don”t you think?”
Ford’s face flashed with pain.
I knew all about hiding the truth from the people you cared for, afraid it would show them how little you deserved their love. Hadn’t I tried to push Quinn away for the same reason?
In a moment of sympathy, I said, “I’ll tell her he”s dead, and I’ll tell her we talked, but I won’t tell her the details. You can do that when you get out of here.”
Ford cleared his throat. “Thanks.”
It was funny how much I understood Ford. I didn”t like him on principle. Griffen was the closest thing I had to family, and this man had gotten him exiled from his home out of greed and selfishness. But the thing was, I thought Ford and I weren’t that different. We”d both done things we’d lived to regret and seen ourselves become people we didn”t recognize. And I had a feeling that, like me, Ford Sawyer was looking for redemption. He just didn”t know on what path he”d find it. He waited here in purgatory for a chance he was afraid to hope for.
I”d gotten my chance in Quinn, who”d shown me that while I”d never be an angel, there was good still in me somewhere. Maybe Ford would get his chance. Assuming he could stay alive long enough for redemption to find him.
I stood. “I got what I needed,” I said. “Maybe the next time I see you, you’ll be on the outside.”
Ford stood. “We’ll see. That video might get me out of prison, but that”s not the same as figuring out who killed my father.”
“One step at a time,” I said, nodding to the guard in the corner.
I left Ford there and drove home in the early spring sunshine, a little off-kilter. I hadn’t thought I’d feel anything but contempt for Ford Sawyer. I wasn’t sure I liked him, but he wasn’t the villain I’d expected.
He’d given me a lot to think about. I wasn’t surprised he’d driven Quinn”s attacker to his death. Ford was smart enough not to kill the guy straight out, and vengeful enough to make sure he ended up dead. Maybe I should condemn him for that, but I wouldn’t. Couldn’t. Not when I would have done the same.
Before I got back to the Manor, I called Evers Sinclair and gave him Robert Sydney’s name. I’d know soon enough if Ford’s story lined up, and, more importantly, if there was someone lurking in Sydney’s past who might be taking vengeance on Quinn. Then, on a whim, I stopped in town and visited Sweetheart Bakery. Maybe a treat from Daisy and her grandmother would sweeten up Quinn after I told her where I’d been all afternoon.
Quinn was home from the guide shop when I got back, reading on the couch with a purring Leo. Seeing her there, at peace, her mouth curved in a smile of welcome, the guilt hit me. I’d done what I needed to do, but I hated going behind her back. I was done hiding shit, mostly, and I wouldn’t hide this. This was very much her business.
“What”s wrong?” she asked immediately.
“You”re going to be pissed,” I said.
Quinn narrowed her eyes and sat up, dislodging Leo, who let out an annoyed trill and jumped to the back of the couch. “What did you do?” she asked, her brows pulled together.
“I went to go see Ford.”
“Hawk! Why?” Her eyes were spitting blue fire.
I sat on the other end of the couch, pulling her legs into my lap. “I know you asked me not to talk to him. I waited longer than I should have, hoping something would turn up, but I needed answers, and he had them.” I squeezed her thigh gently, prompting her to meet my eyes. “I’m sorry I went to see him when you asked me not to. I wouldn’t have done it if I had another option. You know Ford would want to know you’re in danger. You’re not doing him any favors by leaving him out of your life. He loves you.”
She let out a long sigh. “I told you he took care of it,” she said mulishly.
“I know what you told me,” I said. “But I needed to know what that meant. I needed to cross this guy off my list. You understand? I can’t waste resources investigating somebody who”s not a problem. But I needed to hear from Ford what took care of it meant.”
“And?” Quinn asked, after a long silence.
“The man who attacked you is dead,” I said.
Quinn relaxed back on the couch for a second before she stiffened and sat up. “Did Ford kill him?”
“No,” I answered quickly. “He died a year after Ford threw him out of Heartstone.”
Quinn reached for Leo, who let her gather him to her chest. Leo tucked his head under Quinn’s chin, rubbing against her as she stroked down his back. After another long silence, she said, “But Ford had something to do with it.”
I shook my head. “Not the way you mean, but in a way. He didn’t kill him. Robert Sydney killed himself.”
Quinn let out a long breath. “Why won’t you tell me more?”
“Because the story is your brother”s to tell,” I said, “And I promised him I wouldn’t. He didn”t murder anybody. But he did make sure you”d be safe. When he gets out, you can ask him.”
Quinn started to sit up again, but Leo curved his claws into her leg at the sudden movement and she settled back into the couch. Her eyes bright, she asked, “When he gets out?”
I told her about the camera and that the judge was reviewing the evidence to decide if it was enough to overturn Ford’s guilty plea.
“Of course it is,” Quinn said, eyes burning with indignation. “It backs up his alibi and shows he was telling the truth. Why is it taking so long to just let him out? How long has the judge had the camera?”
I wondered for a second if she was going to jump off the couch and go hunt down the judge to demand he let her brother out of prison. “Hold your horses, baby, it’s not that simple.”
“Why isn’t it simple?”
I wanted to kiss her, to hold all that fire close. Quinn was fierce in defense of those she loved. I wasn’t jealous. I just wanted to be on the list. “There’s some question of where the camera has been all this time, and how it ended up in the pawn shop where Haywood found it. This is a high-profile case. The judge isn’t going to rush. And even if Ford gets out, it’s complicated.”
I wasn’t going to mention that Ford might be in more danger outside prison than inside. And I didn’t want to remind her that even if Ford was released, Heartstone Manor was Griffen’s house now, and he might not welcome home the brother who’d had him exiled. If Griffen let him through the doors, and if Ford was willing to sequester himself in Heartstone Manor until we found his father’s killer… But that was a lot of ifs.
“When will the judge decide?” she asked.
“No idea. We just have to be patient.” Quinn gave an adorable grunt of annoyance. Hoping it would distract her, I said, “I stopped in town on the way home. Sweetheart Bakery was doing one of their pop-up things.”
“Quiche?” Quinn asked, raising an eyebrow and licking her lips.
My eyes landed on her wet lower lip, and I wasn’t thinking of food anymore, but I answered her question.
“Quiche. Daisy said you like the ham and Swiss the best. And she talked me into these pretzel s’mores things she said we should stick in the microwave for a few seconds before we eat them.”
Quinn licked her lips again, sending my brain and my body in one direction and it had nothing to do with food. I was off the couch a second later.
“Where are you going?” Quinn asked.
I hit a few buttons on the oven and shoved the quiches in to warm up. The box said twenty minutes. Just enough time for round one. Striding back to the couch, I scooped up Quinn, ignoring Leo’s yowl of annoyance. He’d get his princess back soon enough.
For now, she was all mine, and I was going to make the next twenty minutes count.