Chapter 3 - Safe Houses and Dangerous Truths
Darkness swallowed the penthouse.
Harper stopped breathing.
A second earlier Chicago had glittered through walls of glass.
Now emergency lights glowed dim red along the floor.
Roman moved before Harper understood what was happening.
His hand closed around hers.
"Stay behind me."
"What's happening?"
"Someone breached the building."
"Your building?"
"Yes."
"Isn't that supposed to be impossible?"
"Apparently someone failed to read the brochure."
Even now, his voice remained controlled.
Harper heard quick footsteps in the hallway.
Roman drew a handgun from beneath his waistcoat.
Her eyes widened.
"Roman."
"Don't look at the weapon. Look at me."
She did.
His face remained calm.
"You're going with Elias."
"Who?"
The dark-haired man who had brought the tablet stepped forward.
"Me."
Roman pointed toward a hidden door beside the bookcase.
"Lower garage."
Harper tightened her fingers around Roman's hand.
"You're not coming?"
His gaze dropped briefly to their joined hands.
Then back to her face.
"I need to understand how someone entered my building."
"That sounds like something you can understand tomorrow."
A muffled explosion sounded below them.
Harper jumped.
Roman didn't.
"Go."
"No."
"Harper."
"You're the one who told me not to trust dangerous strangers."
Something changed in his expression.
"You've decided I'm trustworthy?"
"I've decided I don't want to be passed around like luggage."
Elias muttered, "She's got a point."
Roman gave him a look.
Elias became fascinated with the wall.
Roman faced Harper again.
"Listen carefully. Elias has protected my family for eleven years. If I trust anyone to get you out, it's him."
"Why would someone attack your home because of me?"
"I don't know if they're here because of you."
That answer scared her more.
Roman gently freed his hand.
"Go."
"Roman—"
"Now."
A crash thundered somewhere beyond the hall.
Roman disappeared toward the sound.
Elias opened the hidden panel.
"Ms. Quinn."
Harper hesitated.
Then followed.
A narrow staircase descended behind the walls.
"This is ridiculous."
Elias glanced back.
"What?"
"The secret staircase."
"You were expecting a mafia dungeon. This seems more tasteful."
Harper almost laughed despite herself.
"What exactly do you do for Roman?"
"Everything nobody else wants to do."
"That is not reassuring."
They reached a secure elevator.
Elias entered a code.
The doors opened.
As they descended, Harper's phone vibrated.
Unknown caller.
Not Roman's number.
She stared at it.
Elias noticed.
"Don't answer."
It stopped.
Then a text appeared.
Harper, please. It's me.
Her blood chilled.
Derek.
Another message.
Roman Vale is lying to you.
Harper showed Elias.
His expression hardened.
"Don't respond."
Another message.
I can explain everything.
Then:
Kinsley set us both up.
Harper's heart pounded.
Could Derek be lying?
Of course he could.
He had lied for years.
But what if parts of Roman's story weren't true either?
The elevator opened into a private lower garage.
Three vehicles waited.
Elias guided Harper toward an armored SUV.
Her phone buzzed again.
Ask Vale what happened to his brother.
Harper stopped.
"Elias."
"Keep moving."
"Who is Roman's brother?"
Elias's face changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
"So he has one."
"Had."
The word hung between them.
"What happened?"
"Not my story."
"Does Derek know?"
"Apparently."
Harper looked at the phone.
A final text appeared.
Roman isn't protecting you because you're innocent. He's protecting you because he thinks you can lead him to the man who murdered his brother.
Harper read it twice.
Elias opened the SUV door.
"Get in."
"Is it true?"
"Harper."
"Is it?"
He looked uncomfortable.
"Roman's brother was killed three years ago."
"By Derek?"
"No."
"Then why would I lead Roman to the killer?"
"I don't know."
The garage doors began to open.
A figure stepped from the shadows.
Elias reached for his weapon.
"Down!"
Harper ducked.
Gunfire cracked.
The SUV window starred but didn't break.
Elias fired back.
Harper crawled across the seat.
Another man rushed from behind a pillar.
Then Roman appeared.
He hit the attacker from the side with brutal efficiency.
The fight lasted seconds.
Roman knocked the weapon away and slammed the man against the concrete.
"Who sent you?"
The attacker laughed through blood.
Roman's voice became dangerously quiet.
"Wrong answer."
Harper stared.
This was the Roman Vale newspapers hinted at.
Cold.
Fast.
Terrifying.
The attacker spat near Roman's shoes.
"Saran sends his regards."
Roman's expression didn't change.
"And he says the girl belongs to him."
Harper's stomach dropped.
Roman struck the man once.
He collapsed.
Harper flinched.
Roman immediately looked at her.
For a second, the fury disappeared from his face.
"You hurt?"
She shook her head.
Roman turned to Elias.
"Change route. Take the western exit."
Elias nodded.
Harper stepped from the SUV.
Roman frowned.
"What are you doing?"
"Talking to you."
"Not now."
"Now."
"Harper."
She held up her phone.
"Why does Derek think I'm connected to your brother's murder?"
Roman froze.
Elias quietly moved away.
Harper's voice trembled.
"You promised me answers."
"I promised nothing."
"You told me I deserved an explanation."
Roman looked toward the garage entrance.
"We do not have time."
"Make time."
His eyes snapped back.
Harper refused to look away.
Something almost like frustration crossed his face.
Then he said, "My younger brother's name was Julian."
Harper waited.
"He was an accountant."
"For you?"
"For several family businesses."
"Legal ones?"
A pause.
"Mostly."
"That's comforting."
"Three years ago Julian discovered money disappearing from companies tied to Viktor Saran."
Harper's heart accelerated.
"Like now."
"Yes."
"He tried to warn you?"
"Yes."
Roman looked away.
"He died before he could."
"How?"
"Car bomb."
Harper went still.
"I'm sorry."
Roman's face hardened.
"I don't need sympathy."
"Everyone needs sympathy."
His eyes returned to hers.
For a moment neither spoke.
Harper asked, "What does that have to do with me?"
"Julian left encrypted files."
"And?"
"One of them contained a list of names."
Roman stepped closer.
"Derek Langdon was on that list."
Harper's lips parted.
"Derek worked with your brother?"
"We couldn't prove how."
"And my name?"
"Your name appeared two months ago in a separate financial trail connected to Julian's files."
"So when you started watching Derek..."
"I was looking for the person who helped kill my brother."
Harper's stomach twisted.
"And you thought it might be me."
"Initially."
"Do you still?"
"No."
"Why?"
Roman's gaze softened.
"Because Julian had excellent instincts."
Harper frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"He kept notes about people."
Roman reached into his inside pocket and withdrew a folded paper.
It looked old.
He handed it to her.
Harper unfolded it.
A scanned handwritten note.
H.Q. doesn't know. Keep her out. D.L. using engagement. If anything happens, protect her from accounts.
Harper stared.
"H.Q."
"You."
"Julian knew about me?"
"Apparently."
"But I never met him."
Roman's expression darkened.
"That's what bothers me."
A distant siren echoed above the garage.
Roman took the note back.
"Now get in."
Harper obeyed.
This time Roman joined her.
The SUV pulled through another underground exit.
For ten minutes nobody spoke.
Harper stared at the city passing outside.
Her entire life seemed to have existed in a room where everyone else knew there were hidden doors.
She had been the only one who didn't.
Eventually she asked, "Where are we going?"
"A safe house."
"Another secret building?"
"A house."
"With normal stairs?"
Roman looked at her.
"Several."
"Good."
The safe house stood north of the city near the lake.
Not a mansion.
A large but understated stone home hidden behind trees and iron gates.
Inside, security personnel checked every room.
Roman placed Harper in a guest suite overlooking dark water.
"Try to sleep."
She laughed.
"You can't seriously think I'm sleeping."
"I can hope."
He turned toward the door.
"Roman."
He stopped.
"What?"
"Why did Julian write protect me?"
Roman didn't answer.
"Did he know Derek was using me before anyone else?"
"Maybe."
"Then why didn't he contact me?"
Roman's jaw tightened.
"He tried."
Harper's breath caught.
"What?"
Roman faced her.
"Two days before Julian died, he called a number registered to you."
"I don't remember."
"You didn't answer."
"Did he leave a message?"
"No."
"Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"We didn't know until recently."
Harper sat slowly on the bed.
A man she had never met had apparently tried to warn her three years ago.
Then died.
Roman studied her face.
"I'll have someone bring food."
"I'm not hungry."
"Eat anyway."
"Derek used to say that in reverse."
Roman went still.
Harper regretted saying it.
Then Roman's voice became very quiet.
"What did he do?"
"Nothing."
"Harper."
She looked toward the window.
"He just cared a lot about how I looked."
Roman's jaw flexed.
"Define cared."
"It doesn't matter."
"It matters if you're going to blame yourself for things he taught you to believe."
Harper looked at him.
He moved closer but kept several feet between them.
"You didn't lose anything valuable today."
Her eyes filled.
"My best friend."
"She framed you."
"My fiancé."
"He betrayed you."
"My apartment."
"Replaceable."
"My wedding."
Roman paused.
"That one I can't improve with money without making the conversation extremely strange."
A laugh escaped Harper before she could stop it.
She covered her mouth.
Roman's expression softened.
"Better."
"What?"
"That sound."
Harper stared.
For an instant, the feared Roman Vale looked less like a criminal king and more like a tired man relieved that she had laughed.
Then his phone vibrated.
He read the screen.
The warmth vanished.
"What now?"
Roman looked toward the door.
"We found Kinsley."
Harper stood.
"Alive?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Hospital."
"What happened?"
Roman's eyes sharpened.
"She walked into the emergency room fifteen minutes ago."
Harper's chest loosened.
Then Roman added:
"She wasn't alone."
"Who was with her?"
Roman held Harper's gaze.
"Derek."
Harper's heart slammed.
"Then he's alive."
"Yes."
"Are police there?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because they didn't come for medical treatment."
Roman turned his phone toward her.
A security image showed Derek and Kinsley entering a restricted administrative corridor.
Harper frowned.
"What are they doing?"
Roman zoomed in.
Kinsley carried a laptop bag.
Derek held something small in his hand.
A storage drive.
Roman's voice became cold.
"That hospital owns the private server facility Julian used before he died."
Harper stared.
"They're going after his files."
"Yes."
"Then they're working together."
"Yes."
Her heartbreak finally transformed into something else.
Rage.
Harper picked up her coat.
Roman frowned.
"No."
"I'm coming."
"Absolutely not."
"They used my name. My accounts. My life."
"Which is precisely why you'll stay here."
Harper stepped closer.
"I spent three years letting Derek decide what I ate, what I wore, who I trusted, and whether my own instincts were reasonable."
Roman's expression shifted.
"I'm done letting men decide things for me."
Silence.
Roman studied her.
Then slowly he reached into his pocket.
He placed a small black communication device in her hand.
"Earpiece."
Harper blinked.
"You're letting me come?"
"No."
She glared.
Roman continued.
"I'm acknowledging that you'll probably attempt something reckless if I leave you."
"That's practically permission."
"It is absolutely not."
Harper smiled for the first time that day.
Roman looked at the smile too long.
Then he turned away.
"Five minutes."
But as Harper prepared to follow him into the night, neither of them knew Derek had already found what he wanted.
A hidden recording made three years earlier.
A recording containing one voice Harper recognized instantly.
Her father's.
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Continue to Chapter 4…
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