Southern Exposure (Southern Desires Series Book 2) (19 page)

One of the men made a comment she didn’t quite hear. But whatever it was, pissed Mark off as he darted him a look that said he better shut up.

Then Mark turned back to her. “Hannah, there’s so much we need to talk about. But not now. There are things I need to take care of first.”

“You don’t have to face this alone. I’m here with you. Let me help. I’ll vouch for your character or whatever you need.”

As they spoke, more men came out of the house. Some of them were carrying boxes and she could also see another carrying sealed plastic bags with the word
EVIDENCE
written on them.
I hope they’re not taking things from my apartment without a search warrant. But then again, what is in there to take? I have nothing of any value, and the worse they will find is a little something hidden in my nightstand drawer. And that’s not illegal.
She didn’t care, they could search all they wanted, there was nothing to find.

What she wasn’t expecting was what the next set of men were carrying. They held two cots. Each cot had a long black zipped-up bag. She’d seen them in movies. They were used for removing bodies. It was evidence, but of a different kind.

Then she looked at Mark. “Are those—?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

One brief word was all he said to her. Men carrying dead bodies out of her home and all he gave her was something she already knew.

“Did you ki—?”

“Yes.”

She refused to believe that. Mark would never hurt anyone. All he wanted to do was protect her. Someone like that would never take another person’s life. But when he spoke, his eyes were as she’d never seen them before. She couldn’t explain it, but it caused a chill to run through her body. He was, even though injured, a man of power and control. It both excited and scared the hell out of her.

“Sir, we’ve got to go. The commander wants you debriefed immediately, and we want to clear out of here before the local authorities show up. If they do, they’re going to ask questions that we’ve not been authorized to answer yet.”

Sir? Why are you calling a prisoner sir?
She looked at Mark and was confused.

“Don’t tell me what I already know, Johnson. We leave in five. Get the bodies on the chopper and get them out of here. Tell the others to grab all the surveillance equipment. I know some of it was smashed, but I backed up everything we’ll need for the reports. Leave nothing that says we were here. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And everything out of that guy’s apartment. This is our one chance to collect what we need to make it count.”

Hannah’s eyes widened with shock. Mark was speaking as though he was the one in charge. And the others were acting as though he was too.
None of this makes sense. You’re a handyman. They’re military. Why are they listening to anything you say?

“What about your friend Don?”

“He can be trusted. He knows the drill,” Mark stated firmly.

“And this woman? Should we take her in for questioning? After all, she owns the place.”

She watched Mark’s eyes turn dark, almost black. “Hannah had no prior knowledge of what her tenant was up to. Actually she still doesn’t. And I prefer to keep it that way.”

“I strongly suggest tha—”

“Then put it in your report that I declined your suggestion.”

The man nodded to Mark before he started barking orders at the other men. She’d never witnessed anything like this before.
And I don’t want to again.

“Collins, the men found an unidentifiable white powder. It doesn’t appear to be cocaine.”

“Bag it and send it to be analyzed ASAP. These guys were doing something, but I know it’s not drug running.”

She was hoping Mark was going to explain what was happening when he turned back to face her. He didn’t.

“Hannah, I need to go. Don is inside and will explain what he can. Right now, I need you to promise me not to say a word about what you just saw. Not to anyone, understand?”

She looked at him, not saying a word. Her ears were hearing, but she wasn’t believing.
This isn’t some spy movie. We’re just regular, ordinary, boring people. So why all this suspense? Why the mystery?

“I’ll be back as soon as I can so we can finish this conversation.” He kissed her on the forehead then turned to the man still standing next to him. “Johnson, three minutes and counting. Let’s get these birds in the air before the sheriff gets here from town.”

“Roger that.” Then the man waved to the others, and they immediately headed to the choppers.

Mark was right behind them. She watched silently as Mark hobbled inside. No one was forcing him. He really was leaving. Worse than that. He was leaving without even responding to her proclamation of love.

That’s because he doesn’t love me. And that’s good, because I obviously don’t know the man like I thought I did. The man I loved wouldn’t have killed anyone. I don’t know who you are, Mark Collins. But don’t come back here; if you do, I won’t be here.

When all the choppers were out of sight, Hannah turned and walked toward the house. She needed to be alone. There was too much to process and no information or facts to help. Don was standing on the porch, watching her.

As she climbed the stairs, he said, “I think you should sit out here with me for a bit and let me tell you about our friend, Mark Collins.”

She wasn’t sure she wanted to know. Hannah already knew he was a liar. What else did she need to know after that?

“Don, I don’t want to hear any more lies. Not from Mark and not from you. So unless you’re ready to tell me the truth, then I’m going inside and having one hell of a good cry.”

Don reached out for her hand and led her to the porch swing. “You can listen and cry. But I’m going to tell you the truth. What you do afterward is your business.”

She had no choice but to follow him as he half dragged her along. This was the first time she’d seen Don serious. Normally he was all smiles and jokes.
I agree, Don. Today is not a day for laughter. People were killed in my home. I need to know why, and I need to understand how Mark was involved.

Hannah sat near Don, closed her eyes, and prepared to hear the ugly truth. She wasn’t going to judge him until she heard all the facts. But once she had them, she’d need time to figure out what she’d do with them. He obviously wasn’t the man she’d thought he was.
And I really love that man. You broke my heart, Mark. And you don’t seem to know it.

“Just remember everything I tell you must be kept confidential.”

There wasn’t anyone she’d want to admit this to. How she’d let a man into her home and her heart, and she never knew who he truly was. She was a fool, and that was something she planned on keeping to herself.

“Let’s get this over with.”

“I’m sure by now you realize Mark is not just your average contractor.”

No shit.
“I do.” Her voice was lacking any emotion. All she wanted was the facts. Things that she wished she’d heard from Mark, but since he couldn’t be bothered to stay and explain himself, then she’d settle for second best.

“I’m not even sure where to start.”

“How about with who the two dead people are.”

“Mark suspected terrorists of some kind, but who and from where we don’t know yet. Or at least, not that I’ve been informed. The Navy keeps many secrets from their best friends.”

And lovers.

“What I can tell you was your tenant wasn’t here for a room. Mark had been monitoring them all along. Somehow they caught wind of it and decided it was time to take him out.”

“You mean, they were going to kill
him
?” Her heart raced at the thought. She might be angry as hell right now, but she’d never want him hurt.

“Yes, ma’am. And from what I gather, not just him. While waiting for his team to arrive, he let me in on their conversation. I was on the target list as well as you. So before you question him on how he could pull that trigger, you better think of what would’ve happened if he hadn’t. Those body bags would still be full, but you and I would be in them.”

Hannah felt dizzy and thought she could vomit. She lived a quiet life; this was surreal. Don was as serious as they come, and that scared the hell out of her.

“Are we still in danger?”

Don shook his head. “Mark wouldn’t have left if he felt there was any lingering danger.”

I know that. I just had to confirm.
“So Mark was here all this time to spy on my tenant?” It hurt. He’d gone to such great lengths, including Sissie, so he could be in this house. All the Navy needed to do was reach out and ask her permission. She loved her country and would’ve said yes. There was no reason for lies and deceit.

“You’re wrong there. He was here because he needed some R&R. His job is mentally, emotionally, and physically demanding. Between deployments, he likes to help others, like you, who could use a handyman.”

“Are you in the Navy with him? Is that why you’re here?”

“Hell, no. I couldn’t deal with someone telling me what to do all the time. I guess that’s why I’m my own boss.”

“So he honestly was here to help me?”

“That he was. And that he did.”

If you mean by destroying my bathroom and eliminating my one tenant, then yes he did.
“I’m sure he tried his best.”

“Hannah, Mark cares a lot about you. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have dragged my ass down here to help.”

“I thought you were hard-up, looking for work.”

“No.”

More lies. I can’t deal with this. I don’t think anything is the truth right now.
“I don’t understand any of this, Don. Why bring you here? He knows I don’t have money to pay you. I don’t have money to pay him. Never mind the type of cash it would take to fix up this dump.”

“You might want to change your words when you see the place.”

She looked at him puzzled. She’d seen it last week. Her bathroom was destroyed, and everything else looked like it was in as bad of shape. “I know you both did your best, and trust me, I appreciate it, but I’m a realist. I obviously only found that one tenant because they needed the place to hide out and not be noticed. No one in their right mind would want to stay here. Heck, I don’t even want to be here.”

Don got up. “Let’s take a walk.”

He went to the door and held it open for her. As soon as she entered, she saw the hallway had been freshly painted. No holes in the walls and the hardwood floors were shining like she’d never seen before. The banister looked brand new, though she knew it wasn’t.
This is amazing.

“Do you want to start upstairs or downstairs?”

Hannah was frozen to the spot. This was more than she expected, and that was just new paint. “Okay, let’s start upstairs because that was the worst.”

He led the way, and she slowly followed. The last time she was up there she’d gotten the puncture wound on her butt. It was her own fault for concentrating so darn hard on Mark’s perfect body.
Were you using that body to distract me so I didn’t know why you truly were here? If so, it worked like a charm. I have been used. That does wonders for my ego.

She expected new paint but almost dropped to her knees when she went inside and saw the living room. It actually wasn’t just livable but beautiful. It made her apartment look horrible by comparison. “Wow!”

“Go all the way inside. This is nothing. You need to see the rest.”

Hannah wasn’t prepared, but she listened and went to the kitchen. All new appliances where once there were only wires. Now there were cupboards and a ceramic tile floor. “I don’t understand. How? I would’ve seen this being brought inside.”

“You were at work.”

That huge delivery truck. It was for me.
“I didn’t order this stuff, Don. And I can’t afford it.”

He ignored her and said, “The rest of the apartment is finished as well. Would you like to see downstairs now?”

No. Not unless you’re trying to give me a heart attack. None of this is making any sense.
“Don, I don’t know much about construction, okay I know nothing, but I do know two people can’t accomplish this in such a short amount of time.”

“You’re right.”

“Then how?”

“I had my crew come in, and they did most of it in just a few days.”

“Crew? What exactly do you do?”

“I have my own construction company.”

But of course you do.
She thought back to Bailey’s comment about the private jet parked near the runway. It had said, Farrell.
No way. That couldn’t be his.
She was almost tempted to ask, but then decided she didn’t care. The one person she did care about wasn’t here to tell her all that himself.

She followed Don downstairs to the apartment they’d been using while working. Going through it, she found it was much like the one upstairs. As she approached the living room, she stopped dead in her tracks. There were two huge blood stains on the floor, and the walls also were covered with the dark red spots.