Indivisible Line (25 page)

Yeah, he was scared. Their night together had been too good to be true—it was unexpected and a big mistake. Why had he let it happen? Greg knew the answer. She had asked, and he couldn’t resist giving her what she wanted. He’d wanted it, too.

With an exasperated sigh, he looked around the small room. A calendar with an autumn scene hung on the wall next to an imposing wall clock that made relentless ticking sounds. A tiny window provided entry for the blaring horns of morning rush-hour traffic. The stale scent of sweat hung in the air as a reminder of the numerous people who had waited in this office before him.
 

Sitting next to him was Tony Anton, his lawyer. They’ve been called in to answer a few questions about Cade McPherson. The bastard had been nabbed late the night before at an Amtrak station on his way to Arizona.

The door creaked opened, and Detective Ramirez walked in with a manila folder tucked under his arm. He gave a quick nod to Tony and smirked at the sight of Greg.

“Thanks for coming in on such short notice.” He sat down and proceeded to open the folder, spreading the contents across the table.

“You’re welcome.” Tony smiled. “So what are we looking at?”

Greg remained stone-faced when Detective Ramirez glanced up and focused on him. “First of all, I can’t say I’m glad to see you here again so soon, but at least, the circumstances are—”

“Just get to the point, Detective, will you?” Greg snapped. Short-fused and not in a good frame of mind, small talk wasn’t up his alley at the moment. This turn of events had messed up his plans. Even with Simon’s urging to drop it, Greg ached for revenge.
 

Ramirez looked at him with contempt. “You know, I’m curious why you didn’t inform us of Mr. McPherson’s attempt on your life.”

“I’m just trying to move on,” Greg responded. He leveled a steady gaze at Ramirez, hoping the detective wouldn’t see right through him.

“Hmm . . . if I didn’t know any better, I’d believe you had other things in mind.” It was a simple statement, but Greg could tell the officer was fishing for information. No way would he fall for such amateurish coaxing.

“If you called me in here just to tell me that, you could have called and saved me the trip.” Greg leaned forward and eyed the pictures on the desk.

Ramirez was quick to follow his gaze. “If it weren’t for your mother, we wouldn’t have any idea that an incident had happened at all. I’m amazed how easy to manipulate some of our law enforcement agencies are.” The detective shook his head and watched Greg for any signs of guilt, but Greg kept his mouth shut. He wasn’t planning to divulge the lengths he’d gone to in order to keep all pertinent information on the down-low.

Ramirez tacked on. “Although the crime happened in Alaska, you and Mr. McPherson are residents of this city, you can file a formal complaint. If you choose not to, we’ll proceed with the complaint your mother filed.”

Greg seethed in silence. He wasn’t sure whether to be grateful to or upset with his mother for ruining his one chance for revenge. “What type of complaint did she file?” Deep down, he felt a small measure of relief wash over him. The mere fact that his mother wasn’t involved with Cade had given him hope and a little more faith in her.

“Attempted murder . . . and she’s naming your wife as a co-conspirator.” Detective Ramirez leaned forward, watching him like he was waiting for Greg to explode.

“I’d like to speak to my client in private. Could you give us a moment?” Tony spoke at the perfect moment—Greg couldn’t have picked a better time. He needed to regroup.

Ramirez nodded and stood. “I’ll be waiting outside.”

Greg rose from his chair, dying to stretch his aching legs. The muscle spasms were rare nowadays, but stress and fatigue seemed to trigger his attacks, so it was wise to listen to his body’s warning signs.

“Greg, is there a reason to believe your wife is involved?” Tony stood, too, but instead of watching Greg, the lawyer walked over to the window and gazed outside.

Greg hadn’t expected this to happen. He had to act fast before it was too late. “I think there’s a chance she might be involved.”

Tony turned around, leaned on the windowsill, and crossed his arms, deep in thought. After a few minutes, he spoke. “Would you rather proceed with your mother’s complaint, or do you want to file a petition to supersede it? Either way, you must appear in court for this. Since Cade has already been taken into custody, he’ll have to put up bail, and he won’t be able to leave the city.”

Greg toyed with the idea in his head. His new plan was quite daring and downright stupid, but it was doable. Then there were Simon’s words running through his head:
Don’t do it, Greg. You’re better off washing your hands of these people.
 

“Let’s file a formal complaint against Cade.”

“And what about your wife?” Tony coughed to clear his throat.

Greg laughed. “I had to remind myself you’re not my divorce attorney. Let’s leave her out of it for now. You can call Ramirez back in here. I bet the guy is salivating over the shot at such a high-profile case.” Glancing at the scattered pictures on top of the folder, he smirked. Perhaps he should send some thank-you flowers to his mother one of these days. Greg went back to the aging chair and sat down to wait.

Tony chuckled before opening the door. He stuck his head out. “Detective Ramirez?”

Ramirez walked in after a few minutes, carrying a cup of coffee. “So, has your client made up his mind?”

“Mr. Andrews will file a formal complaint against Mr. McPherson,” Tony stated, pulling a notepad from his briefcase.

Detective Ramirez cocked an eyebrow. “And?”

“That’s it. If there’s anything else you need, call Tony.” Greg rose from his chair. “I’m sure we’re done here. If you’ll excuse me, I have some important matters to attend to.” He gave Ramirez and Tony a curt nod and left the stifling room.

As soon as he’d walked out the door, he spotted Simon waiting in the lobby, looking quite uncomfortable around the questionable characters surrounding him.

“Everything all right?” Simon stood, giving Greg a thorough look-over.

Greg nodded. He racked his brain for a Plan B. Fishing out his cell phone from his pocket, he dialed Cassandra’s number. After three rings, she picked up, and Greg felt the immediate urge to clamp his hands around her neck.

Not yet.

“Hey, Cassie, can you meet me at Café Bevier tonight?” He used his sweetest tone, a weapon guaranteed to render his
wife
helpless.
 

Simon threw him a questioning glance, but he waved him off.

Greg suppressed the urge to throw up when Cassandra purred a quick assent.
Perfect
, he thought. Plan B might work after all. Cade might have been out of reach, but Cassandra was well within his grasp. Greg would be a fool to let her off the hook easily.

Sarah heard Greg’s voice in the hallway when she stepped off the treadmill. She grabbed the towel from the rack and wiped the sweat off her face and neck. Strengthening her back had been a slow and painful process, but the daily exercises Dr. Darnell had given her were proving beneficial.

She walked across the well-equipped home gym to the yoga mat and sat down. Glancing at her reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirror, she longed to chop off her hair, which had grown quite long. The Gwich’in culture preferred women with long tresses, which in their beliefs connoted femininity. Sarah had been itching to defy that tradition since her teenage years, but she hadn’t had the nerve to follow through. She blew out a rapid breath, noting her hollow cheeks. Despite Matilda’s best efforts to fatten her up, Sarah’s body seemed to have a mind of its own. Food just passed through her without leaving traces of any weight gain whatsoever.

She stretched her legs sideways into a tolerable arch. Then she bent her body while she attempted to reach the tip of her shoe with her fingers. This time, she managed to reach her ankle.
Not bad
, she thought. Tomorrow, she might even reach another half inch. ‘Gradual improvement’ had been Barry’s mantra. There was no need to push her body to extremes.

She went through the repetitive exercises several times before calling it a day. Her next class would begin in an hour. If she intended to make it to campus on time, she had to move faster. Sarah walked out of the gym just as Greg was coming in.

“Hello.” Greg paused at the doorway.

“Hi.” Her voice sounded somewhat tentative. “You left early today.”

“Had some stuff to do.” He looked at her in a way that told her he had something on his mind. “I will be out tonight, so don’t wait up.”

“Where are you going?” The question slipped out of her mouth before she had the chance to stop herself. It was a question she had no business asking, despite what had happened between them last night. Sarah wanted to slap herself for sounding like desperate. What could he be thinking?

“I’m going to meet someone for dinner.” He turned away and continued on into the room, letting the door slide closed between them.

Their brief exchange set the tone for the rest of her day. She went through her classes feeling cold and confuse. The fact that Greg had made no attempt to clue her in on his dinner plans made it impossible to concentrate during class. “Out tonight” could mean anything, but she had a nagging suspicion it involved a
she.
Her day dragged on long enough to make her want to cry, and still she was plagued by these thoughts.

To make matters worse, the weather turned dreary just when she walked out of the building. The wind picked up, and dark clouds loomed above. Soon the rain poured down, soaking her to the bone before she had a chance to get into the waiting car.

Chapter 17

Greg watched his soon-to-be ex-wife with a wary eye. Cassandra exemplified class and beauty, and she had manners befitting royalty. She was in her element in this elegant setting. He knew she loved being seen at important events and attending galas—anywhere the limelight would be focused on her even for a short time. Cassandra was vain, and she would always go where the rich and famous hobnobbed. She lived for times like that, when her beauty was all that mattered.
 

She smiled back at the appreciative glances thrown her way and moved toward him, looking like she’d just walked out of a fashion magazine. Not too long ago, he’d thought he loved her, but now the mere idea repulsed him. Greg had no idea why he’d ended up marrying her, but he couldn’t wait to get her out of his life and out of his wallet.

How he’d fallen for her remained a mystery. He’d have to use the silly excuse of many fools before him—
love is blind.
Sure, she was beautiful, charming . . . but she was empty. It had taken him six years to realize that part. Pretty sad. He’d always thought he was smart enough to recognize the warning signs.
 

Cassandra stopped a foot away. Showing off her perfect figure and her graceful body, she seemed to be offering an argument as to why he’d been a fool to let her go.

“Hello, Greg.” She gave him a dazzling smile, but instead of being dazzled, he found his thoughts turning back to Sarah.
 

He smiled and got to his feet. “Hey, Cassie, glad you could make it.” He hit her back with an equally mesmerizing smile, enough to make her regret screwing other men when she’d already landed such a big catch.

She flashed her teeth when he pulled out a chair for her, and sat down with an elegant flair. Greg sighed, once more reminding himself to stop comparing the two women. Cassandra’s vanity was quite different from Sarah’s down-to-earth and pretense-free attitude.

“I wouldn’t miss dining with a gorgeous man in my favorite restaurant.” Cassandra turned the full power of her charm on him.
 

Greg grinned, trying to establish an amiable air between them. With luck, Cassandra would be dumb enough to miss the charade. He summoned the waiter to get the bottle of the chilling Cristal champagne he’d ordered ahead of time. Nothing but the best, just as Cassandra expected from him. Greg let the silence linger while they waited for the bottle. Stealing glances in Cassandra’s direction, he found her studying him with open curiosity.

“What are we celebrating?”
 

When she batted her long eyelashes, Greg understood what “wrong time and wrong place” meant. Cassandra was so wrong—she had been wrong back then and was even more so now. There was just one place he wanted to be, and that was in Sarah’s company, any time of the day. Yet he’d endure this meeting to achieve his goal. Cassandra seemed like she’d make it easy for him. This wouldn’t take long.