If that was true, how had Josie managed to get hold of such personal, private information about Harper?
“You’re the one blackmailing me?”
“Guilty,” Josie said without moving the gun a centimeter. It was still fixed on Harper, even if it had to go through Sebastian to get there.
“I don’t understand,” Harper said, pushing his arm out of the way. “How did you find out about my trust conditions? Did Quentin tell you?”
Josie shook her head. “All Quentin provided me was access to you. The rest I got on my own. If you’d bothered to speak to me this trip, you might’ve discovered that I work for your financial management firm. I know everything about you, Harper, including the provisions of your trust. I just knew a spoiled diva like you would’ve blown it. It only took a little digging to find out what I needed to know. Honestly, it was too easy.”
“Why would you do this to me, Josie? I’ve never done anything to you.”
“Aww, it wasn’t personal, Harper. It’s just about the money. It could’ve just as easily been any one of you.”
“It was personal to me. Ransacking our room? Taking my late mother’s necklace, his grandfather’s watch—that was personal. I’ve spent the last week tied in knots because of you. And for what? Just some money?”
“You say that just like a rich person. You’ve gotten good at fooling everyone. Yes, I just did it for some money. That’s enough for most people, although I have to admit I haven’t gotten much cash out of the deal. I’ve spent this whole trip trying to get my point across with you, but nothing seems to be working. I’ve threatened you, stalked you, raised the price, promised to expose you, and here I stand with mere pennies of what you owe me.”
“I don’t owe you anything. Nobody owes you a damn thing. Everything you’ve gotten was taken by force.”
“And everything you’ve gotten was given to you on a silver platter. All you have to do is give me the money and I’ll be on my way.”
“You of all people know that I won’t have any money until after my birthday. How can I pay you what I don’t have?”
Sebastian wished he could think of something to do. Like some smooth kung-fu move to kick the gun out of Josie’s hand and then wrestle her to the ground. But he was an engineer. At best, he could outthink her. If he could get his heart to stop pounding so loudly so he could focus.
“Like you couldn’t get it if you needed it with all your rich and powerful friends. Violet spent more money on the rehearsal dinner alone than I was asking for. To tell the truth, I feel like I’ve been accommodating. I doubt there are many other blackmailers out there that would’ve given you as many chances as I have, Harper. But I’m done being nice. I need the money and I need it now.”
“Why would I pay you another cent?” Harper asked. “It’s all over, Josie. It’s been over since the wedding. Everyone knows my secret. You can’t blackmail me with it anymore.”
She nodded. “That’s true. That’s why I brought along the gun. This isn’t so much a blackmailing anymore as an armed robbery. I want my money.”
“Why do you need money from me? You’re marrying Quentin. His family has plenty of money. A hundred thousand is nothing to them.”
“And I’m nothing to Quentin,” Josie replied with narrowed eyes. “It turns out he was just using me to make you jealous. He proposed and brought me on this trip just because he knew it would bother you. He never expected daddy to cut him off in the process. Now that the trip is over and he sees you’re in love with someone else, he’s dropped me like a rock and gone crawling back for forgiveness. So the money is more important than ever, actually.”
Sebastian watched the heated discussion continue to volley between the two women. He curled his hands into fists at his sides as frustration and anger built inside him, but he felt an unpleasant tingling sensation running down his left arm. It forced him to shake out his hand in the hope it would go away.
It didn’t.
The women continued to talk, but he found he couldn’t focus on their words any longer. He felt the panic start to rise in him. Yes, Josie was holding a gun on them, but this was a different kind of panic. A familiar one. He was getting dizzy as he tried to focus on the two small figures standing in front of him. He reached out for Harper to steady himself before he stumbled.
“Sebastian!” Harper said in a startled voice. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” she asked.
He wanted to answer her but he couldn’t. His chest was suddenly so tight he could barely breathe, much less speak. As the vise tightened harder on his rib cage, he realized that this wasn’t just some random panic attack. This was another heart attack—a stronger one than last time.
The doctors had warned him to take it easy. And he’d tried. He’d done as best he was able and yet here he was—looking into the eyes of the woman he loved and wondering if it was for the last time. Was it done? Had he lost his chance to say all the things to Harper he’d been too afraid to voice? Could he say enough in time?
“I love...” He gasped and hunched over, unable to finish. His hand slipped from her shoulder and he heard her scream as his knees buckled beneath him.
Blackness enveloped Sebastian and he was unconscious before he hit the hard pavement.
Eleven
“Harper?”
Harper sat up from a dead sleep, making the best she could out of the recliner in Sebastian’s hospital room. Still groggy, she wiped an unfortunate bit of drool from her chin and looked around. That’s when she realized that Sebastian was awake.
She leaped from the chair to stand at his bedside. “You’re up,” she said with a smile.