The Ranger's Forgiveness (Army Ranger Romance Book 5) Page 11

  A large intake of air drew his gaze back to Taylor, and what he saw was horror. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. “You were tortured…because of me?” Suddenly, she was struggling to breathe.

  Elijah quickly pushed off the floor, pulled her up, and held her. “No, Taylor, I wasn’t. I was tortured because bad men were doing evil things. You had nothing to do with it.”

  “But you wouldn’t have joined…” she said between gasps of air. “It wouldn’t have happened.”

  He rubbed her back and held her flush against him. “No. If anyone is to blame, it’s my mom.”

  Taylor pushed back, looking up at him. “But—”

  “Take a breath, okay? You’re going to pass out if you don’t.”

  After a few deep breaths, she wasn’t breathing normally exactly, but the danger of passing out was over.

  “Are you okay now?” he asked.

  She nodded. “I think so.”

  “I need to sit down.” The sudden movement to her had made his head hurt.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Elijah smiled. “It’s okay.” He scooped her up, walked to the couch, and sat down with her in his lap. “It was not your fault. At the time, I didn’t tell you just how…vicious my mom was being. You were going through so much with your mom that I didn’t want to add it to your plate. I was going to marry you and hope that would make my mom back off. And if it didn’t, I was going to join the Army, after talking to you, of course. That way she’d have no choice but to leave me alone.” He paused. “I learned a few things from the estate attorney when I met with her on Thursday.”

  Taylor’s eyebrows knitted together. “Like what?”

  “She…there was monetary incentive for her if she got me to agree to take over the business. My dad was going to give her forty-nine percent of the company. Not enough to control interest, but enough money to…no, it wouldn’t have made her happy. She’d have just wanted more.”

  “And you never knew that?”

  He shook his head. “No, and my dad had made a second deal with her that gave her a trust fund to live off of. If she couldn’t convince me to take over the company, everything would become mine when I turned thirty. She didn’t find out until after they’d made that deal that he’d written her out of the will.”

  She gasped. “No way.”

  “Yep. I was shocked too.” He’d keep the part where the large sum of money was missing until he knew what it was for. Otherwise, it was just another mystery, and she didn’t need that right now.

  “And your dad never said anything? Nothing at all?”

  “No, he wanted to give my mom a chance to realize that I was worth more than the money, and he didn’t want me hating her. I stopped hating her a long time ago. Mostly, I just felt sorry for her. It had been four years since I’d spoken to her last when I got the call that she’d died.”

  “Wow. How did she die? Do you mind telling me?”

  “Brain cancer.”

  “Do you think that’s why she behaved so crazy?”

  He shrugged. “I think…it would be wishful thinking to believe that. She was cruel and mean and hateful because that’s who she was. And there was no helping her.”

  “I’m so sorry. I wish you’d have told me all this back then. I know my mom was sick, but you could have told me.”

  “I probably should have, but it’s okay. It’s water under the bridge now.”

  Taylor cast her gaze down and palmed his chest. “I know it’s a lot to ask. I know it’s huge, but do you think there is any possible way we can be friends?”

  Inside, he was pumping his fist. This is exactly what he wanted. “I think I’d like that. You think maybe you’d want to have dinner with me tomorrow night? It’s been so stressful, and it would be nice to just step away from it for a second and have a break.”

  The most beautiful smile spread on her lips. “I would really love that.”

  He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him, squeezing her. “Good, because I would too.”

  For the first time in years, he felt at peace. The war wasn’t over, but this was a small battle that had been won. At least, in his mind it had. Maybe he’d even get his own questions answered soon. The biggest being, what happened to make her leave him all those years ago?

  Chapter 16

  Taylor slapped her hand over her vibrating phone. It had been so late when she finally fell into bed. That was, of course, after Elijah, the jerk, had zipped into his bedroom and locked the door. She was supposed to keep an eye on him, but he’d put the kibosh on that. She’d banged on the door, but the stubborn man insisted he was fine. So what was she supposed to do? Sleep curled up by the door?

  She put the phone to her ear and mumbled, “Hello.” She’d need some coffee before this day started.

  “Are you okay?” Mia asked.

  “Yeah, just stayed up late talking to Elijah.”

  “Oh, you did?”

  Smiling, Taylor stretched and took a deep breath. “Yeah, and it was great. He’s such a good man.”

  Well, it had ended great. She still felt guilty about him joining the Army. How was she ever going to not feel guilty? He’d said it wasn’t her fault, but he’d started the process when she began pulling away. What if she had told Ruth to stuff it? Her mom died anyway. Could Ruth have pursued it after that? Would the jury have taken mercy on her dad even if they couldn’t prove Ruth was behind it? Would that have kept Elijah from being hurt? And he was a sniper? Her tender, kind-hearted Elijah was a sniper? She’d been floored. That’s not what she’d pictured for his life.

  Even after going through what he had, Elijah had grown into a man Taylor could see herself married to. Funny. Nothing had really changed in that area. She’d always been able to see that future. One where they were in love and happy. By now, they were supposed to have kids.

  “He is, but I thought I’d call and give you an update.”

  Taylor bolted up. “I’m awake now.” The phone vibrated in her hand, and she answered the video chat. “I’m pretty sure my hair looks like a hornet’s nest.”

  Mia snorted. “It’s me. I don’t care.” She smiled.

  “Okay, what have you found?”

  The corners of Mia’s mouth quirked up. “I found out Ruth’s address in Albuquerque, and low and behold…she has a computer.”

  “Okay. Was there something on it?”

  She nodded. “Yes, there was a paper written by the doctor who conducted that experimental trial. The one your mom was in. And it was just that. Super experimental. As in not approved.”

  “Not approved? Then how did he conduct it?”

  “Well, that’s why he’s currently sitting in prison. For falsifying results and switching medication to the trial drugs that weren’t approved.”

  Taylor was gut-punched. “But that medication was working. My mom felt better than she had in years.”

  Mia nodded. “I know, and for some it did. However, more than half his patients that were in this trial either had complications—such as infections—or the cancer cells spread faster.”

  “So that’s what killed my mom? Because an infection is what killed her. Not the cancer. We just didn’t know why the infection was uncontrollable. But it sounds like it was because of the trial.” That would explain why her mom was doing okay one minute and not the next.

  “I believe so. That paper on Ruth’s computer was about how the trials he’d conducted on mice had failed, what his new theory was, and that he needed more trials. That’s where it left off.”

  Sighing, Taylor asked, “What does all of that mean?”

  Mia chewed her lips. “Ruth knew about that study. Other than that, I’m still looking. I figured I’d start from the beginning and work my way through it.”

  “Thanks for being so thorough and doing this for me.”

  “Elijah cares about you, and that makes you one of us.” She smiled.

  Taylor cheeks heated.

  Mia laughed. “Oh, that
blush says something. What happened?”

  “We talked last night. Long into the night. It felt so good. I’ve missed him so much. He agreed to try to be friends.”

  “Maybe there’s a little more hope there than you thought. You guys have grown up in the time since you dated in high school. Why not approach this whole situation like you’re meeting him for the first time? You’re different people now.”

  Mia had a point. They were so different now than they were back then. But then there was the issue with Ruth. Taylor couldn’t be sure she was in the clear. “But…what if Ruth has something in place? Bribery has no statute of limitations. My dad could still get in trouble.”

  “Well, I’ll just dig harder and faster and get this thing done. If nothing else, you need some closure, and Elijah needs to know that you did love him back then.”

  “I did. So much.”

  Mia smiled. “I can tell. Okay, let me get back to work. I’ll call if I find out more.”

  “Thanks.” Taylor ended the call and fell back on the bed.

  She didn’t know what to think of the information Mia had found. Ruth knew about that trial. Did she also know that the doctor didn’t have approval? Maybe that’s how she was able to bribe him to get her mom in. Maybe Ruth held that over the doctor’s head because he didn’t have approval and could get in trouble.

  It didn’t explain how she managed to make it look like her dad was the one who did it, but Mia had just started digging. Hopefully, she’d find more, and like she said, they could get closure once and for all.

  But what if she could have more than just closure? Elijah had asked her out. It had been so long. A lot had changed since they were in high school. Yes, they’d talked the night before, but that was catching up. She didn’t know him like she had before. Elijah was a grown man. They weren’t kids anymore with visions of a blissful future.

  Events and time had shaped them without either of them being in the picture. Taylor knew she wasn’t the same person. She’d grown up without his influence. If she did what Mia suggested, pretended this was a new friendship, could they forge something better than what they’d had before? Wasn’t it worth trying to find out?

  Her heart sure seemed to think so. Her head had its reservations.

  Chapter 17

  Standing at the sink in his boxers, almost finished with brushing his teeth, Elijah tried to wake himself up. He’d stayed up late talking to Taylor and then had a miserable time trying to go to sleep. For hours, he’d stared at the ceiling, thinking about everything. His mind just wouldn’t shut off. When he did finally drift off, he’d had dreams about kissing her again. Like that helped.

  It hadn’t surprised him that she’d gone on to do art. She’d always been a little bit of a free spirit. It saddened him that she was struggling with her career as an artist. He thought her paintings and sculptures were beautiful. During their conversation, it had hit him just how different they were now. Her view of the world was a little more jaded than he remembered, but losing her mom so young…and him leaving…she’d been hit twice.

  He hadn’t thought his leaving would affect her since she’d pushed him away so hard, but there seemed to be more and more evidence that everything wasn’t as cut and dry as he thought. It made him that much more dedicated to discovering the truth. It broke his heart to think that maybe he had run too soon without trying to figure out what was really going on. At the time, he’d been too out his mind to even consider there could be something else going on.

  As they were talking, Taylor had used her phone and shown him the conspiracy website and podcast. If anyone took it seriously, they needed help. It was more tongue-in-cheek dry satire. She was poking fun at most of the alien conspiracies. If the person threatening her really did think she’d stumbled onto something, they were going to have no trouble using an insanity defense. It made Elijah wonder just what kind of crazy they were dealing with.

  With a yawn, he set his toothbrush down, and about halfway back to his bed, his phone rang. He put a little more pep in his step and answered it. “Hey, Mia.”

  “Hey.” The tone in her voice made his hair stand on end. It was her Something weird is going on, and it’s not a good weird tone.

  Elijah sat on the edge of the bed. “What?”

  “There are two large chunks of money that are missing.”

  He knitted his eyebrows together. “You said two?”

  “Yes, and the first happened about six months before you graduated, the two million. There was also a smaller withdrawal of fifty thousand at the time. I’m guessing that was the payoff for the person who got your mom the money.”

  “Okay. That actually makes sense. What about the second?”

  “About three months before your mom died.”

  “Well, how large was it?”

  “Seven hundred and fifty thousand. And I’m finding transactions that indicate she sold off a lot of personal items to get that cash, along with taking out a mortgage on the house she had. It had been paid off…and she was close to losing it for non-payment when she died.”

  He blinked. That made sense too. As much as his mom loved to blow through money, she probably had no choice. “Okay. Do you know where either of them went?”

  “Not quite yet. The first was transferred to an offshore account and then transferred again to another offshore account. We need a warrant to get the name of the account holder. Noah’s working on that.”

  Two offshore accounts? “What on earth was my mom doing?”

  “I don’t know, but I’ve managed to access her computer in Albuquerque. I’m just starting to go through it. I thought you’d want to know about the offshore accounts. Plus, the doctor that was conducting that experimental trial Taylor’s mom was in? Ruth had a copy of a paper he’d written outlining the results he’d had with mice. They were bad.”

  He raked his hand through his hair. “Does Taylor know?”

  “Yeah, I just got off the phone with her, but that’s the only part I told her about.”

  “What was my mom doing?”

  Mia hesitated a moment. “Elijah, I think you need to back up and approach this like you would any case. Take the emotions out of it. If this were any other case, what would you be thinking?”

  “You know I’m just the muscle most of the time. I’m not really a criminal mastermind. I mean, I didn’t even know my parents were unhappy.”

  Mia laughed. “You were young and in love and oblivious. Most teenagers are. Think back…were there really no signs?”

  Elijah shrugged and tried to think back. “They did seem to argue more and more, but you didn’t know my mom. A saint would have sewn her lips shut. She was not easy to live with by any stretch.”

  “Yeah, but now that you’re stepping back and really thinking about it, you could see it, right?”

  “I guess. My dad wasn’t around a lot, but he was never around a lot. In the beginning, he was working on his patent, then he was working on the company and getting the food in stores, and once it took off, he was gone for meetings. My dad was great when he was home…for the few minutes he was.”

  “I’m sorry, Elijah.”

  “It’s okay. Later on, when I really needed them, I had the Mabrey’s. We grew up together, but Taylor and I didn’t exactly hang out much until we were partnered in biology. Sheesh, I’ve never seen anyone carve a frog so bad.” He chuckled with the memory.

  They’d had a sheet of questions to answer, and they had to use the frog at the table next to them because of the chop job Taylor did on their frog. Later, he’d found out it was because she had a crush on him and was nervous. Even the memory made him blush. She’d been so cute, and she hadn’t known the feeling was mutual.

  “I like Taylor,” Mia said.

  “I’ve yet to meet anyone who doesn’t love Taylor Mabrey, except my mom. But my mom loved herself, and that’s about it.”

  “Does that mean you love Taylor?”

  He lay back on the bed, his toes rubbin
g against the floor. “I don’t know. I know it wouldn’t take much to get there. I wanted to hate her from the second I saw her again, but I can’t.”

  “There’s a fine line between hate and love.”

  He snorted. “No kidding. I don’t know that I could ever stop caring about her. I will say that I feel like she’s keeping something from me. I asked her out to dinner tonight as a friend. I don’t know what will come of it, but I’d like her to trust me. Maybe she’ll tell me what it is.”

  Mia took a deep breath. “Maybe just build that bridge one plank at a time. I’ll keep digging and see what shakes out.”

  “Thanks, Mia.”

  “Anytime.”

  Elijah ended the call and sat up, grabbing the letter off the nightstand. His head was clear, and it was time to read it. He stared at the envelope. His name was delicately scrawled out in blue ink. Taking a deep breath and bracing for the contents, he tore it open and unfolded it.

  She’d written it with a shaky hand. It looked nothing like her normal soft, perfect swirls. How sick had she been when she wrote it?

  Elijah,

  I’m writing this to let you know just how much I love you. I wish Ruth could see the jewel she has in you. She was wealthy beyond measure long before the money came. Your kind nature. Sweet, sensitive heart. Loving personality. I am so glad Taylor brought you home for dinner. It wasn’t until I met you that I realized what I’d been missing: you. You completed my family. For that, I will forever be grateful for Ruth. Please know that I loved you wholly and completely. You were my second baby boy.

  This is where I humbly ask for a favor. Would you, from time to time, check on Taylor, Lucas, and Joseph? They’re acting strong right now, but we all know I’m dying. Taylor is especially taking this hard, and I worry for her. I’m not sure what tore you two apart, but I know one day you’ll find one another again. God has a reason for his timing. Never lose sight of that.

  I love you, my sweet boy.