The fur stood at attention along Samson’s back. He stood amid the littered pieces of clothing and items from Lauri’s drawers. Watching her dog, Bree’s alarm escalated. This was more than normal teenager messiness. She wasn’t sure whoever did this was looking for something. It appeared vindictive. Furniture was upended, and the cushions had been tossed onto the floor.
“Lauri?” Bree called again though she had no real hope of getting an answer. The only sound was the growl of an engine down on the street. Kade had said to check with the neighbors or the super, so she grabbed Samson’s leash and went into the hall. With the baby carrier looped over one arm, she called Lauri’s number and heard it ringing in Lauri’s apartment behind her. She shut the phone and put it away.
The odor of cooked cabbage permeated the narrow corridor. She knocked on the door directly next to Lauri’s. A woman dressed in a University of Michigan sweatshirt opened the door. A baby rode her hip. The infant’s bib was stained with peas.
“Can I help you?” the woman asked.
“Hi, I’m looking for Lauri Matthews.” Bree indicated the doorway behind them. “Have you seen her?”
The woman turned and called, “Lauri, someone here to see you.”
Relief made Bree lean against the doorjamb when her sister-in-law came toward the door. “Lauri, I was so worried. Your room is trashed.”
Lauri thanked the other woman, then closed the door as she stepped into the hall with Bree. “That’s why I called. I was too scared to stay there. Can we go now?”
“Let me ring Kade. When I couldn’t find you, I called him and he’ll be worried.”
Lauri shuddered. “Call him from the car! Whoever did this might come back.”
Bree nodded. “Get your coat.” Her sister-in-law wore only jeans and a cotton blouse.
“I’m not going back in there.” Lauri folded her arms over her chest.
“I’ll get it.” Bree handed the baby carrier to her sister-in-law. She darted just inside the door and grabbed Lauri’s red parka from the floor by the closet. While she was at it, she snatched Lauri’s cell phone too. Samson stayed right on her heels, his fur still ruffled.
She ran to join Lauri and thrust the coat and phone at her. “Put on your coat. The wind is wicked.” She took the baby carrier from Lauri.
“Whatever.” Lauri made a face but slipped her arms into the coat. She practically ran down the steps to the faded tile by the entry door. Turning, she stared up the steps at Bree. “You coming? I’m not going out there alone.”
Bree loved Lauri, but sometimes she wanted to strangle the girl. At least she was okay. Hurrying down the steps, she glanced up and down the street. Nothing appeared ominous or out of place. She unlocked the Jeep with her key fob, and Lauri leaped into the front seat and punched the lock. Bree attached the car seat to the base in the middle of the backseat, then loaded Samson into the hatch area, where he curled up and closed his eyes. At least his alarm was gone. A good sign for her.
Bree glanced up at the apartment house again, then slid under the wheel when no one stared back from a window. “Tell me what happened,” she said, fastening her seat belt.
“Just what I told Kade. I got home and found my apartment like that.”
“You have no idea who did it?”
Lauri chewed on her fingernail. “Someone has been following me.”
“Who?”
Lauri shrugged. “There’s Kade.” She threw open her door and scrambled out, then flung herself into her brother’s arms and burst into sobs.
Bree rolled her eyes. Glancing in the backseat, she saw Olivia was still sleeping. She got out of the SUV and waited for Lauri’s hysterics to end.
When Lauri finally let go of her brother, Bree waved him over. “The place is trashed, just like she said.”
“I wouldn’t lie,” Lauri said, following on Kade’s heels. “My car won’t start either.” She indicated her small car parked at the curb.
Kade went to the car and flipped the lever inside to open the hood. Peering into the inner workings of the vehicle, he poked and prodded for a few minutes before slamming the lid.
Wiping his hands on his pants, he rejoined them. “Someone cut your spark plug wires.”
Lauri gaped, and the color drained from her face. Bree gulped. “You mean someone sabotaged it?”
“Yeah.” His gaze focused on his sister, who was crying again. “Lauri, you said someone was following you. Who?”
She sniffled and rubbed her moist eyes. “Some guy.”
“What guy? Have you seen him before?” Bree put in.
Kade frowned as if to say,
Let me handle this.
Bree hunched her shoulders and stepped back to peer through the window at Olivia. The baby slept with her thumb in her mouth. Bree leaned against the vehicle door and waited for Lauri’s answer. If Kade wanted her to butt out, she’d keep her mouth shut.
“It’s that guy I told you about,” she muttered.
“Did you tell Mason?” Bree couldn’t help the question that sprang from her mouth.
“No.”
“What aren’t you saying, Lauri?” Bree asked, her voice stern. She ignored the warning glance from Kade. “You know more about this than you want to tell us.”
Tears sprang to Lauri’s blue eyes, and she moved closer to her brother. “I don’t know anything. I didn’t do anything. Make her leave me alone, Kade.”
Kade put his arm around his sister. “I’ll take you home. You need me to get anything from the apartment?”
“I didn’t get any clothes. Can you grab some jeans and tops? They’re all over the floor. Oh, and some underwear.”
“You have a few things at our place,” Bree said, determined not to let Lauri shut her out.
“Not my good jeans though. The Joe’s Jeans,” Lauri said. “There are three pair up there somewhere.”
Bree’s eyes widened. “How’d you get the money for jeans that cost over a hundred and fifty dollars?”
Lauri avoided her gaze. “I told you—I have a job now.”
“You couldn’t have gotten much from it yet.”
“I saved it for the jeans.”
Bree didn’t believe it, but she bit her tongue. No sense in escalating Lauri’s defiance toward her. It was a new attitude. In the past, she and Lauri had gotten along great—better than Kade and Lauri most of the time.
She watched Kade jog up the steps and disappear inside. “Lauri, I know you’re not telling us everything. How can we help if you hold back the truth? We only want to keep you safe.”
Lauri crossed her arms over her chest. “You want to turn my brother against me.”
Bree refrained from shaking her. But just barely. “Lauri, what is happening with you? You seem determined to keep us at arm’s length and pit us against one another. Have I ever done anything but try to help you?”
For a minute she thought she was getting through to the young woman, because Lauri’s eyes filled with tears and she ducked her head. But when she finally raised it and caught Bree’s gaze, her eyes were hard and shiny.
“You’ve taken everything from me, Bree. You talked me into giving my baby to Hilary. You took my brother. You’ve got it all and I’m left with nothing.”
Bree gaped, then stepped forward and tried to embrace Lauri, but the girl stepped away. Bree’s arms dropped to her side. “I never talked you into giving up Zoe. It was your idea. My only contribution was to try to help you find a good family. I thought you wanted me to marry Kade. You said you did. We love you.”
Her words fell on deaf ears. The defiant expression on Lauri’s face didn’t dim, and the girl shook her head and folded her arms across her chest. Bree fought the prick of tears behind her eyes. She didn’t know how to get through to someone who was determined to believe a lie.
“If you’d taken Zoe like I asked, she’d still be in the family!” Tears sprang to Lauri’s eyes even as the words burst from her mouth. “If you’d cared about me, you would have kept my baby.”
A lump formed around Bree’s vocal cords, and she swallowed it. She tried to embrace Lauri again, but Lauri shook her head violently and thrust her away.
“Things change, Lauri,” Bree said, her voice soft. “I was in a different place then. So was Davy. He needed my full attention. And I wasn’t married. I thought your baby deserved two parents. When you see Zoe, can’t you tell she’s happy? You did the right thing.”
“I didn’t! You ruined everything.” Lauri’s chest heaved with sobs, and rage twisted her mouth. “My life will never be the same again because you were too selfish.”
“Oh, Lauri.” Bree didn’t know how to answer.
Had she made the wrong decision for all of them? The lump grew in her throat and she tried to summon up all the reasons why adoption had been impossible at the time. Staring into the young woman’s face, a sense of failure swamped Bree. She thought they’d come so far in being a family. Discovering Lauri’s deep-seated resentment hurt. Badly.
Before Bree could summon healing words, Lauri’s cell phone rang. She glanced at the screen, and her face went white. She bit her lip.
“Aren’t you going to answer that?” Bree asked. When Lauri didn’t answer, she said, “You’ve got to tell us the truth if you want us to protect you.”
“I don’t expect anything from you,” Lauri said. “You’ve made your loyalties clear.”
Storm clouds gathered overhead. Bree clasped the top edges of her coat closer to her throat. The cold chill spinning down her back was more from the expression on Lauri’s face than anything else. Helpless love mixed with anger choked Bree. Lauri had done something stupid. It was written all over her face.
And it would be up to Bree and Kade to get her out. As always.
“Lauri, what did you do?”
Her sister-in-law glanced to the ground as Kade came from the building carrying her clothes. He opened the back door of Bree’s Jeep and tossed them inside. Samson popped his head up from the hatch area, then lay back down when Kade shut the door.
He glanced from Bree’s set face to his sister’s downcast one. “What’s going on?”
“She was about to tell me,” Bree said.
Kade put his hand on Lauri’s shoulder. “You’ve got to tell us what this is about, Lauri. Let us help you.”
At the kindness in her brother’s voice, Lauri broke into noisy sobs. “I-I overheard a few snatches of conversation between that guy and Mrs. Saunders, the incident I told you about. The guy followed me and offered me twenty thousand dollars to stay quiet.”
“Oh, Lauri,” Kade said, his voice quiet. “You took a bribe?”
“I was just agreeing to keep quiet. But I didn’t hear enough to hurt him. Not really.”
“Twenty thousand dollars!” Bree burst out. She closed her eyes, then opened them again.
“Where’s the money?” Kade asked, his voice thin with strain.
“What’s left is in the bank.”
Kade’s sigh was heavy. “How much?”
Lauri swept her hair behind her ears. “How much is left, or how much did I spend?”
“Lauri!” her brother warned.
Her expression turned sulky. “I’ve got three thousand left.”
Bree gasped. “You’ve spent seventeen thousand dollars? What did you spend it on?”
“I-I gave it to my fiancé to buy outfitting equipment. He’s going to start his own business.” Her chin had a defiant jut.
Bree knew it would do no good to chide her. She peeked at her watch.
“You’ll have to get the money back from Wes,” Kade said evenly.
“He’s already bought stuff,” Lauri said. “He’s going to tell his dad today that he’s opening his own business. Besides, what good would it do? This man doesn’t care about the money. He offered it to me.”
“What does he want if he doesn’t care about the money? Why is he following you?” Bree asked. Lauri finally looked at her, and Bree saw the fear lurking in her blue eyes. Lauri swallowed and glanced away without answering. Terror began to creep into Bree’s veins. This chain of events was likely more dangerous than Lauri was willing to admit.
“We should tell Mason,” Bree said.
“No!” Lauri shot a pleading glance at her brother. “You can’t tell the cops or anyone. If you do, he—he’ll kill me. I know it.”
“Kill you?” Bree asked.
Lauri shuddered. “You haven’t seen his eyes.”
“So if he’s paid you to keep quiet, why did he trash your house? Does he think you’ve spilled the beans?” Kade asked.
Lauri chewed on her lip, and her eyes filled with tears. “I don’t know what he wants. Maybe he wants his money back.”
“That makes no sense,” Bree said. “There’s something you’re not telling us. Why did he trash your apartment if you’re doing what he wants by keeping quiet?” Samson barked from inside the Jeep, and Bree turned to check on the baby. Still asleep. He was probably reacting to the tense situation. “It’s okay, boy,” she said, putting her hand on the window where he pressed his head against it.
“I’ll go talk to Wes,” Lauri said. “Maybe he’ll know what to do.”
Bree noticed Lauri’s avoidance of her question. What was she hiding?
Lauri punched a number into the phone. She turned her back on Kade and Bree and walked a few steps away. Bree heard her say, “My brother made me call.” At least she didn’t claim she couldn’t reach Wes.
“I still think we should call Mason,” Bree told Kade. “What do you think this is all about? Maybe mob related?”
Kade’s brows drew together. “Here? In the UP? That makes no sense. There’s no big money to be made up here.”
“The Native American casinos,” she reminded him. “Plenty of money there. Try to get her to tell you what’s really going on. It’s not about the money.”
He nodded. Bree glanced in the backseat and saw Olivia’s eyes were open. “I’m going to have to feed her before she starts wailing. Call me when you’re done with Wes.” Bree slipped into the back with the baby, relishing the warmth inside the car. She took out the baby-bottle warmer and plugged it into the cigarette lighter. Olivia’s gaze roamed the vehicle. She chewed on her fist but didn’t cry.
Now that Bree was fairly certain no one was looking for Olivia, she wanted desperately to adopt the child. But what would Kade say?
She watched him and Lauri get into his truck. She turned her attention back to the baby. After checking the bottle, she unfastened Olivia, changed her diaper, then popped the bottle in her mouth. Cuddling her close, Bree watched as her rosebud mouth drew in the milk. Olivia’s eyes were half-closed, and she smelled so sweetly of baby lotion. Bree’s heart filled with love for the infant.