Doing It Over (A Most Likely to Novel Book 1) (28 page)

Melanie placed both hands on her hips. “I’m not telling you.”

“Oh, for God’s sake.”

“You have to promise you’ll stay away. If he sees you, he’ll think I lied and question why I even want to talk to him.”

“Sure, fine . . . when is he coming?”

“I can handle Nathan.”

He didn’t believe that either.

“What? You don’t think I can, do you?”

“I didn’t say a thing.”

She turned away and started toward the back stairs to the rooms.

“We’re not done, Melanie.”

“Yes we are.”

She stormed up the stairs as Wyatt’s father said, “Well that went well.”

“I don’t like it,” Jo mimicked Wyatt’s concerns.

“See?” Wyatt waved in Jo’s direction as he tried triple hard to get everyone in the room to suggest he accompany Melanie to the meeting with Nathan.

“We need him to talk,” William told them. “Now, I know you want to be by her side, son, but if the guy clams up, it’s all for nothing.”

“I’ll be there, bud. Nothing will happen,” Luke said.

“Why you and not me?” Wyatt felt like he was whining. “Jo, tell them.”

Jo passed a few glances around the room. “You misunderstood, Wyatt. I don’t like the fact that he asked that I not be there.”

“You’re a cop. That makes sense,” he said.

“You’re sleeping with her, that makes sense,” Luke stated the obvious.

“Please, guys, I’m right here. This is all ridiculous. I will meet with Nathan; Luke will drive me and wait in the car. I’ll wear that wire thing Jo has. The most that will happen is he won’t say anything about the marriage certificate that implicates him. He might catch on without everyone being there. He will know something is up if the place is littered with familiar faces.”

It didn’t feel right, and Wyatt didn’t like it.

“I’m going to be okay, Wyatt. I know how to yell
fire
and call attention to myself if I feel threatened. We will be in a public place.”

“Agent Burton is due back in Eugene on Monday, maybe I can get her to blend in close by.”

“She’s still here?” Melanie asked.

“Yeah, there’s a lead on Ty she’s going to check out.”

“Who is Ty?” William asked.

“Remember the two guys you got into it with at R&B’s?”

Luke and Wyatt exchanged glances. “Kinda hard to forget. Weren’t there more than two?”

“Yeah, but one of them came back when he heard about what happened to Hope. Seems that little bar fight wasn’t random.”

“What?” Luke asked.

“Buddy, the one who came back, thought it was a little too coincidental that he and his friend Ty were paid to pull you into a bar fight. Then he sees what happened with Hope on the news, saw you in the feed. He has an issue with people hurting kids.”

“Why would someone pay to force me into a fight?” Wyatt had a hard time wrapping his head around that.

“That’s what we’re working on. The running theory is Mr. Lewis was casing the place, wanted to see that you weren’t around. Finding the second guy is key since Buddy didn’t deal with the person who paid them.”

Melanie stood. “See why I need you here?” she asked. “I need to know Hope is safe, Wyatt. She trusts you above everyone.”

“You think you can get your FBI friend to follow Mel?” Wyatt asked.

“I don’t see why not. She’s been at my house for the better part of the week.”

“Great.” Melanie pushed off the couch. “Show me how that wire thing works, Jo, and let’s go. I want to get this over with.”

“Let me call Burton, have her drive ahead of us so she’s in place before Nathan even shows up.” Jo left the room.

“Keep her safe, Luke.”

“She’s like a sister, dude. I won’t let anything happen to her.”

“Better not.” He hated being benched.

“Jeez, he has it bad!” Luke said to William.

“Sure does.”

“Screw you both,” Wyatt said as he left to follow Melanie.

He met her in her bedroom while she was changing her shirt. He didn’t bother knocking and didn’t offer any privacy when he saw her undressing. “I’m going to be okay,” she said over her shoulder.

“You haven’t been out of my sight for more than a few hours since all this happened.”

She tossed her shirt on the bed, grabbed another. “How do you think I feel? I haven’t left Hope at all. I couldn’t do it if I thought she wasn’t protected.”

“Jo can stay.”

“Yeah, but you know what?” She stopped messing with her shirt and placed both arms on his shoulders. “It’s you Hope asks about. It’s you she feels safe with.”

He leaned his forehead against hers. “I hate this.”

“If I can get Nathan to say something . . . anything that proves I didn’t sign that damn paper, think of how much less time either of us has to deal with this. I’d love to focus on one thing . . . finding Lewis and putting him in jail for a long, long time.”

“Fine. But if you’re not back—”

“Ready, Mel-Bel?” Jo walked into the room. “Oops, sorry.”

“Stop, we were just saying what needed to be said.” Melanie placed a quick kiss against his lips and pushed him away.

Jo moved into the room and started taping the wire on Melanie’s delicate skin. Once it was secure, the bulk of the device tucked into her bra, she put her shirt on and buttoned it up. “The receiver will be in the car, with Luke recording the conversation.”

“He can hear the whole thing?”

“Yeah. Remember, if you start to feel uncomfortable, tell Nathan you have a headache and leave. If at that point you don’t walk out, Luke will come in and get you.”

“Sounds simple.”

“It is. Agent Burton will be close by, but you probably won’t see her. Don’t stress that.”

“Okay. Now, everyone needs to act normal or Hope is going to catch on,” Melanie told them both.

“I’ll see you outside then, and make sure Luke knows what’s going on.”

Jo left, leaving Wyatt and Melanie alone.

His palms itched, his head screamed with worry.

“Kiss me,” she told him.

He didn’t have to be told twice. His kiss didn’t linger, it just said he cared. “Be safe. Don’t take any chances.”

“Wyatt. I’m not wired to speak with a drug lord. It’s Nathan . . . a putz, but hardly a criminal.”

He didn’t feel any better.

He kissed her again. “Be safe.”

“I will.”

She was actually nervous. They were driving north of River Bend to Waterville. The only real meeting place was a burger joint that doubled as a pizza parlor. It was public, and often loud, but it wasn’t in River Bend and it wasn’t all the way in Eugene, which Melanie refused since it was too far from Hope.

Luke drove around the restaurant before finding a space close enough to pick up a signal from the wire.

“He’s going to see me out here,” Luke said.

“I told him you were with me and that you’d stay in the car. He seemed to understand the threats and didn’t argue.”

“Good.”

She saw him step out of a rental car a few slots away and head inside. “Here goes nothing.”

“I’m right here.”

She winked and stepped out of the truck.

A pair of dress slacks and a pullover shirt replaced Nathan’s normal suit. He saw her approach and looked around. “No posse this time?”

She pointed toward the truck Luke was driving. “Just Luke.”

Luke shot his hand in the air with a little wave and a smile.

Nathan shuffled his feet before stepping inside the burger joint. It was after two, and the place wasn’t filled to the brim, but it was noisy.

They found a small table by the window and sat.

“Thank you for meeting with me.”

“My attorney suggested I not,” he said.

“Mine, too,” she lied.

“Why am I here, Melanie?”

“I need to know why. Why are you doing this?”

He looked around the restaurant. The place was filled with teenagers and young twentysomethings. No police or lawyers to be found.

“I want to know my daughter.”

If that was so, then why wasn’t he asking about her?

“Why now?”

“I’m in a better place now.”

Words he said the first time he walked into town.

“Okay.”

His eyes swung to hers. “Okay, what?”

“I think you should get to know Hope, too. Maybe you should come over for dinner.”

He seemed shocked.

“You’re serious?”

“Right now she’s scared to death you’re going to take her away. I can’t have her afraid of her own father, can I?”

“I don’t think my attorney will think that’s all right.”

Scurrying away already.
What a shock.

“It doesn’t have to be tonight.”

His head nodded like one of those bobblehead dolls. “Probably something we should plan.”

“Right, for Hope’s sake.”

His untrusting eyes narrowed. “Why the change of heart?”

Melanie attempted to act unaffected. “I know I’m not going to win.”

“Why?”

“You’re smarter than me.” He always told her how his intelligence outweighed hers when they were together. A part of his ego she didn’t feed then.

“You didn’t used to think so.”

“Yeah, well . . . I do now. You managed to come up with a marriage certificate, and we both know that didn’t happen.”

He left a smile on his face but didn’t say a thing.

A smile wasn’t being recorded.

“What I don’t really understand is why. Why fake that kind of thing?”

He leaned forward, lowered his voice. “I told you I wanted to get married.”

“I suggested we wait.”

“Well, I’m a man of action, not words.”

“But I didn’t sign that paper.”

He huffed a small breath. “Yes, you did.”

“When?”
C’mon Nathan . . . be cocky you son of a bitch.

“Right about the time you were signing all the papers for Hope’s legal name after she was born.”

Melanie had one of those moments when the light bulb goes on and everything makes sense. The delivery had been hard, and the doctors had given her medications for pain. She remembered signing stuff, like every new parent. They argued about Hope’s last name, but Nathan had relented after she signed . . . like it didn’t really matter.

“You slipped the papers in the mix. It makes sense now.”

“So let’s talk about making this divorce happen as quickly as possible,” Nathan said.

“Considering I didn’t know I was married, I think that’s a brilliant idea.”

“You’ll cooperate?”

No, but he didn’t need to hear that. “Sure. I never thought I’d keep Hope to myself forever. Are you really ready to be a dad?”

He hesitated. The man couldn’t even say the words. “O-of course. Hope needs a dad.”

It was time to wrap this up . . . she had what she wanted. “Do you think we might give her some time? After all, there’s been a lot of drama in her life.”

“I think that’s reasonable. No one could argue she’s been through a lot.” And he would look like a caring father if he didn’t push at this point. All he really wanted was the divorce and good standing with his family. After the
American Fugitive
program, he probably realized that sympathy would lie in her court. He really wasn’t stupid.

An asshole, but not stupid.

“They have a lead, by the way.”

“A what?”

She placed the strap of her purse over her shoulder, knowing he cared about the case of finding their daughter’s attacker about as much as he cared to buy pizza from a burger joint.

“Yeah . . . apparently the fight Wyatt and Luke got into at the bar wasn’t an accident.”

Nathan sat silent.

“You know about the fight. That social worker you sicced on me told you, I’m sure.”

“I heard about the fight. What do you mean it wasn’t an accident?”

Good, he wasn’t playing stupid. She hated when he did that.

“One of the guys involved came into the station after he saw the footage on TV.”

Nathan’s face turned white.

“Which one?”

“Which who?”

She saw his white face start to turn red. Something he never did control when he got mad. She used to tease him that he’d make a terrible attorney if his parents ever convinced him to finish law school because he had a horrible poker face. “Which guy came in?”

“Buddy. Jo said it was Buddy.”