“She didn’t have to.” She tapped her finger to her temple. “I remember seeing him that night, asking someone. ‘Are you going to let me see her now?’ He wasn’t talking to me. He was talking to Desiree, asking if he could see Krystal.”
“Yes. Think about Krystal. If you blow this all up, Krystal won’t have a mother.”
“Good. Desiree doesn’t deserve that little girl. She’ll corrupt her, or worse, treat her the way she’s treated me. No. I won’t let that happen. She’s not going to stop.” Another revelation came to her. “You know why she tried to kill me that night?”
“Lucky, please.”
“She wanted me to help set her up with Lincoln Gunn at the bar. She thought he was sexy and had a lot of money. The perfect guy, even if she knew absolutely nothing about him. But I knew Hawk, so Desiree thought I could somehow make it happen. When I tried, Lincoln shut me down, saying politely that he’s not dating right now. It wasn’t a cut to Desiree. I’m sure he had his reasons, but it had nothing to do with her. She was furious with me. I can only imagine how even more irate she was when she walked into my hospital room and found not only Hawk there, but Lincoln, too.” And more pieces fell into place. “That’s probably why she set up my place to burn and slashed my tire, then tried to flirt her way into Hawk’s heart and me out of it.”
Rage built inside her. “I’m going to take her down. She will not get away with this anymore. The question is, are you going to stop me? Because I know you’re not going to help.”
He fell back, leaning on his desk. “There’s no evidence linking her to her mother’s death, your family’s murders, or anything else that she’s done to you. Neil’s claims that he didn’t do it aren’t enough. I won’t help you hurt my daughter. I can’t.”
“Will you help save your granddaughter before Desiree turns on her?”
The silence in the room could be cut with a knife, it felt so thick and heavy.
She pushed. “Desiree needs to be stopped before she kills anyone else you love.” She drove the first nail into his coffin. “Jase has already figured out that Desiree is the most likely suspect. Will you fire him to protect Desiree? Will you let this go on until she hurts someone else? Me? Hawk, because he dares to love me? Lincoln because he turned her down for a date? What does she have to do before you do something, even if it’s simply letting me take her down?”
“The knife is gone and probably didn’t have her prints on it anyway. You have no memory of that night before Hawk found you. What is it that you think you can do to prove anything?”
“Leave that to me. I know how to handle her. I’ve had years of experience. But it will only work if you don’t tell her I’m coming after her.”
He planted his hands on his hips and stared up at the ceiling. “I want Krystal safe. I want her to feel loved.”
“Maybe what she needs are grandparents who put her first.” Between Bob and Neil’s parents, maybe Krystal had a chance to grow up loved like she deserved.
A knock sounded on the glass in the door.
Lucky turned to find Hawk pointing down the hallway as he mouthedDesiree.
A few seconds later, Desiree stood in front of Hawk and walked her fingers up his chest as she purred, “Hello again. Miss me?”
Hawk’s face remained void of emotion as he stepped out of reach. “I’m just waiting for my girlfriend.” His gaze turned to Lucky and he smiled. The kind of smile he only gave her. One filled with love and anI want youattached to it.
Desiree opened the door and stepped in, her gaze shifting from me to her father and back again. “Hey,” she said to Lucky. “I heard you were in the building. I thought I’d run over and see if you were okay? Is everything all right?” Her gaze shot to her dad, then back again.
“Everything is fine,” Bob assured her. “Lucky came in to answer some questions for Jase about her case. She just wanted to say hi and let me know she was on the mend.”
“Yes,” she rushed to say. “Your dad just wanted a few minutes to find out how I am and what I’ve been up to since we haven’t seen each other in a while.” She bumped her shoulder againstDesiree’s. “I think he also wanted to find out if Hawk is treating me right.”
“He better be.” Bob stared down Hawk, who was leaning against the doorframe now.
Hawk held his hand out. Lucky took it without hesitation and leaned into his side, his arm wrapped around her waist. “Hawk loves me. I’m happier than I’ve ever been.”
Which should make my best friend happy for me.
Except Desiree’s smile didn’t reach her eyes and her face tightened, like it was a strain to hold her smile. “You kept him a secret for a good long while.” Desiree shifted her gaze to Hawk, her sultry glance rude and inappropriate, especially right in front of Lucky. “I look forward to getting to know you better.”
Hawk kissed Lucky on the head and asked her, “Did you get what you needed?”
Not yet.“I guess we’ll never know what really happened that night, with my memory wiped.”
“Still no leads?” Desiree stared at her father.
“Jase is heading up the case. He’s hit a dead end.”
Desiree chuckled. “Just like Lucky almost did.” No one except Desiree found that funny in the slightest.
