Your Eyes Don't Lie (39 page)

She struggled to hang onto consciousness.
I’m sorry, Nate,
she thought as Lenny’s fist came at her again.

It never reached its goal.

Lenny was jerked from her side. Makay gasped as Harrison loomed over both of them. He punched Lenny again and again. “Never!” he shouted at Lenny. “You will never touch her again!” He hit Lenny another time. Lenny slugged back. The two rolled over the floor, punching and grunting.

Makay scrambled to her hands and knees, thinking to help, but the movement made her so dizzy she couldn’t tell which man was Harrison. Abruptly, the movement stopped. As her sight cleared, she saw Lenny huddled in the corner of the kitchen with a gun in his hand.

“I’ll shoot,” Lenny barked. Blood from several cuts streamed down his face. “I really will.” He staggered upright, his eyes going briefly to Makay. He motioned Harrison to his feet. “Fine, you guys want out. I’ll make a call. You’ll get out. Out of the blackmail business and out of life all together.”

“Just let us go,” Makay pleaded. She tried to stand, but the fire in her ribs convinced her to remain on the floor.

Lenny’s head shook back and forth. “It’s not just me anymore. It’s the guys I work for. Once I tell them what you tried to do here,” he waved the gun toward the grocery sack near Makay, where a bag of white powder was in plain view, “they’ll make sure you never become a problem again.”

Makay glanced at Harrison. He was also bleeding from various cuts, but though his face was flushed, his eyes appeared calm. “Stand up, Makay,” he said.

He’s going for the gun.
She knew it. “Harrison, no,” she whispered. “Don’t move.” As long as Lenny didn’t shoot now, there was always a chance of talking him down, of reminding him that she could still help with the blackmailing. But you couldn’t undo death. Not ever.

“Listen to her,” Lenny sneered.

Harrison ignored him. “I love you, Makay. Run!” He stepped forward.

Makay saw Lenny’s finger tighten on the trigger. She started to scream, but at that moment a half dozen men in uniforms erupted into the kitchen, coming from both the balcony and the living room. Lenny turned the gun toward the movement, back and forth at the men.

“Police!” someone shouted. “Drop the gun! Kick it over.”

Lenny’s face became a pasty white. “Okay, okay.” He leaned over and placed the gun on the floor, sliding it with his foot across the tile. “I don’t know anything,” he said. “These two broke into my house. They have drugs, I think. I was only protecting myself.”

A big, olive-skinned officer who could have played the lead in
Rocky,
complete with a flat nose that had probably been broken more than once, rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right. We know all about you Lenny Pagolino. Or should we call you Sean Edwards?”

“It was her!” Lenny pointed at Makay. “She’s the one who did all the blackmail. There’s a folder here somewhere. It tells the truth. The rest of these folders are stuff she faked. I’m innocent!”

“Save it for someone who cares. And that ain’t me.” The officer gestured to two of the others. “Cuff him and get him out of here.”

In two seconds, Harrison was at Makay’s side, helping her off the floor and standing between her and Lenny’s ugly glare. “You okay?” he asked.

She nodded, glad he didn’t immediately let her go. “Better now.”

He gave a soft snort. “Me, too.”

They watched as the officers walked Lenny from the room. Makay wondered if Harrison felt as much satisfaction at Lenny’s drooping shoulders as she did.

A commotion in the next room made Makay tear her eyes away from his. “Let me through! I want to see my son!” Sherry Matthews appeared in the kitchen doorway. Her face was drawn tight with anxiety and her perfectly coifed hair looked worse for wear. “Oh, thank God you’re safe!” She launched herself across the room, heedless of the officers’ weapons, and hugged Harrison.

“But what are you—” Harrison began, breaking off as understanding came to his face.

She called the police,
Makay thought, realizing it more from his expression of wonder than from any deduction skills of her own.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t get them here earlier.” Sherry’s eyes ran back and forth between them. “I’m so grateful you’re safe. Both of you.”

The big officer with the flat nose approached. “We’ll need statements from all of you before we can officially let you go. I’d like you to come down to the station for that.” He dipped his head toward Sherry. “You, too, ma’am.”

Sherry paled and Harrison frowned. “Look,” he said. “My mother wasn’t here. She only knows what I know. We’d really like to keep her out of this if we can.”

“I think you’ll have what you need here.” Makay pointed at the grocery sack one of the officers was investigating. “Enough evidence to convict him, I mean. All she knows is about the blackmail notes, and Harrison was dealing with that all along.”

“Please,” Harrison added, “it will make her life difficult. You have no idea. It’s why he was able to blackmail her in the first place.”

The officer’s gaze swung back and forth between them. “Okay,” he said finally. “But that may change if we need more information. I’ll call you personally when we’re ready to release the money you paid. It looks like my men recovered it.”

Color seeped back into Sherry’s face. “Thank you. You have my cell number.”

Nodding, the officer focused on Makay and Harrison. “One of my men will escort you two to the station. Just a formality until we understand exactly what happened here. We won’t need cuffs or anything.” His phone rang. “Yeah? Oh. I see. Okay.” He hung up and said to Sherry. “Apparently someone called the press. I wouldn’t go down there yet unless you want your face plastered on the late news. I’ll get rid of them and have one of my officers let you know when it’s safe to leave. We’ll be here for a while collecting evidence anyway. Just keep clear of the officers so they can work.”

“Thank you,” Sherry murmured.

He nodded and strode toward the door with a boxer’s light gait. Makay found herself wanting to ask if he’d spent time in the ring. Harrison was still holding her up, and Makay stepped away, making a conscious effort not to lean on him, even though her insides felt like mulch and her head ached from Lenny’s punch. At least the staples on the back of her head and the stitches on her face seemed to be intact.

Harrison put an arm around his mother, leaning his head toward hers. “Thanks, Mom.”

Her smile was sad. “I knew you were in danger. A mother always knows.”

While Makay could never really know for sure if Lenny would have pulled the trigger, she owed Sherry Matthews more than she’d ever be able to repay. “Sherry,” she said, her voice low so the officers wouldn’t hear. “I found out that your daughter never contacted Lenny. She’s had a great life. She’s a teacher, and she’s engaged to be married.” Makay glanced at Harrison. “She even has a big brother.”

Sherry’s smile held none of its former reserve. “Thank you. That means a lot to me. It’s . . . freeing.” She paused before adding, “I hope you’ll be free now, too. I really do.”

Makay nodded, blinking hard to keep in her emotion. She was glad everything seemed to be working out for Harrison’s family, but it was very possible that the police might toss her in jail and throw away the proverbial key. And maybe she deserved it.

<><><>

A
t the police station, Makay and Harrison were separated and questioned. By the time Makay finally signed her statement, the remaining daylight had long since burned to darkness. After the questioning, the flat-nosed policeman, Officer Sharpel, left the room for a long moment while he conferred with his superiors. Makay had called Lily on Harrison’s phone before leaving for the police station, but she wondered what Lily would think if she called again and told her she was being arrested. A pit of hardness grew in her stomach. If she’d left Lenny’s when she first worked herself free, she could have been with Nate now. Of course Lenny would still be out there terrorizing people.

Makay stared at her reflection in the glass window of the room. It was dark beyond the window, and she didn’t think she was being watched, though she felt on display. Her head didn’t pound so much since the officers had given her more painkillers, yet it took a huge effort not to collapse into a heap and sob herself to sleep.

No.
She lifted her chin and clenched her lips. If she had to fight to get back to Nate, she would fight and never give up.

Officer Sharpel finally appeared in the doorway. “Sorry we took so long. The good news is that you’re free to go now.”

Makay let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “They’re not pressing charges?”

“No. You will have to agree to testify, but everything we found in those files verifies your statements about coercion. We know he’s the one who set up everything, and the drugs sealed his fate. Add that to kidnapping, assault, robbery, and attempted murder, and he’s looking at a good long time behind bars. Before he’s out, that little boy of yours will be in high school, if not in college.”

“Thank you.” Her voice was scarcely a whisper. No Lenny in her life—it was almost too good to believe.

“We also recovered the money he took from your backpack. And you may get back some of what you repaid Mr. Cooper. Maybe. It’ll be at least a week before any of it’s processed. I’ll give you a call. Come on, I’ll take you to your friend.” He motioned to her to follow him, but Makay didn’t move.

“Please, there’s just one thing,” she said slowly. “One of the people Lenny was blackmailing . . . a woman. Can you call her and tell her it’s over? I don’t want her to worry. He put her through so much already.”

“We’ll be touching base with all of the people in his folders.” He raised his hand as if to halt any protest. “Very discreetly, of course. Some of them may receive partial repayment as well.”

Makay shook her head. “No. Tonight. Can you call her tonight?”

“It’s kind of getting late.”

“Please. I need to be sure she’s called.”

“I can let you know when we do. I promise I’ll follow up with you.”

Makay looked at her hands, tightly knitted together on top of the table. “Please. It’s just . . . she’s my birth mother. Lenny found her after all these years. I don’t want her to go through one more night worrying that she’s going to lose her life savings.”

Sharpel nodded, his tough face softening. She knew that after these past hours of questioning, he understood what it meant for her to ask, or at least enough of what it meant. “I’ll see what I can do.” He took out his pen. “Do you have any more information about her? There are a lot of folders.”

Makay recited the details she’d long ago memorized—date of birth, hospital, adoption agency. She also told him what she hoped he would tell the woman. He wrote it all down and left the room. When he returned fifteen minutes later, Harrison was with him, and Makay was happy to have him sit close to her and take her hand.

“I found the number,” Sharpel said. “Are you sure about this?”

Makay nodded, shivering slightly. Harrison rubbed his hands over the sleeves of her jacket. His touch did far more to warm her in this cold room than the thin material.

Sharpel handed her a phone. “I thought you might want to listen.”

Surprised, Makay took the phone and held it tightly to her ear. Harrison stroked the fingers of her casted arm encouragingly.

The woman picked up on the second ring. “Hello, this is Officer Mike Sharpel with the Phoenix Police Department. Is this Kaitlyn Marley?”

“Yes.” Her voice was tight and fearful.

“Nothing is wrong, ma’am,” Sharpel said, “and I’m sorry to call so late. This is simply a courtesy call. We wanted to let you know that we have in our custody a man who has been blackmailing people all over the western United States. We understand that he contacted you and made threats, but you don’t have to worry about him anymore. We have his files, and none of them will be made public.”

“It . . . it was a man?” Relief softened her voice.

“Yes. I believe he had a woman call you at one point, but he was responsible. We have enough evidence to put him away for a very long time. He won’t be bothering you again.”

“I see.” The woman fell silent as if waiting for more.

Officer Sharpel hesitated, glancing at Makay, who nodded at him to continue. “We also want you to know that what he did was entirely a scam. The child you placed for adoption is not involved in any way. She’s safe and happy. I thought you might want to know.”

Was that a sob Makay heard? She couldn’t be sure.

“Thank you,” said the soft voice. “Thank you so much for calling.”

“Sure thing, ma’am. We may not need to contact you again, but you can be sure that if we do, we will be discreet. Have a good evening. Goodbye.”

Sharpel hung up the phone, and when he spoke his voice was gruffer than before. “Okay. We’re done here. Come on, you two. I’ll give you a ride home. Or to your cars. Whatever you want.”

Makay clutched the phone for a few more seconds.
Have a good life, Mother,
she thought.
I wish you the best. And thanks.

Harrison helped her to her feet and held her hand all the way to his car and still didn’t let go as he drove her to Lily’s to get Nate.

“Did you mean it?” Makay asked as they started up Lily’s walk, one hand in his and the other buried in her pocket. “What you said at Lenny’s when you told me to run.”

Harrison’s step faltered. “Sure. I mean, I didn’t want him to shoot me, but I did want you to get free.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

His grin told her that he knew exactly what she meant. His arms closed around her, and he buried his face in her neck. “I meant what I said, Makayla.” He nuzzled her skin, trailing up to her lips, leaving fire in his wake. “Every. Single. Word.” He paused between each word to kiss her.

“Good,” she said, kissing him back and pushing her body closer to his, “because I don’t think I know how to let you go.”

Epilogue

F
our weeks after Lenny’s arrest, Makay stared down her cue at the ball she was aiming for. If she hit it just right she could send the rest of her balls into the pockets and win. For the briefest second, she considered messing up the shot to give Harrison a chance, but the weakness fluttered away almost instantly. She made the shot.