Forbidden Legacy (17 page)

Harrison took his sunglasses from his pocket and slid them on so he could study Ryan at length without the man’s knowledge. “He’s very young. He can’t be much more than twenty.”

Tasha took a silk handkerchief from her purse and held it over her mouth to conceal the fact she was speaking. “He’s not. According to Damon, Ryan worked there the summer after he graduated high school. He landed the internship over a hundred other applicants. Apparently, he’s some sort of computer whiz, a genius as far as Damon is concerned. He said they offered Ryan a job at the end of the summer, but he turned it down, saying he’d gotten a full ride to some Ivy League school here on the east coast.”

“Maybe he did some work with Jonathan at the Corps of Engineers.”

Tasha lifted one shoulder slightly. “I don’t like coincidences. He worked at Damon’s office just before the blackmailing started. Now he’s standing off to the side at Jonathan’s funeral. If he is here as a mourner, why not join the crowd?”

Before Harrison could reply, Tasha’s cell buzzed softly. She reached into her pocket and pulled it out to glance at the screen. “Damon just texted his secretary to ask her if she remembers Ryan’s last name.”

“Good. Let me know when he hears back from her.” Harrison had an uneasy thought. “Does Damon wear his signet ring to work?”

Tasha gave up the pretense of following the memorial service. She looked at Harrison. “He wears it everywhere. Never takes it off.”

Harrison risked another peek in Ryan’s direction and found the young man staring directly at him. Harrison didn’t bother to glance away, and for a few moments the two of them simply looked their fill. The man’s face revealed very little. Nothing about it was familiar, nor did Ryan betray any emotion. It was as if he was a blank canvas—just eyes, nose, mouth—with nothing of substance revealed.

“Tasha. Have Damon ask around his office, see what his colleagues can recall about Ryan.”

Tasha nodded. “Do you want me to follow the kid?”

Harrison considered the dead woman in Chicago and Janet and Sylvia and Jonathan. While Tasha was lethal, a well-trained killer in her own right, Harrison refused to put her life in danger for something that was his fight. “No. Work with Damon. Find out as much as you can about Ryan. I’ll have Price follow him. Text me when you find out the man’s last name. Once we have that, we can start a serious investigation.”

“Okay.” Tasha left him and walked over to Marco and Damon. Marco wrapped his arm around his wife’s shoulder while Damon discreetly took her hand. Usually members of the Trinity Masters didn’t risk such displays in public, but the majority of the mourners were part of the society. And Harrison suspected the others at the service either wouldn’t notice or would think the men were simply trying to comfort her.

The young man under the tree turned to leave. Harrison longed to follow him, to confront the kid and ask him exactly who he was, but he had no proof, no reason to go after him. Harrison had been chasing this shadow for so long, it seemed as if he was seeing a villain in everyone these days.

Michael stood near the front, alone and stoic. Harrison’s chest ached as he saw the pain on his friend’s face. Michael and Jonathan had been good friends, golf buddies who’d frequently met at a gentleman’s club for scotch and cigars.

Mercifully, Alexis would be around to comfort Michael. While the three of them had spent the weekend wrapped up in each other’s arms, none of them had let the conversation drift into anything more complicated than what they should eat for breakfast or who was washing whose back in the shower.

He’d asked Alexis for a month, knowing that realistically he wouldn’t be around that long. Since returning to work on Monday, they’d all fallen into their same insane workaholic hours, not managing to synch up their schedules to see each other again.

However, Alexis had taken the afternoon off, promising to meet them at Harrison’s apartment after the funeral. She knew they’d both need comfort.

The minister ended the service with a brief prayer and the mourners began to wander away, back to their vehicles, to real life. Harrison said goodbye to a few acquaintances until everyone was gone.

Michael still stood by the grave. Harrison walked over and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You okay?”

Michael shrugged. “How did he get here? A couple of months ago, Jonathan was on top of the world. He had it all. I just don’t get it.”

“We’ll figure out what happened to him, Michael. If someone killed him, we’ll make sure they pay.”

“I want to see the note he left you.”

Harrison thought he’d dodged that bullet. Michael hadn’t mentioned the note all weekend. “There wasn’t anything of value in it. We know it was murder and it’s clear the killer forced him to write the note.”

“I knew Jonathan. We were friends. Maybe I can find something in it that you’ve overlooked.”

Harrison had considered that, had been very close to sharing the note with Michael Saturday morning when he’d snuck away from his sleeping lovers to read it. But there were too many other damning statements that proved it was Harrison, not the Trinity Masters, the killer was after. “I don’t have it with me. It’s at the apartment.”

Michael gave him an annoyed snort. “You know, lately I’ve gotten really good at listening to what you say. That wasn’t an answer. Are you going to let me read the letter or not?”

Harrison shook his head. “I can’t show it to you.”

Harrison expected Michael’s temper to flare, for him to pick a fight and yell. He didn’t. Instead, his expression turned to stone and he went quiet.

They stood in silence a few minutes more, than Michael turned and walked toward the car. Harrison fell in step next to him, hating the distance between them. Unfortunately, he couldn’t turn the tide.

They’d driven to the funeral together. As Harrison started the car, he looked over at Michael. “Do you mind if we stop by the library? I need to grab a few things from my office.” Harrison wanted to have his file on the killer on hand in case Tasha got in touch with Ryan’s last name. Once he had that, he could go through the documents once again to see if anything matched up. Plus, he intended to ask Price to put surveillance on the young man. Maybe Ryan’s appearance at the funeral was just a coincidence, but after everything that had gone down, Harrison wasn’t willing to leave any stones unturned. Too many innocent lives had already been claimed.

“That’s fine,” Michael replied, not bothering to look at him. The trip to the library was made in silence. He parked the car and was surprised when Michael started to get out. He’d figured Michael wanted to keep his distance.

“You don’t have to come in with me. I’m only going to run in to pick up a few things. It shouldn’t take me more than ten minutes.”

Michael shrugged. “I don’t mind.”

They climbed the stairs to the seldom-used rare-book room, entered through the storage closet and down the ancient elevator. Michael didn’t attempt to break the silence and Harrison was too exhausted to try to make small talk. Things were coming to a head quickly. And the incredible weekend he’d spent with Michael and Alexis just made everything harder, more painful.

Harrison unlocked the door to his office and walked to his desk. If he’d been alone, he would have taken his time, finding the folders he needed. However, with Michael hovering behind him, his quiet anger almost palpable, Harrison simply grabbed everything on the oak surface and stuffed it into his briefcase. He’d sort through all of it later tonight after Michael and Alexis went to sleep.

“Ready,” Harrison said after a few minutes.

Michael nodded and the two of them returned to the car, the trip home made in more of that cursed silence.

*****

Michael held his tongue as they entered their apartment building. His patience was gone. If he opened his mouth, he feared exactly what he would say. Alexis was waiting for them upstairs, but Michael wasn’t fit company for anyone right now.

When the elevator reached their floor, Michael dug his keys out of his pocket. “I’m going to my place.”

Harrison looked surprised. “Alexis is—”

“I know. But I need some time, Harrison. Alone.”

“Michael, please. Come inside with me.”

“I can’t go in there and pretend like everything is okay.” Michael had spent months swallowing his pride as Harrison continued to push him aside. “You’ve asked Price and Gunner for help. I know Tasha is working on this too. You’ve included countless people in whatever the hell this problem is, yet you keep me in the dark. I’m done, Harrison. I’m just done.”

Harrison put his hands in the front pockets of his pants. Michael had never seen his friend look so dejected, so lost. Regardless, he couldn’t find it in him to show Harrison any compassion. They were best friends and they were supposedly working toward a life as partners.

“It’s almost over,” Harrison said at last. “If you can wait a few more days, soon everything will be clear.”

Michael was about to refuse when the door to Harrison’s apartment opened. “Michael? Harry? I thought I heard voices. What are you guys doing out here?”

Michael’s chest ached as he looked at Alexis. She was so beautiful, so caring. She was dressed in yoga pants and one of his T-shirts. Michael grinned at the sight of her despite his pain. She’d swiped the shirt from him on Monday, claiming she liked the scent of his cologne and that she wanted to smell it when she slept alone that night. It had been a sweet confession.

If things had been different, he would have crossed the distance between them, picked her up in his arms and carried her to Harrison’s bed without a second thought.

But there were too many hard feelings that needed to be addressed, future plans crumbling apart around them and interwoven with all that was this incredible sexual tension that seemed to grow with each passing moment. They hadn’t been together for two nights, yet it seemed like months to Michael. Within minutes of seeing her, Michael found himself wanting to strip off her clothes and take her with all the finesse of a dog in heat.

Though he’d seen her in passing at work, he’d longed to touch her, kiss her, scream to the world that she belonged to him.

Problem was…she didn’t.

And until all the issues weighing them down were resolved, they needed to take a big step back from the bedroom.

“Have you made any decisions in regards to the three of us?” Michael asked her. The question came out of nowhere, but Michael couldn’t stand the waiting, the uncertainty. He needed answers, needed at least one person in this hallway to be honest, forthright with him. If this was nothing more than a fling to her, if Harrison had no intention of ever treating Michael as a true partner, then he was turning around and walking away.

Harrison gave him an astonished look. “Michael—”

“I know we said a month, Harrison, but you and I both know that’s not going to happen. I don’t think this is a bad time for us to evaluate where we all stand.”

Harrison didn’t appear to agree, but Michael didn’t care. His friend may be the boss in terms of the Trinity Masters, but when it came to their relationship, Michael had no intention of playing second fiddle. The three of them would be equals—Trinity Masters or not.

Alexis looked at Harrison. “It’s a fair question, Harry. I mean it’s not like I haven’t been thinking about this—us—pretty much nonstop since we started the affair.”

Harrison gestured toward the door to his place. “Let’s go inside. We can discuss it there.”

Michael recognized the resignation on his friend’s face. He looked like a man facing a life-in-prison verdict. In fact, now that he thought about it, Michael realized Harrison had been wearing that same expression for months.

The three of them walked into Harrison’s apartment and each of them claimed a seat in the living room. Alexis took the couch while Harrison and Michael both sat in chairs across from her. The three of them had seated themselves in the shape of a triangle. The irony of that wasn’t lost on Michael.

Alexis leaned forward and placed her elbows on her knees. “I know there’s a lot at stake for you, Harry. Is that why you look so anxious? Upset?”

So Harrison’s heaviness hadn’t been lost on her either. Michael wasn’t surprised. Alexis was very astute when it came to reading people’s emotions. It was part of what made her such a wonderful doctor.

Harrison shook his head. “I’m not upset.” He didn’t bother to expand on the lie. It must have been apparent they weren’t buying it. “I have quite a few things on my plate right now. But, Lex, you have to believe me when I say you’re the bright spot in my life. I know I’m asking a lot of you with this affair, with what I hope will come from it, but regardless of your decision, my feelings for you won’t change, won’t go away. I will always love you.”

Michael swallowed heavily. Clearly Harrison considered him the
asking-a-lot
part of this equation. The description rubbed him wrong. “And where do I stand in all of this? Do I get a say in where we go from here?”

Harrison leaned back slowly, recognizing his error too late. “Michael, I didn’t mean to exclude you or to insinuate—”

“Of course you did. You’re getting very good at treating me like an expendable third party. I’m simply meant to fall in line and follow your lead without asking questions or bucking the system, right?”

Alexis raised her hand. “Michael. Wait. Please. Don’t say anything you won’t be able to take back later. Anything you’ll regret. Let me say something first.”

Michael hesitated, his anger fighting for a way out. He sucked in a deep breath and then nodded once.

“You asked me how I feel and I want to answer. The truth is I expected to hate this. I thought I’d be uncomfortable and miserable. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that at the end of the month I’d say goodbye to both of you.”

Harrison frowned. “Lex.”

“I love you, Harry. That will never change, but I meant what I said. I’d never let anyone give up anything for me. And in your case, you’d be relinquishing more than your membership in the Trinity Masters. You’d be turning your back on your family, your friends—” she looked at Michael quickly and then back to Harrison, “—and your legacy. You’re an honorable man with a strong sense of responsibility. You’d never be able to walk away from all of that and still be able to face yourself in the mirror each day.”