Hard Risk by Sidney Bristol
Chapter Sixteen
FL.
Robin stared at the Loggerhead turtle floating peacefully in the pool. One flipper was bandaged, but it didn’t seem to mind the injury.
At least the little turtle would recover and be released to go about its natural life.
Harper had tried to talk to her off and on for the last two hours. He’d finally stopped here, at the Turtle Hospital. She wasn’t sure what made him do it, but it had been nice to focus on the educational tour. Anything that made her not think about herself and what she’d done.
It was calming sitting by the little pool with such gentle creatures. The staff would no doubt encourage her to move on before much longer, but until then she wanted to sit and not think.
Jessica had texted to let her know she’d picked up the device from the front desk of the Pearl. Now all Robin could do was wait.
Dad had called twice, but left no message. At Harper’s suggestion, she’d turned her phone off after alerting Jessica. So now it was just Robin and Harper.
Was it a good idea to go all the way out to the Lower Keys like this?
“Ice cream?”
She sucked in a breath, surprised by Harper’s voice, and blinked up at him. He held a vanilla ice cream cone out to her.
“Thanks,” she muttered and took the treat.
He sat on the bench next to her, eating his own ice cream in silence.
What was she going to tell him? What could she tell him?
She should have never gone looking, not if she was going to get this scared at the first sign of conflict. She wasn’t as brave as she’d wanted to believe. This was a job for someone like Jessica, someone who didn’t care about the personal cost so long as they did the right thing.
Robin was pathetic.
“Hey? Hey, what’s wrong?” Harper went to a knee in front of her, peering up at her with concern.
She blinked, but his face only got more blurry.
“Shit, sorry,” she muttered.
He took the ice cream from her and wrapped an arm around her. “Tell me what to do to make it better? Please? Tell me anything at all.”
She bent her head, resting it on his shoulder as a sob escaped her.
Voices of other patrons drifted toward her.
“Can we go? Now? I just want to get out of here,” she said past the lump still in her throat.
“Yeah, my place is still an hour away, but let’s go.” He stood, keeping one hand on her. “Hungry yet?”
She wiped her face then eyed the ice cream. “No, sorry.”
Harper looped a comforting arm around her waist and guided her toward the parking lot, taking the least direct path that happened to allow them to avoid all other people. He also used that time to scarf down the ice cream he’d bought for her.
She got into the SUV and slumped down, out of sight.
This was a job for more than just her and Jessica. Robin needed to tell someone, but was Harper the right person? If he wasn’t, would he know what to do?
He got behind the wheel, ice cream gone, and started the engine, but they didn’t leave. Instead, he turned to face her.
For several moments she stared at the dash, conscious of him looking at her. She could feel his silent plea to trust him, talk to him, open up. But she kept stopping short.
“Is there anything else about my family you don’t like?” she asked, starting where they’d left off last night, more or less.
Harper blew out a breath and turned toward the wheel. She thought he might start driving to dodge the question, but he didn’t.
“There’s something about your uncle… I don’t know how to put it into words. He’s so polite, but it’s like an act. I just have a very bad feeling about him. It’s nothing he’s said or done exactly, just a hunch. Today was a massive fucking red flag, I’d say.” He shifted in his seat, brimming with restless energy and anger. “I wanted to punch him. I wanted to punch his fucking lights out. But I didn’t, and now I wish I had.”
“That wouldn’t have been a good idea,” she muttered, thinking about the gun.
His words soothed her. A little. But it was enough.
If she was going to trust anyone, why not him?
Robin took a calming breath then said the one thing she wanted to shout. “I think Uncle Daar killed my mother.”
“What?” Harper’s head whipped around and he stared at her.
She kept her gaze on the dash and nodded. “When I was ten she died. No, she was murdered. Dad doesn’t like to hear that, so we politely say she died. But she was killed, and they never figured it out.”
“Does your dad think his brother killed his wife?” Harper asked.
Robin snorted. “I think Dad would have put Uncle Daar up to it.”
“What?”
She pulled one leg up under her and turned to take in his reaction. Harper stared at her with wide, surprised eyes. He hadn’t seen this coming. They put on such a good show they’d fooled him.
“I didn’t blame my uncle in the beginning. It wasn’t until a few years later I began to suspect it was Uncle Daar, but I never had a way to prove it. It’s just things he says, stuff I overheard when I was younger, coincidences, things Dad or Saaina say…”
Harper opened and closed his mouth. She didn’t need his prompting to continue now that she’d started.
“In college, I told my best friend everything. We’d stayed in, shared a bottle of wine, and I just told her. The thing about Jessica is that… She’s like a petite, blonde Wonder Woman. She believes in truth and justice and everything good. She kept my secret, but she’s also pushed me to find answers. Not that a pair of college girls can do much of anything. But, she’s now a lawyer and I have unlimited access to our family’s finances and three decades of files.”
Harper’s eyes were wide now. “You’re investigating your uncle?”
She nodded. “Yup. I will admit that I have asked you questions, wondering if maybe Uncle Daar or Dad said something around you. I’m sorry. I never really thought about if that was putting you in danger or not, and I think it did. I really think I did.”
“Did your uncle figure it out? What happened this morning?”
Robin swallowed. Nothing in her wanted to go over that. “Jessica? She gave me a device. I was in my uncle’s room copying his cell phone. When he found me, I’d finished and was just flipping through his wallet because it was there and I was curious.”
“You copied his cell phone?”
“Yeah, but that’s not the weird part.” She licked her lips. “He has an American driver’s license and a gun.”
“What?”
She nodded. “Yeah, crazy, right? Did he get the gun before or after yesterday? Is he worried someone’s coming after him? Or does he always have a gun with him?”
“He had a license? I thought…”
“Uncle Daar is not an American citizen. Dad is.”
Harper blinked at her a time or two. “Do you remember the name on the license?”
Robin shook her head. “It was an Idaho license. I spent more time thinking about that than the name.”
“Close your eyes. Try to remember it?”
She sighed. Jessica would want to know that as well. Better to recall it as soon as possible rather than later. They still needed to check the flight manifests and see if that name lined up with anything documented.
“Gerald? George something?” A lightbulb went off, and she sat up a little straighter. “The last name was Patel.”
Harper leaned toward her. She had his full attention now. “What did you do with the copy of his phone?”
“I gave it to Jessica.”
His eyes went wide. “What? When?”
“I left it at reception for her at the Pearl and she went by and grabbed it.”
“Already? Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I turned my phone off after she confirmed she had it.”
“Damn,” Harper muttered.
Was that a damn of admiration? Or something else?
He reached over and took her hand. “And he found you? Going through his stuff?”
“Yeah.” She clutched his hand. “It was so scary. He’s always calm and soft-spoken. Harper, he was like a completely different person I’ve never met before.”
The worst part was she’d gone from firmly believing Uncle Daar would have paid someone to murder Mom to realizing he could have done it with his bare hands.
Harper pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “Shit, Robin… I wish you would have told me this in the beginning.”
“I don’t think it’s safe for me to go back. I told Uncle Daar I didn’t have any money and was just trying to steal a little cash to buy you a present, but one chat with Dad and he’ll know that’s not the case. Dad won’t cover for me.”
“What can I do to help? I have friends. I know people. Let me help you,” Harper said.
No more questions, no second-guessing her, or doubting her story, just faith in her.
Guilt rolled up in her. And here she’d been wondering if Harper was someone she could trust.
“I… I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I feel like things just got very real.”
“What if I put some of my contacts in touch with your friend, Jessica? What if they could help her analyze the phone data? Where does she live in Miami?” he suggested.
“Oh, Jess doesn’t live in Miami.” Robin shifted and didn’t meet his gaze. “She flew in to help me figure out a way to copy the phone.”
“Christ,” Harper muttered.
“I think the rest of that is something I need to talk to Jessica about. My head’s not clear. I keep having these moments of panic and…”
Her throat was so tight she couldn’t get a squeak out.
Harper reached across the center console and wrapped his arms around her. “You’re amazing, you know that? You’re so fucking amazing.”
“But I’m not.” Yet more tears leaked out and she hated herself for being weak. “I’m scared and I regret ever saying anything now. I’m just so scared, Harper. I’m scared.”
“Hey?” He bent his head, so she had no choice but to look at him. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, got that? It’s me and you now, and I’m not going to let that piece of shit lay another finger on you ever again.”
His violent words shouldn’t warm her insides, but they did. He was fierce and wonderful and there for her.
She should have never doubted him. This wonderful man.
Wednesday. Key West, FL.
Harper finished the call to Samuel as they continued their drive south. Harper’s mind was jumbled and inside he was locked in a conflict.
Robin had come clean to him, but he couldn’t do the same. He had to continue playing his part, pretending he wasn’t after the same thing as her.
Samuel was thrilled to know they had another angle to work on Daar.
This was fucked up.
Both Harper and Robin had set out to use each other. She’d framed her intent softer to his face, but he’d heard her talking to Jessica. He knew that she’d intentionally crashed that first dinner. Her use of him might not be as egregious as his, but it had still happened.
Did that matter though?
It wasn’t like she’d learned anything. He hadn’t been accepted into the inner circle. At best, she’d been included because of him. And that was just plain fucked up. He couldn’t find it in him to be upset at her. It was worse that he’d spent this much time around them without learning anything useful. Even being made aware of the laptop didn’t matter if they couldn’t locate it.
She had such a big heart. Despite her words, he knew she cared about her uncle and father. They’d wronged her and treated her as less than. Despite all of that, she loved them.
Robin was a better human being than Harper would ever be.
“What did your friend say?” Robin asked.
“Hm?” Harper glanced at her. He’d let the silence go on for too long. “He wants you to have Jessica send him a copy and her contact info. Also? Wherever she’s staying, she needs to move. Now. Go home if possible. She can come to us if you’d, rather.”
Robin’s brow furrowed. “You think she’s at risk?”
“Yeah,” he said without hesitation. Shit. But why would he think that? “If you think your uncle managed to have your mother killed, do you think he’d hesitate to kill Jessica? Or you?”
Robin hunched her shoulders and bit her lip, but didn’t answer.
She didn’t need to.
“We’re almost to my place.” He reached over and took her hand. “It’s going to be okay.”
Robin didn’t look convinced.
He couldn’t blame her.
She thought he was just some guy who installed security systems and told people to not click unknown links because that’s how he’d presented himself. She had no way of knowing he had the weight of the entire Task Force at his back and people literally waiting in the wings to help.
Harper was going to have to call Zora because they needed to bring Robin in. No more of this secrets bullshit.
It still rankled that Samuel had insisted to keep playing their roles for now.
Damn it.
The longer this went on the less Robin would trust them in the end, and he didn’t like that. He didn’t want her to stop believing in him. But what choice did he have?
He reached over and took Robin’s hand. The warmth of her skin and the physical tether to her calmed his turbulent thoughts.
When Zora had pitched this, it had all been so easy. What Harper hadn’t counted on was finding someone who made him feel as though he belonged. Because now that he was falling for her, he cared about her. Turning that off wasn’t as easy, and the uncertainty had his insides jumbled.
Logan texted about ten minutes out that the condo was clear and ready for them.
Even stopping at the Turtle Hospital had been a calculated move.
Fuck, Harper hated himself right now.
They pulled past the condo gates and he wound toward his unit.
This wasn’t the rich part of the Keys, and he was okay with that. For a pretty sum, he had a two-bedroom condo with his own yard. He didn’t share walls with anyone, and his privacy was ensured.
Robin got out of the SUV, pushed her sunglasses up, and smiled. “This is cute.”
Harper wrinkled his nose. He’d seen pictures, but this was the first time he’d been here since the HOA repainted the whole damn place. He’d grown accustomed to the mossy-blue from before. Sunshine yellow was not his preferred color.
“It’s so cheerful,” Robin said.
He held out his hand. “Let me show you around.”
Harper let them into the house as his insides withered a little because he knew there were more microphones waiting for them inside. Logan had agreed to none in the bedrooms, but a house this small? There was nothing Harper could do.
When the truth came out, Robin would hate him. He didn’t see a way around that, and he dreaded that day.
Her eyes went round, and she stopped to stare at the big, family portrait. “Is this you as a kid?”
Harper chuckled and wrapped his arms around her.
This wasn’t fair to either of them, but this was life.
His only choice was to enjoy the time they had, or end things prematurely. He wasn’t that good of a person.
Wednesday. Pearl Palace Luxury Resort, Miami, FL.
Daar paced the width of the living room.
It had been hours.
Harper and Robin should be back by now.
Why hadn’t Daar checked their rooms earlier?
He’d been so preoccupied with what was happening in New York City he hadn’t spared the couple much thought until it was far too late.
They were gone.
Fuck.
Footsteps rustled down the hall.
Daar glared at the ceiling.
Peter had escorted Cassim and Saaina back to the villa. They hadn’t had words yet, but they were going to. If they’d betrayed Daar to the chancellor, they were forcing his hand.
“Daar,” Cassim called out. “This is ridiculous. What is going on?”
Saaina glanced around. She didn’t have the dogs at her heels for once. “Where is Robin? And Harper?”
“That’s what I’d like to know,” Daar snapped.
“Where have they gone? What did you do?” Cassim demanded.
Daar didn’t want to open this can. The moment he’d found Robin in his room, the entire family dynamic had changed. Or maybe they were simply peeling back the curtain finally.
“Answer me this, do you give Robin any sort of allowance? Money of any kind?” Daar asked.
“What? Why would I need to?” Cassim snorted and lowered onto the sofa. “Charlotte left Robin a trust fund. She probably has as much money, if not more, than I do.”
Daar closed his eyes.
She’d played him.
Was it really a surprise? A woman as smart and underrated as her?
They’d give her the perfect opportunity.
All three of them had dismissed Robin from their minds. She was relegated to the background, rarely speaking, always useful. Daar would be proud of her if he weren’t so angry.
“I found Robin in my room looking at my wallet.” He turned to look at Cassim. “She told me she didn’t have a dollar to her name, and she wanted to buy Harper a present. So she was going to steal from me.”
Cassim’s face creased. “What? That’s absurd.”
And that wasn’t the half of it.
He didn’t yet know that Daar was aware of the safety deposit box.
The door to the villa opened and Peter stepped in followed by Amaan carrying several utility bags.
“You can’t just barge in here.” Cassim pushed to his feet, the angry aura diminished by the fluffy robe wrapped around himself. “Who are you? What is the meaning of this?”
Peter ignored Cassim and locked eyes on Daar. “We have a problem.”
“You know these people? What’s going on?” Cassim continued to demand answers.
Peter glanced at Amaan, who set a laptop bag down on the kitchen counter.
“My source at the airport finally found the leak,” Amaan announced.
Daar crossed the room, blocking his brother from mind. “And?”
“One of the managers accepted a bribe from a woman.” Amaan pulled out the laptop and opened it. The screen flickered on and a blonde woman with a toothy grin stared back at him. “Her name is Jessica.”
“Jessica? What about Jessica?” Cassim’s shoulder bumped Daar’s as he leaned in to look at the picture. “She looks terrible without make-up on.”
Daar’s stomach sank.
On one hand, he knew Robin had lied to him. For what purpose, he didn’t know, but that was a fact.
on the other hand, he now knew that whoever this Jessica woman was, she was also tied to Robin.
And this whole time Daar had thought it would be his brother who fucked him over.
“Who is Jessica, Cassim?” he asked.
“She’s one of Robin’s sorority sisters. She talks too much.” Cassim glanced at Daar, frowning. “Why do you care?”
He gestured at the screen. “Because this woman has pulled information on every flight I’ve been on in the last month.”
“What? Why?” Cassim asked.
Daar wanted to know.
“She’s a lawyer,” Amaan offered. “District Attorney in Illinois.”
Cassim frowned. “Illinois?”
“Cassim?” Saaina called out.
He glanced at her, eyes going wide. “Oh. Oh!”
Daar watched the exchange with growing trepidation. “What?”
Cassim nodded at the hall. “Go.”
Saaina gathered her robe around her and hustled out. Daar had never seen the woman move that quick.
“When we go out of town, we have a cleaning service come in.” Cassim tapped his phone screen. “Our housekeeper sent us these pictures.”
Daar took the phone.
He only needed one glance.
“Fuck,” he spat and shoved the device at Amaan.
“They found five.” Cassim scowled at nothing. “Listening to you, I think I’m beginning to see the bigger picture.”
Robin’s lawyer friend had put her up to this, no doubt. His niece wouldn’t do this sort of thing on her own.
“Do we know where Jessica is now?” Daar asked.
Amaan handed the phone back to Cassim. “That’s what I’m working on.”
“Who are you?” he demanded.
“It’s better for you if you don’t know,” Daar replied while rolling the details around in his head.
Cassim wasn’t good at subterfuge. If he were keeping a secret, there would be tells. That was why he held the laptop over Daar’s head. Possibly the only secret Cassim had kept in his entire life was the location of Charlotte’s old laptop. Daar might not know his niece well enough, but he knew Cassim.
“Does this mean that business at the airport is related as well?” he asked.
“Probably,” Daar muttered.
“She’s here,” Amaan said.
“Who?”
Amaan turned his screen toward them. “Jessica.”
Daar stared at the screen full of what looked like gibberish. It was code of some kind. How it told Amaan Jessica’s location was beyond Daar.
“Peter?”
Peter turned toward the door, pulling his phone out. “Text me the address.”
Within the hour he’d have people and a strategy.
Daar stared at Cassim, weighing the options.
The chancellor had many resources beyond the typical person. It was possible he’d found out about the safety deposit box another way.
For now, Daar would pretend he didn’t know and see where it led. Cassim, unlike his daughter, wasn’t half as smart.