Читать книгу View Park - Angela Winters - Страница 8

It was nine in the morning and Sean was already on his last nerve thanks to Haley. He was willing to forgive the fact that Steven somehow got his father to delay this interview for three days, even though he knew it was going to hurt his case. He was willing to forgive that he had to come to the Chase mansion to do the interview instead of her coming down to the station like everyone else. What he wouldn’t forgive was Haley’s attitude and the fact that her mother encouraged her self-pity by wrapping her arms around her like she was a helpless baby. Only Steven seemed to put forth any attempt at cooperation.

“I can’t remember!” Haley slammed her cup of coffee on the table. What did these people want from her?

“I’m not asking you to remember exactly,” Sean said. “Just estimate how far away the boat was or what you could see of their faces through the binoculars.”

“I couldn’t see their faces at all.” She smirked. “See there, I helped you.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Sean met Janet’s angry glare with one of his own. He didn’t care if he made her angry. Neither Janet nor the princess understood what was really going on here.

“She’s doing the best she can,” Janet argued.

“She’s gonna have to do better,” Steven said.

Haley glared up at her father, certain this man hated her. Maybe it was Leigh’s return that had turned him so cold to her these past few days. He seemed impatient and unresponsive, but she wasn’t going to let him get to her. She turned back to Sean. “I’ve told you all I know. Why aren’t you asking Jack? He was there, too.”

Sean wanted to strangle her. “You had to have seen something, like a design on the boat or outstanding physical characteristics of the shooter.”

Haley felt her mother squeeze her hand and it urged her to try to play along. “I think they were white, but they could’ve been Latino. It was hard to tell. That’s it. I don’t remember anything about the boat.”

“We’re going to bring you a book and we’ll need you to see if you recognize any of the boats.”

Haley leaned forward with fire in her eyes. “Aren’t you listening to me? I didn’t pay attention to the damn boat.”

Sean refused to even blink. He had dealt with murderers, rapists and thieves. He wasn’t going to let a spoiled brat make him lose control.

“Haley, calm down.” Steven leaned forward, placing a firm hand on her shoulder, which she promptly shrugged away.

“I’m through here.” Haley got up and began walking away. Let the detective deal with that.

“Haley,” Steven called after her. “Get back here right now!”

Haley turned around. “Don’t yell at me!”

Steven didn’t hold back. “He’s only trying to help you!”

“They’re trying to scare me!” Haley pointed at Jason, one of the goons her father had following her around everywhere standing in the corner. “I don’t need him or the police stalking me. And I certainly don’t need your fake attention, Daddy.”

“Haley.” Janet’s tone was harsh for the first time that morning.

“No, Mom. He doesn’t need to bother with me. His favorite daughter is home now.”

As she stormed out of the room, Sean threw his hands in the air. It was like watching a freaking soap opera. “Mr. Chase, we can’t help protect her if she’s going to be—”

“A spoiled brat?” Janet asked, standing. “That’s what you were going to say, wasn’t it?”

Sean chose not to respond. He was more interested in the large man who had been standing in the corner and was now leaving to follow Haley. He was at least two hundred fifty pounds with a neck the size of a normal man’s thigh. Sean had a sense about him. It was how he had gotten so far in his career, faster than anyone in the history of the Los Angeles county police. When something wasn’t right, it just wasn’t.

“Hold on, Jason.” Steven waved the man back and introduced him to Sean as one of the two bodyguards he hired for Haley from the Attaché security agency.

Sean gave the man an icy greeting who returned it likewise. He waited until he was out of the room before questioning Steven on the choice.

“We’ve used the Attaché company for myself a few times.” Steven appreciated the young detective’s concern, but he shouldn’t assume a man like himself hadn’t done all the necessary research. “They’ve been here since Sunday and they’re doing a good job.”

“How many people know about them?” Sean asked.

“My husband knows what he’s doing.” Janet was on edge and needed a Valium. “Are you finished here?”

“Things have changed a little.” Knowing this moment would come eventually didn’t make it any easier for Sean. “The department did everything it could to keep this a secret, but—”

Janet gasped. “Oh, dear God.”

She had allowed the few days passing to give her hope, but she was asking for too much. As Sean showed her the rolled up issue of South L.A. magazine she squinted as if it was the glaring sun. It was worse. It was a picture of a wet Haley getting out of the back of a squad car in front of the police station with Congressman Flay clearly visible right behind her. Big bold letters atop read: “Another Chase Scandal!”

In seconds, Steven was in Sean’s face, bearing down on him. “I thought I discussed this with your father.”

Sean stood strong against the formidable man even though his stomach was tightening. “Sir, the chief of police made sure information on the incident was sealed. The article just speculates based on the photo.”

“So what does this mean?” Janet asked.

“It means,” Sean began, pulling himself together after Steven finally backed down, “that whoever went after Haley and Jack last Saturday, is probably checking around to see who is saying what. This might give them some ideas.”

Janet and Steven looked at each other, able to speak without words after so many years together. Steven reached for her, wrapping his arm around her and squeezing tight. She had to know he would never, ever let anything happen to their baby.

Sean suddenly felt as if he didn’t belong in this scene anymore. “Can I check Haley’s room?”

“Take a left at the top of the stairs,” Steven answered. “It’s at the end of the hallway.”

Leigh nodded to the detective as he left the room. She stayed at the edge, staring at her parents as they held each other. With so much to doubt in the world, the strength of her parents’ marriage and love for each other had never been one of them and it was the foundation for everything Leigh believed in. Strong black love. It was what kept her strong when she had been immersed in so much suffering the last year.

She didn’t want to interrupt them, but she needed to reach out to them. She had been doing everything she could to lay the groundwork these past few days, trying to build up her confidence. Looking after Haley had distracted her a bit, but she was clearly on course for her goal. This was the next inevitable step and from the looks of things, it couldn’t have come at a worse time.

She cleared her throat, entering the living room. “What’s going on?”

“We have everything under control,” Steven said. “It’s going to be all right.”

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about what I plan to do now that I’m back.”

Janet was grateful for some good news. “You don’t have to pick the practice you want to join yet. We know you’ll make the right choice.”

Leigh produced a weak smile. “I hope you mean that.”

Janet’s smile faded. She knew her children too well. Caught up with Haley, she hadn’t ignored Leigh’s virtual absence at the house the past few days. She said she was visiting friends, but Leigh was a horrible liar.

“Because,” Leigh went on, “I made up my mind about what I wanted to do a few months ago. I want to open up a free clinic in South Central for children with HIV and AIDS.”

“A free clinic?” Janet’s voice caught in her throat. “For poor people?”

“Yes, Mom.” So it begins. “You say it like there’s something wrong with that.”

Steven took a heavy breath. “We donate to several clinics like that, but it’s not the right job for you. You’re a Chase, Leigh. If you want to show compassion, make a donation or find a safe clinic to volunteer at every now and then, but you’re going to be a doctor of reputation and success and that only comes from having powerful patients and major hospital connections.”

“That’s your dream, not mine.” Leigh begged herself to keep it together. She’d known this would be hard and she hated being such a coward. “What I experienced in Africa has—”

“Warped your mind,” Janet pointed out. “You’re just on a goodwill high. You’ll come down.”

Leigh shook her head. Her mother spent her life on philanthropy. What had it all been for? “You’re wrong. HIV and AIDS among African Americans is an epidemic. Lack of education and access to care is what is killing our people, not the disease.”

“Leigh.” Steven loved the heart of this child. “Maybe there is some way you can continue to volunteer with these types of people, but not for a living.”

Leigh didn’t try to conceal her hurt. “Look, the truth is I need the Chase Family Foundation to help fund the clinic.”

“No,” Janet dictated. “I won’t support this.”

“Daddy.”

“Leigh, I’m sorry. You know I love you and want you to be happy. We agreed to this stint in Africa, but…”

Agreed? Leigh specifically remembered threats were made. They fought her tooth and nail, but she did it anyway because it was her calling. So was this clinic.

Janet began anxiously fluffing the pillows on the sofa, unwilling to add this to her list of worries. “I can’t deal with this right now.”

“Think about it,” Steven said. “You’ve glamorized this stuff. It’s not—”

“Glamorized? I just spent a year in Africa! Look, I’m going to do this.”

“Not with the Chase Family Foundation, you aren’t.” Steven hated hurting her, but that was what a father had to do for his child’s own good.

“Fine.” Leigh knew that wasn’t fine at all, but there was nothing else she could say. “I know people who want this as much as I do.”

She had to bite her lower lip to keep from crying until she left the room. She had no reason to cry because, unfortunately, that had gone exactly as she’d thought it would.

Steven kissed his wife on the forehead even though it couldn’t cure the pain in her eyes. “Baby, I have to go to the office. You’ll stay with Haley?”

She grabbed his hands, feeling such a burden with her desperate need for him. He was the world to her. “Not today, Steven.”

“I need to go to the office for at least a few hours today. You’ll be here and so will the bodyguards.” He ignored the guilt that he always felt when he picked Chase Beauty over everything else. Janet understood more than most wives, but she couldn’t be expected to understand all the time. She would be cold to him when he got back home. He was used to this.

In her heart, Janet tried to smother the disappointment that came with Steven’s choices. It was a sacrifice for him as well. She had to remember that and handle this day herself. Reaching into her pocket, she took out a small prescription bottle of Valium and swallowed a pill. She was used to this.

After graduating from college with a business degree, Avery Jackson, the girl next door, knew opening a hair salon wasn’t what her parents expected, but they had always taught their daughter to find what she loved and the money would come. That advice birthed Essentials in View Park, and three years later, Essentials II in Baldwin Hills; a neighborhood beauty salon where there would be no two-hour wait, and everyone would be in and out on time; even on Saturday. Service was better than the highest-end salons, but at neighborhood salon prices.

And she was only twenty-six.

Avery knew she should be the happiest woman in the world. Sometimes she wished she was better at fooling herself, but like most women, she wasn’t able to separate her private life from her business life. Everything melted together, and as she sat in the back office of Essentials going through numbers that didn’t make sense, all she could think of was Alex, her apathetic fiancé, and wondering why she let the phone call she had just hung up on get so out of hand.

She had tried to hold on to her emotions, because Alex only became defensive when she yelled. What was she supposed to do? He had been canceling their plans week after week, and wouldn’t settle on a wedding date. He preached about the pressures of a salesman, telling her the solution was for her to work less. What was happening to them? She was so easily irritated and he was constantly annoyed. All of those qualities, Avery told herself, weren’t as important as their love three years ago, but were becoming more important now after almost a year of being engaged.

“You wanted to see me?”

Avery hadn’t even noticed Craig come into the office, let alone stand at the desk staring down at her with an anxious expression on his face. Craig Moon was a throw-back from the eighties. He was a dead ringer for Phillip Michael Thomas in his Miami Vice days. An expert accountant, after four years he was now a minority owner in the overall business. Avery respected Craig’s talent, but his secretive behavior in the past few months was bothering her.

“Craig, I was just going over last month’s numbers and I think something is—”

“Knowing you can’t count past ten.” He laughed, scanning the documents on her desk.

“I can count, Craig. I have a business degree.”

“I told you I would do that. That’s why you brought me on. I’ll handle it.”

“We’ll handle it.” Avery worked hard not to seem so possessive of Essentials, but it was her baby and she wasn’t going to stand for anyone pushing her out. With all of her frustrations with Alex, she ignored Craig’s increasing tendency to push her away from the numbers. She had to regain her focus. “If we don’t increase our profits, we’ll never be able to open Essentials III.”

Craig grabbed his keys on the hook at the door. “It’ll pick back up.”

“Where are you going?”

“I have some errands. Then I’m off to II.”

Avery let him walk away even though she was angry. She hated coming down hard on Craig—on anyone. That was her problem. She was so preoccupied with keeping peace and making people happy that she was losing control of her business and her relationship. When had she lost her backbone?

Avery knew she had a temper, a spicy side to her, but she had bottled it down recently because it only seemed to anger Alex, making him push away from her. She preferred to hang up on him than deal with him. The old Avery would have called him back and cussed him out, putting him in his place, before asking him what he would like for dinner later that night. This Avery didn’t want to bother starting something. She couldn’t blame that all on Alex.

She needed a distraction. She needed out of this office. Tuesday was one of the slowest days of the week for Essentials, but she welcomed whatever distractions were there. Seeing her business—her child—thriving always made her feel better.

“What’s going on?” Avery sauntered to the front window of the salon where most of the customers were standing, looking out.

“Outside, girl.” Alexa Duchese licked her lips. “It’s Carter Chase.”

As she watched Carter Chase step out of his silver Mercedes SL-Class convertible across the street, Avery felt like she had a brick in her stomach. At least it wasn’t Michael. She wasn’t sure she could take another second of that one. Carter was different. He had a smooth way about him, not as abrasive, so she was told. She had never met him, but everyone knew everything about the Chase boys. Carter was the smooth character; laid back. Even the way he walked across the street, ignoring traffic as if he was sure nothing could ever happen to him, seemed to be in slow motion.

“I can’t believe he’s still single.” Verona Dellis’s hand spread over her heart.

Calabra Velasquez huffed. “I heard he’s single because he’s a big player.”

“I could make him stay home.” Lisa Tyson snapped her fingers. “But I like the younger one. Michael.”

“He’s married to that model thing.” Calabra rolled her eyes.

“She trapped him,” Lisa said. “Got pregnant and made him marry her.”

Avery had heard enough. The black community’s obsession with the Chase family was nauseating. “Okay, ladies. He may look good, but he’s not worth letting your process burn through your head.”

They returned to their places, but never took their eyes off Carter when he entered the store. Avery had no love for any Chase at this point. Not after the last few months of Michael, and she wasn’t about to give Carter a chance either.

Carter flashed a winning smile for the woman standing in front of him, but she didn’t seem impressed. Impossible. She was incredibly attractive in that suburban girl type of way, but this was about business so that didn’t matter either way. Over the last few days, he had let his father’s brooding looks and biting words get to him and he wanted to close this deal even if it meant being an ass. He didn’t like it, but he was just as good at it as anyone. Better. “Can I speak with—?”

“No.” Avery, hands on hips, was ready for him. With her current mood, a good-looking man meant nothing.

“Excuse me, but I need to speak with Avery—”

“That’s me and the answer is no. You can leave now, Mr. Chase.”

As she turned and began walking away, Carter started after her. “I was warned about your stubbornness, but I wasn’t aware you were also unprofessional.”

Avery swung around. “Unprofessional? What you and your brother are doing is what’s unprofessional. Trying to push everyone around.” She reached her office, planning to slam the door for effect, but Carter caught the door just before it closed. “I didn’t invite you in.”

“I don’t push people around. Look, Ms. Jackson. If you would take a second, I can tell you why you should reconsider.”

Avery sat down at her desk, eyeing Carter. Something about him was definitely different than Michael. Even though Michael was meaner, something told her Carter would be harder to fight. “I’m not selling my shops. Your obsession with me is a waste of time.”

“Obsession?” Carter laughed for a second before becoming completely serious. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

“Am I going to have to get a restraining order against your whole family?”

“My brother can be a little—”

“Your brother isn’t a little anything.”

Carter knew now why Michael had been unsuccessful with this woman. She was too smart and Michael tended to underestimate women. He wouldn’t make the same mistake, and he didn’t need to make excuses for Michael. “I’m not my brother, but I’m prepared to offer you twenty-five grand more than his last offer.”

Avery looked him dead in the eye. “No sale.”

“You didn’t even think about it.”

“I don’t need to. Unlike you, money isn’t the deciding factor in why I do what I do.”

Carter helped himself to the chair across from her, never once taking his eyes off her. “You don’t know me well enough to pass judgment, so I suggest you watch your mouth before you put your foot in it.”

Avery paused, her lips forming into a beautifully wicked smile as she thought of where she would like to put her foot. “Your charm is just wooing me off my feet, Mr. Chase. Listen, why don’t I make a deal with you?”

Carter knew he was walking into it, but he would indulge her. “Let’s hear it.”

Avery leaned forward. “I’ll watch my mouth if you get the hell out of my office.”

Carter allowed her to lean back with an accomplished look on her face. She didn’t know who she was dealing with. “That’s a stupid move.”

“There is just no end to your flattery, Mr. Chase.”

“Call me Carter.”

“Mr. Chase, like I told your brother the last four times he tried to buy me out, Essentials is my baby and it’s not for sale.”

“Everything is for sale, Avery. Even you.”

The intensity of his light eyes caught Avery for a second and she couldn’t think of the best comeback. “I already use all of your products. I’ve made enough of a contribution to the Chase wealth machine.”

“You use Chase products because they’re the best out there. Everything we do is the best. And when we take over Essentials—”

“Not gonna happen. Now I have two shops to run. I don’t have time for back and forth with Steven Chase’s little boys.”

Carter gritted his teeth. That one got through, but he wouldn’t let it show. Casually, calmly, he reached into his tailored coat jacket, pulled a contract out of the breast pocket and tossed it on her desk. “At least look at it. It’s much better than anything you’ve been offered. It’s more money than your shop made any of the five years you’ve been open.”

“How do you know how much my shops make?”

Carter ran down her revenue for the past three years, smiling at the sight of her unintentional blink. She was a privately owned business with carefully protected financial information. It was a guilty pleasure, seeing the look on someone’s face when they realized they were dealing with a Chase. Nothing was that protected when it came to his last name.

“I also know,” he added, “that Chase Beauty is going to own this shop as well as that other little joint you run and we’re gonna make it bigger and better than anything you could have dreamed of making it.”

Avery was digging her nails into her palms under the desk. He was different than Michael, all right. He was better. “So now you claim to know my dreams?”

“It’s not about what I know,” he explained. “You know that you could never do for Essentials what we can. And if you learned anything from that state college education you have…”

Avery couldn’t stop her mouth from opening wide. She had lost her footing with him and she needed an out before he got any farther.

“You’ll know,” he continued, “when it’s time to cash in and move on.”

Unsure of how to verbally respond with words, Avery snatched the papers he had given her and ripped them into several pieces before tossing them into the garbage next to her desk. Carter showed no emotion and that un-hinged her even more.

“That was a mistake, Avery.”

“Are you threatening me?”

Carter smiled innocently, showing a genetically inherited smugness. “The police chief’s little girl? I would never.”

“If you’re suggesting I need to hide behind my father to fight you, you’re mistaken. I can handle you by myself. Now get the hell out of my shop.”

Carter stood up. That was enough for now. Winning the big ones took patience, something Michael didn’t have. When he was finished with Avery, she would beg him to take Essentials just to get him out of her life.

“You have a nice day, Avery.”

When he was finally gone, Avery’s head fell flat on the desk and she let out a moan. Although she would never admit it to a soul, he had intimidated her in a way his little brother was never able to, and Avery knew she hadn’t seen the last of him.

Standing outside of Essentials, Carter took a deep breath as he pulled out his cell phone. He had intended to be as polite as professionally possible, but when she referred to him as one of Steven Chase’s little boys, she declared war. This was his fight now, and unlike Michael who went right at you, Carter took the less expected route. From what his private investigator told him, Craig Moon was that route.

Sean thought of his entire apartment and surmised that it was probably the size of Haley’s bedroom. Sizing it up, the only thing that really bothered Sean was the balcony. He noticed the white garden climbing trellis with thick flowery vines on the right side against the house. It was sturdy enough to hold a normal sized person and reached all the way to the ground. The backyard was well manicured, with bushes and statues that could hide a considerable figure. He wondered how much of this big-neck Jason had figured out.

The room was at the west end of the home, which was separated from the neighbors by tall eucalyptus trees. No gate on the sides, which wasn’t good. He knew the family must have a top-notch security system outside as well as in, but sometimes the richest families were the most absentminded when it came to security. He’d seen the results of their mistakes; especially when they didn’t give a damn, which perfectly described Haley. He had to get his mind around that girl.

Returning from the balcony, Sean came face-to-face with a scowling Haley just as she closed the door behind her.

“What in the hell are you doing in my room?” she asked.

“Checking for safety. Your father gave permission.”

“Well, it’s not his room, is it?”

Sean found her sense of entitlement incredible. As if she didn’t owe everything to her father. “You want to make the rules, why don’t you get a place of your own? That way you can give all the permission you want.”

Haley’s lips formed a prissy smile. He was a slow learner. “So I can live like you? No, thanks. Keep your middle-class fantasy. I like my life just fine.”

“Well, if you want to keep that life, I suggest you check that attitude and get with the program.”

“I’m not with anyone’s program but my own.” She looked him over. “You’ll find that out sooner or later. Now get out so I can take a shower.”

What hit Sean wasn’t what she said, but that her eyes told him she really meant it. She wasn’t just trying to be tough. This girl was a serious bitch. “I’m not leaving until I’ve finished my work here.”

“I know what you’re doing. You don’t care about my safety. You’re here to get a peek, aren’t you?”

“You overestimate yourself.”

“That’s not possible.”

“Either way, I’m not leaving yet.”

“Fine.” Haley’s mouth curved into a put-your-seat-belt-on smile. “Then I’ll just have to take the shower with you here.”

Sean couldn’t have turned away if he wanted to and as Haley let her robe drop, revealing her naked body in all its perfection, he knew he didn’t want to.

She smiled victoriously because he couldn’t take his eyes off her. No man could resist her, she knew that much. She had long legs and a curvy body that had brought better men than Detective Jackson to their knees. She walked past him into her bathroom wondering how long he would be frozen in awe. She hoped it was long enough to learn his lesson. No one said no to Haley Chase.

When he entered his downtown L.A. penthouse condo, Carter was too preoccupied with thoughts of Avery to notice something was wrong. He wondered if he could count on Craig to keep their conversations secret. He wanted to feel bad for what he was doing to Craig, but Avery’s stinging words reverberated around him. It was his father in him. Michael embraced that willing-to-do-anything quality, but Carter tried to draw lines. He wasn’t a lawyer because he wanted to be rich. He knew he would be rich no matter what he’d chosen to do. He was a lawyer because he believed in right and wrong, no matter how inconvenient that belief might be at times. Times like this, when he knew what he was doing was wrong, but the Chase blood in his veins urged him to look beyond it. Oh, yes, he was also a lawyer because he had a bloody thirst to win.

It was late, past nine. He was a workaholic, but his law firm was still growing and he wouldn’t ask his lawyers to work till nine if he wasn’t willing to. His father hated him for choosing to start his own law firm instead of working at Chase Beauty and that fueled his already ambitious heart to make Chase Law better than successful.

He heard a noise in the distance, stopping him cold. Usually pitch black when he came home, there were some dimmed lights coming from the dining room. Tossing his keys and briefcase on the console, he cautiously headed down the hallway. Michael always stopped by un-invited.

He stopped at the edge of the dining room, noticing the perfectly set table with catered food and candlelight. Definitely not Michael.

She stood at the entrance to the dining room with a seductive smile on her face. Tall and elegant with long black hair and eyes like coal, her dark skin favored perfectly with the silky peach dress that hugged her curves. Carter’s lips slid into a smile. “Lisette McDaniel.”

“In the flesh.” Her English accent was decidedly upper class. She placed a hand on her hip with a slow tilt of her head. She was a master in the art of enchantment. It was what attracted Carter to her in the first place. He had jumped in too fast and learned his lesson the hard way. Lisette was too expensive for him. Three years after breaking up, every time she came back into his life she wanted one thing. Money.

“When did you get back from London?” he asked.

“Yesterday.” She took a step toward him. Then another. “I had to sleep off a little jag. I miss the Concord. Travel is brutal without it.”

“I don’t remember ever giving you a key.” Never give a woman the key to your home. She’ll assume it’s the same as an engagement ring.

“I don’t need keys to get anywhere I want. You should know that by now.”

Carter wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her to him. She smelled…expensive.

“It’s been a year,” Lisette said. “I assumed you’ve missed me terribly.”

“What if I had come through that door with my girlfriend?”

“Like that would matter to me.”

Carter was always intrigued by her honesty. The woman wasn’t any good and she was proud of it. “That’s not a good girl.”

“I don’t have to be a good girl.” She rubbed up against him. “Because I know you’re a good boy. If there was a woman in your life, you wouldn’t have laid a hand on me. So shut up rich boy and give me a kiss.”

Carter kissed her, remembering immediately the fire they had together. Brief, but hot. Like so many of his relationships. Something inside him was turned on by the confusion of getting everything he wanted from a woman and still being unsatisfied. Suddenly, an image of Avery came to him. Sitting at her desk, lips pressed together, every inch of her ready for a fight she knew she wouldn’t win. Carter leaned back, wondering what was wrong with him thinking of that witch at a time like this.

“What is it?” Lisette asked.

“Nothing,” he answered. “I…I’ve had a long day.”

“I’m good for long days. You used to think so, at least.”

Lisette was exactly what Carter needed tonight even though he knew he would pay for it tomorrow. He grabbed her tighter and kissed her harder this time.

Haley laid still as night under her bedsheets as she heard her bedroom door open. Jeff, the other goon sitting outside of her room, looked in every half hour, so she planned everything perfectly. When she heard the door close again, her covers went flying. She felt that familiar tingling sensation at the idea of doing something wrong and knowing she was going to get away with it. She almost wished she could see the look on their faces when the idiot went crying that she was missing.

She tiptoed to her vanity, checking herself in the mirror. Tight, red silk, BCBG top, black suede, low rise hip-hugging Missoni pants, her hair thrown aimlessly around and a dab of MAC mink satin lipstick. It was a crime to keep someone who looked this good inside. She grabbed her cell phone off the dresser and quietly made her way to her bathroom, closing the door so her phone call would not be heard.

Carly Longoni had a sore throat and she wasn’t supposed to be going out either, but neither of them found any interest in doing what they’re supposed to. The plan was for Carly to wait at the corner on Kelly Street until Haley, who was sneaking off her trellis, got there.

Exiting the bathroom, Haley tiptoed through her room. She stopped for a second certain she heard something fall or clank like glass or porcelain. Her eyes focused on the doorknob, but it didn’t move. After what seemed like a full minute, she slowly reached for her favorite club purse, a tiny Burberry, dropped her cell phone inside and slid it up her arm. She heard a slight squeaking sound as she slid the balcony door open and wasn’t about to risk it to slide it closed.

As soon as she reached the ground she had her path marked out. She had done this plenty of times. Her feet firmly on the ground, Haley didn’t have a chance to scream before a strong hand grabbed her by the shoulder and forced her back. Another hand muffled her screams as she struggled to get free. She wasn’t going out like this. She hadn’t taken two self-defense classes in college for nothing.

Her leg went up and back, her hard-heeled Pradas connecting with his groin. She heard a loud groan as she was let go. Haley knew she should have just run, but being the curious cat she was, she turned around for one more kick while he was down so she could have a head start in getting away. Seeing Sean struggling to get up both surprised and amused her, but angered her more than anything.

“What in the hell are you doing here?”

“Trying to protect you!” Sean finally stood up, his body still vibrating with pain.

“Protect me? You’re the one on the ground.”

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Haley wondered if he was even worth lying to. “I was just trying to get some air without that goon upstairs trying to follow me around.”

“Dressed like that? Please. You’re probably off to meet one of your other married boyfriends.”

The amusement gone, Haley jabbed him in the chest with her elbow. “Get out of my way.” When he grabbed her by the arm, she tried to break free, but his grip was too strong. “What just happened to you the last time you grabbed me?”

“You got lucky that time.” He swung her around, his grip tightening. “You’re getting back in that house.”

Sean ignored her threats as he dragged her across the immense yard and around the house. He wanted to get some sleep at home, but the balcony kept nagging him and he was glad he’d come back if for nothing than just to spoil her plans.

“You need to get a life,” Haley said, already thinking of how she was going to make him pay for this. “I can do whatever I want.”

He stopped suddenly, jolting her as he pulled her to him. He stared into her eyes, using her shock to his advantage. “When your life is in danger, you can’t do whatever you want.”

Haley pushed away from him. “You know I’m not in danger. This is just so you can feel important.”

“Just shut up and come on.”

Haley quickly changed her strategy. Her bellowing was only making him feel superior and when her mother greeted them at the door, she knew playing up his more brutal tendencies would work in her favor and it did. More than her anger at Haley’s attempt to escape, Janet was incensed at Sean’s aggressive grip on her daughter and spent most of the trip back to Haley’s bedroom warning Sean of the repercussions if even the slightest bruise showed up on Haley’s delicate skin. When Haley observed Sean’s mounting frustration, she realized this was much more fun than sneaking out for the night. He was about to explode.

Janet’s incessant nagging ceased to exist when Sean realized what was before them. Still in the chair outside Haley’s bedroom, Jeff was hunched over and he wasn’t moving. As Sean rushed to him, Haley attempted to follow him but Janet held her back.

Sean lifted the heavy man’s upper body. He checked for a pulse and felt it faintly before noticing the cup of coffee half spilled on the floor. “Who gave him this?”

“It had to be Maya,” Janet said.

“This man was drugged.” Sean reached for his gun, pulling it out of his holster.

“Haley, don’t.” Janet reached for her daughter, but Haley escaped her grip. She followed her, adrenaline running through her veins. Whatever was happening, she wanted to get her child out of there.

“There’s no one here.” Sean came out of the bathroom. “We need to search the rest of the house.”

Haley looked around her room, the hair on the back of her neck standing straight up. She felt the same fear as she had on Jack’s boat. Who had been in here? What had they touched? How had they gotten in? What were they planning to do to her? It was too much. Her knees began to give out on her as she called out to her mother.

In the minutes after the intrusion, Sean ushered everyone into the kitchen while they waited for the police and ambulance to arrive. With her mother’s arms around her, Haley watched feeling helpless as chaos ensued around her.

Sean interrogated an anxious Maya even though he didn’t suspect she had anything to do with the drugging. She confessed to making the coffee to help keep Jeff awake, leaving it alone for less than five minutes to chase after Daniel, one of Michael and Kimberly’s twins, who had escaped his bedroom and was traveling the house. Whoever it was had been roaming the house for some time. He had more questions for Jason, who responded with defensive anger toward him and a livid Steven whose yelling was upsetting everyone.

Michael seemed upset that his and Kimberly’s bathroom sex romp was interrupted more than anything, and Janet’s insistence that Kimberly’s negligence was to blame started an argument that brought Haley to the edge. When she screamed for them all to shut up, the sheer volume caused immediate obedience. Everyone looked at her in a way that made her feel damaged, only angering her more.

Sean felt a certain sense of compassion for her, but was glad she finally got it.

Janet looked to her husband. “Steven, I want more police officers here.”

“Make that possible, Detective.” Steven approached Sean.

“Mr. Chase…” Sean wanted to head him off. With baseball playoffs for the Dodgers, and Athletics starting, the Kings’ first home game and the Lakers playing the Spurs, there wasn’t going to be a free cop for days.

Steven leaned in close, his hand firmly but not too aggressively grasping Sean’s elbow. He knew what he was doing. “I know you’ll get it done. What I’m concerned about is now. You saved my daughter’s life.”

Sean tried to ignore the sense of pride a compliment from a man like Steven Chase brought on. “I caught her sneaking out of the house.”

“You’re the only one I trust to protect her.”

Grateful for the ringing of his cell phone, Sean turned away, hoping he hadn’t gotten himself into something he would have to go through hell to get out of.

“Damn!” Only seconds later, Sean faced the curious crowd. He looked at Haley whose eyes were so wide they made her look like a child. “On the way to the hospital, Jeff had an allergic reaction to whatever was given to him. He went into cardiac arrest. He’s dead.”