Chapter 7

Jael finished typing her report, then leaned back in her chair and stretched. Things were looking good for Becca. The gears didn’t always move this smoothly or quickly. It was always a relief to get more support on board. It had helped that Becca remained firm in her resolve. And as always, Hannah had been a huge part of the process, contacting Becca every day to encourage her and let her know what progress was being made.

There wasn’t a lot about Jael’s past that she was proud of, but it had given her the skills and knowledge to navigate the cat-and-mouse game that some spouses tried to play. And she was better at it than they were.

“I’m getting lunch,” Hannah said, sliding her purse off the back of the chair. “You want me to get you anything?”

“That would be nice. Thank you. Where are you going?”

“The sushi place. You want the usual? Chicken and avocado?”

“Perfect.”

“And what if I told you I was swinging past Harold’s bakery to get a cinnamon roll smothered in cream cheese frosting?”

“I’d say you’d better bring me one of those too.”

As soon as Hannah went out the door, Jael let go of the smile that had been for Hannah’s benefit. Jael didn’t want the cinnamon roll. Her appetite had been almost nonexistent lately, but she knew it would make Hannah worry if she didn’t eat. There were so many things she did to make other people happy. Hannah’s motivations were far different from her father’s, but did that matter when she didn’t know how to just be herself?

Her thoughts inadvertently drifted back to Danny’s sudden appearance. It had shocked her to see him there, no longer the wiry young vigilante always looking for trouble. He’d filled out in all the right ways, and the attraction that remained after all these years was not only unexpected but it was unwanted. She didn’t still hold a grudge for the way he’d treated her back then, but that didn’t mean she was willing to rekindle what should be dead and buried.

The office phone rang, and she answered, thankful for the distraction. “Vita Nova, this is Jael.”

“Hello, Miss Heber.”

She recognized Christopher’s smooth voice.

“Good afternoon, Christopher. I wasn’t expecting you to call the landline. Don’t you have my cell number?”

“I’m sitting in my new office going over reports and came across your foundation. Thought I’d give you a call and see how your day’s going. Do you spend many hours in the office?”

“When I have reports to write. It helps me focus. And my day is going fine, thanks for asking. Business as usual. I hope you’re settling in well over there.”

“Everyone has made me very welcome, as I’m sure you can imagine.”

“I hope my dad’s not giving you too much grief. I expect he’ll be popping in from time to time to keep his finger on the pulse.”

Christopher’s laugh was easy. “It is his baby. It will be hard for him to let go.”

“I hope it doesn’t drive you crazy.”

“I won’t have any trouble. I completely understand where he’s coming from. These things are always difficult for the one moving on. If it were me, I’d go on vacation for a month or two to abate the temptation to interfere. But your dad is his own man, and if he needs to move out slowly, I can put up with the disruption for the time being.”

Jael's leg cramped after sitting so long. She stood and paced the room.

“I appreciate your patience with him. I’m sure you can find ways to make him feel included.” When she reached the front door, she looked out at the busy street.

“Do you have much going on right now?” he said. “Many cases?”

“Uh.” Her attention was drawn across the street. “Yeah. Well, no. Not a lot of cases. Right now, we can only handle one or two at a time.”

“I’d be very interested to hear all about it. If you’re free for lunch this afternoon, I’ve got some time in my schedule.”

“Today?” Her attention was focused on a car parked half a block up the street.

“Yes. I figured, if I could make room in my day, you shouldn’t have too much trouble. You said you have a team to run the place?”

“Not a team exactly.” She’d seen the car earlier in the day. “Listen, something’s come up. Maybe we can do it another time?”

“It’s that urgent with only one or two cases?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry. I’m afraid I have to get going.”

“I hope it’s nothing serious.”

“Nothing I can’t handle. We’ll talk later, okay?”

“Yeah, sure. Hope the rest of your day goes well.”

“You too.”

She hung up and shifted position to get a better look at the driver, although she’d already made her assumptions. One thing her dad had taught her was how to spot a tail. Maybe it wasn’t Becca’s husband in the car, but she’d heard Martin was working hard to find his wife. If it wasn’t him, maybe it was a private detective. Either way, Jael would get rid of him.

After putting the phone back in its cradle, she marched out the door, then jogged across the street. If she was noticed, the driver hadn’t reacted. She hurried to the passenger’s side and yanked open the door, ducking her head to confront Becca’s pursuer. But it wasn’t Becca who was being pursued. It was her.

“Danny?”

He smiled. “Hey. Fancy meeting you here.”

“What are you doing? Are you following me?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny.”

“You used to be one of the best guys my dad had. Prison time has made you sloppy. Which shouldn’t surprise me.”

“Maybe I wasn’t trying very hard.”

“Maybe I don’t believe you.” She raised an eyebrow.

“You want to have a seat? We may as well have a chat.”

Her fingernails drummed on the roof where she’d anchored her hand. “That’s what you wanted this whole time, isn’t it? You knew I wouldn’t give you the time of day without feeling threatened.”

“Oh, come on. You don’t feel threatened. And if all I wanted was to talk to you, I would have asked.”

“Then why are you following me?”

“It’s complicated.”

“It’s my dad, isn’t it?” She slid into the car and closed the door. “He’s the one who sent you. You asked him for work and he gave it to you.”

“He’s worried you’re involved in something nefarious.”

She laughed. “Is that what he told you?”

“You don’t believe him?”

“I thought you knew him better than that. He said what he had to in order to get what he wanted. You said you’d changed, but he hasn’t.”

“He’s not involved in organized crime anymore.”

“His activities have changed, not him.”

“Still,” Danny said. “It must be a relief to be out of that life.”

“What makes you say that?”

“You never liked it. I could tell.”

“Don’t pretend you knew what was going on inside my head. You don’t get to do that.”

“Sorry,” he looked down at his hands. “You’re right.”

She could see she’d cut him deep. Good. “So what is it you want?”

“Your dad said he’s concerned about how much of your life the foundation is taking up.”

“That is true. He is concerned. At least he was honest about that. And your job is to…what?”

“Find out what’s really going on.”

“And if you find nothing, he’ll accept that and pay you so you can go on your merry way?”

“I can set his mind at ease if everything is operating to a high standard.”

“You mean to my father’s standard.”

“If everything is legitimate, it shouldn’t matter.”

“My father will do whatever it takes to shut me down. I’m so glad you’re back and happy to oblige.”

Danny shrugged. “I’m just here to find the truth.”

“The truth? Right.” She scoffed. “You and I both know that my father has never been interested in the truth, so don’t pretend you believe him. When you said you’d changed, I didn’t realize it was for the worse.”

His face darkened, losing the boyish charm he’d always had. “There’s a lot you don’t know. Don’t assume you know me either.”

“I don’t know that I knew you back then. But nothing’s changed for me.”

“That’s not how it looks. When I left, you were working exclusively for your dad. Doing more of his dirty work than you wanted to. He said you—never mind. It doesn’t matter.”

“He said I what?”

“He gave me more insight into what it must have been like to be raised by him.”

“You say that like you didn’t know.”

“Maybe I didn’t want to believe things were as bad as they appeared.”

“Yeah, well, they were worse.”

“I’m sorry.”

She shrugged. “I do what I can with the life I have left.”

“Helping women in domestic violence situations.”

“Yes.”

“That’s good. I always knew you had that in you— Sorry. I did it again.”

“Just because I do good things for people doesn’t make me a good person. It doesn’t erase what I’ve done.” She pressed her back into the seat. She hadn’t meant to say that, but she saw something in Danny’s eyes. Like he already knew. Maybe he really did know what was going on inside her head, but she couldn’t make sense of that after the way he’d treated her.

“Is that why you do it?”

Jael sighed. “Everything I’ve ever done in my life has been for duty, whether to my father or something else. I don’t know any other way of living life. But at least now I’m helping people instead of hurting them.”

“I don’t think you can compare your foundation to working for your dad.”

“But it doesn’t matter because nothing’s changed in my life. Whether it’s my dad or now Christopher, I’ll forever have to jump through hoops to keep the funding.”

“Is that what you do?”

She hated that he sounded so sincere. “Like I said, everything is for duty. But Vita Nova is not a cult, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“That’s what your dad said.”

“I know.”

“Is there no way for you to raise the money other than having to beg for it from Heber Industries? It would give you the distance you need.”

“I tried. I couldn’t get enough. And there were too many restrictions. This way, I can run Vita Nova the way I want. And I’ll do whatever I have to in order to keep the doors open, even though my father hates this place and has now hired you to tear it down.”

“He doesn’t like the time it takes away from other things. Could you maybe lessen your focus here?”

“It has nothing to do with that. He doesn’t like it because he can’t control me the way he wants. Although he’s staring a gift horse in the mouth. It offers him numerous opportunities to manipulate me into doing what he wants just to keep the funding going. He does it all the time. I don’t know why he can’t see how this works for him.”

“I’m sorry it’s like that.”

Jael turned to face him. “What are you doing?”

“What? Right now?”

“Is my dad not paying you enough?”

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“You’re not doing your job very well.”

“I’m not trying to.”

“Is that what you’re going to tell him when you report back?”

Danny thought for a minute. “What do you want me to tell him?”

He appeared genuine, but she couldn’t reconcile that with Danny from the past. “If you want to get fired,” she said, “you can tell him to leave me alone.” Her cell phone rang. It was Hannah. “Give me a second.” She answered. “Did they run out of avocado?”

“Hey, uh, no,” Hannah said. “It’s about the house where Becca’s staying.”

“What about it?”

“She said she found an eviction notice on the front door today.”

“What?” Jael squeezed her eyes shut. “He never gives up.”

“Who? The husband?”

“No. Never mind. I’m sorry about this. Everything’s gotten complicated, but I’ll get it sorted. Leave it with me.”

“Becca’s pretty rattled. She said if she doesn’t have a place to live with the kids, they’ll have to go back home.”

“No. Tell her everything will be okay—actually, I’ll call her. I can reassure her there’s nothing to worry about. It’s just a mistake.”

“Okay. Let me know when everything’s settled so I know where we’re up to.”

“I will. I’ll talk to you soon.” She hung up and opened the door. “I’ve got to go, so…tell my dad whatever you want. It won’t make any difference. He’s already made up his mind. If you want to get paid, just understand that he won’t be happy unless Vita Nova is buried and gone. And I will fight till my dying breath to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

She moved to get out, but he put a hand on her arm. “Is everything okay?”

“Nothing I haven’t had to deal with before. And feel free to keep tailing me if you have to. I’ll leave you alone from now on. Let you get to work.”

She called Becca as she hurried back across the street.

“Hannah told me what happened,” she said as she went back into her office.

“I’m sorry,” Becca said. “I’m causing so much trouble for you. I just don’t know what to do. I don’t have any money to pay for rent, and I?—”

“No, none of this is your fault. It’s a hiccup on our end. Don’t worry about that notice. It won’t mean a thing soon. Okay?”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. I’ll get it taken care of. It’s a misunderstanding. That’s all. And I haven’t forgotten about making cookies. I know Hannah has looked after you really well, but I was so disappointed to miss out.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I would have much rather done that than what I had to cancel for. You think your kids would be up for more baking?”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to.”

“You’re trying so hard to keep us happy. I know you’re very busy.”

“Are you kidding? It’s as much for me as for you and the kids. I love baking. But for now, you sit tight and let me handle this.”

“If you’re sure.”

“Trust me.”