ChapterOne
Thomas
The taxi weaves in and out of traffic as I look at the watch on my wrist and curse. I had tried to rush through all the things I needed to do last night so I could get to the ship earlier than I had planned, but it hadn’t worked out that way. And now I was running even later.
Max had begged for me to help her, and I could hardly say no to her. She’s Harlow's best friend, practically her sister, and at one stage in our teens, we were all pretty close too. When Chuck and Melinda would come out to visit, Max enjoyed hanging out with us guys as much as she did Jacinta. It wasn't in a weird she-wanted-to-get-in-one-of-our-pants way; it was just like having a cousin. I had made the arrangements she asked for, so the plane was available to take her where she needed to go. She didn't tell me exactly what she was running from, but I know it has something to do with the three men who couldn't take their eyes off of her at the gala. Their background checks might help give me some kind of clue, but until those come back, I’m at a loss.
I don’t feel bad about snooping. Even without Dad’s friendship with her parents, Harlow’s connection to Max makes her family. We always look out for family.
The taxi pulls into the drop-off area, interrupting my mental recap of how I got to this point. I throw some cash at the man and burst out the door, carrying my bag. Whether there’s change, I have no idea, nor do I care. It feels like forever since I’ve seen Harlow, so that’s my priority. Hurrying through all the waiting people, I try to find the right ship, but then I hear a person call my name. I stop, spinning around, trying to see if it’s me they want or another Thomas, and my heart sinks when I see Kai waving me down.
“Oh, thank god I caught you!” The words rush out of his mouth as he stops in front of me.
“What are you doing here? Why didn't you call me on my cell?” I ask him, frowning when he looks at me like I’m an idiot.
“Because I knew you would see it was from me and ignore it until you had gotten settled on the ship.”
I won’t bother denying it because it’s the truth. “What’s so important that you couldn’t wait?”
“Forrest called. He said he’s been trying to reach you. Veronica must have gotten sick of waiting because she followed through on her threat. She tried to commit suicide last night.”
A jolt of fear brings a rush of goosebumps to my skin. “Fuck, the baby?” I ask, putting my bag on the ground and pulling my phone out of my pocket. Sure enough, there are a couple of missed calls from Forrest. I had switched my phone to silent mode for the ball and hadn’t switched it back on yet.
“She and the baby are both fine. It was a fairly tame attempt, not that that description makes it feel any less alarming. They think it was for attention, more than anything, but the doctors want to speak to us, and it can’t wait.”
My gaze swings around to the three big ships in front of me. I don’t want to leave Harlow, but she has Jaxon and Jacinta with her, so at least she’s not alone. Not to mention that security on board have been alerted to the situation and are under orders to keep an eye out for anyone behaving suspiciously around Harlow.
Kai must see my indecision because he’s quick to jump in with reassurance. “She’ll be fine. She’s got the twins, and we’ll let them know not to let her out of their sight. In fact, it’s probably best if she’s not allowed to go outside—even on the deck.”
I still don’t love it, but then I remember the look on Harlow’s face when we were talking before the gala. This baby isn’t just some kind of responsibility that we’re being saddled with. This baby is the start of a family for us, Harlow included, and I know she’d want us to prioritize making sure it’s in the safest conditions possible. Even if that means talking to Veronica instead of cuddling up with her. The two of us start walking back to the drop-off area, where he’s illegally parked. After my bag is shoved into the back of the SUV, we climb in while I try calling Jaxon.
His phone rings, but it goes to voicemail, which would normally have those first hints of panic stirring, but now is not the time for that. I try to remind myself that I’ve got systems in place to protect them, and at this point, Harlow and the others know better than to take unnecessary risks. Jaxon was so excited about this new venture, I’m sure he’s probably just watching the boarding procedure.
“Jax, it’s me. Something has come up, and I’m not going to make it. Make sure you two don’t let Harlow out of your sight. I want someone with her at all times. The likelihood that the stalker is on the ship is slim, but I don’t want any of you taking risks. And yes, even when she goes to the bathroom. If she’s annoyed, she can call me later and yell at me. Have fun and stay safe.”
Hanging up, I shove my phone back into my pocket as Kai directs the car toward the mental facility that Veronica was apparently moved to after they stabilized her.
“We couldn’t have done this over the phone?” I ask my brother, unable to contain my annoyance.
“No, they insisted on a face-to-face meeting. The theory is that she’ll escalate until she gets the kind of attention she wants, and speaking to her over the phone would probably just give her another excuse to try something more drastic until we dragged ourselves in there.” Kai sounds as annoyed as I am, so it’s not really fair to take my anger out on him. His grip on the steering wheel is white knuckled, and he’s tapping one finger in a repeated pattern.
This is definitely more than just annoyance. Fuck, I’m being selfish. Although it’s not an ideal situation, I know Kai is fully committed to being a father to this baby, and he must be worried out of his mind. I resign myself to holding back as best I can, at least when I’m talking with Kai.
When we get there, we’re led to a conference room. There we find Forrest, who introduces us to two doctors and the prison warden. I guess his vacation must be on the back burner for the moment. Hopefully this won’t take too long, so he and his wife can get back to it as soon as possible.
“Thank you for coming, Thomas. I know you had other plans today,” Forrest says as we take a seat. “These are Dr. Wiseman, Veronica’s medical physician, Dr. Reed, the psychiatrist in charge of her case, and Warden Ellis. They’ve asked you here so we can discuss Veronica with you both.”
“What about her? She really is none of our concern,” I ask them, my irritation reigniting. Wasting time on this devious bitch when I was supposed to be relaxing and getting some much-needed time to work on my relationship with Harlow is basically my worst case scenario right now. It’s a little hard to separate and compartmentalize my feelings about her even though I know they’re separate from the feelings that I will develop for the baby.
“No, but that baby she carries is, and it would be in your best interest to hear the doctors out,” Forrest scolds me, and I sigh.
“I apologize for my tone. At this very moment, I was supposed to be heading out to sea with my girlfriend to drink and eat and spend some quality time with one another without too many distractions,” I say to the gathered men.
The two doctors look sympathetic, but the warden just looks annoyed. “Can we get on with this? I’ve got places to be,” he grumbles.
Dr. Wiseman nods and takes the lead. “As you have been informed, Veronica made an attempt on her life yesterday, though we feel it was a half-hearted one at best. She used her bed sheet, fashioning it into a noose, but she hadn't really even secured it to anything. We believe it was more for attention than to do any real damage. ”
Dr. Reed takes over, looking directly at me. “She seems to have had a break in reality. She believes the two of you are in a relationship and are planning to get married.”
