Built Over Time (Middleton Hotels 4)

I spoke into my phone asking for the California branch of the FBI. And it came up with the Los Angeles branch along with others, but this matched his card information, so I gave them a call. “Do you have a Special Agent White working for you?”

“Yes, we do, sir,” she said. “Is he okay?” I heard the tension and concern in her voice. He must be undercover or she thought I found his body or belongings. Whatever it was, he was safe now that I knew Harper was.

“Yes, he is. I just needed to verify his story. Thank you,” I said, hanging up on her. I tucked my gun away. “Do you care to explain why you scared her?” My tone wasn’t soft as I did all I could not to choke him for making her worried.

“I didn’t mean to. We need to speak somewhere private,” he said.

“Why?” I asked, trusting this fucker as far as I could throw him.

“Because her mother is involved,” he muttered, looking around to see if anyone was lurking in the brush. There had to be a lot more to it, but he was right. This wasn’t the place to talk about it.

There was one I knew we could use that was close. “Okay, meet us by the pond down the road behind my family home.”

“That works. I’ll be there in five minutes.”

I climbed back in the car, pulled around and headed back toward the house. “What the hell? I didn’t know you had a gun,” she screeched, slapping my arm as she turned in her seat.

“First, sit right. Kitten, I’m from Texas,” I reminded her, we all owned guns.

“Whatever. What happened?”

“He’s a Fed. Something about your mother and he’s been assigned to tail you.” I didn’t want to tell her that he was protecting her. Part of me wasn’t sure that was true, but if it was, that meant her mother was willing to hurt her. “We’re going to meet him by our pond,” I added before she could ask.

“That isn’t smart. He could be lying and getting us alone would be perfect.”

“He gave me his business card and I called the number listed as his field office. He’s legit.”

“Okay, let’s see what he wants,” she said with a defeated look on her face. Something tells me she has a feeling of why the Feds would be snooping around. There was the path that left me out of view of the house. It was the same one Harper used to take.

We arrived at the spot and the man got out of the car with a file in one hand and a coffee in the other. I got what he was doing. He wanted to make us feel secure so I wouldn’t pull a gun on him again.

“Harper, this is Agent White.” Then I introduced him to her. “And she’s Harper Simmons, but since you knew that, what can you tell us?”

“Ms. Simmons, congrats on the engagement. I’m here because there’s been a hit put out on your life. It was taken down this morning when someone surveilling the hotel contacted your mother to inform her that you’d been spotted with Mr. Middleton.” I felt Harper tense up next to me, and I wanted to kick this fucker for his lack of subtlety.

I turned her to me and held her head against my chest. I whispered, “Princess, are you okay?”

“Yes, Bryce. I suppose this was only a matter of time,” she muttered. More had been going on than she’d let on.

“Ms. Simmons, what makes you think your mother has it in for you?”

She didn’t address White, but instead directed her answer to me. “Well, remember when I said I was coming here to find you again? I did so because I had to know, and if you wanted nothing to do with me, I was going to run.” Harper started fidgeting. “See the thing is…she was acting weird toward the end of the school year. And then I found out about the life insurance policy for ten million on my life and I heard her tell someone that it would need to look like an accident and the time for it was coming soon.”

“So, you had to think quick,” I answered. I wasn’t mad at her for her reasons for coming. Either way, she was here with me and that was all I gave two fucks about. What bothered me is that I could have lost her. That bitch was going to pay big time. I’d take her back to Texas in the trunk, slice her up, and feed her to the pigs on a nearby livestock ranch.

“Well, it’s what I wanted, but it seemed like the perfect ruse because she’s all about money. She never had enough. Even though she married and divorced many men for their fortunes, she still needed more. There would never be enough to quench her appetite. I’d run out of usefulness to her, so I figured it was only a matter of time.”

“Don’t worry, see the thing is, I’m the one she hired to kill you if you didn’t end up with Mr. Middleton. She didn’t know she was being set up by a friend of hers who contacted our offices. We’re going to nail her on more than those charges. I have a plan and I want to know if you’ll go along with it.”

“What’s the plan?”

Chapter 11

Harper

“You’re getting married tomorrow? You know I’m not ready for a wedding.”

“It doesn’t matter, Sarah. You’re not invited. I’ve made it clear that you aren’t welcome and his parents gleefully obliged.”