Page 20 of The Fragile Truth
Wow. He was direct. “I like you too.” She realized in that moment that she truly did like him. This was becoming real.
A shadow moved over his handsome face. “It has been a long time since I’ve had any hope in my life. Thank you for reminding me that there is life after...” His words dribbled off as he shook his head. “I’m sorry.” He offered a rueful smile. “I guess I should just keep my mouth shut.”
She touched his jaw. “It’s okay. You’re talking about Lina.”
His mouth tightened as he nodded.
“You loved her very much.” Jealousy stabbed through her.
“There was a time when I did.”
Her pulse bumped up several notches as she swallowed. “And now?”
“Now, I realize that everything I felt for her was a sham.” His eyes deepened with remorse and anger. “She manipulated me. Deceived me.” He forced a smile. “I’m sorry. You don’t wanna hear this.”
No, she didn’t, but she needed to be supportive. “You can tell me,” she heard herself say.
He caught hold of her hand and linked his fingers through hers as they continued walking. “Lina is a liar and an attempted murderer. It disgusts me that I fell prey to her wiles,” he muttered. “You don’t know how refreshing it is to be with someone who’s real.” His voice caught. He coughed to clear it. “Someone who’s honest. Thank you,” he finished with a quiver of emotion.
Heat blasted over her, and then she went stone cold. She had to force the words to sound light as they fell from her lips. “You’re welcome.”
She looked ahead, her eyes blurring with moisture. Ian was going to hate her when he learned the truth. And then the beautiful dream would be over almost before it had a chance to begin. Ian’s phone buzzed. He released her hand and fished in his pocket to answer it.
“Hello,” he began. A second later, his face hardened as he swore. “When did it happen? H—how?” he sputtered. His hand went to his forehead as he paced a couple of steps away from her. His shoulders and neck were taut with stress.
Apprehension tugged at Sadie as her brain worked to assimilate the pieces from hearing only Ian’s side of the conversation.
“You assured me the ankle monitor was foolproof,” he muttered. “This is a disaster.”
A few minutes later, he ended the call and turned to face Sadie. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“That was Chief Mortenson from over in Wilmington. Lina escaped.”
7
The next morning, Ian strode through the entrance of The Oliver Hotel. Notwithstanding it being Sunday morning, he’d been summoned here by Banks and Madeline Chasing. They were demanding to know how the police force in Wilmington could be so inept as to let Lina escape house arrest. They wanted answers that Ian didn’t have.
Right after Ian got the call from Chief Mortenson telling him that Lina had escaped, Ian had called Banks Chasing to notify him. It had been on the tip of Ian’s tongue when he was getting verbally attacked by Banks Chasing to point out that he’d had no control over the judge’s decision to release Lina from jail on bail and place her on house arrest in Wilmington while she awaited trial.
However, as far as the Chasings were concerned, the buck stopped with him. In their eyes, Ian was the one who’d dropped the ball and allowed Lina to escape. On a personal level, he was still reeling from the news that Lina had gotten away. Just when he thought he could move forward with Sadie, everything blew up in his face, drawing him right back into Lina’s web of deceit. He’d gotten very little sleep the night before, tossing and turning, questioning if he could’ve done something to stop Lina. The very thought of that psychotic woman roaming free filled him with a sick, cold dread.
The woman at the front desk greeted him with a tense, “Good morning, Sheriff. They’re waiting for you in the conference room.”
Nodding, he moved through the foyer, down the hall, and to the office area. The conference room door was closed. He rapped his knuckles against it and opened the door as soon as he heard Banks’s commanding voice. “Come in.”
Banks was seated at the head of the table. Josette Chasing, Banks’s mother, was sitting to his left. Madeline was on the other side of Banks with Talon and Effie Romeo beside her.
“Good morning,” Ian mumbled.
Madeline, Talon, and Effie acknowledged his greeting by responding with nods and uttering, “Good morning.” However, Banks’s expression remained stone-hard, and he said nothing. Josette sat with her back ramrod straight. She was tall and skinny—all hard edges. Her gray hair was twisted into a high beehive. From behind her diamond-studded cat-eyed glasses, she fixed him with a beady glare. Josette reminded Ian of the storybook character Cruella Deville. No surprise that she was giving him a death stare. The old woman was known for being hard to deal with.
Ian chose the seat at the opposite end of the conference room table, directly facing Banks. With his short silver hair and chiseled features, Banks looked every bit the take-charge owner and CEO of one of the most lucrative hedge fund management firms in the US. The man had his own private plane and flew back and forth between Honeysuckle Island and NYC, where his hedge fund was located. One of the hardest parts of being sheriff was dealing with the super-wealthy who believed their status gave them a pass to rule the world. The Chasings were power players, but they were at least reasonable people.
“We appreciate you coming out so early on a Sunday morning,” Madeline began. Even though it was half-past seven a.m., her hair and makeup were flawless. Madeline Chasing had a reputation for being the queen of Honeysuckle Island, and she wore her informal crown well. Despite the two of them butting heads during the time period when Ian had believed Talon was guilty of murder, Ian had a grudging respect for Madeline. He was coming to realize that beneath her carefully crafted high-society veneer, Madeline was a kind and caring individual. She was fiercely devoted to her husband and children, which Ian could respect.
Banks balled his fist. “How did this happen?”
Ian sat up taller in his seat, his expression ironclad. He couldn’t help but feel like he was facing a firing squad, but he would do so with dignity. “Chief Mortenson is looking into the details. But the short answer is that someone disabled Lina’s ankle monitor.”