Page 57 of To Steal a Heart
Compassion stirred over Forge’s features. “Sis, I know this is tough, but you’ve got to pull yourself together. The police will want answers.”
Dread balled a hard knot in her chest. Forge was right. She had to face this. A tear escaped the corner of her eye and dribbled down her cheek. She swiped it away and fastened a padlock around her heart.
Right then and there, she vowed that this would be the last tear she’d ever shed for Crew Bronson.
CHAPTER 14
FOUR MONTHS LATER …
Betrayal was an interesting beast. After the numbness wore off, Arden grew fighting mad. She channeled her anger into writing and finished her novel in record time. She poured her heart, blood, and tears into those pages and knew with a grim sureness when she reached the end that she’d finally written her masterpiece. She sent the manuscript to Jenna, who was elated. Normally, Jenna did her own edits before forwarding the manuscript to the editors at the publishing house. However, this time, she sent it to them right away. The editors went gaga over it also. The book was slated to be released in the spring. It would seem that a broken heart was just the catalyst Arden needed to get her career back on track.
As far as her personal life went … well, she was a wreck. Her family was worried about her, fearing that she’d become obsessed with trying to find Crew and bring him to justice. Maybe she was obsessed. The line between highly motivated and obsessed could grow thinner than a thread. All Arden knew was that her hatred of Crew was what fueled her. It was what got her up in the morning. What she lived for.
Arden had learned a great deal about Crew Bronson over the past four months. For starters, his real name was Garrett Singleton, and he was a notorious thief. Arden, not the police, had been the one to connect the dots. She’d utilized her Honeysuckle Island contacts and talked to Flynn, who put her in touch with Sadie, Sheriff Ian Russell’s wife. Sadie was a former detective. Arden told Sadie everything that Crew had told her about his life. She mentioned his brother Hank, Chloe, and how Crew said his brother owned an architectural firm in Salt Lake City, Utah. Sadie found a detective in Salt Lake who went around to all the local architectural firms and eventually found Hank Singleton. Had Crew/Garrett not been truthful about his brother and where he lived, Arden may never have discovered his true identity.
Arden contacted Hank and had a long conversation with him. No surprise, Garrett had a checkered past. As she’d suspected, Garrett was the wild card and Hank the standup guy … err, he was a standup guy now. Hank was a former thief who’d served time in jail before turning his life around. According to Hank, Garrett had a gambling addiction. He racked up a large amount of debt and then faked his own death to escape the loan sharks that were breathing down his neck. In a tangled mess of events, Hank and Chloe were then drawn into the drama. Chloe was kidnapped and almost died. After Chloe was liberated from her captors and the criminals were caught, Garrett disappeared off the grid.
Hank claimed that he’d not heard a word from Garrett since he disappeared. He insisted that Garrett had a good heart. When Arden mentioned that Crew/Garrett had prompted her to start attending church, Hank got choked up.
“Maybe he’s finally coming around,” he said. “Deep down, Garrett is a good guy. He was with Chloe when she was kidnapped. He protected her. Garrett’s a player, but in his own way, I believe that he loved Chloe.”
Arden cringed at hearing those words, but she couldn’t deny their truthfulness. She could tell that Garrett had loved Chloe, although he’d certainly twisted the story around to suit his point of view. When Arden told Hank that Garrett claimed he’d stolen Chloe from him, Hank had burst out laughing.
“Garrett’s too much,” he breathed, and Arden could imagine that he was mopping his eyes. “He met Chloe and went after her like a cheetah stalking a gazelle. It totally freaked Chloe out.”
“Crew … err, Garrett, mentioned that.”
“Really?” Hank sounded surprised. “What else did he tell you?”
“He told me about your mother and how she died of leukemia. He told me she worked hard to put food on the table.”
“That’s all true.” Regret sounded in Hank’s voice. “I blame myself for being a bad influence on Garrett. I’m the one who got him into the world of theft.” He paused. “When I turned my life around and started going to church, Garrett resented it.”
“Yes, that’s what he told me.”
Astonishment coated Hank’s voice. “He told you that?”
“Yep. He also told me that no matter how long it took that he would become the man I deserve.”
“Wow, maybe he truly does care about you.”
“He told me he loved me.”
“Maybe he does. After all, Garrett told you the truth about his childhood.”
A hard laugh scratched her throat. “He played me from the start … right down to getting some Hawaiian or Asian guy to act like he was stealing my car.”
“What?”
She told Hank everything that happened.
“My moronic brother got Asa involved,” he muttered. “I should’ve known.”
“Who’s Asa?”
“A longtime friend who’s a tech genius. Garrett wouldn’t have a prayer of pulling off jobs without Asa’s help.”
Realization dawned. “That’s why the guy was at the party.” Quickly, she explained how she’d caught a glimpse of a waiter who looked exactly like the guy who’d tried to steal her car. Acid rose in Arden’s throat. “I was Crew … Garrett’s mark. He used me to break into my friend’s mansion.” She blinked back the moisture that gathered in her eyes, refusing to let a single tear escape. “I was a blind fool. I invited the fox right into the hen house.” Of course Mom unwittingly helped with her determination to have Arden and Garrett stay at the mansion rather than the inn.