Secrets and Lace: A Dark Romance Thriller (Fatal Hearts Series Book 1) (10 page)

“I bet you got a shock.” He snorted. “Can you believe she's the same girl? She's one big mess now.”

“She and her family apparently went through a lot. I think she's doing the best she can.”

“But to let herself go like that. She was so hot back then.”

Larry’s voice made him sound like a man, but beneath it all he was just a teenager, like a boy stuck inside a man’s body. “Have you seen Stacy and Jane since they left town?”

“Funny of you to ask that. You guys were friends, weren’t you?” He scratched his beard as if he had fleas. “Well, I heard Stacy is dead, but her body was never found. She just disappeared from one day to the next.”

“And they just assumed she died?”

“What else could have happened to her? There were all kinds of ridiculous speculations drifting around.”

“Melanie told me about Stacy’s death. I still can’t believe it.” Now that I knew her death was not confirmed, I held out hope that maybe she was alive. I’d heard of stories before where people disappeared from their lives with the intention of never being found. Some went as far as faking their own deaths. But what reasons would she have had for doing that? Could she have been running from something… or someone?

“It doesn't matter anymore.” Larry cut through my thoughts. “Life goes on. Are you sure you don't want to have a drink with me?”

“Maybe some other time. I have a lot to do before I leave tomorrow. And I have to call my fiancé to let him know what time I'll be arriving in Boca Raton.”

“Fiancé.” He cleared his throat. “You're getting married?”

“Yes, I am.” I lifted my left hand. The sparkle of the diamond still made my heart flutter.

“Who's the lucky man?”

“Miles Durant.” I expected he’d know who Miles was.

His jaw dropped. “
The
Miles Durant?”

“You know him?” My heart almost exploded with pride at being the fiancée of one of the most well-known men in America.

“Who doesn’t? How could I not? He's one of the greatest successes of our time.”

I smiled in response. “Larry, thank you so much for coming to say hello. I really have to get going, though.” I paused. “But can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what do you want to know?” The shock of my engagement was still visible on his face.

“Do you know anything else about Stacy? Whether she was married, what she did for a living? I just… she was my friend. It would be nice to know more.”

He rubbed his chin. “She was apparently a wedding dress designer. That’s all I know.”

“Thanks. It's so sad that she… she died.”

“You can say that again.” Larry sighed with defeat. “Okay, I’ll let you go... future Mrs. Miles Durant.”

“It was nice talking to you, Larry. See you again sometime.” I bet he wished now that he had given me a real chance in high school.

“Sure thing. See you soon, and congratulations again.” He gave me an awkward hug.

After he walked away, it took me a while to start the car and leave. I couldn’t stop thinking about Stacy’s disappearance. The news had alarm bells ringing inside my head.

Chapter Eighteen

A black Rolls-Royce was parked in front of my mom’s house. More surprising was the man leaning against it, peering at his phone.

Owen? What in the world was he doing in Misty Cove? And if he was here, where was Miles? Something in the pit of my stomach turned and twisted. My gut told me Miles was with him. Owen would not come by himself, unless of course he had lied, and he was, in fact, my stalker.

Holding my breath, I slowed down behind the car and parked. Owen glanced up from his phone and gave me a fake smile. Of course he wasn’t happy to see me. Not after I had accused him of being a stalker. We had not seen each other since the night I tried to go through his phone.

After everything I had found out since coming to Misty Cove, especially Stacy’s disappearance, I was pretty sure Owen was innocent. The person who was chasing after me had to be connected to my past. I was sure of it. There was more to what was happening to me, and it wasn't pretty.

I climbed out of the car feeling as if my legs were detached from my body.

“We meet again.” Owen said. “What a pretty little town you come from.”

“Owen, what are you doing here?” I looked up at the house. “Is Miles with you?”

“Yes, we had a couple of things to talk about. When he mentioned he was taking the jet to come and see you, I thought it would be a good idea to join him... to catch up, you know.”

Dread sliced through me. If Miles was in town, it meant he was on the jet when we talked earlier. Misty Cove was the trip he had been talking about. Why hadn’t he told me?

To calm myself down, I decided maybe he was in town to surprise me. But what I couldn't understand was, why today? Why didn't he come tomorrow, so he could take me back to Boca Raton with him? Or was he spending the night in Misty Cove? My mind was already bursting with unanswered questions.

“Is everything okay?” I asked Owen. “He didn't mention he was coming.”

“Sorry, I can’t help you. Miles wouldn’t say a word to me about why he dragged us here. But be prepared: He doesn't seem to be in the best of moods.” Owen dropped his phone in his pocket. “If you want answers, talk to him. Frankly, I'm not up to discussing anything with you. You seem to enjoy throwing accusations around. Yes, I did a little research on you, but it was due diligence. Calling me a stalker was going too far.”

“Can you blame me? You don’t like me; that’s no secret.”

“I'm pretty sure those words never came out of my mouth.”

I rubbed my brow, releasing the tension there. “You don’t need to put it in words.”

“Miles is my friend. I’ve known him longer than he’s known you. I want what's best for him, and I just don't think you two are meant to be together.” He shrugged. “But, hell, what do I know? That's for you to decide. But something is bothering Miles. If I didn’t know better, I’d think there’s a little trouble in paradise.”

Although I had wanted to prepare myself before entering the house, I had no choice but to face Miles head-on. I would get no answers from Owen.

I was nervous knowing Miles was here. People liked to talk. What if someone mentioned something to him about my past? My heart thudded when I thought about my mom. Hopefully she hadn't said anything to him. Whatever he was doing Misty Cove, I had to find a way to keep him from coming into contact with anyone else.

Owen took a step toward the gate, and I followed him. As we walked down the path, my stomach churned.

The door opened before we reached it.

Miles burst out, his face a mask of rage. I had never seen him so angry before. My mom was nowhere to be seen.

“Looks like you two need to talk.” Owen pushed past him. “I think I'm going to finish those ginger cookies.”

“Miles, what are you doing here? Is everything all right?”

Miles shut the door behind him and took my hand, his fingers like a clutch around mine. It was a little painful. What was going on? Why was he so angry? Did he know something?

When we reached the car, he yanked the passenger’s door open and slammed it shut again once I was settled inside.

He went to the other side and climbed in beside me. “You tell me, Chloe. I'm here because I want answers. What the fuck is going on?”

My mouth turned dry. “What do you mean? What answers are you looking for?”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope, the stalker envelope. “I'm talking about this.” He waved the envelope between us, holding it as if it were some kind of poisonous thing. “I found it yesterday, in the mailbox. The card, the piece of lace, they’re all there.”

I reached for the offending envelope and brought it to my chest, wanting to get it as far away from him as possible. The thought of my past and future merging terrified me. No place was safe for me anymore. Not Boca Raton, and definitely not Misty Cove. Here I was, thinking the stalker hadn’t sent me a card yesterday.

My blood ran cold. By sending the card to our house, the stalker had made it clear they were trying to reach out to Miles as well, trying to destroy my relationship and everything that meant something to me. How far was this person willing to go? How long until Miles knew what I’d done?

“Did you get another one of those today? Or will I find it sent to our home?”

“I… I…” I stuttered. I knew I should be honest, tell him I found another one on my windshield, but he looked so angry, so different from the man I knew.

“I asked you a question, Chloe.” His sharp voice sliced through me. His eyes were frosty.

“No.” I dropped my gaze, hoping he didn't already see the truth hidden in my eyes. Lying was the one way for me to save our relationship, even though the guilt made my stomach hurt. “Maybe this is the last card.”

“What if it's not? What if your stalker somehow manages to find out where you are and sends you another one before today is over?” He raked a hand through his hair. “I just don't get it. Why the fuck is this person sending you these cards? What did you do, Chloe? What are you not telling me?”

“Nothing.” My eyes welled with tears as I looked down at the card. “Like you said... maybe it's someone who’s angry about a story we published in
Sage
.”
Please, Miles, don’t read too much into this.

“You know what? The more I think about it, I have a feeling there's more to this than somebody pissed off about an article in
Sage
.” His brow knitted. “There's something I don't understand. Why are you here... in Misty Cove? You told me you had something to sort out. What is it?”

The lie came easy. “I just wanted to come and talk to my mom. I've been thinking about inviting her to the wedding for a while. After all these years it was important that we talk in person.” I drew in a long breath, held it, then released. “I didn’t tell you because I thought you might try to talk me out of it. I told you some bad things about her.”

“I have to say I was surprised. You wanted nothing to do with her for a long time.”

“I know. It's just that the wedding planners have been asking me for a while if my mom was coming. I couldn't bring myself to say no without at least talking to her.” I glanced at the house. “I'm glad I came. I wouldn't have known she was sick.”

“Then I'm glad you came too. I thought your visit had something to do with the cards.” He shook his head and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “When you come back, we have to go to the cops.”

Panic tightened my throat. “I don’t think we need to get the cops involved.”

“What are you so afraid of? This is a crime. Someone is trying to hurt you. Why are you so against going to the police?” He leaned forward with each word until his breath and his suspicions were hitting my face. What did he suspect?

“I’m not.” My chest rose and fell with rapid breaths.

“Good. If you get another card, I will personally take you to the cops myself. If you hadn’t been so against it, we could have gotten them involved already.”

“I didn’t want to make it a big deal, since we had suspected it was a simple prank.”

“Someone sending you blood is not a damn prank. They could be dangerous.” He closed the space between us. His face was so close to mine that his anger burned my skin. Rage exploded in his eyes. “I'm trying to protect you. If there's anything you’re keeping from me, I want to know. I need to know the truth, so I can come up with a plan. What is it, Chloe? What are you hiding? I know there is something going on that you're not telling me. Who do you think this person is? We both know it isn’t Owen.”

“I’m not hiding anything from you.”

He looked at me for a long time, his lips pressed together. “I can't shake the feeling that you're lying to me.” He leaned back, a vein throbbing on the side of his neck. “I came here today because I wanted to look you in the eye, to search for the truth. I don't think I'm leaving with it.”

I reached out my hand and grasped his. “I'm sorry you feel that way. I don't know what to tell you.” I swallowed my tears. “Please, let's forget about this and move on. Let's get excited about our wedding again.”

“You understand why it's hard for me to move on, right? You are my fiancée, my future wife. If you’re in danger, I want to be involved. It's my job to protect you if I can.”

“Yes, I do. And I love you for it. I don't think there's anything more to worry about.”

I wished I could close my eyes and open them again to find it had all been a bad dream. That I wasn’t in any kind of danger, and there were no shadows chasing me.

Miles reached for me and held me so tight I felt his heart beating against mine. He kissed the top of my head and then moved his lips to mine, brushing them lightly. “I never want anything to happen to you, you hear me? I'm here if you ever need me. You can tell me anything.”

“I know.” I kissed him, enjoying the comforting feel of his lips. Then I leaned back and met his eyes. Most of the anger had melted away, leaving only traces.

“In any case, when you come back to Boca Raton, I want to hire a bodyguard for you, somebody to watch you to make sure you're safe. Just until we’re sure you’re not in danger.” His expression softened even more. “We could also hire a private detective to look into it. Maybe they'll find something.”

“No, that’s not necessary.” Panic swirled in my stomach. A private detective would be a bad idea. They would dig up my past and find out the truth in no time. Miles would know everything about me. “I want us to move on with our lives.”

“Fine, if that's what you want.” A shadow passed across his features and he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Are you okay, baby?”

“I'm exhausted. The merger is proving to be a little more complicated than I anticipated.” He leaned in and kissed my forehead. “I need to get back to the office. Do you want to stay, or are you coming back with us?”

 Relief rushed through me. I couldn’t let it show. “You’re going back already? I thought you were staying a while.”

“I wish I could, but I have a lot of meetings to take care of.”