One Good Reason (A Boston Love Story Book 3) (19 page)

“Zoe makes her own decisions,” Parker volleys back. “Always will, when she’s with me. That’s exactly why she’ll never be with someone like you.”

“Enough,” Nate growls. “Both of you. Or I’ll make you leave.”

They shut up. Grudgingly.

For a moment, there’s total silence in the loft. I sink back onto the edge of my bed, feeling exhausted down to my marrow from the attack, the onslaught of emotions,
everything
.

“Luca,” I start in a soft voice that makes the three of them focus on me. “He wasn’t talking about Parker.”

“What?” they all say in unison.

“The man… he was talking about you.” I look at my best friend, hating to see the guilt filling his eyes as he stares back at me. “The factory. He must’ve seen you there, when you went to check it out.”

The blood drains out of Luca’s face as he realizes what that means — that he’s the one who endangered my life. Not Parker, who he was so quick to blame.

“What are you talking about?” Nate asks. “What factory?”

“Does this have to do with the Lancaster case?” Parker adds, sitting down by my side again.

“Lancaster?” Nate’s voice is dark. “Robert Lancaster? The CEO of Lancaster Consolidated?”

“I think so.” I chew my lip. “Luca and I… well, we were investigating some of the LC financials, after they screwed all their employees out of their pensions and closed the factories without warning. But… I think we found something.” I glance at Parker. “Something bigger.”

“Explain,” Nate says in a no-nonsense tone.

I do a quick run-through of my trip to the Lynn factory, the pipes I found, the man who was watching me from across the parking lot as I left.

“You didn’t tell me about that,” Luca growls angrily. “You never fucking said there was some LC goon keeping tabs you. Jesus, babe, what were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t sure he was watching me! Not really!” I protest. “How could I know something like that?”

“Still should’ve told me,” Luca grumbles.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I think…”

“What?” Parker asks.

“I think it might’ve been the same guy. The one watching me at the factory and the one who attacked me.” I expel a sharp breath. “I’m not positive. It’s just… a gut feeling.”

The three of them are silent for a few moments, each lost in their thoughts.

It’s Nate, who finally breaks the silence. “So, you think Lancaster is covering something up.”

“I don’t just
think
,” I say, rising shakily to my feet and crossing to the desk where I keep the file with all my notes from the investigation. “I found a work order, proving the pipes were installed after the plant closed.”

I pass the document to Nate, and he studies it for a long moment. “Could be asbestos, some kind of toxin he exposed his employees to, while they were working at the factory. No other reason to go in and change out the pipes after closing things down. Especially if he’s just going to demolish it in a few months.”

“He’s covering his ass,” Parker mutters.

“That’s the sense I got, when I went to the plant,” Luca says, nodding. “Air ducts had been scrubbed, too. And the water pipes had been rigged to pump shit straight into the bay. Highly doubt that’s compliant with EPA guidelines, but in a pinch, if you’re trying to flush your system and get rid of evidence…”

“It’s all circumstantial.” Nate shrugs. “We don’t have anything besides the work order and a sense of suspicion.”

“And the fact that Lancaster is a shitty, corrupt fucking asshole.” Parker sounds pissed beyond belief.

“Agreed,” Luca mutters.

“Did we just agree on something?” Parker’s eyebrows lift.

Luca’s mouth twitches. “Don’t push it, rich boy.”

“Wait. Asbestos…” My voice is soft. “That would cause medical problems, right?”

Nate nods. “Anything from mesothelioma to lung cancer to immune system disorders.”

“Hold on a second,” I whisper, limping over to my computer. It takes a minute, but I pull up the document I was looking for and scroll down until I find it. “There! Right there.” I jab my fingers at the screen and the three of them lean close to read the name on at the bottom of the staff list.

“Doctor Charles Birkin,” Nate mutters, staring at the thumbnail image of the middle-aged man in a white lab coat. “Who the hell is that?”

“And why did Lancaster need a full-time doctor onsite at the Lynn factory?” Parker adds.

“I found an email from Lancaster to his Head of Security, a guy named Linus… he mentioned Birkin in the message, along with some kind of transfer – I’m guessing it was a payoff.” I feel puzzle pieces starting to snap together in my brain. “I did a little digging to see what I could find on Birkin. Turns out, Lancaster was a big proponent of in-house medical visits for his workers. Oddly considerate, since he paid most of them minimum wage. Don’t you think?”

“He knew they were sick. Or… that they’ll get sick eventually.” Luca sounds disgusted. “I can’t fucking believe this.”

“He thinks if he makes it look like he fired ten thousand workers because of budgetary issues, he’ll be able to avoid paying out millions in healthcare costs for workers he poisoned.” My voice is dark. “That fucking asshole.”

“If he gets rid of them now, he’s less liable in their lawsuits when they finally start getting sick and realize what’s happening.” Parker’s hand squeezes my shoulder. “From a business standpoint, he’s covering his ass.”

“We’ll need to talk to some of the workers to confirm,” Nate says. “See if any of them are exhibiting health symptoms, find out exactly how many times they saw Lancaster’s doctor and what he told them about their health. Maybe get them in to see an actual, unbiased health professional.”

“Shouldn’t be tough. Most of them live locally,” Luca mutters. “I can start making house calls later today.”

“Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve,” I remind him. “Not exactly the gift most of them were hoping for.”

Luca shrugs. “If you had cancer, wouldn’t you want to know sooner than later?”

“Point taken.” I push away from my computer and start to pace. “Lancaster is not going to get away with this. I’m going to pin that bastard to the wall, so help me god.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Parker steps in front of me and places his hands on my shoulders to stop my pacing. “Let’s keep in mind for a second that literally three hours ago, Lancaster sent some thug from his security team to attack you, right outside your home. If you think you’re still going after him, you’re dead wrong, darling.”

My mouth drops open to retort, but Luca jumps in before I can.

“He’s right, babe.”

I whirl to face my best friend. “You’re fucking kidding me, right?”

He stares back stonily.

Parker’s expression is identical.

“Great! You two finally start agreeing on shit at the worst possible time.” I scream in frustration. “How can you even think I’m going to consider walking away from this? That I’d let Lancaster get away with what he’s doing? It’s my case! My investigation! You can’t take it from me.”

“No one’s expecting you to let Lancaster get away with this,” Nate says in that deep, intense voice of his.

I glance at him and see he’s totally serious. My brows lift. “You aren’t?”

His head shakes. “I’ll take over on the investigative end. Do some surveillance, put ears to the ground and see what I hear. No offense, but it’s what I do for a living, and I’ll find out more in a shorter time frame than you could anyway.”

I scowl.
He’s a patronizing ass.

Unfortunately, he’s also right.

“And I suppose you just expect me to sit on my hands and do nothing?” I ask in a scathing tone.

Nate’s head shakes. “No. I expect you to do what you’re best at — keep pouring through his files until you find things we can use against him.”

“Nothing I find is going to be admissible in a court of law. Hacking a server isn’t exactly the same as possessing a search warrant,” I point out. “You do realize that, right?”

Nate’s lips slowly curl into a scary smile. “Who said anything about a court of law?”

A shiver goes up my spine. This boy does
not
fuck around.

“I’ll go get started.” Nate nods at Parker. “Let you know what I find out.” His gaze moves to Luca. “It would be helpful if you could come back to headquarters, discuss some of the shit you found at the factory in more detail with me and my men. I’m sure Lancaster has the area locked down, now that they know you and Zoe are digging into things. We might not be able to get in a second time.”

Luca nods. “All right.” He glances at me, then Parker, then back at me. “You gonna be okay?”

I roll my eyes. “Luca.”

He holds his hands up in surrender. “Fine. Got it. I’m going.” He turns and starts for the elevator, gets halfway there, stops in his tracks, and stomps back to me. Before I can ask what he’s doing, he hooks an arm around my neck, hauls me close, and plants a kiss on the side of my head. “Scared me today, babe. Don’t do it again.”

“I’ll do my best,” I whisper, telling myself not to cry.

He nods, turns, and follows Nate into the elevator. I wave as the doors slide shut and they rattle away. When the sound of the elevator fades, the loft is abruptly silent. Parker Can’t-Stop-Babbling West is uncharacteristically quiet. I look at him, fully prepared to ask if he’s feeling feverish, and feel my eyes widen.

He’s sitting on the edge of my bed with his face in his hands.

My feet falter. The words dry up on my tongue.

I’ve never seen him look so utterly…
Defeated
. That’s the only word for it. It sends an awful, gut-wrenching sensation through me.

“Parker?” My voice is shaky as I walk slowly toward him and sink down by his side on the edge of the mattress. “Honey… are you okay?”

He heaves a sigh and pulls his hands away to glance over at me. “Are you?” he asks in a broken voice.

I blink. “It’s just a cut. It’ll heal. I’ll be fine.”

“I’m not talking about the cut, Zoe.”

“Then…” My mouth gapes a bit. “I… I don’t know what you mean.”

He looks away. “I talked to Phoebe.”

A lump forms in my throat. No matter how many times I swallow, I can’t seem to dislodge it. “Oh? And?”

He looks back at me and his hazel eyes are so sad it steals my breath. “And she told me what happened. You storming out of lunch with the girls.”

“So, I didn’t want to sit around gossiping over cupcakes. Sue me.”

“We’ll get to the reason you stormed out of there later.” He straightens so he’s no longer hunched over and stares down into my eyes. “Point is, that was hours ago, Zoe. Phoebe called me at two. I found you at six. Lying in the snow, half frozen to death. You were fucking blue. I thought…” His voice breaks, and it damn near kills me to hear it. He runs a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated, and when he speaks again his tone is low, like he’s barely hanging onto his control. “I thought you were dead.”

I suck in a breath. With a tentative hand, I reach for his. He flinches when my fingers curl over his knuckles.

“I’m happy you found me,” I whisper. “You saved me.”

He pulls his hand from mine and I feel something painful fissure through my heart.

“Are you really happy?” he asks, a note of disbelief in his voice.

“Of course I am. What, do you think…” I swallow. “Do you think I wanted to die out there? That I wanted to be attacked and left out in the snow?”

He rises to his feet and starts to pace. “I don’t know what the fuck to think, Zoe. All I do know is, at any point in the four hours you were out there wandering in a fucking blizzard, sad and scared and upset… you could’ve called me. I would’ve dropped anything to come find you. No matter what.” A muscle jumps in his cheek. “You chose not to do that. And then, some man attacks you…” He looks at me with ghosts in his eyes. “You’re a fighter. I’ve known it since the second I clapped eyes on you. And yet, today, when you were cornered, when you were knocked down… You didn’t get back up. Didn’t call for help. Didn’t
fight
.”

My heart is pounding too fast and I feel dangerously close to falling apart. “What are you asking?” I force myself to say.

His eyes hold mine captive. “Did you stop fighting? Is there a part of you that wanted to slip away, out there on that street?”

Horror surges through me as I feel my eyes start to fill with tears. They spill down my cheeks in a rush, but not a single one of them has a chance to hit the floor because suddenly Parker’s there, his hands cupping my cheeks, his face a hairsbreadth from mine.

“Shhh,” he breathes. “It’s okay, Zoe. It’s okay.”

“I just…” I cough on a sob. “I was just so tired. It was too much. My parents. That night. Replaying in my head like a horror film, over and over. It rattled me. And so, when he dropped me into the snow… I guess there was a part of me that was just too damn tired to get back up.”

Parker’s big hands hold my cheeks, so I can’t look away. “Zoe.” His voice breaks on the word. “Next time, you call me. You can’t find your feet? I’ll be there to pull you up. You can’t walk? I’ll fucking carry you.” He comes closer, until I can’t see anything except his eyes, and I’m pretty sure they’re the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen in my twenty-four years of life. There’s redemption and forgiveness in his gaze — no judgment or fear.

My broken pieces don’t scare him.

He doesn’t pretend they don’t exist.

He sees me for exactly who I am… and he’s here anyway.

“You think the world is too ugly to exist in anymore? I’ll be here to remind you how fucking beautiful it can be.” His voice is a vow. “I promise, darling. I’ll be here. But I can’t help you if you won’t let me.”

“I’m sorry. I should’ve called. I should’ve…” More tears spill.

He stares at me and I can’t decipher the look in his eyes. “Do you want this, Zoe? This beautiful, messy, crazy life? Because I’ve seen what depression does to people. I’ve watched it tear families limb from limb. My family… When my mom…” His jaw clenches tight as he bites back words he can’t let himself speak. “I have to know you want to be here. That you’re still willing to fight. Everything is fixable… but you have to
want
to fix it. You have to
want
to be here.” He hauls in a breath to steady himself. “You have to want it, darling. More than all the shitty days and the heartbreaks and the awful fucking horror of losing people… you have to want to live anyway.”