Glass Towers, Shattered (Glass Towers Trilogy) (15 page)

His voice is restrained, and I notice that his eyes are wet.  He dries his eyes with the cuff of his white shirt.

In a quiet voice, I look for the word,  “Harrison..” my words drop off, as he quickly shakes his head.

C'est sacrément dur
!  This is hard, but I need you to understand what happened in the past.  This has direct bearing on both of our futures.”  He looks at me, with red-rimmed eyes, and I know better than to speak.  Instead, I nod.

He continues, “After a short investigation, the police ruled that the wreck was an accident and quickly closed the case.  When the funeral was over, I wasn’t satisfied.  I hired a team of investigators, but did not get very far because my men kept meeting resistance from local authorities.”

“My investigators uncovered a few eyewitnesses, who claimed to have seen Adelaide’s car being run off the road by a large black SUV.  Unfortunately, when the police interviewed the witnesses, their stories changed.  The police wrote them all off as unreliable because their accounts of the accident were inconsistent.”

I shake my head, “I get what you are saying Harrison, but it is a stretch to think that her collision was not an accident.  You are basing this all on witnesses that were giving unreliable testimony?!”

He stands up and walks over to the river windows.  With his back to me, he answers.

“Danielle, there are many details about the accident that I am not getting into now and probably never will.  Besides, it would take the rest of the day to tell you absolutely everything.  The police said that the skid marks were consistent with a car speeding around the curves.  They said that, in all likelihood, she lost control of the car because she was going too fast.”  He turns to look at me.

“A couple came forward first, and then an elderly man.  They all claimed to have seen the black SUV following her car so closely that if she had braked, the SUV would have ended up in her backseat.  None of them had actually seen the accident, though.  When the police finally questioned them, they all started singing another tune.  We offered to increase our reward, and not only did they all decline the reward, but they also claimed that they had been mistaken.  It was clear to us by their behavior that they had been scared off.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Marion probably paid them off.”

I gasp.  “Coercion?”

“Yes, Marion probably bribed them with a substantial amount of money in exchange for changing their stories.  And now, I finally have confirmation that she is involved with Adelaide’s death.”

I feel my pulse quicken.  “What is your proof?” I demand.

He looks at me with his cloudy eyes.  “Her blackmail demands.”

I stiffen.

He walks back to the cushions and plunks down next to me.

“So, you think that because she is blackmailing you, you have confirmation of her involvement in Adelaide’s death?”

“To put it simply, yes.  There is not a doubt in my mind.  I still have investigators keeping their feelers out.  They check in with the witnesses from time to time, reminding them that if they remember anything, there is still a reward.  One time, my man Albert was questioning the couple again and the wife looked like she was going to crack, but the husband stepped in and told her to go back inside the house.  Albert thinks the wife will eventually cave.”

“Oh, is this the same Albert that is arriving today to be my watch dog?”  I say it with a lilt to my voice, but judging by the look on his face, he is not amused.

“Yes, the same Albert and don’t make light of this, Danielle.”

“Sorry.”  I cast my eyes downward, like an errant puppy.

He takes his finger and lifts my chin so that I am looking into his eyes.  In a quiet voice, “I just don’t want anything to happen to you.  I have already lost so much, and I am not about to be on the losing end again.”

He kisses me tenderly.  He pulls away and begins the task of putting away our luncheon.  I move over the cushions to help him.

“I want to respect your wishes about this weekend and my safety, but please be mindful of my comfort as well.  I just would not feel that I could relax and let loose, if I have the men in black watching me.”

He gives me an exaggerated sigh.  Then, he does not speak for a minute.  It looks as though he is really contemplating what I said.

“Fine, Danielle, I will let up and let you go to Palm Springs without my detail, as long as you don’t publicize your trip.   And, you cannot tell Bradley.”

Whew!  No men in black this weekend!

“Wait, why can’t I tell Bradley, not that I was planning to talk to him, but I am now curious.”

“I have asked you to halt your contact with him.  Since he seems to continue to ingratiate himself into your life, I figured that I had better reiterate that I do not wish for you to see or speak to him.  I simply do not trust him.  He has some kind of agenda, and I don’t want to find out what it is.  I get the feeling that he is not over you.”

“Oh, that is nonsense.  He was over me the minute we said ‘I do’.”

I chuckle.  He does not.  In fact, he looks quite miffed. 

“You are mine now, Danielle.  Remember that.”

Gasp.  My inner sex kitten wants to come out and play again.  I feel myself getting hot and bothered, just from him exerting his dominance over me.  I am not used to it and find it scintillating.  That, and the fact that I haven’t any panties on, makes me feel so naughty.

I reach down to help pick up the cushions, and he waves his hand at me.  “Leave them.  Philippe will be here later to collect these things.  Shall we walk around and firm up plans for Monday?”

Just as we walk out the glass door to the landing, his phone rings.  He takes the phone out of his pocket and looks at it.  He frowns and looks at me.  “Damn it.  It’s Marion.  I’m going to take this.  Just give me a minute.”

I nod as my heart takes a nosedive into my stomach, and I begin to feel ill.  Fucking bitch ruining my day.  No, she is potentially ruining my life.  I feel so out of control and helpless.  Two things that don’t bode well with me.

He takes a couple steps away and answers his phone.  “
Oui
?”

I turn to walk down the stairs.  I just do not want to overhear what is being said.  I get down to the bottom step and hear his voice raising and carrying throughout the cavernous space.  He is speaking in French, so I don’t understand a word anyway.  I continue to wander through the office and conference rooms.  It is a huge space and the pay I am getting for it just might make a nice down payment on a condo of my own.  I won’t have to touch any of my nest egg for it!

“Ah, there you are!”

I jump as a shriek escapes from my lips.  I whirl around to see Harrison in the doorway of the office into which I have wandered.

“Towers!  You just scared the hell out of me!”  I feel my insides jittery and trembling.  I hate that feeling.

He laughs.  “Sorry, I guess I did, judging by your white face!”  He laughs again.

“It’s not funny!  Anyway, did you get things resolved with the bitch?”

“Not really.”  He looks away from me and won’t make eye contact.

“What’s going on Harrison?”  I am feeling very nervous now.

“She insists on coming down this week to oversee the company move.  I told her no, but she is coming anyway.  I had to call Garrin and instruct him to stay put here.”

“Ok, so that is really going to suck having her here, while I am trying to work.  Not to mention that I can’t really interact with you --can I?”

“Of course, we can interact, but it has to appear professional.  Otherwise, who knows where she will go with it.”

“I hate this Harrison.”  I sigh.

“I know you do.  I told her that I don’t want her meddling in my business matters.  She reminded me that she has me by my balls, and that I’ll be seeing her Monday.  She also insisted that we set a wedding date.”

They set a fucking wedding date!  My mouth feels dry and sticky.  Well here we go, getting back to reality.  This reality really bites.  I can’t handle this.

“Harrison, I don’t know how much more I can stomach.  You set a wedding date?  Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?”

“I know, and I am sorry, but I had to agree.  Otherwise, she would think something was up.  I will have Garrin stick close to her this week and run his interference here with her as much as possible.”

“What do you mean, exactly, by “running interference?” I follow him down the hallway and back out to the vast lobby.

He turns to look at me, “Marion thinks that Garrin is playing for her team.  She has been paying him to work for her and report things back to her, like where I am going and who I am seeing. He has successfully gained her trust by allowing her to think that Philippe is the mole and he feeds the details to Garrin who reports to her.”

Wow, just when I think I have a handle on the lay of the land, he throws me another twist.

“So, let me see if I have this straight.  Marion is paying Garrin and Philippe to spy on you and then give her reports, or whatever, on your activities?”

He looks so hot standing there, with his arms crossed over his torso, in his pinstripe suit.  Although, the suit does look a little rumpled.  I giggle inside, knowing the reason behind his ruffled appearance is because we just rocked one out in his new office.

“Danielle?”

“Huh?  Oh, I’m sorry, my mind wandered, please repeat that?”  I hate it when I do that.  It makes me seem so flighty.

He gives me a furrowed brow, then he repeats himself.  “I said, yes, that would be the simple way of putting.  Of course, they don’t give her my exact coordinates or movements.  Garrin has given her enough though to gain her trust.”

“So how long has this been going on?  Has he been working for her the entire time that he has been here?  Are you sure he is loyal to you and hasn’t been the one behind all the craziness?  Or, that he hasn’t been carrying out her wishes?”  I am feeling creeped-out and my spine is doing its tingly thing again.

He swats at my hand, as I begin twisting my hair around my finger.

“She apparently has some information on him that is confidential.  That is how she enlisted him in the beginning. Once she got his attention, he went along with it to see how far she was willing to go.”

“Okay, I still don’t understand to what extent he is involved in the break in’s and all the other craziness.  What information does she have on him?”

He is scowling at me now. “Well, let me finish, and I will answer all of that.”  He looks at me with a question to his brow.  “Can I finish?”

Sheesh.  “By all means,”  I huff.

“The information she has is confidential, I don’t actually know what it is, but Garrin did say that it relates to his family.  From what I gather, it would hurt his father more than anything, and he wants to protect Philippe at all costs.”  Harrison  walks toward the windows overlooking the water, and I follow him, trying to take it all in and make some sense out of this mess.

“She only approached him a few weeks back when they were both still here in Portland.  Actually, it was right before we flew back to Montreal for that big land deal.  Anyway, as soon as Garrin could, he pulled me aside at the penthouse and told me what she was up to.  I told him to go along with it, but to demand that he is paid for his extra trouble.  At first, she rejected his request, but she agreed after he reminded her that he is a valuable asset.  Garrin has not been the one orchestrating the occurrences targeting you.  That is the mystery right now.  We think there is still another crucial piece to this puzzle that is missing.  Someone else is helping Marion with this.  There.  Have I covered everything?”  He then looks at his Rolex watch and then looks at me.

“I am sorry to say that we need to get going.  I have some calls to return and our meeting should not go any longer, if we don’t want to cause Marion to suspect anything.”

“Wait, um, I know that your engagement is not real, but I have to know, what’s the wedding date?”

He shakes his head.  “Danielle, don’t do this to yourself.  I am not going to contribute to your torture.”

“Harrison!  Just tell me.  I will find out eventually.”

“He sighs, “Fine, it is supposedly set for December 31st.”

“Oh wow, that is just less than 3 months away.  I hope you can get this resolved before things go too far, Harrison.”

Ugh. This is too much for my brain today.  It is so much information between Adelaide and this, and I feel a migraine coming on.  It is true, what they say about being careful what you wish for.  I wanted information, and a boatload of information is what I sure got.

“Do you think we are being watched or followed today?”  The hair on the back of my neck is standing on end.

“Danielle, anything is possible.  I am amazed at the lengths she has already gone to create problems for us.  If it weren’t for the blackmail, I would have taken her down weeks ago, when I heard what she is doing to Garrin and his family.”

“This all seems to be some master plan that she has orchestrated.  I am willing to bet that this has been in the works a long time and that my coming along threw a wrench in her plans.”