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“No. I wasn’t exactly waving good-bye as they drove away.”
He thought about it, trying to tamp down his fear that something could be wrong. His equipment was in his car. He could try and use it to track her down by her cell phone signal. If it was on. He wouldn’t put it past her to have actually listened to him this one time and turned it off to stop him from locating her.
He started for the front door again, only to have Claire put her hand on his arm. “Wait. Just for a second, Travis. I don’t like that light that’s come into your eyes. Not just concern for your client, but almost like…you care. Tell me that you’re not developing feelings for the terrorizing queen bee?”
It wasn’t any of her damn business, was what he wanted to say. But considering the news he had to share with her about Rick, he might want to tread a little more carefully. “What I do and don’t feel for her isn’t relevant here. If she’s in danger, if anyone’s in danger, I need to look out for them. I don’t care who she is.”
But Claire was shaking her head. “Nice try. I had my suspicions this morning, watching the little dance you two did. But I talked myself out of it because it was absurd. This is Meredith we’re talking about. The girl who humiliated you far too many times in high school, who crushed you, and as I’ve heard it, many other people. Allie one of them. And her track record hasn’t improved much since. Did you know that she has already gone through three husbands? Three. She uses men and discards them.”
“You don’t know anything about her, Claire. She’s trusted the wrong people. Something that I think we can all say we’ve done at one time or another.”
“What the heck does that mean? Are you saying that I’ve trusted the wrong person? Don’t even start on me about Rick again, Travis, or I will whip your ass.”
“Just answer me one thing. Why is it that in the…six months, is it? Why, in the past six months since agreeing to marry Rick, haven’t you set a date? Don’t give me this story that you’re waiting for me to be around. That’s bullshit. I’ll tell you what it is. You know, deep down, that there’s something off about the guy. That he’s all spit and polish but underneath he’s total shit.”
She bunched her hand in to a fist and punched him in the arm. Damn. She had quite the punch; he rubbed his hand over the spot. “Don’t try and psychoanalyze me, little brother. This isn’t about me.”
He sighed. This wasn’t the way he’d wanted to share this information, but it couldn’t be helped. “I know you asked me not to, but I had Jace run a background check on Rick. A thorough check, digging through all his holdings and this so-called restaurant supply business of his. It’s all a farce, Claire. A front. A shell company for what he’s really doing. Laundering money for an organization that makes these guys who took Darcy look like Girl Scouts.”
“I don’t believe it,” she said stubbornly, but he could see the shock behind her eyes.
He told her the limited information he had about Rick, the fact that he’d taken off to LA last night because a shipment came in that he had to help disburse. “The worst thing is that he’s not only been in bed with this scum, but it looks like he’s also double-crossed them. Jace is certain he’s skimmed close to fifteen million dollars, and it’s going to come to light and the shit will hit the fan. You don’t want to be caught in the crosshairs when they come for him.”
She opened her mouth to say something and snapped it shut. “So, what, you think that I’m going to thank you? Thank you for interfering in my life when I specifically asked you to leave it alone? Well. Take a little of your own medicine, Travis. Meredith is bad news. She’s only going to use you until she doesn’t need anything, then she’ll rip your heart out and not give you a second glance. That’s what she does. She uses. She’s selfish and a downright horrible person. She hasn’t changed, no matter how much you might want to believe she has. Now, are you giving me a ride home or do I need to call a cab, too?”
Everything she’d just said echoed his own thoughts, and he couldn’t call her on it. Instead, he nodded. “Let’s go.”
They didn’t speak in the car, both too drained to have another argument, but when she got out, she stopped for a moment. “I’m still crazy pissed off at you for going behind my back, but…I know your heart was in the right place because you love me. Hopefully you can see that my advice was from the heart, too. And be careful.”
He nodded. “I know. I will. But you, too, okay?”
He watched her go, her shoulders sunk and her usual light step heavy. He hadn’t wanted to be right. He only wanted her to be happy. When this was all over, he owed her. A trip, a new car, whatever she wanted.
For now, though, he pulled out his equipment and started a trace on Meredith’s cell. It took a few minutes until he found her. Putting the car in drive, he peeled out.
…
Meredith had only been home for ten minutes, sitting at the table staring at the maps left behind, when the front door slammed shut.
“Where the hell have you been?” Travis barked as he marched into the kitchen. His gaze settled on the shopping bags on the floor and hanging from the back of her chair. “Have you been…shopping?” he almost choked out.
“Really? That’s what you’re going to start with? After taking off and leaving me here humiliated like that, everyone knowing you ducked out? You have the nerve to attack me?”
He took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. She snorted. Please. She wasn’t the only one testing people’s patience around here.
More calmly, he continued. “I have the nerve to demand where you’ve been because I can’t have you taking foolhardy risks, especially if you’re not telling anyone where you are going. These people aren’t messing around. They already killed Lance.”
She fought the urge to pick up her apple and fling it at him. So high-handed.
Instead, she hoped sarcasm was more effective. “First of all, your sister and her friend are not my babysitters, and I am not under any obligation to tell them where I may or may not be going. Last I checked I was still a competent adult quite capable of making my own decisions. Second, retrieving Darcy’s car from the impound lot and picking up some things at the store for tonight hardly seemed dangerous enough to require I check in with the girl brigade. And last—I wouldn’t have had to go out on my own, taking these so-called risks, if you hadn’t left me behind.”
He raised his brows, not looking the least chastised. Instead, he rested his hands on the back of a kitchen chair and leaned over it. “I left without you because I didn’t know what I was going to find when I arrived at Lance’s, and I wasn’t going to put you further at risk until I knew. I’m not going to apologize for it.”
Jeez, the man was stubborn. Well, so was she. “And that’s the only reaso
n you took off like that. It didn’t have anything to do with the fact you and I slept together?”
He flexed his jaw as if he was debating something. Finally, he pulled the chair out and sat across the table from her. “Look, Mer. About that.” His tone was apologetic. “You’re going through a lot right now. You’re feeling vulnerable.” She sighed and rolled her eyes. She wasn’t some whimpering little flower that would fall apart, as he should already know, which from the light in his eyes he was probably realizing. But he continued, “And if I’d been in my right mind, I would have left you alone. But around you, I’m anything but in my right mind.”
