Chapter 36
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
“Well, you look like crap.”
Luke flipped Knox a one-finger salute and returned his focus to the papers scattered across the desk.
Aiden had pulled everything he could find on Steve Iverson, but so far, there didn’t seem to be any motive to hurt Hannah, nor did the man have any ties to Ohio that they’d been able to find.
Luke had been scouring the pages for hours now, almost certain he was missing something, unsure exactly what it was.
“Things go sideways already?”
“Piss off.” At Knox’s intent stare, Luke growled and leaned back in his chair. “If you have to know, yes, we had a fight.”
“And?”
“What do you mean, ‘and’?”
Knox shrugged. “What are you doing about it?”
Nothing. Luke was doing absolutely nothing. Worse, he was pretty sure things were beyond repair.
Hannah had completely ignored every call and text for the past two days. When he tried to apologize the other morning at the health center, she’d run in the opposite direction—but not before he’d seen the tears in her eyes. The thought gutted him.
In retrospect, he probably should’ve kept his mouth shut, at least until she’d had a little more time to come to terms with everything.
Yeah, they’d only known each other for a few weeks, but he knew deep down he didn’t want anyone else.
He wanted Hannah by his side—forever. He was willing to wait that long, too, but he couldn’t fix things if she continued to ignore him.
And she wouldn’t be upset if she didn’t care, right?
He let out a heavy sigh. “I don’t know. Maybe she just needs some time.”
Knox shook his head. “That’s the last thing she needs. Trust me. The longer you give her to stew over it, the harder it’ll be to overcome. Go see her, make her talk to you. You’ll never accomplish anything by sitting here doing nothing.”
Luke stared at him. “You get that from a fortune cookie?”
Knox returned Luke's sentiment from earlier and flipped him off.
“I think you missed your calling.” Luke grinned. “You should have been a motivational speaker.”
Knox pushed off the doorjamb. “Turn off the lights when you leave.”
“Hey.” He paused, back still to Luke. “I appreciate it.”
Knox nodded once, then disappeared. As Luke watched him go, he thought back on the snippets of conversation they’d shared over the years. He wouldn’t trust advice from just anyone, and he couldn’t help but wonder if the guidance Knox offered was from personal experience.
Whatever had happened between Knox and his high school sweetheart was a mystery, but it had obviously affected him deeply.
Luke was curious about what had happened, but he had enough of his own problems to worry about.
Hell, he couldn’t even fix his own relationship.
He dropped his head back against the chair and stared at the ceiling.
Damn Andrew for manipulating Hannah into believing the worst. Luke wanted to rip him limb from limb, claim her as his own, and force him to accept it.
But Hannah had to make that decision. He’d been vindicated, at least, when the other man had shown up at the health center a couple of days ago and presumably been turned away by Hannah.
Andrew had swaggered into the building with a confident smirk only to return minutes later, shooting daggers Luke’s way as he left. He hoped Hannah had given the man the set down he deserved and more.
It pained Luke to know that Andrew was being so selfish. He clearly wanted her for himself, though she refused to see it that way. He knew Hannah and Luke were happy, but he was too jealous to do what was best for her. Luke felt bad for the guy. Kind of.
He couldn’t imagine being just friends with a woman like Hannah.
Any man would be lucky to have her, and it would be torture to have her in his life but not be able to touch her intimately.
He prayed to God she would come to her senses, and soon, because not being able to hold her, love her, laugh with her, was driving him crazy.
Knox was right—Luke did need to talk to her.
He shoved out of his chair, flipping off the lights as he went, and caught up to Knox in the lobby. “Hey. Wanna grab a drink?”
“Sure.”
Luke’s attention was drawn toward the reception area, now cluttered with a handful of knick-knacks and pictures. He hadn’t even noticed it on the way in.
“I forgot all about Vivi. Looks like she’s settling in okay.”
Knox rolled his eyes. “I’ll never understand why women feel the need to clutter every inch of space with knickknacks.”
“It’s not so bad.” Luke didn’t admit it out loud, but he kind of liked the lived-in feel.
Vivi had obviously chosen to surround herself with stuff that made her happy.
While Vivi was bubbly and outgoing, Knox was stark and stoic, and the décor in his office—or lack thereof—reflected his personality.
Luke thought of Hannah’s office and how welcoming it felt. He’d have to drop a word in Vivi’s ear about getting some pictures to spruce up the walls. And maybe some kind of plant.
He turned his attention back to Knox. “Baby sister bring a boyfriend home with her?”
“Absolutely not.” Knox growled. “I’ll kill anyone who gets close to her.”
“She’s what, twenty-two? It’s bound to happen. Remember what we were like at that age?”
Knox shot a glare Luke’s way. “Twenty-three. And don’t remind me.”
Knox pulled a keyring from his back pocket and locked the door behind them as they stepped into the humid night.
Luke took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
He’d give anything to be in bed next to Hannah right now instead of heading to a bar.
The thought alone was distasteful. How he’d endured years of the bar scene, many nights with a different woman, he had no idea.
Granted, he’d had a lot of fun, but it had never meant anything. Not until he met Hannah.
They fell into step together but remained silent as they walked toward the corner bar.
Aptly named, The Shield was a popular hangout for local law enforcement, and Vantage had been welcomed in with open arms. It helped that they’d made it very clear to the locals that they wouldn’t step on any toes—they’d assist with investigations if needed and offer training operations but otherwise keep to themselves.
Knox had spoken with the Chief of Police a few weeks ago in regards to sharing information about Hannah’s case, and the man was on board. They would take first shot at it, but if resources ran low, Vantage was more than welcome to help.
Luke nodded to a couple patrolmen he’d met after Monique Henderson’s murder and took a seat two tables over. Knox slid into a chair across from him and signaled the waitress.
One of the patrolmen stood up and ambled toward them, and Luke lifted his chin at him. “Phelps. How’s it goin’?”
He gestured to the table. “Not bad. Mind if I have a seat?”
“Not at all.” Luke used his foot to push the chair out in invitation.
He sank into the wooden seat and glanced at Knox. “I know you’ll both want to know, so I’ll send the information your way tomorrow.”
“What’s that?” Luke raised a brow at the man, who shook his head.
“We interviewed Steve Iverson, but he has a solid alibi for the time of the murder, as well as the night that Dr. Stanton was attacked in her office.”
Dang. He’d been the only good lead with any motive.
Aiden had found that Iverson’s sister lived just three streets over from Hannah, which allowed him access to the subdivision.
This bit of news brought them right back to square one.
Iverson had been associated, if only briefly, with both Audrey and Hannah.
But now Luke was beginning to wonder if the two instances were even related.
So, who had it out for Hannah? Another patient, maybe?
They needed to dig deeper into her past, see who might have ties to her hometown.
They’d need to pull her list of patients, both former and current, and run checks on each of them.
Hannah would throw a fit about that. She was incredibly stringent about doctor-patient confidentiality, even at the risk of putting herself in danger.
Luke glanced at Phelps. “I think we need to look at the people she interacts with on a regular basis. What about her patients? Can you get a warrant to run background checks on them, see if anything stands out?”
He grimaced. “I don’t know if the judge will sign off, but we can try.”
“Why now?” Knox asked the question that had plagued Luke since he’d found out about her past. What had triggered his obsession?
And what was his end game? Luke had originally suspected that the person—he was assuming it was a guy—had begun to follow her again with the intent to finish her off.
If he’d wanted Hannah gone, he could’ve easily killed her instead of Monique.
The thought made Luke see red. Hannah hadn’t recognized the man who’d abducted her ten years ago, but a lot could change in a decade. Whoever it was knew her on a personal level, was close enough to her that he’d gained access to her house with little difficulty.
It killed Luke that he couldn’t be with her.
She was safe enough at home with her new security system, and the locals were patrolling the subdivision frequently.
Over the last few days he’d driven past a couple—more like a dozen—times just to check for himself that she was safe.
He hated being away from her, but he also wanted to respect her wishes and give her some space.
“We need to figure out if she’s acquired any new patients, or if any existing or ex-patients had a thing for her. Whoever it is, the guy is obviously infatuated with her.”
“The phone call was a cry for attention.” Knox nodded and stroked his chin as he latched on to Luke’s train of thought. “The vandalism may have been the same thing. Guy broke in to make her feel vulnerable and insecure.”
“What about an ex-lover?” Phelps asked with a hopeful expression.
Luke shook his head. “Uh… no. She hasn’t dated anyone since college.” At their dubious looks, he elaborated. “Trust me. You’re barking up the wrong tree there.”
He traded a glance with Knox who spoke up. “So he’s been in her house at least once that we know of, right? And no one out of place showed up on the cameras the night of the B&E?”
Phelps shook his head. “Everyone coming and going that night was on the approved list.”
“Maybe it’s someone who lives in the allotment,” Luke mused. “Can we get a list of the current residents?”
“I can forward it to you, but so far everyone has checked out.”
That was all well and good, but it didn’t mean the person wasn’t there and meant to do Hannah harm.
It would make sense that it would be someone who belonged there, who fit in.
He would go unnoticed by the other homeowners because he lived there.
The sooner they got that list, the sooner Aiden could start digging into it.
“Can we get a copy of the footage from that night, too? I’d like to double check all the cars that showed up on the camera from the gatehouse, ingoing and outgoing.” Maybe they’d get lucky and something would jump out at them.
“You got it. I’ll send it over first thing in the morning.” Phelps hesitated. “Not gonna lie. Without a solid lead…”
He shrugged, and Luke understood the implication. They couldn’t continue to waste time and resources on a simple breaking and entering. It sucked, but they had more important things to focus on.
Luke nodded at the patrolman. “I gotcha.”
Phelps tipped his empty bottle in appreciation. “I’m outta here. See you guys later.”
Knox glanced across the table as the officer said his farewells and headed toward the door. “We’re missing something.”
Luke was silent for a moment. “I know, I just can’t tell what it is.”
“Maybe Aiden can pull something from the footage that they can’t.” He eyed Luke. “You seem pretty certain that it’s not an ex.”
Luke stared back. “I am.”
Knox raised a brow. “You’re that certain?”
“Yep.”
“Did you check into them?”
“Didn’t have to.”
Knox growled. “What does that mean?”
“It’s a short list.”
“Still, there could be—”
“There’s not.”
“Look, I know you like this girl,” he pressed, “but is it possible that she could be omitting the truth? Maybe she’s been with more guys than she wants to admit and—”
“She hasn’t.”
Knox sliced one hand through the air. “How do you know? You’ve only been with her for a couple weeks.”
“When I say it’s a short list, I mean it’s got one person on it. Me.”
Understanding dawned and Knox leaned back in his seat. “Whoa. Seriously?”
“Yup.” Luke shrugged. “After she was attacked in high school, she said she wasn’t ready.”
Knox grimaced. “That’s rough.”
Luke’s thoughts exactly. He wished there was another angle to pursue, but he was glad he didn’t have to deal with some crazy ex-boyfriend. Thinking of her with another man made him want to rip something apart with his bare hands. He wondered what she was doing right this second.
He really needed to talk to her and clear the air.
“Let’s start with the homeowners and the camera footage, and I’ll talk with Chief tomorrow to see if we have any chance of getting Hannah’s patient list released.
She should have already run background checks on each of them, so we can see if any have ties to Ohio that would have put them there at the time of the attack when she was young. ”
“Sounds like a plan.” Knox rolled the empty beer bottle between his hands, looking pensive. “Is she safe?”
Luke sighed. “As much as she can be with the new security system. I just hate that she’s there all alone.”
“Don’t wait too long,” Knox reminded him. “Get everything out in the open before it’s too late.”
Luke opened his mouth to tell him to piss off, then snapped it shut. He knew Knox was right. He only had two days left on this contract. When it was all over, he was going to find a way to make Hannah listen to him, no matter what it took.