“There were a lot of different ways to do that. Did you have to pick one that hurt?”
“How the hell was I supposed to tell her the truth about Andrew without hurting her?”
“I’m not talking about Andrew.”
Jack nodded slowly. “You’re right. I should have thought through telling her that I’d been keeping an eye on her. I did it for her own good.”
“No one believes that. You did what was easy, and that’s not allowed. You can’t go around hurting people like that. It’s wrong. Meri matters to me, and I’m going to protect her-even from you.”
Jack stood. He was a good half head taller than Colin and about thirty pounds of muscle heavier. He wanted to tell himself that Colin’s threats were pitiful. The man couldn’t hurt him if he were armed and Jack was unconscious. But he was oddly touched by Colin’s bravery in the face of certain defeat. The man took care of the people who mattered, no matter what it might cost him personally.
“It wasn’t my intention to hurt Meri,” Jack said slowly. “But I’m going to have to do it again.”
Colin narrowed his gaze. “What do you mean?”
“I’m going to make Andrew go away.”
Colin nodded slowly. “I’d like to be there when that happens.”
Andrew’s hotel room overlooked the lake. All the right trappings were there-the computer, the lobbying magazines. He looked the part and he played it well. He’d fooled a lot of people.
“This is a surprise,” Andrew said as he held open the door, a tacit invitation to Jack and Colin. “To what do I owe this honor?”
“I’m here to run you out of town,” Jack said, his voice calm and pleasant. “Colin’s going to watch.”
Nothing about Andrew’s expression changed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Sure you do. I don’t know how you passed the preliminary background check. Maybe you’re that good at covering your tracks. You might have paid off Meri’s investigator, although you couldn’t have paid off mine. So I’ll give you credit for creating a good front.”
Andrew sat on the sofa across from the small fireplace. He waved at the two chairs opposite.
“I’ll stand,” Jack said.
“Me, too,” Colin told him.
“As you prefer,” Andrew said. “I have to tell you, this is all fascinating. So what do you think you’ve found out about me?”
“That you’re married. That you and your wife con people for money. You know Meri is worth nearly a billion dollars. She must have been a hell of a prize for the two of you.”
Andrew’s expression never changed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve never been married.”
“I have copies of the certificate in the car. Do I have to send Colin to get it? I also have the police statements from the people you two duped. Lucky for you, you didn’t break any actual laws. It’s not a crime to be stupid.”
“You have me confused with someone else,” Andrew said calmly. “I care about Meredith. We’ve been dating for a long time. The relationship is serious. As for your ridiculous claims, ask her yourself. I’ve never once talked to her about money.”
“It was all just a matter of time until you did. Or it would have been.”
Andrew was a pro-Jack would give him credit for that. But he was still a rat rooting in garbage.
“It’s all just your word against mine,” Andrew said. “I’m assuming you told Meredith all this?”
Jack nodded.
“She won’t believe you.”
“You sound confident,” Jack said. “Funny she hasn’t phoned you.”
“She will.”
Would she? Was she mad enough at Jack to want to get back with Andrew? How far would she take things?
He didn’t have an answer, so he did the only thing he could think of to protect her.
“How much?” he asked. “Give me a number.”
Andrew smiled. “You want to pay me off.”
“If that’s what it takes. How much?”
The other man hesitated, and in that moment Jack knew he’d been right. If Andrew had been who he claimed, he would have refused any payment.
“Ten million,” Andrew said. “Ten million and I’ll sign anything you want.”
“Five million and you’ll still sign.”
Andrew smiled. “Done.”
Twenty minutes later Jack and Colin were back in Jack’s car.
“You paid him off,” Colin said. “I thought you’d just beat the crap out of him and be done with it.”
“That would have been my preference. But he’s good at what he does. He could have gone back to Meri and convinced her I was the jerk in all this. This way, she’ll never want him back. He can’t ever hurt her.”
He had a copy of the check he’d written to Andrew, along with a signed letter saying Andrew was freely taking the money in exchange for never seeing Meri again. Just to be safe, Jack had insisted on a thumbprint under the signature.
“So it’s done,” Colin said. “She’s safe.”
“It’s not done,” Jack told him. “Now I have to tell her what happened.”
The house was quiet when they returned. Colin disappeared downstairs, probably to fill Betina in on what had happened. The nerd brigade hadn’t shown up for work, which had probably been previously arranged to give Meri some time alone. Better for him, he thought.
He walked up the stairs to the bedroom level and walked to her closed door. After knocking, he pushed it open.
She’d pulled a chair over to the window. She sat curled up in the chair, staring out at the lake.
“Go away,” she said without looking at him.
“How do you know I’m not Betina or Colin?”
“I recognized your footsteps.”
“Not my ‘foul stench?’”
She turned to look at him. Her face was pale, her eyes red and swollen. “Don’t you dare quote Star Wars to me, Jack. You haven’t the right.”
She was hurt. He could see it, but worse, he could feel it. Her pain was a tangible creature in the room. It didn’t attack him. Instead it lived and breathed, reminding him that he’d let her down…again.
“We have to talk,” he told her.
“No, thanks. I have nothing to say to you.”
“That’s okay. I’ll do the talking. You just listen.”
She shrugged, then turned her head back so she was facing the window. He didn’t know if she was looking out or not. He had a feeling she was crying, which made him feel like crap.
“Andrew’s gone,” he said.
“Let me guess. You bought him off.”
“I didn’t trust him to leave any other way.”
“And you didn’t trust me to be able to resist him? Do you think he’s that charming or that I’m that weak?”
“You’re pissed at me. I didn’t know how far you’d go to punish me.”
She drew her knees to her chest. “I wouldn’t give myself to a man who lied to me or tried to play me. You’re not worth that.”
“I wasn’t sure.”
“How much?”
He could have lied. He could have said there wasn’t money involved. But he wanted to be honest with her.
“Five million.”
She didn’t react. “I’ll have my accountant send you a check.”
“You don’t need to pay me back. I wanted to keep you safe. That’s what I’ve always wanted.”
“Because of your promise to Hunter?”
“Yes.”
“But not because of me.”
