Chapter Three
Darryn wasn’t sure why he was there. But somehow, being close to one of Hannah’s sisters always seemed to calm him down.
He was feeling restless, kind of anxious, and he wasn’t sure why.
He’d been working nonstop to get photos ready for the launch of their new hotel, and everything was running smoothly.
He hadn’t been sleeping well; he couldn’t stop thinking about Hannah. Nothing new—he was always thinking about her. But ever since the thought of asking her about Stephen White had popped up in his head, he kept coming back to the idea.
Over the last few days, his restlessness had increased, and with it, a feeling of dread kept him on edge.
It was taking all his self-control not to jump on their company plane and go find Hannah.
He’d hoped, maybe here, close to her sister, he’d be more settled.
And maybe he’d hear something about Hannah’s whereabouts without having to ask.
“You look like hell,” said Don as they hugged.
Darryn shrugged and ignored the statement. “What are you doing all alone on a Saturday night?” Don asked as they entered the big living room.
A television was on and Darryn glanced at the flashing pictures. It was on a fashion channel, he would know; he watched it often enough. In the corner of the room, a huge square box was filled to the rim with toys.
“Just stopping by,” he said easily. “Donato asleep already?”
The stupid grin Don usually got when anyone talked about his son appeared immediately. “Yes, the little guy attended his first party today and fell asleep on the way home.”
“You’ll have to work on his stamina. In your heyday, you could party all night long.” Grinning, Darryn motioned toward the television. “And look what you’re now doing on a Saturday night.”
“Caitlin was watching the Paris Fashion Show. Hannah was one of the models. And then, of course, she had to talk to her on the phone right away.” He frowned.
“We haven’t heard from Hannah in a while.
Caitlin is still surprised she didn’t even attend Dana and David’s wedding and she’s worried about her, has been for some time now. ”
Darryn rubbed his chest where the feeling of dread was more acute now.
“Don!” Caitlin’s anxious voice sounded down the corridor, and the next minute she was standing in the door, her eyes brimming with tears. She glanced in Darryn’s direction and nodded, but she walked into Don’s open arms.
“What’s wrong?” asked Don.
“It’s Hannah. Something is very, very wrong, but she—” She suddenly stopped speaking, stepped out of Don’s arms while grabbing the television remote. The voice that had been faint in the background now filled the entire room.
“It has been confirmed that it was Sophie Thomas who was pushed in front of a car, not Hannah Sutherland, as previously reported.”
Darryn’s heart simply stopped when he heard Hannah’s name and “pushed in front of a car” in one sentence. His heart was beating so loudly, it blocked out the rest of the guy’s words.
Caitlin turned around to Don, her face paling.
Darryn took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on what Caitlin was saying. He had to know what was going on.
“So that’s what happened,” she whispered. “I could tell something was wrong, but she kept saying she’s fine. That’s it! I’m flying to Hannah tonight…”
Don hugged her close, caressing her shoulders.
“Of course, sweetheart, whatever you want, but let’s talk about this,” he said calmly and rationally.
“We know Hannah is fine. She wasn’t the person who was pushed.
You spoke to her, you heard her voice, she’s okay. What did she say to have you in tears?”
Flabbergasted, Darryn stared at Don. His mouth was so dry, he struggled to get words out. “She’s really fine?” he finally managed.
Don nodded. “It was another model; she’s fine too, by the way.” He turned Caitlin back to face him. “Sweetheart, what—”
“She didn’t really say anything, but I could hear she’s been crying.
And I’m sorry, but I can’t believe all these things happening around Hannah are accidents!
” Caitlin hiccupped and pushed away from Don.
“I mean, after the first hit-and-run accident she had on Mahé, we all thought it was random, but then Zoe was pushed while she and Hannah were wearing similar-colored clothes, and now this. And there has to be a reason why Hannah didn’t attend Dana and David’s wedding. ”
Darryn heard Caitlin’s voice as if from a distance. She was saying what had been bothering him for months now.
“But Hannah keeps saying nothing is wrong,” Don said and led his wife to the couch.
“We’ve all been so busy falling in love and getting married, I think we all knew something was wrong, but we didn’t push Hannah.
I know something happened to her two years ago—she was devastated and hid away at my mom’s for weeks.
She didn’t want to talk about it, though, and I always hoped she’d talk when she was ready.
” She stared at Don. “You know, now that I think about it, it was after those weeks she stayed with Mom that all these ‘accidents’ started to happen.”
“So what? You think it has to do with whatever upset her in the first place?” asked Don.
Caitlin nodded. “It has to be. I mean Hannah is the quiet one, the happy one. But ever since that time, she has changed.” She sighed and leaned against Don. Her gaze landed on Darryn and she pointed at him.
“Whatever happened to her then had something to do with you. That much I do know. Maybe it’s time you tell us.”
Darryn walked to a chair next to the couch and sat down. She was right; it was time to tell Caitlin what had happened between him and Hannah.
*
Ten minutes later Caitlin sat staring at him, her mouth open in shock.
“And you believed that…that idiot of a man?” she whispered. “No wonder she can’t stand the sight of you! You said you spent three days and nights with her. You should have known by that time what kind of person my sister is. How could you believe someone else’s lies about her?”
Darryn jumped up. “I…” He rubbed the back of his neck.
Don came to his rescue. “He had a nasty experience with another model, one who did sleep around.”
“And I know Stephen White. He and I went to school together. I never much liked him, but I helped him get a few jobs…he was very grateful. I had no reason not to believe what he told me.”
“Well, for your information, Hannah is incapable of two-timing anyone. She doesn’t have a devious bone in her body! And you should know that!” Caitlin scolded. “She will kill me if I tell you this, but she funds a charity for war orphans! That’s the kind of person she is!”
Stunned, Darryn stared at her. He hadn’t known that about Hannah. Come to think of it, he didn’t know anything about her life apart from the fact she was a model.
Caitlin stood up as well, glaring at him. She wiped her wet cheeks, her eyes shooting darts in his direction. “You could easily have found out anything about Hannah’s life—every detail is on the Internet. But you jumped to conclusions and probably never even bothered to ask her side of the story.”
“He knew about her tattoo!” Darryn shouted.
Caitlin eyes became slits. It was obvious she knew what he was talking about. “And of course the only way he could know about it was if he saw it?” she said, not even trying to hide the sarcasm in her voice.
“Well, yes! I thought…what we had was special. I fell for her. Big time!”
Don snickered. “I knew it!” he said slapping his knee.
Caitlin stared at Darryn for long minutes, and then the ghost of a smile lifted the corners of her mouth.
“So that’s what happened. Typical. You freaked out.
When you realized how you felt about her, you freaked out and jumped at the chance to believe the drivel this Stephen told you, that way you didn’t have to deal with your feelings.
You could just walk away feeling all righteous and indignant—typical Cavallo move, by the way.
Am I right?” she asked crossing her arms.
“Hey—I saw the light eventually,” Don complained with a smile. “And so did David and Dale. It’s just this poor sod here who doesn’t know what hit him.”
Darryn started pacing. “But the tattoo—” he began again.
Caitlin grabbed his arm, bringing him to a standstill.
“I don’t know how he knew about it, but I can assure you, he didn’t see it.
” She dropped her hand and faced Don again.
“I don’t have time to try to convince your brother of something he should have known to be untrue.
I have to get to Hannah. I should have listened to my gut a long time ago.
And what it’s been telling me is that something is very, very wrong. ”
“I’ll go,” Darryn said. “I can go immediately. Whatever I need to do, I can do from anywhere. You are a family—it’s going to take time to get everyone ready, but I can leave right now. Come when you’re ready. I have a Euro Visa, and I can pack quickly.”
“She doesn’t want to see you,” Caitlin said.
“Well, that’s too damn bad, because I’m going to see her. I want to know…I need to know she’s safe,” he ended fiercely.
Caitlin walked up to him, one finger in the air. “If you do or say anything to upset her, I’ll put both our mothers onto you,” she threatened.
“I can’t promise you I won’t upset her,” he said, “but I can promise you I’ll do my best to get to the bottom of this.”
But Caitlin had turned back and was facing the television again. Don had turned up the volume.
“…Not Hannah Sutherland, but Sophie Thomas, who has a similar build…”
“Looks like they’ve been repeating the news,” Don said.
“They didn’t mention before that this woman has a similar build to Hannah,” Darryn said frowning.
Caitlin stared at the screen. “So Hannah could have been the target?” she whispered the words they were all thinking.
It was quiet in the room for a few seconds.
Then he and Don turned to one another. “Get security for her,” Darryn barked while he took out his phone.
Don pushed him in the direction of the front door. “I’ll inform David and Dale you have the plane,” he said, his cell phone also in his hand. “Send it back as soon as possible. Caitlin and I will follow when we’re ready.”
Caitlin grabbed Darryn’s hand. “You make sure she’s safe, okay?” she said in a wobbly voice.
Darryn bent down and gave her a hug. “That I can promise,” he said before a voice answered on the other side of the line.
“I need the plane. Immediately,” he said, and with a last wave, sprinted toward his car.