Protecting Melissa (Holiday Cove 4)

“Sure.” Melissa glanced down at our hands. I studied her and wished I could get inside her head to see what she was really thinking about.

“Melissa…”

She pushed away before I could finish getting out my question. “I’m exhausted, Chase. I think I’m just going to get Jackson off to bed and turn in too. I’m sorry.”

I stood up. “You don’t have to apologize. I’ll get this all cleared up. Get some rest.”

She called Jackson from the shore and after he paused to say goodnight to me, they went off to the bedroom they were sharing without so much as a glance back at me. I ached to kiss her goodnight. It had been a couple of days since the last time we made love. Thinking back, I realized that her mood change and the last time we made love all lined up. Had I done something wrong? Said something wrong? Was she feeling guilty because she was still married? Or worried that Jackson might find out what was going on?

I rubbed my eyes and then dragged my hands down the rest of my face. I wasn’t used to working security jobs by myself. Even though we were safe and relatively settled in, I found it hard to sleep at night, especially after the close call in Cabo. I tossed and turned most nights and got up several times to go check the house at the slightest noise. My body was screaming at me to rest and recharge, but I couldn’t turn it off. As a result, I was driven by large doses of caffeine. Luckily, while the wine wasn’t my taste, the locals could roast some amazing coffee beans. I was already looking forward to my first cup of the morning as I trudged off to my own bed.

Something had to change or we were all going to be miserable.

The next morning, I woke up and after checking in with Melissa and Jackson, who were mid-pancake flip, I went outside to wander the shore and call Matt. He answered on the third ring and I figured he’d just woken up based on the low timbre of his voice. “Matt Hart.”

“Matt, it’s Chase.”

“Chase! What’s the word?” he asked, perking up.

I drew in a breath, wondering where to start. “We’re safe. Everyone’s good. But we’re getting a little antsy for news. Please tell me you have something.”

Matt groaned. “Nothing good. At least, not yet.”

“Well lay it all out. I’ll filter before reporting back to Melissa.” I raked a hand through my hair and glanced back at the cottage.

“O’Keefe responded to the divorce papers. He just got an extension. It could be a while before we hear anything more on that. In any case—he’s not making it easy. Not that I expected him too. I have a handful of people lined up that will testify on Melissa’s behalf in regards to her parenting methods and overall character. I haven’t found a way to disprove the doctor that O’Keefe has lined up to talk about her fictitious stint in rehab. Still working on that.” Matt sighed. “The other complication is that my PI dug up some new dirt. It looks like the FBI has started poking around into some of Henry’s business dealings. Most notably his last development deal in Stallion Bay. He built a massive resort there a couple of years back and there were some questions over the way he got his permits.”

“What kind of questions?”

“Well, it seems the entire town—including the mayor—were against the whole thing. But that son of a bitch swooped in and got his way. Funny thing is, the mayor ended up dying. It didn’t appear suspicious, but now the feds are raising questions about it.”

“Shit.” My mind spun with the unspoken accusation. “And he’s linked to it?”

“I don’t know. But the FBI is doing some digging and unless O’Keefe has someone on the inside there—which, I wouldn’t necessarily doubt—he’s going to be messed up with them for a while. I don’t know what they’ll be able to shake out, or how long it’ll take, but for the time being, the investigation has taken some of the heat off of the divorce. Or at least his attention. He probably doesn’t want any more lights shining on his business right now.”

“Makes sense.” I shook my head, marveling at how slippery Henry was turning out to be. How long was this monster going to manage to escape?

“How long can he possibly drag this whole thing out, Matt?”

“As long as he wants. He can get extensions till the cows come home. Same with custody. He hasn’t yet, but who knows what he’ll do?”

I nodded, adding the new information to my mental file. “Hopefully the FBI can catch him in the act or find something that will stick.”

“Let’s hope.”

I turned away from the house and walked a few more yards down the shore. “I think Melissa’s starting to lose her patience with this. I’ve done everything I can to make this easier on her. I’ll ask her if she knows anything about Stallion Bay or the FBI. Maybe she knows something that could be a clue.”