Caitlin glared at him while she spoke to Hannah.“It certainly wasn’t your fault.Don’t even think that.This guy is obviously unstable.Nothing that happened is of your doing, please remember that.”
Darryn rubbed his face.Yeah, he knew that now, but at the time he was so upset that Hannah was hurt, he’d lashed out at her.Instead of being nice, he scolded.
He wanted to punch something.If he could get his hands on Stephen White.He had never liked the guy, but he never thought White would stoop this low.
“Well, I have to agree with you,” Don said.“It has to be him.”
Hannah crossed her arms.“I should have taken his threats seriously, but I honestly didn’t think he was capable of being this vindictive.He never admits to anything in his text messages, of course, but he always knows exactly what has happened, and somehow he knows my every move!”Hannah exclaimed, and Caitlin took her hand.
Darryn looked at his brother and sister-in-law.“She hasn’t told you everything, though.She left out that she got him fired right after the three days we spent together.”
Hannah’s mouth dropped open.“You told them about us?”
“Yes, he did, and now I understand so much better why you were so upset two year ago!”Caitlin exclaimed.“And don’t worry,” she said, giving Darryn a look.“I’ve told him exactly what an idiot he was to believe the drivel this White guy said about you.”
“What do you know about White, apart from the fact that you and he went to the same school?You were obviously very quick to believe everything he said.”
Darryn rubbed his face.“I never even liked the guy.And you’re right, I shouldn’t have been so quick to believe him.He was always into computers, and everyone assumed that’s what he would go into.Then one day he phoned me out of the blue, said he was also a fashion photographer, and could I help him with contacts.So I did.”
He thought of something and looked at Hannah.“You and I spent three days together, and then you got White fired.Why then?”
Hannah lifted an eyebrow.“Oh, now you want to listen to what I have to say?”
Darryn sighed.“I’m sorry, okay?I shouldn’t have believed the guy, but he—”
“Told you about my tattoo and you believed him,” Hannah said.
“I…yes.I…how did he know about it?”He held his breath.
“Darryn!”Caitlin scolded.
Hannah looked at him, ignoring her sister.“If you listened to me two years ago, I could have told you the truth then, but you—”
“I know, okay?I know,” he said.
Hannah glared at him, but continued talking.“Some of the other models and I were joking about our secret tattoos at some point during our stay on Mahé.Stephen was forever listening around corners or peeping through holes, and that was probably how he’d heard about it.I can promise you, I’d rather slit my own throat than let that idiot touch me.”She shuddered.“I’ve never met such a creepy man in my life!”
“So why did you wait until that day to lay a complaint against him?”Darryn asked.He frowned.“And how did you know he told me about your tattoo?Did he tell you?”
“Because…” Hannah began, but she swallowed and looked down at her clasped hands.“I heard you talking to him outside my door.I heard what he told you, I heard you walking away.I stupidly thought that if I ran after you, I could convince you he was lying, that he never saw my tattoo.But when I opened the door, he…he was right there.He pushed me back into the room…”
Furious, Darryn jumped up, his hands in fists.“What?”
“I didn’t think, I just reacted.I kicked him in the groin, shoved him out of my room, and phoned my agent.”She looked up.“And that’s what got him fired.Not the fact that he told you I sleep around.Which, by the way, isn’t true.”
Darryn looked her straight in the eye.“I knew that.I…I was just so freaked out by the—”
“It happened a long time ago.Forget about it.”Hannah waved his words away before he could finish.
“We are going to get to the bottom of this.At least you have security now,” Caitlin said fervently and hugged Hannah close.
Hannah pushed her away.“What security?”
Caitlin looked in Darryn’s direction and lifted an eyebrow.“You didn’t tell her?”
Darryn cleared his throat and studied his fingers.“Thought it would be best coming from you.”
“Yeah, right,” Caitlin said with a knowing look.
