Erica Lucke Dean - To Katie with Love (27 page)

Finally, I found them hanging on one of the hooks inside the pantry door. I snatched them up and made my way to the mudroom and the garage beyond, where my Prius waited like a life raft. I rushed to pile my bags into the backseat as I dug into my front pocket for my phone to dial 9-1-1. Before I could catch it, my cell slipped from my trembling fingers and tumbled to the concrete floor.

“Oh no!” I squealed, and then slammed my hand over my mouth to stop the sound as I crouched down to collect the pieces. There was no salvaging it. All the times I’d lied to my mother, telling her I’d broken my phone, had suddenly caught up to me.
Karma
is a bitch, and her name is Grace James.

There was no avoiding the sound of the garage door opening, so I smashed the button and scrambled into the driver’s seat. I pushed the button to start the car and slammed it into reverse.

I’d barely made it out of the garage when two cars pulled up behind me, and two uniformed men approached. I was momentarily blinded by a light shining in my eyes.

“You need to step out of the car, ma’am.”

“How did you know?” I asked, thinking of my failed attempt to dial 9-1-1.

“Step out of the car,” he repeated. “What are you doing here?”

As I scurried out of the driver’s seat, I recognized the uniform. I realized I’d forgotten to disable the security system before going downstairs. “Thank God you’re here! My boyfriend is going to kill me!”

NOTHING IS WHAT IT SEEMS TO BE

I
f anyone had told me I would be relieved to see Le Guarde’s security team—the same guys who had pointed guns at my head not two weeks ago—I would have said they were crazy. But I was elated, so thrilled in fact, I’d practically jumped into the burly man’s arms and kissed him.

“… and guns,” I continued my rant. “My mother found guns. Not hunting guns, mind you… sniper guns. Upstairs in his guest room. And he got this huge wire transfer two weeks ago, and Phil—he’s my boss—he said someone would have paid at least that much money to kill a judge and a politician and even this guy in New York.” I took a huge breath. “And then I heard him on the phone saying he would kill
me
like he killed the
others
. That’s when I got the hell out of there.”

The tall guy with the crew cut turned to his partner. “Did you call it in?”

The second guy nodded. They didn’t exactly have a warm bedside manner, but they had some pretty big weapons of their own. The sound of sirens got closer, and I could see the flashing blue lights in the distance telling me the cavalry was on its way. I was caught up in watching the cars rush down the road when I heard his voice behind me.

“Katie, what’s going on?” Cooper asked.

I spun around and screamed. “That’s him!” I jumped back, bumping into the wall of someone’s chest, and pointed at Cooper. “He’s the one planning to kill me.”

Cooper took a step toward me with his hands outstretched, and I flinched. Crew Cut stepped forward.

“Katie?” Cooper said my name as if I were a stranger. “Sweetheart, what are you talking about?”

“You want to kill me!” I shrieked. “I heard you tell Vivian you would. I found your guns, and I know you killed the others.” I tucked myself behind Crew Cut and peered around him at Cooper’s face.

His eyes were as wide as saucers. He was caught!

“Guns? What are you…? Jesus, Katie.” He groaned, forcing both hands into his hair. “You need to calm down and listen to me.”

“I’ve listened enough. You can’t talk your way out of it this time.”

The police cars had pulled in and parked. A sheriff’s deputy walked over to where we stood. “Can someone please tell me what’s going on here?”

“This lady—” Crew Cut nodded toward me. “—says the gentleman has threatened to kill her. She has apparently seen multiple weapons on the premises and overheard the gentleman telling someone he was planning to kill her.”

“No… no… no.” Cooper’s fingers knotted in his dark waves, yanking it until it stood up. “Officer, there’s been a terrible mistake. My name is Cooper Maxwell. This is my house.”

“We show this house as being owned by the former British Consul-General and his wife.”

“That’s my parents. They left me the house when they went back to England.

My girlfriend overheard a phone conversation I was having with an employee and obviously misunderstood the context.”

“What are you talking about?” I gaped at Cooper’s deer-in-headlights expression. “Your parents are farmers! And I didn’t misunderstand anything.” I turned to the cop and pointed at Cooper. “He has guns, and I heard him very clearly tell someone on the phone he would kill me like he did the others.” I launched into the whole story again.

Another uniformed officer came up behind Cooper and shoved him onto the hood of my car, where he frisked him.

“Katie, please…” Cooper said as he was handcuffed. “I thought we agreed this whole
assassin
theory of yours was ridiculous before your mother got here.”

“That was before Mom found the guns in the cedar chest,” I declared triumphantly. I felt as if I were playing Clue.
It was Cooper in the guest room with a wooden rifle.

“Please, just let me explain. I know you heard me talking to Vivian, but it’s not what you think. I wasn’t talking about you.” His voice was strained.

My lips fell open. “Then, who are you going to kill?”

Cooper sighed. “Nobody. It’s complicated.”

“Mr. Maxwell, would you mind explaining the situation? Do you know what the young lady is referring to?” the sheriff asked.

Cooper groaned. “Unfortunately… yes. I do have two antique rifles in a chest upstairs. They don’t even work. They were a gift from my father. I almost forgot I had them. As far as the phone call…” Cooper drew his eyes away from the sheriff to glance at me. “You heard me speaking to Vivian Allen. She’s my publicist.” He turned back to the officer. “We were arguing over a character she wanted me to kill off in my next book.”

“A character in a book?” I choked out. “Really? That’s the best you can do? I think I’d know if you were a writer. I would have seen your name in a bookstore or when I
Googled
you. There’s no author I’ve ever heard of named Cooper Maxwell.”

He nodded, his face fallen. “You’re right. You would have to Google my pen name. Elizabeth Jayne.”

Elizabeth Jayne?
“That’s not possible,” I said. “You’re lying…” I turned from Cooper to the sheriff and swallowed hard. “He
must
be lying. He saw her books in my house.” I reached for any explanation I could think of. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “He knows she’s my favorite author. I saw him flipping through one of my books just a week ago.”

“No, Katie. I may have kept things from you, and I’m so sorry for that, but I would never lie to you. I love you.” His impassioned plea cracked my resolve just a little. “Sweetheart, do you remember the first time you had dinner with me? Do you remember asking me if I’d gotten the idea from a book? You were pretty sure I had. Well, I did, and I know you remember the scene from
Blood Everlasting
.”

My eyes filled with tears as I turned to the sheriff to say something, but I was at a loss for words.

The sheriff nodded to two other officers. “I think we need to go ahead and take them in to get this sorted out. Damnedest thing I’ve heard in a long time,” he said as he walked off, shaking his head.

The first officer led Cooper, still in handcuffs, to the back of a cruiser, and roughly shoved him inside the vehicle. The second one led me to another car, where he opened the door and politely ushered me into the backseat.

I sucked in a jagged breath as I watched the vehicle carrying Cooper Maxwell pull out of the driveway, and I knew he’d been telling the truth. I did remember that dinner… all too well. I always knew there was something about Cooper that defied reason. He was different from other men… more romantic. But I could never put my finger on it.

His revelation explained why. And in the dark recesses of my mind, I was certain I’d crossed that imaginary line, forever changing the dynamics of our relationship.

WELL, I CERTAINLY DIDN’T EXPECT THAT

N
o one was at the bank when I arrived on Monday morning. For the first time ever, I’d beaten them all. In another lifetime, I would have been proud of that accomplishment. But as it stood, I simply felt pathetic. I hadn’t rushed to work out of love for my job, but because work was the only place that felt like home anymore.

I’d spent all day Sunday curled up by the fire, crying. And burning every book in my house that reminded me of Cooper. One. By. One. And the Elizabeth Jayne books were the first to go. Once I’d realized what a fool I’d been, I couldn’t stand to look at the name in bold red print across the cover, let alone ever read them again. Not only had the first man I’d ever really loved broken my heart, but I’d lost my fictional boyfriend, too.

I wondered how many times Cooper had tried to call me, or if he had at all, and then I stamped those thoughts back down where they belonged. I didn’t need to know, didn’t want to know. I was glad my cell phone was broken.

I hadn’t spoken to anyone since Saturday, and I was a jumble of nerves waiting for Silvia to come in to work. I’d considered showing up on her doorstep Sunday with a box of Kleenex and a bottle of really bad chardonnay, but I didn’t want to admit what I’d done… to her of all people.

I heard a key in the lock and ran to the front.

“James?” Phil asked. “What are you doing here so early?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” I said. It was just easier to lie. I resolved to wait for Silvia in her office and turned to head in that direction.

“Well, go get some coffee,” Phil barked as I crossed the lobby. “It’s going to be a busy day! I expect we’ll have news crews storming the gates before it’s time to open.”

I stopped dead in my tracks and spun back around to stare at Phil. “What? Why?” An immediate wave of hot fear cut through me.
Cooper
?

“Don’t you ever watch the news?” He scrunched up his face. “Dean… he’s all over the news. That son of a bitch was the one knocking off politicians and judges in Atlanta. I heard he even killed some big shot in New York. They’re calling him the Singing Assassin.”

“
Dean
? He’s the killer?” A bubble of hysterical laughter burst out of me. If only I’d had that little bit of information a few days ago.

“I know.” He shook his head. “Unbelievable, right? He was right under our noses the whole time.”

The whole time.
“Have you spoken to Silvia?” I asked. “Does she know?”

“I’m sure she does. It’s on the news.” He smiled, shaking his head at me again as he pushed the power button on the TV remote. “CNN, James… all news, all day.”

I didn’t need to see the news. I’d lived it. Leaving Phil to his morning routine, I wandered into Silvia’s office and plopped down in her chair with a sigh. I followed the sweet smell to the vase filled with roses on her desk. They had all but withered and died, but the fragrance hadn’t faded a bit. So much for feeling like home.

I rocked back in Silvia’s chair to stare at the ceiling. Everywhere else I looked reminded me of Cooper: Silvia’s roses, my orchids, even the chair across from my desk. Just looking at them caused me physical pain. I was trying to stay in the present, but it was next to impossible when my broken heart kept drifting to the past.

I let my eyes wander around her office. A familiar swirl of red caught my attention on top of her cabinet, and I jumped up to grab the crisp new book tucked between two regulatory manuals.
A Lust for Blood
, by Elizabeth Jayne
.

I choked out a strangled laugh. “This one isn’t even out yet.”

“I was going to give that to you today.” Silvia’s voice came from behind me, and I jumped at the sound, spinning around to face her. She looked pale.

I gasped. “Where did you get this?”

Silvia gave me a weak smile. “Oh, you know me. I have my ways.” She stepped into the office and took the book from my trembling hands. “It’s even autographed.” She flipped open the cover to reveal the author’s name scrawled in familiar handwriting.

“Were you ever going to tell me?”

She sighed, closing the book. “It wasn’t my secret to tell.”

I pushed my hair behind my ears. “How long have you known?”

A sad smile played on her lips as her eyes darkened. “I’ve always known. That sort of thing had to be disclosed when he opened his accounts. He was my client first, remember?”

I nodded, about to fall over as I stared blankly at her, almost afraid to let the reality sink in. “And you knew about his family?”

Her expression told me all I needed to know.
Silvia knew everything… all along.

“I also knew fairly soon after you started working here he was falling for you,” she said. “That’s when I decided to assign his accounts to you. I mean, it was obvious… to me, anyway. I think he was as blind as you were for a long time, but I knew you were falling for him.”

I frowned and played with a loose button on my jacket, tugging at the thread until the button came off in my fingers.

Silvia put her hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently. “Katie, take a deep breath and sit down before you fall over.”

“I’m not sure I want to sit down.” I tormented another button on my jacket until it too hung by just a few threads.

“Just sit,” Silvia ordered.

I sat, arms crossed in front of me.

She stared at me for a moment. “It became even more important to him that you not find out what he did for a living. I don’t really understand why. He was embarrassed, of course, and we can’t forget the gag order from his family, but more than that—”

“Gag order? What are you talking about? What gag order?”

“Oh, Katie. You don’t know, do you?” She shook her head. “Cooper’s father was the Consul-General of Atlanta. Even after that, he spent years in high profile diplomatic service. Apparently, Cooper’s parents had a huge problem with their son writing racy romance novels using the family name. They were adamant he keep it a complete secret. He even had it written into his publishing contract. So he couldn’t tell. But I’m pretty sure he was more afraid
you
would be embarrassed… especially after you went on and on about reading his books.”

I went back to playing with the button on my jacket. It came off as well, and I tucked it into a pocket, shoving my hands in to keep from dislodging a third.

Silvia flashed an unconvincing smile. “You know you were never subtle about how obsessed you were with that vampire.”

“So you just let me look like a fool?”

She fell into her chair. “Like I said, it wasn’t my secret to tell. I made him promise
he
would tell you, and I think he was just about to but never had the chance.”

I shook my head. “When I think of how many times he’s heard me, or one of you, say I was obsessed with those damn books. Or that I felt like the writer was peeking into my fantasies. Oh, my god, Silvia! I feel so stupid.” I pulled my hands from my pockets with such force the loose buttons clattered to the floor. I sank my fingers into my hair, pushing it back from my face.

“I’m so sorry, honey. But at least now you know he’s not trying to kill you.”

“You don’t think so? I may die of embarrassment.” I paced in the small space, trying to decide what to feel. Embarrassment was short-lived as anger replaced it. “How could you let me make a fool of myself like that?”

“Oh, Katie, nobody thinks you’re a fool. I know he made a terrible mistake, but can’t you see how much he loves you?”

“How much he loves me? You think he loves me? Why didn’t he love me enough to be honest with me? Do you have any idea how many times I put myself in danger trying to discover his secrets? I almost got shot by his security people!”

She covered her mouth to suppress a laugh.

“Yeah, funny. Did you know
why
I almost got shot?” I didn’t wait for her to respond. “I’ll tell you why. I was snooping around his house—practically naked, by the way—trying to find evidence of him being a murderer. Go ahead. Laugh at that. It’s really
funny
.”

I could see the amusement in her eyes as she started to say something.

I cut her off. “Then, if that wasn’t bad enough, my mother snooped through his house and found
guns
. Did I tell you that? Guns! She even convinced me to eavesdrop on his phone conversations, and believe me when I say, those were some doozies.” I cringed. “I don’t think the average person has an opportunity to talk about killing someone in normal conversation. Then, to make matters worse, I practically accused him of cheating on me with Vivian. So after he had his laugh about being a murderer and a cheater, I gave him something even funnier to write about. I thought he was trying to kill
me
. And you’ll love this… this is the real cake topper. I had him arrested.”

The color drained from her face. “I had no idea,” she whispered. “He said you were angry when you found out, but he didn’t elaborate.”

“This just gets funnier and funnier, doesn’t it, Silvia? It’s not bad enough I manage to embarrass myself
without
help.” I was so angry I couldn’t see straight. Flashes of white light and black spots swam in front of my eyes. “And throughout all of this, you—my only real friend—just watched me getting deeper and deeper into my own personal humiliation while you said nothing—not
one single thing
—to let me know what was going on!” I stopped for a minute to let it all sink in. I was on the verge of tears. Again. “You were supposed to be my friend.”

“Oh, Katie, I am your friend.”

“No, you aren’t. You’re more like my mother all the time.” I pushed past her to escape her office but changed my mind and spun back around. “You know the craziest part about this whole thing? In the end, my
mother
was the only person who actually had my back. You have no idea how difficult that is for me to process.”

She recoiled as if I had slapped her. I didn’t care. I went straight to my office to type out my letter of resignation. I needed to get out of there. Fast. Before I changed my mind.

Without bothering to check for grammar or spelling errors, I printed the letter. Then after scribbling my signature across the bottom, I placed it on Phil’s desk, then headed to the vault. I didn’t want to leave anything behind that would make me have to return. I knew I was running and might even regret it later, but at that moment, I didn’t see any other way.

After opening my safe deposit box, I sat down on the floor with the contents, tucking each item roughly into a bank duffel bag. The numbness I felt Sunday was back with a vengeance. It may have been worse because I was certain I knew the whole truth, and the truth was excruciating.

“Katie,” Cooper whispered.

I swiped at my eyes before turning to look at him. My traitorous stomach flipped. “Oh, lookie here.
Henry
, the Earl of Devonshire. Namer of imaginary cats. Author by day, drinker of blood by night. What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in California with Vivian doing
book
things?”

He stared at his shoes. “I… um… missed my flight.”

I raised my eyebrows.

“I spent the night in jail?”

“Right… jail. I forgot.” I stuffed a folder into my bag. “Did Silvia call you?”

“Please don’t blame her. She feels horrible.”

“Good,” I snapped.

“I begged her not to tell you. She wanted to… so many times.
I
wanted to. I was
going
to. I just wasn’t ready.”

“Well, it’s too late now. I already know everything. Or are there more secrets you haven’t told me?”

He reached out to touch my hair, but I slapped his hand away. “No.” He sighed. “No more secrets. Katie, please.” He slid down the wall to sit on the floor beside me with a dull thud.

I couldn’t stand to hear the sound of my name on his lips. I wiped at the tears spilling from my eyes. “Stop calling me that.” I held one hand out in front of me like a blockade. “I revoke your permission to call me Katie.”

“Please be reasonable.”

I glowered at him. “I’m not the one in trouble here. I’m not the one who lied.”

“I never lied to you. Not even once. I was very careful about that. I just—”

I cut him off. “No, you’re right. You didn’t. You’re a writer. You
edited
. Badly.”

“I wasn’t ready.”

“What does that mean? You didn’t love me enough to trust me with your career, or you’d rather I thought you were a murderer?”

Something flashed in his eyes. “How could you for even
one
minute
think that of me? What have I
ever
done that would lead you down that path?”

“I’m sorry about that, but in the absence of the truth, I was left with nothing but my overactive imagination and a collection of damning pieces to an incomplete puzzle. The simple fact is you didn’t love me enough to trust me with the truth.”

He opened his mouth and hesitated before taking a deep breath. “It’s not like that. I do love you… so much it hurts.”

I flinched. “Don’t even go there.” I felt more tears coming and blinked them back. “I have to get out of here.” I stood and grabbed my bag.

“Don’t go.” He scrambled to his feet. “Please give me a chance to explain.”

“You had your chance. You wasted it.” I turned to leave, but the door seemed to be moving. Then I was sure it was moving; it was closing. “Stop!” I shrieked.

Too late. The door shut with a bang. I dropped my bag and threw myself against the thick steel. It didn’t budge.

“Silvia! Let me out!” The first wave of panic hit me like a bucket of icy water, and I shivered.

“Silvia, this isn’t funny!” Cooper yelled.

“Do you see what you’ve done?” I screamed at him, backing away. “This is all your fault.” Hot tears fell down my face, running over my lips and down my chin.

“Katie—”

“I told you not to call me that!”

“I promise I didn’t ask anyone to lock us in.”

“You wouldn’t have to ask them.” My voice bordered on hysteria. “They’d do it anyway. They all like you better.”