Always (The Protectors Book 3) Page 9

  ***

  By the time Grant made it home, he was tired, restless, and worried.

  Without knowing the significance of the numbers they’d found, they had no way of knowing how much danger Mallory was in. She was determined to carry on as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, but he knew how lethal complacency could be.

  His gut instinct was telling him that whatever her boyfriend had been involved in, it wasn’t good. But until they knew the name of the cloud storage system he used, they couldn’t work out what the numbers meant.

  John’s team would arrive at Mallory’s home tomorrow. They would search for anything that could give them more information about Simon, his family, and the issue that had driven a wedge between Simon and his parents. They’d also look at Mallory’s life—the people she knew, the places she’d gone. It wasn’t the type of work anyone enjoyed, but it might be the only way they’d get to the bottom of what had happened.

  He poured himself a cup of coffee and turned on his computer. If he couldn’t do anything about the numbers, he’d look for information about Mallory.

  He typed in her name and waited for the search results to appear. He didn’t have to wait long. Page after page of newspaper articles, videos, and U.S. figure skating links gave him more information that he thought he’d find.

  Mallory had been compared to some of the most successful figure skaters in the world. The articles that were published before the accident described her as America’s next Olympic gold medalist.

  Her accident had created a huge reaction. Whoever had managed her public relations had done a good job. They’d made everyone believe it was her injuries that prevented her from returning to the ice and nothing else.

  He clicked on a few more links before watching a video of her skating. Grant held his breath as she glided across the ice. Mallory moved with the grace of a ballet dancer. With her head held high, she transitioned from one jump to the next as effortlessly as most people walked.

  For more than an hour he sat in front of his computer, absorbed in each routine she performed. He couldn’t understand how she could have walked away from the most important thing in her life. After losing her boyfriend, it must have felt as though she were cutting off a limb.

  He flicked back to more articles. Not only had she stopped skating, but she’d severed all contact with everyone in the skating world. Her closest friends were worried about her—no one knew what she was doing or whether she would ever return to the ice.

  Shortly after midnight he turned off his computer and sat staring at the black screen.

  Mallory had fooled everyone, including the people who may have killed her boyfriend. All they needed to do now was keep fooling them into thinking nothing had changed.

  Because it had—and things might be about to get worse.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  On Tuesday evening, Mallory stopped her car in her driveway and frowned. Grant’s truck was parked at the curb.

  As soon as she turned off the ignition, he was standing beside her car with a serious expression on his face.

  “I was hoping you wouldn’t be late home from work. It’s freezing out here.”

  “Has something happened?”

  “Not that I’ve heard, but I have been doing some research on the Internet.” He blew on his hands. “Do you think we could have this discussion inside?”

  “Sure, but if you want me to stay with someone else, my answer hasn’t changed.”

  He’d called her twice on Sunday, asking her to change her mind. Each time, she’d refused. She doubted if anyone was still watching her, but if they were, changing where she lived could be an easy giveaway that things weren’t as they seemed.

  Grant held his hands in the air. “I promise…no more lectures.”

  She smiled at his lopsided grin. “Come inside, then. I’ve got enough food for two people if you’d like to stay for dinner?”

  “Count me in. I’ll just get a few things out of my truck.”

  Mallory lifted a bag of groceries out of her car and walked toward her house. As she opened the front door, she looked over her shoulder.

  Grant was carrying an enormous ladder and had a plastic bag between his teeth.

  She left the groceries on her hall table and rushed outside to give him a hand. “Tell me this isn’t my replacement ladder?”

  Grant smiled when she took the bag out of his mouth. “Beautiful and intelligent—I knew I’d met the woman of my dreams.”

  “I’m going to ignore that comment because I’m getting cold.”

  He followed her up the driveway. “The ladders at Jake’s Hardware were on sale. While I was there, I bought a few security locks for your windows and doors.”

  Mallory peeked inside the bag. “A few?”

  Grant grinned. “There’s another bag of locks in the truck. I’m also waiting for a quote from a company for two security doors.”

  “You’re turning my home into Fork Knox. I’m perfectly safe.”

  “You’d be perfectly safe at Tess’ home. I’m going to make sure you’re as safe as you can be here.”

  She waved him inside. “You can leave the ladder in my spare bedroom. John’s staff took all the boxes out of the attic on Monday.”

  Grant made a left-hand turn off the main hallway. “Wow. Was all of this in the attic?”

  “I didn’t realize there was so much. The animal shelter is asking for donations for one of their fundraisers. I’ll give some of this stuff to them and return the rest to the attic.”

  Grant held out his hand for the bag of locks. “I’ll attach some the locks onto the windows tonight. If it’s okay with you, I’ll come back on Friday to do the rest.”

  “Okay, but you need to give me the bill for all of this. You’re not paying for the locks or the ladder.”

  “We’ll see. I want to show you what I found on the Internet.”

  Mallory picked up her groceries and walked through the living room to the kitchen. “My laptop is on the kitchen table. You can use that while I’m getting dinner ready. Do you like chicken and pasta?”

  “I like anything someone else makes.”

  “Are you always this easy to please?”

  “No, but I’m learning to adapt.”

  Grant waited for her to log onto her laptop before sitting at the table.

  He unfolded a sheet of paper and started typing. “Did you know that Simon’s family is now involved in property development?”

  Mallory took a saucepan out of a cupboard. “I haven’t followed what they’ve been doing. It seems like a natural progression from investing in other people’s buildings to constructing their own.”

  “Eighteen months ago they acquired a large parcel of land in Mexico. Within two months the buildings that were on the land were demolished and construction started on a 300-room resort. It was supposed to open in a few weeks.”

  “That must have cost a lot of money.”

  Grant turned the laptop around. “Less than you might think. A silent partner underwrote the construction costs. All they had to do was clear the land and manage the building process.”

  Mallory didn’t understand why Grant was interested in Simon’s family. “Why is it important?”

  “Look at this article.”

  She wiped her hands on a dish towel and moved closer to the laptop. The report Grant had found was about a Mexican billionaire who was under investigation for fraud and corruption.

  Grant pointed to the screen. “That’s the person who underwrote the construction costs. His name is Juan Garcia. Not only is he a billionaire, but he’s a senator in the Mexican Government.”

  “What did he do wrong?”

  “He funneled the equivalent of fifteen million American dollars from government funds into two property developments. Guess where half of the money went?”

  “The resort Simon’s parents are building?”

  Grant nodded. “All construction has been stopped until the allegations have b
een investigated.”

  “Do you think this has something to do with Simon’s death?”

  “I don’t know, but if Simon knew about the deal and didn’t like it, someone might have wanted to scare him, just like they scared you.”

  “He never said anything about a resort in Mexico.”

  “This could have been what he was worried about.”

  Mallory studied the grainy photo of the billionaire. He didn’t seem like the type of person who would defraud anyone. “Simon wouldn’t have wanted to be involved in the development if it wasn’t legal. Does your brother know about this?”

  “I called him today. He’s going to give us an update on what Fletcher Security has found in a day or two.”

  Grant closed the laptop and reached for a bag he’d left beside him. “While you’re making dinner, I’ll start on the window locks. Let me know if you need help.”

  “I will. Dinner is about twenty minutes away.”

  After Grant had left the kitchen, Mallory opened the laptop and read the article again. If he was right and Juan Garcia had used government funds to finance the resort, he wouldn’t be the only person under investigation.

  Simon’s mom and dad would be next.

  She needed to find Simon’s laptop or the name of the cloud storage system he used—and she needed to be careful. If the numbers on the back of the photo gave her access to hidden files, no one would be safe.

  ***

  By the next day, Grant was feeling even more uneasy. After listening to John’s update about what Fletcher Security had found, he hoped Mallory saw the sense in staying with someone else.

  But that wasn’t happening.

  Attaching locks to each ground floor window was one thing, but what she was proposing would put her in more danger.

  He ran his hand along the back of his neck, trying to rub away the unease creeping along his spine. “You can’t fly to Orlando and ask Simon’s parents for his laptop. They’ll get suspicious.”

  Mallory turned to John. “We need to know if the numbers on the back of the photo open a file. We’re not going to know what cloud storage system Simon used unless I go to Orlando.”

  John seemed as thrilled as Grant was about her suggestion. “One of my security specialists is using the code on different cloud storage programs. We’re doing everything we can to eliminate the need for anyone to go to Orlando or contact Simon’s parents.”

  Grant opened the copy of the report John had given them. “So far, Simon’s father seems more focused on the Mexican Government’s investigation. If you ask him for Simon’s laptop, it will tip him off that you’re searching for something. I’ll bet you a year’s salary that if that happens, you won’t see Simon’s laptop again. His parents will want to know what’s on it—and when they find it, the information will be deleted.”

  Mallory crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I wasn’t going to ask for his laptop. I was going to ask where they stored all the things that were in his apartment. I could say I’ve lost a valuable piece of jewelry and it might be in one of the boxes.”

  Grant didn’t see the point of contacting Simon’s parents. “They could have thrown everything away.”

  John leaned forward. “My team checked to see if Simon’s dad or his business are making regular payments to storage facilities in the Orlando area. They aren’t. Either they gave all of Simon’s belongings away or they’ve stored them in a building they own.”

  Grant’s gaze shot to Mallory. “What about the moving company? You said they arrived not long after Simon died. If we find them, we could find everything else.”

  Mallory frowned. “It’s a good idea, but I don’t remember which company his parents used.”

  John typed something into his computer. “Did they give you a business card or anything that would identify them?”

  “Simon and I had our own apartments.” She bit her bottom lip. “I feel as though there’s something I’m missing, but I can’t remember what it is.”

  “Don’t worry,” John said. “I’ll have Sam look into it. But in the meantime, don’t go to Orlando or contact Simon’s parents. The less they know about what we’re doing, the safer you’ll be.”

  Grant hoped that Mallory listened to his brother. She had a determined gleam in her eyes that worried him. “You should stay with someone. It’s not safe living on your own.”

  “Nothing has happened.”

  “Yet,” Grant said firmly.

  “I live in Bozeman now, not Orlando. I doubt his parents…” Her voice faded to a whisper. “Andrew knows.”

  Grant frowned. “Who’s Andrew?”

  “Simon’s brother. He’s visited me three or four times since Simon died.”

  John’s eyebrows rose. “Why?”

  “He said it was to make sure I was okay, but each time he left I felt even more stressed. Last time I saw him I told him not to come back.”

  “When was that?”

  “A couple of weeks ago. We met at Angel Wings Café.”

  “And you haven’t heard from his since then?”

  Mallory frowned at John. “No. He only came when he had business in Montana. I think he felt as though he was doing something for Simon when he talked to me.”

  “Or he wanted to keep tabs on you,” Grant muttered. “Where does he live?”

  “Orlando. You can’t be serious…he’s Simon’s brother. He wouldn’t have had anything to do with his death.”

  Grant closed the folder he was holding. “A guilty conscience will push people to do things they don’t want to do.”

  “I’ll add him to the list of people we’re investigating,” John said. “I really think you should consider staying with someone else, Mallory. Tess and Logan have almost as much security around their home as I do. They live in town, so you could easily drive to work each day.”

  Mallory picked up her bag and jacket. “I appreciate your concern, but I’ll be okay.”

  John didn’t seem worried by Mallory’s stubborn refusal to do what they suggested, but Grant was. And he had a plan to make sure she changed her mind.

  ***

  Mallory called Grant and waited for him to answer. She was so annoyed she’d almost driven out to his ranch to talk to him in person.

  “What’s happened?”

  Grant’s short, sharp, greeting made her even more annoyed. “Why did you tell Tess about the photo?”

  “I didn’t tell Tess anything about the photo. I told her I was worried about you. I might have also mentioned that John was reviewing the police report from your accident.”

  “You shouldn’t have done that. She came into work this morning, insisting that I stay with her and Logan.”

  “And are you?”

  Mallory gripped the phone tight. “Yes. I’m going home to pack my bags after I’ve spoken to you. She didn’t leave me any choice.”

  “There are no choices where your safety is concerned.”

  “John suggested I stay with her. Until we know for sure whether Simon’s death was an accident, I didn’t want to disrupt her life.”

  “If you wait until something happens, it could be too late.”

  Mallory sat on the edge of her desk. “John’s staff know what they’re doing. They’re being really careful and so am I. You’re overreacting.” The silence on the end of the phone confused her. “Are you still there?”

  “I’m here. I know how much you value your independence, but I’ve seen what desperate people can do. The police didn’t find anything unusual in your accident investigation because they didn’t have all the information. Someone sent you letters telling you to leave skating and something upset Simon. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

  “I don’t want to get hurt, either. But going behind my back and telling Tess wasn’t fair. I can look after myself.”

  “You’ll be safe there.”

  She took a deep breath. Telling Grant she would have been okay on her own was as productive as banging her head against
a brick wall. “Was John able to contact the truck driver who hit Simon’s car?”

  “The driver died last year. John’s team is trying to locate the only witnesses to the accident. So far, they haven’t had any luck.”

  “Am I being paranoid or does that sound suspicious?”

  “We’ve gone past the paranoid stage. There are too many coincidences to make anything random.”

  “It sounds as though I might owe you an apology.”

  Grant sighed. “I didn’t want to call Tess, but it’s not worth staying on your own while all of this is going on.”

  “I can’t stay with her forever.”

  “It won’t come to that. John knows what he’s doing and his team is working as quickly as they can. Did you hear back from the security door company?”

  “The doors will be installed on Saturday.”

  “That’s good. Even though you’re not going to be home, it still makes sense to install extra security. Have you had any more nightmares?”

  Mallory smiled. “Only one and it involves a ranch owner who keeps pestering me about my safety.”

  “You should take notice of that dream; it’s telling you to be careful.”

  “Thanks to Tess’ visit, you don’t need to worry.”

  “Not as much. At least I know you’ll be safe at night.”

  Mallory wasn’t so sure. If Grant was right and someone was willing to kill Simon and threaten her, a house alarm wouldn’t stop them. “What if this is as bad as you think it is?”

  “Then we go to plan B.”

  “Do I want to know what that involves?”

  “No. Call me when you get to Tess’ home.”

  “I will. Bye.” Mallory left her cell phone on her desk and sat staring into space. She thought everything would have been okay after she retired from skating. But what if the threats to her life had been a cover for what was really happening? What if she’d turned her back on skating when she didn’t need to?

  Her heart sank. Skating had been her life, and she may have given it up for nothing. Two years ago, her dreams of becoming an Olympic skater died with Simon.

  And now she’d never know if she could have won a gold medal.