Authors: Tawny Taylor
“You’re not leaving.” He dragged her toward the room he’d just exited,
an
office with an enormous desk, bookcases, couch, a pair of chairs and a sleek fireplace.
“Holding me here against my will is false imprisonment.”
“So, are you going to the police?” He rough-handed her toward the couch. “Sit down.” His face was the shade of a tomato as he glared down at her.
God, this dominating, controlling jerk thing was pissing her off. She crossed her arms and stared straight ahead, at the empty fireplace. “I’d rather stand, thank you. Actually, I’d rather leave but you’re being a bastard.”
“Fine. Stand then.” He rounded the desk and eased into the chair behind it. “I’m going to ask you one simple question, and I expect you to answer it truthfully.”
“Yeah, so, what’s in it for me?”
“That depends,” he said, coolly, resting his elbows on his desk. “I think you’ve got a whole lot more at stake than I do. Are you a gambler?”
At least five seconds ticked past, each one measured by the grandfather clock standing in the room’s corner.
“Fine, what’s the question?”
“I just want to know one thing
…
who the hell are you? I
have
a picture of Elena Caine, and you’re not her.”
Well, fuck. The cat was out of the bag now. How had he discover
ed
her lie? And more importantly, she wondered how many other people knew.
Petrified, she dropped onto her butt on the couch and searched his face. Was he ready to call the police? She wished he was genuinely interested in knowing the answer to the question he’d asked
—
for more personal reasons. Wished he was back to being the concerned guy she’d met the first night. But that guy was long gone.
“I tried to tell you earlier,” she confessed. “In the kitchen. Remember when I told you about the cousin my brother and I had been sent to live with?”
His brows furrowed, he nodded, steepled his fingers under his chin. “Yeah.”
“Well, Elena Caine is
—
was
—
her name. How’d you find out?”
“My father has a private detective on the payroll.”
“Your father needs a private detective on his payroll?”
“Long story. We don’t have much time. I’d rather hear yours.” His voice had softened a little, which was a surprise. She’d pretty much expected him to keep playing the heartless bastard he’d become since this morning.
“Mine’s pretty long too, but I can give you the abbreviated version.
I was born Amy Harris.
Our cousin
, Elena Caine,
died
shortly after my brother and I had been sent to live with her
—
and no, I did not kill her
. And
well…my best friend got rid of
her body
somewhere
—
I didn’t tell her to
—
and
I
took over
Elena
Caine
’s
identity.”
He looked bewildered. She could understand his reaction. “Why
would you do that
?”
She stared blindly at the floor, unable to meet his gaze. “Seems pretty crazy, doesn’t it? Right out of a movie script or crime television show. In fact,
my friend
got the idea from a TV program
and convinced me it was the only way
. I did it for one reason
—
my brother.” She glanced up, afraid of what she’d see.
He encouraged her to continue with a nod. His expression was totally blank,
de
void of all emotion. She had no clue what he was feeling.
“Eddy’s
…
sick. He has been in and out of the hospital for much of his life. The only constant in his life has been me. I was afraid that if he w
ere
put into foster care he’d either be abused, misunderstood, neglected or die.”
“What’s wrong with him?”
“He’s severely bipolar. But at the time of my cousin’s death, we still didn’t have a diagnosis. I was pretty much taking care of him around the clock. Later, I was given legal power of attorney, or rather Elena Caine was. I was forever trapped in my lie. There was no going back. And so I
’
ve carried around this secret for years. Until Matt found out somehow.
He threatened to have me fired.
Without insurance, my brother’s treatment will stop.”
“Maybe Becker stumbled upon the same photograph my father’s detective found.”
Kyler’s gaze dropped to his desk. His expression turned grim. He leaned back in his chair. Finally, he lifted his eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because what I did is against the law, and frankly I didn’t feel I could trust you.
I don’t just go to jail if my lie is discovered. I could live with that. It’s what it would do to my brother…
”
He bit his lower lip. “Yeah.”
The most agonizing silence followed. She felt sick to her stomach, wondering, waiting. What would Kyler do with the truth?
He finally lifted his head and stood. She watched him walk across the room, stop in front of her. He s
crubbed his face with his hands
, then shoved his hand
s
into his pocket
.
“
Your car’s outside. I had it towed here.
Go home, Elena. I’ll figure this out on my own.”
* * * * *
Kyler hit the button, ending the call. Sure enough, at least some of Elena’s story had been confirmed. Tom and Sue Harris had
tragically
died in a car accident, leaving their two children parentless
. In addition, Edward
—
Eddy
—
Harris was a patient at the
Longfellow
Center
in downtown
Ann Arbor
.
Elena had told him the truth
, at least about those things
.
Before he ended the call with the detective, he gave him one more assignment, “Check out Stacy Russell
for me.
Dig deep. Either she’s dirty or she’s being fed some shitty information from somewhere.
I want to know which one it is.
”
* * * * *
Elena must have sat in her car for at least an hour, staring at Kyler’s house. He’d given her her walking papers,
told her she could leave. H
e’d take care of everything.
She should be home now,
preparing. Checking in on her brother. And looking to see how much cash she had in her stash,
getting ready
to pack up and leave town in a hurry
.
But she wasn’t. She couldn’t. Why?
First, because
she wanted to know who had told Kyler she was sleeping with Matt Becker.
That was so far from the truth.
Just the thought of that man touching her made her gag.
As she sat there,
trying to work up the nerve to leave, a million thoughts kept running through her head. Should she go to work on Monday
and plant the evidence
? Or should she just
pack up and leave
town? What exactly was Kyler
thinking
?
Finally, she decided to go back up to the house and ask him. There were too many things hanging in the air for her to know how to plan. She cut off her car’s engine and hurried back up to the front door. Rang the bell. And waited.
Kyler looked so shocked to see her, she
swore
she could’ve
knock
ed
him over with a feather.
“I can’t leave yet,”
she explained, coolly.
“I’m…
surprised.
U
mmm, c
ome in.
”
He raked his fingers through his hair again
as he stepped aside to let her in
.
“
I’ve been thinking this past hour. And, well, e
arlier. When you
…
I
had no right…
Shit,
I’m sorry.
Not that I’m making an excuse, because there are none. No matter what, I have no right to treat you the way I did. But I’
d
hear
d
one thing from you and something different from another person
,
and
I was
having one hell of a time knowing who to believe.”
She could understand that.
She n
odded.
“Who told you I was sleeping with Matt?”
“It doesn’t matter
who said what or who you’re sleeping with. That’s none of my business.
”
Wasn’t his business? That was true, but she still felt like he’d punched her in the gut when he said it.
His gaze dropped to the floor. He shook his head. “I’m so fucked in the head.” When he finally lifted his head again, his
jaw was set
. His expression was so dark, she
didn’t know what to think.
Suddenly, h
e
turned around and
headed toward his office.
She stood in the foyer for a few minutes, not sure whether she should follow him or just
forget it and
head back out to her car. Finally, she decided to
try to get the answers she’d come back for. She stopped at his office door and, leaning on the doorframe, peered in.
“What are you going to do
about Matt blackmailing
me
? I
just
need to know, so I can make plans.”
He was sitting at his desk, his face buried in his hands.
“I’m still trying to figure that out.
”
“
Maybe I should just go
away
. Leave town. Start over somewhere.”
He tipped his head up, looking at her. “Where will you go? What will you do?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know yet. But I might not have a choice. O
nce Matt takes the proof he has about my cousin, I’ll be fired. I wouldn’t put it past him to take the information to the police too
, like he threatened
. He’d do that.”
Silence.
“Not if I give him what he wants first.”
“What do you mean?” She followed Kyler with her eyes as he stood, ran his hands down the front of his creased trousers.
“I
could
quit. It’s a fucking shame. I didn’t want to leave my job. It’s the first thing I’ve accomplished without my father’s help
, and it’s taken me over ten years
to get where I am
. But keeping my pride isn’t worth the price you’d have to pay.”
Did she just hear right? Kyler was willing to give up his job
—
the one that clearly meant more than she had ever guessed
—
for her?
She sat there, stunned, as he called Matt and told him he’d won, the VP position was
as good as
his, but only if he brought the evidence he had
against her
…
all of it
…
to his house by six o’clock tonight.
No one had ever done anything that selfless for her.
“Thank you,” she said.
It
seemed so inadequate but she didn’t know what else to say. She didn’t have the means to pay him back.
He nodded, toyed with the cordless phone. “I want to make another phone call. But I won’t, if you tell me not to.”
“Who’re you going to call?”
“My father. I haven’t asked him for any help in years, but I’d like to see what we can do
for you. T
o keep something like this from coming up again.”
Kyler had already gone above and beyond,
no doubt trying to make
up for his earlier mistreatment. Life had taught her that there was a price to pay for any favors done for her, at least favors that weren’t owed. She never liked to owe anyone.
She shook her head. “I don’t know about that. I’d rather you didn’t.”
“Okay.”
She was relieved when he didn’t push it, try to change her mind. She actually felt the air moving in and out of her lungs freely again. How long had she been holding her breath?
He walked to her, stopped
within reaching distance but
didn’t touch her.
Not a reassuring pat or a squeeze of the hand. Nothing.
“Now go hom
e. Get some rest. I’ll call you
after I’ve ha
d my little talk with Becker. I’ll
let you know how it went.”