She hiked a large tote onto her shoulder and nodded. “I didn’t take much when Tristan evicted me from our house on Daniel Island. If I’d been less shell-shocked, I might’ve grabbed more than just some essentials, two suitcases full of clothes and the few pieces of jewelry he let me take.” As she spoke, her expression twisted with embarrassment and regret. “Everything was in his name. The cars. The house. My credit cards. I left the house the same way I’d arrived, owning nothing except what he’d given me.” She paused a beat before finishing, “And what he gave, he could also take away.”
That she continued to open up about things that had bothered her a great deal gave Ryan hope that she was feeling more comfortable with him by the moment. Hearing the pain in her voice helped him understand why she’d been so cagey about her past.
Moving her into the guest apartment took less than ten minutes. Sensing that she still needed some time to adjust to her new situation and surroundings, he left her to explore the space and returned to the main house.
As he was heading upstairs, Ryan noticed that Paul had tried to reach him while they’d been at the store and he called him back. “Hey,” he said when his friend picked up. “What’s up?”
He moved to the double window in the master bedroom that overlooked the backyard. The pool glowed a bright turquoise below.
“Sorry I haven’t gotten back to you sooner about that store you wanted me to look into, but one of my cases heated up in the last few days.”
“No problem,” Ryan said, figuring he already knew what Paul had learned. “Were you able to find out anything interesting?”
“Zoe Alston owns Second Chance Treasures,” Paul said, confirming what she’d already admitted. “The building is owned by Dillworth Properties.”
“Dillworth Properties,” Ryan repeated, the name a faint whisper in his memory. Something about it made him uneasy, but he couldn’t place the reason. “Why does that sound familiar?”
“Because it’s owned by George Dillworth.”
Ryan cursed. “As in Lyle Abernathy’s oldest and dearest friend.”
“That’s it. Also, I did a little checking. She’s three months behind on her lease, but so far they haven’t shown any signs of evicting her.”
She’d mentioned having financial difficulties, but three months was a long time to go without paying rent.
“How much does she owe?” Ryan asked.
“Fifteen thousand.”
He rubbed at his temples as a dull ache began to throb there. “That might be enough to make her desperate. It wouldn’t surprise me if Abernathy took advantage of her situation.”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
Neither man spoke for a long moment, giving Ryan an opportunity to ponder how to handle this new revelation.
At last Paul spoke again. “What are you going to do?”
“I can’t confront her about it. She won’t appreciate that I’m still having her investigated.”
“So what’s left?”
Ryan hesitated a beat. “I’d already decided the best way to keep an eye on her was to stick as close as possible.”
“How close is that?” Paul asked, his voice a blend of curiosity and amusement.
“I moved her into one of my guest apartments.”
“That’s awfully close. Are you sure it’s a good idea?”
“Probably not, but she was sleeping in the back of her store because she ran out of money.” And Ryan was banking on proximity fanning the sparks between them into flame. “You know, if Abernathy is using her financial problems to put pressure on her to dig up dirt on Susannah, then maybe I can take away his leverage.”
“And how do you plan to do that?”
“By making an anonymous payment to Dillworth Properties on behalf of her store.”
“You know this is all speculation and there might not be anything going on,” Paul pointed out, his level tone giving no hint of his opinion. “You could be throwing money away for no good reason.”
Ryan considered that, but whatever Zoe was mixed up in, he had faith that when it came to the women she was trying to help, her heart was pure.