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I shook my head. “I want to hear.”
“Okay. Matt, go ahead, man.”
“And Jackson is…?”
“Sleeping,” I answered. “It’s fine. But thank you for asking.”
I went to the couch and set the dirty rag on the small end table. I could finish cleaning later. Chase crossed the room and sat down beside me.
“As you both know, the FBI was on Henry’s ass for some questions regarding his permit acquisition process in Stallion Bay. The mayor there was against the resort’s development and led the majority of the town in fighting Henry’s company from getting access to build. However, a few months before they would be forced to move on to another town, the mayor died, supposedly of a heart attack. But it wasn’t. New reports show that he was drugged and that the heart attack resulted from that medication being fed to him over time. Henry wasn’t the one who gave the mayor the drug but had connections to the man who did.
“Then, in another town, Holiday Cove, his mistress Talia was killed in a plane crash. At first, everyone was blaming the pilot, a decorated Navy airman, Aaron Rosen. However, that wasn’t the case either. It looks as though Henry’s men were behind that as well.”
“Damn,” Chase breathed.
I sat in silent shock. Who had I married?
Matt continued, “There were a few other questionable things, less violent, but among them was blackmail scams to get permits, embezzling from his own stock holders, and harassment cases that were all swept under the rug in order to keep his juggernaut company running. None of it could be pinned directly on Henry as it was all circumstantial. Similar to what you, Melissa, were experiencing. A very real threat but without anything that would hold up in court.”
“So, what changed?” Chase asked.
“The FBI set up that navy man Rosen in a sting operation to see if Henry would bully him and maybe they could get him on something that would enable them to get a warrant. Things went downhill from there. Henry found out the guy was wired, apparently they’d tried this trick already and went berserk. The FBI rushed in to save Rosen and Henry pulled a gun. When he refused to stand down, he was shot.”
“Oh, God!” I covered my mouth, new tears forming in my eyes. It was such a nightmare. So many people had been hurt or killed all because of Henry’s greed and ambitions.
Possibly the most tragic loss was that of Henry’s own humanity. It had been burned away in the same blaze that swept over everything else around him.
41
Melissa
My eyes felt too heavy to open. I didn’t want to be awake. I didn’t want to cry—or feel—or anything. When I was awake, all I could do was think about Henry lying dead in a morgue somewhere and by the end of the day, I’d be forced to break my son’s heart with the news that would change his life forever.
I didn’t even remember falling asleep. Chase and I had spoken with Matt for about half an hour and then I cleaned up my mess thoroughly. We stayed up talking for a little while after that. I remembered getting into bed beside Jackson and wanting to hug him tight against me and never let go. Instead, I let him sleep, and rolled to my back and stared blankly at the ceiling as tears rolled down my temples until the pillow was so wet I threw it off the side of the bed and rolled to my side.
Apparently, I’d nodded off at some point because dawn was breaking outside the window. Jackson was snoring his little baby snore beside me. I brushed a kiss against his forehead and then quietly rose out of bed. I tiptoed into the hall and perked at the smell of coffee. Chase was already awake. I drew in a breath and went out to the kitchen. He was standing at the sink, rinsing his hands, and beside him, a fresh carafe of coffee was steaming.
“Morning,” I said softly.
Chase spun around. “Oh, hey. I didn’t wake you, did I?”
I shook my head. “No. I couldn’t sleep anymore.”
Chase looked pained at my answer. “Did you sleep at all?”
I shook my head. “No. Not really.”
He crossed over and took me in his arms, holding me tightly for a moment. He kissed me briefly and then asked, “Do you want anything for breakfast?”
My stomach was in a weird limbo between hunger pangs and nausea. I wasn’t sure which way to lean so I shook my head. “No. Thank you, though.” I stepped out of his arms and went to sit at the dining table. I wrapped my arms around myself and watched as he went back to work making himself a simple breakfast.
“Of course.” Chase went back to the counter and poured himself a cup of coffee. He added a splash of cream from the silver tin we kept in the fridge and then came to join me at the table. He laid his hand on mine and I reveled in the warmth of his skin from holding the mug of coffee. “How are you feeling?”
