Chapter 26
At some point during the night, Jenna must have crawled into bed with her, because when Hailey next woke, sunlight was streaming through the window and her daughter was snuggled against her in the double bed.
She lay still, breathing in the moment and also not wanting to disturb her little girl.
But it wasn’t long before Jenna stretched and then rolled over to look her in the face.
Sleepy eyes that looked so like Wesley’s blinked at her, sending a pang through Hailey’s heart. Then Jenna grinned, and warmth filled the places around her sorrow.
“Good morning, sweet girl,” Hailey whispered. She smoothed the tousled curls from her daughter’s face and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Jenna relaxed beside her for a few more minutes. But when she popped up and rubbed her eyes, Hailey knew she might as well get moving too.
She helped Jenna safely off the bed, then swung her own legs over the side. A groan escaped her. Everything was sore. She should have expected that after the day she’d had yesterday.
Seeing she wasn’t moving fast enough for her liking, Jenna toddled back to the bed and tugged on her hand. Patience was not her strong suit. Of course, Hailey hadn’t yet met a toddler with that virtue.
She yawned and stood, almost yelping as her feet hit the floor.
The pain immediately dispelled any lingering sleepiness.
Her soreness wasn’t the only thing she’d forgotten.
She’d cut up her feet pretty badly in the woods.
Nothing that wouldn’t heal in a few days or so, but her skin was still tender despite the cushion provided by the thick socks she’d slept in.
Stepping gingerly, she allowed Jenna to pull her toward the door.
Just as they reached it, she remembered she wasn’t alone with family in the house.
Peter was still here. She glanced down at her polka-dot pajamas.
Modest enough, but that didn’t mean she wanted him to see her in them.
Quickly, she threw on a T-shirt and shorts and pulled her hair into a ponytail.
By the time she finished, Jenna was glowering at her. It was almost comical. And when Jenna thrust her hand straight up in the air and held it there, clearly signaling she wanted Hailey to take hold of it and get a move on, she couldn’t help herself. She burst into laughter.
Jenna did not laugh. Instead, she flexed her hand open and closed as if to say, “Hurry up, Mom. I’m waiting.”
Hailey was laughing so hard, she had tears in her eyes. She wiped her eyes with one hand and took Jenna’s with the other.
When they emerged into the hallway, she could hear the sounds of conversation in the kitchen. Her recent mirth faded when she realized her parents and Peter were discussing her current situation.
“—need to know she’s safe. I don’t care how much it costs. I’ll take out a loan if I have to.”
She picked Jenna up and hurried into the kitchen. “Dad, you can’t do that.” Her parents weren’t struggling financially, but she couldn’t let them bury themselves in debt over her. She knew how that felt.
He turned to her, no remorse on his face, only determination. “Your mom and I already discussed it. This is what we want to do. Your safety and Jenna’s are more important than anything else right now.”
“But—”
Peter stepped between them. “I may have a better solution. I didn’t say anything before because I needed to verify whether it was a possibility, but I’ve been in contact with the agency I used to work with to see if they might be willing to do some pro bono work.
My colleague was finally able to return my call this morning.
He said they’re already near capacity and don’t have the manpower for 24/7 coverage but that they’ll gladly do what they can in between the clients they’re already contracted with. ”
“Will that be enough?” her mom asked, taking Jenna. “There have to be other agencies we could consider.”
“True, but there’s no guarantee they’ll have an immediate opening. And that would also bring us back to the cost concern.”
Hailey spoke up again. “I don’t want you to take out a loan. We can make do.” She looked to Peter. “Right?”
He nodded. “I think we can make it work. There’s been no threat to you here, though I don’t think we should take any foolish chances.
Still, between me and Jesse, we should be able to make sure you’re never left unprotected.
And in the case that you have to leave the house, we can take the precaution of aligning your schedule with the coverage the agency is able to provide. ”
She searched her dad’s face, praying he’d agree. His expression was unreadable, to her at least. But his gaze was locked with her mom’s, and they appeared to be having a silent conversation.
“Of course, we can always reevaluate the situation if needed,” Peter added.
“I don’t want to discourage you from obtaining additional help—in fact, I’d encourage it if you had no other choice.
But if I know Miguel, he was underpromising to avoid getting your hopes up.
The guys might not be able to be here around the clock, but I’m certain they’ll do all they can to provide as much coverage as possible. ”
“It’s very generous of them,” Hailey said. “I think we should accept their help.” Though part of her hated receiving services she couldn’t pay for, she was willing to swallow her pride. This situation didn’t leave them a lot of choice.
Finally, her dad nodded. “We’ll be grateful for whatever help they can offer.”
“Great. I’ll let him know.” Though Peter kept his tone light, Hailey suspected he wasn’t quite as at ease as he was trying to appear. She couldn’t blame him.
While he jumped in to help her mom finish cooking breakfast, Hailey got Jenna settled in her high chair.
But her mind wasn’t on the task. No, she needed to figure out a resolution to this situation.
She truly did appreciate the effort Peter was going to and the help that his agency offered to provide, but she also knew she couldn’t rely on them forever.
She needed to bring down whoever was after her—whether that was someone associated with Eukaria Investments or not.
As she debated how she might do that, her phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number, but she answered anyway.
“Hello?”
“Is this Mrs. Hailey Nieland?” an unfamiliar, professional-sounding voice asked.
“It is.”
“I am calling on behalf of Mr. Alessandro Luque. He needs to speak with you. Will you hold?”
Hailey agreed, but her mouth went dry. She’d expected a return email, not a phone call from her client—she hadn’t even realized he had her personal number.
Perhaps Gleason had given it to him, but she would have thought her boss would have asked her permission before doing so.
She snapped the high-chair tray in place and stepped into the hallway.
A click sounded, then a now-familiar deep voice rumbled across the line. “Mrs. Nieland, thank you for accepting my call. I received your email and would like to arrange a meeting to discuss your concerns.”
“Of course. Something came up, so I’m not in the office today, but we could set up a video call anytime you like.”
“That won’t do. I’m not comfortable with those .
. . video chat services.” She could almost see his finger making a swirling motion during the slight pause.
“Technology is wonderful, but there is too great a risk of being hacked—as last weekend’s incident illustrates.
I prefer to handle important meetings in person. ”
“I understand, but like I said, I’m not in the office today, and I probably won’t be back in for several days.” If that. She had no idea how long it would be until it was safe for her to show her face in town again.
“Am I to understand that Eukaria’s accounts are low priority for you?” An edge crept into his tone.
“No, that’s not what I’m saying at all.” She bit her lip.
How much should she tell him? That someone—possibly someone associated with his company—had tried to kill her yesterday?
She wanted answers, but she’d hoped to take a safer approach than going back out in the open before she knew what was going on.
Before she could figure out how to answer, he spoke again. “If Eukaria’s patronage is important to Pendleton Accounting, I suggest you reconsider.”
She swallowed hard. “Of course. Could I call you back after I look at my schedule?”
“Do that. Ask for Katherine. She’ll handle the details on my end.” With that, he hung up.
Hailey leaned against the wall. What was she going to do?
She couldn’t lose Pendleton Accounting’s biggest client because she was afraid to leave her house—or her parents’ house, as it were.
But she also couldn’t justify risking her life and the lives of those around her just to appease an overgrown spoiled brat.
Maybe she should have thrown professionalism to the wind and told him she’d had a personal emergency. She had a feeling he wouldn’t have accepted that as an excuse either. If she’d wanted to sway him, it probably would have required spilling all the details.
Which she was going to have to do anyway.
Well, maybe not all the details. He didn’t need to know about Wesley or everything that had gone on the past few days.
But she was going to have to tell him about her findings and suspicions, and—depending on how that went—possibly about the attempt on her life yesterday.
A sigh escaped her lips. Perhaps this was for the best. She needed answers if she was going to have any hope of her life returning to normal, and Eukaria’s CFO was in the best position to help her find them.
He would be able to figure out who had access to the accounts and who might be embezzling money.
And he should also be able to look at the payments and services she had questions about and tell her whether they were legitimate or suspect.
Before she could second-guess herself, she redialed the number Eukaria had called from. She didn’t actually need to look at her schedule—that had simply been a way to buy time so she could think things through.
After speaking with Katherine, she pocketed her phone and headed back into the kitchen. Now she’d have to face her family and Peter. They weren’t going to like this development.