Save Me If You Can (18 page)

“No,” Inez said, after a deep breath. “It’s not about taking away his choice, it’s about taking the
pressure
off of me. I want to be able to make a decision about leaving on my own. And if I’m rushing, because I think he’s waiting on me… that might influence what I decide, and if that influences me, and I regret it later, what is… what if I blame him? Resent him for it? That’s not fair either, is it?”

Naomi pushed out a breath through her nose, then shook her head. “No… I guess it’s not. It doesn’t sound like an easy decision to make, but you’re absolutely right – whatever you decide, it needs to be best for
you
, so you can feel good about it. But I do think you should
talk
to him. Tell him your fears, and your concerns… I think he’ll understand.”

Inez’s shoulders drooped. “I don’t know, Mimi. I—” Inez stopped speaking as her phone rang, and she fished it from her pocket to look at the screen.

While she took her phone call, Naomi finished getting dressed and then checked the time. Ten minutes until class.

“That was Barnes,” Inez said, stowing the phone back in her pocket. “He caught a lead on Noelle, wants me to go in as backup. You think you’re good here by yourself?”

Naomi rolled her eyes, trying to pretend her heart hadn’t started racing at the mention of Noelle. “Is
that
why you’re here? To watch me?”

Inez shrugged, then playfully smacked Naomi on the butt as she passed. “I’m gonna use your back entrance, and remember that Quentin is here in the office if you need him.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it.”

Inez left the bathroom, and Naomi did as well, waving to Quentin as she exited the office. He was so engrossed in the airplane schematics that he barely looked up, but Naomi kept going, heading for her classroom.

The door was already open for students who’d arrived a little early, and she smiled as their excited chatter reached her ears. They seemed particularly lively today, from their shouts and giggles, and Naomi’s smile grew a little bigger. That was
exactly
the energy she needed around her, and she walked a little faster to reach the door.

Her smile died on her lips.

Her sweet little baby ballerinas were gathered in the middle of the room, with many of their parents smiling from the side. They were bouncing around, excited about the woman kneeling among them, a woman with flawless dark skin and thick natural hair, resting regally around her shoulders.

Naomi’s breath caught in her throat, making her eyes water as the woman looked up, smiling when she met Naomi’s eyes.

“Ah, here she is,” the woman said, and a chill ran down Naomi’s spine as a voice she hadn’t heard in many years washed over her, making her feel like she’d been doused with ice. Naomi swallowed hard as her gaze flicked to the parents, then to the kids, and then finally, back to the unwelcome guest as she stood.

“Hello, mother. What on earth are you doing here?”

&

Harrison was quiet as they sped toward the hangar.

He
had
to be, lest he spew out the rage that currently swam in his head and heart. King was on the phone anyway, barking orders to people, and Harrison knew he should be listening, but instead, he had to stay focused on controlling that rage.

Control

It was
all
about control.

Control had kept him calm on the drive away from the house, then Terry had put that gun to his head. Harrison had sworn up and down – on his mother’s grave – that he had no idea what had happened, because he didn’t. He had his suspicions, but nothing concrete, so it was the absolute truth when he said he had nothing to do with it. Something about that must have resonated with Terry, because he’d finally taken his knee out of Harrison’s chest, and they climbed into the seats for the rush to the airfield.

Once there, they’d climbed out of the vehicle they were in to board another, and Harrison recognized that move. A diversionary tactic, on the off chance that the vehicle was being tracked. It was a smart move for a reactionary man like King, but Harrison wasn’t exactly surprised by the forethought. He was, however, surprised at the site of Savi.

King had mentioned needing to take care of something, but the sight of Savi in the back of that car had thrown him completely off. Why was she there? Was she a captive? Was she being used against him? Would she be harmed? All of those questions had rushed into his mind at once, making him wonder if one of his worst fears was about to be realized. But then King had put her out of the car. He’d touched her too, which made Harrison want to rip him in half, but more importantly, he’d let her go, and he’d caught a glimpse of Kendall in the car she’d climbed into.

So hopefully she was safe. Hopefully she’d be just fine, and her being harmed wasn’t something he would have to live with. But the anger he felt… the anger he’d felt for the last seventeen years, since his mother had died… that was still boiling, and growing hotter with every second he spent in Terry King’s presence.

They reached the hangar and climbed out of the car, but Terry kept glancing back at Harrison, with a look that was almost suspicious as they walked toward the jet.

“Hold up,” he said, raising a hand to stop their trek. Harrison swallowed hard, but kept his face blank as the older man came to stand in front of him. “This is as far as you go, my man.”

A prickled of panic ran down Harrison’s spine. “Why is that?”

“Because I’m not stupid. And something isn’t right about this. I don’t fucking trust you.”

Harrison shrugged. “You shouldn’t. At least, if there’s ever a time the money doesn’t clear. As long as I get paid, you have nothing to worry about from me.”

Terry chuckled. “Yeah, that sounds good, and all, but… nah, something is up here. I
know
you, from somewhere. Who are your people?”

“I don’t have any people.”

“You came from
somewhere,
” Terry snapped. “Your mother’s people, then. You swore on her grave. Who was she? What was her name?”

“Yvette Cole.” Harrison caught the exact moment that his mother’s name triggered something for King, snagging on the edge of a memory. The older man’s eyes went wide in recognition, and Harrison slowly bobbed his head. “Yeah. You remember, don’t you? Or… you might remember her by another name… Yvette… Wolfe.”

“Damien’s baby sister.” Those words left King’s lips in barely above a whisper as he narrowed his eyes. “You’re… Yvette’s son.”

“
Your son!
” Harrison bellowed, closing the distance between him and Terry. “The baby you gave her and then threw us away like neither of us were shit, just like you did with Renata and her mother. But you reached out for Renata. Why? Why her, and not me?”

“Because it’s
not
just alike.” Terry’s words held distinct venom as he smirked in Harrison’s face. “Whatever happened between us later, Renata was conceived in love, with my former wife. Your mother though? Yvette? I fucked her just because she was available, and because Damien thought I wouldn’t. I didn’t even know the little bitch was pregnant until Damien had already relocated her, and was crying about how she wouldn’t tell him who had done it.”

“She was a
kid
. Sixteen years old. Your ass was grown!”

Terry smirked. “You know what… you’re right. Is that where your uncle got it from, huh? Is that why he chose
that
age to do what he did to my daughter? Your
sister
, right? You’ve been working for that motherfucker all these years, I hope you’re gonna get some vengeance on Renata’s behalf too, right?”

“Don’t you act like you care about Ren,” Harrison said, his voice low, suddenly filled with a chilling calm. “I’ve protected her, even from Wolfe, more than you
ever
have. But yeah… I
do
plan on getting some vengeance on her behalf too. Both of you motherfuckers… if it weren’t for
your
choices, my mother wouldn’t have been wrapped up in this. She was trying so hard to not be in this life. We
struggled
, she worked shitty jobs to take care of me, so she wouldn’t have to take any of Wolfe’s money. She got sick and died because of you, working with those chemicals in those old houses, breathing in God knows what. And I found the email she sent you, asking for medicine. Your company had a drug that would have helped, but she couldn’t afford it. She didn’t even mention me, didn’t ask you to be a father, didn’t ask you for money, none of that. Just the medicine, so she could help herself. And what was your reply?”

King dropped his gaze, and Harrison shoved him, hard, forcing him to take a backwards step.

“
What was your reply
?!”

“I told her not to contact me again.”

“And she died a few months later,” Harrison said, swallowing the lump in his throat, and blinking back the tears stinging his eyes. With his hands still in his pockets, he slid out the sharp, slender blade that had been concealed in the lining of his pants. “So it’s your turn now.”

He lunged at Terry with the blade between his fingers, aiming for his chest. Adrenaline rushed through him as he made contact as pushed the blade in deep, ignoring the loud crack of a gunshot, and the subsequent pain that rushed through his side. He pulled the blade out and aimed it again, but his aim was off now, and he suddenly felt dizzy. The weapon fell uselessly from his hands as he dropped to the ground, with Terry gasping in pain as he stood over him.

“Nah,” Terry said, his voice shaking with rage and pain. “It’s
your
turn. Tell the bitch I didn’t say hello.”

Through hazy, half-lidded eyes, Harrison watched as the barrel of a gun swam into his line of sight. He wasn’t even disappointed that he’d failed at his goal, because it had always been a long shot. Hell… this was further than he’d even imagined he’d get.

His only regret was that he hadn’t been able to tell Savi goodbye.

&

Steady.

Steady.

Steady.

As soon as they stepped out of the vehicle, Savi had them in her line of sight. She was beyond grateful – more like relieved – that she’d thought to tell Kendall to put her rifle in the car. Her stomach was still churning from how fast they’d gone to make it to that back road to the hangar, then sneak their way past the security to get to where they were now.

Kendall was hidden behind an air conditioning unit near the stairs, with his weapon aimed and waiting for anyone who might venture up to the roof. Savi was on the other side, watching Terry and Harrison through the scope of her rifle as they stopped to talk.

Looking back and forth between the two men, she
still
couldn’t believe her eyes.

It wasn’t that they looked exactly alike, because they definitely
didn’t
. But there was a similarity there, in the structure of the brow, and jaw, and the shape of the eyes… a similarity in the confidence they carried that Savi couldn’t believe she hadn’t immediately picked up.

Or maybe she had.

That night at the restaurant, something about King had seemed eerily familiar. Then, she’d chalked it up to him being related to Renata, but now she realized it wasn’t that at all. It was because of the relation to the man she loved.

And no wonder Harrison had been so upset, so
disgusted
by the thought of her with Terry King. If this man was his father, and also responsible for the death of his mother, well… Savi could understand that reaction as much more than macho jealousy now.

His reaction that night wasn’t even the only thing that suddenly made sense. His vendetta, his insistence that Savi not be involved, his easy relationship with Taylor and Renata… his
niece and his sister
, the same ones he rarely spoke about, but had mentioned the first night they met.

You’re lucky I have a sister and a niece to protect
.

That’s what he’d said to her, when she had turned his own gun against him. And she’d watched him, over the last few weeks, the way he joked with and teased Renata, and it had never occurred to her that…
wow.
When she really thought about it… Harrison and Renata
did
kind of favor each other… this was crazy!

But right now, there was a much more pressing thing to consider. Through her scope, Terry and Harrison were arguing now, and it was getting heated… what the hell was about to happen?

Savi’s finger flew to the trigger when Harrison suddenly shoved King, and she fought to keep King aimed in her sights. But they kept moving, wouldn’t give her a clear shot, and then…
shit
, Harrison lunged at him, and the loud crack of a gunshot ripped through the air. A sob clogged Savi’s throat as she watched Harrison slump to the ground, with red stain spreading rapidly over his side. She blinked back tears, moved her fingers back to the trigger, as King stood shakily over Harrison, and then lifted a gun. She aimed right for his head.