In Seconds
- Автор: Новак Бренда
- Серия: Bulletproof #2
- Год: 2011
- Язык: французский
- Жанр: Остросюжетные любовные романы
Электронная книга - «In Seconds». Краткое содержание книги:
Laurel Hodges has changed her identity twice. She's been on the run for the past four years, trying to outdistance the gang members who blame her for the death of one of their own. She's finally found peace and stability in the small town of Pineview, Montana. But just when Laurel thinks she and her children are safe...the nightmare starts all over again.
The Crew, a ruthless prison gang with ties to Laurel's brother, will never forget and they'll never forgive. And now that they've finally tracked her down, they'll stop at nothing.
Sheriff Myles King, who happens to live next door with his thirteen-year-old daughter, appoints himself Laurel's personal guardian. His growing attraction to her could change his life—Myles is beginning to picture marriage and family. But it could also end his life. If he can't save her, everything he's built, everything he wants, could be destroyed. In seconds...
Still, the image she projected created an appealing illusion, one of a loving mother wrongfully accused. At times, Vivian was so tempted to believe in Ellen’s innocence, so tempted to reunite and rebuild what they’d lost, that she doubted every decision she’d ever made concerning her mother. Ellen claimed that, at the time Virgil was arrested, she believed the police because of his temper and the fact that he’d threatened more than once to kill Martin if the abuse didn’t stop. He also didn’t have an alibi for the night it happened; he was downstairs in his bedroom, sleeping, and the gunshot didn’t even wake him up.
Vivian hadn’t been home, so she had no idea what happened.
Once Uncle Gary’s marriage fell apart years later, his ex-wife’s conscience finally got the best of her—or she was looking for revenge. Either way, she came forward to tell what she knew and the police began to realize what Vivian’s heart had insisted all along—they had the wrong man. Almost as soon as Gary fell under scrutiny, he confessed that Ellen had asked him to do it. He told detectives that she came to him, insisting Martin would kill her or one of the kids if he didn’t step in. He’d also said she’d offered him half of the insurance money if he’d make Martin disappear for good. Because he was in debt and losing his house, he felt this provided a way out for both of them.
But it was impossible to prove what he’d said. Ellen did give Gary a sizable portion of the money. Was that a payoff for murder? Or because she wanted to help him keep a roof over his family’s heads, as she claimed? It could be either, but Ellen had chosen to give Gary the money rather than hiring a better attorney for Virgil, and that was something Vivian simply could not understand. Considering how often she’d heard her mother tell people what they wanted to hear rather than the truth, she couldn’t trust Ellen. Especially when, instead of being beside herself with worry, Ellen had seemed almost…relieved. Relieved to have a scapegoat, even if that scapegoat was her own son.
When Ellen quickly got involved in yet another romantic relationship, Vivian left home, at sixteen, and had been taking care of herself ever since. But that didn’t mean she never looked back. There were times she sorely regretted the loss of her relationship with her mother. That she was still in contact with Ellen proved it. If she didn’t need to be so careful about her whereabouts, she might’ve called more often.
Now that Virgil was out of prison, holding a grudge felt pointless. The older she got, the more Vivian wanted to purge the anger that’d been trapped inside her for so many years. It was too dark, too negative; sometimes that darkness seemed about to overtake everything else.
And now, just when she’d been closest to forgiving her mother, the doubt was back. Had Ellen let The Crew threaten her or bully her into putting her own children and grandchildren, as well as Rex, in danger? It wasn’t as if Vivian thought Ellen would call Horse or any of the others. She knew her mother wasn’t out to hurt her or Virgil. She just didn’t believe that Ellen would go to much trouble to protect them if her own life or welfare was on the line.
“What’s the matter?” Rex called.
She’d misdialed and hung up. Shoving her sunglasses higher on her nose, she waved him off and tried again.
This time the phone rang. Then her mother’s voice came on the line, but it turned out to be the recorded message.
Vivian hung up and almost walked back to tell Rex they’d have to wait until later. As long as she didn’t know for sure, she could continue to hope that her mother wasn’t the reason she was once again in danger.
But if Ellen had heard from a member of the gang, not knowing could cost Vivian one or both of her own children. She couldn’t be a coward.
“She’s not home?” Rex called.
“No.”
“Can you call another family member?”
“My cousins have moved around so much I’ve lost track of them.” Uncle Gary was in prison. His ex had testified against him, then washed her hands of him and his extended family. But Ellen still lived in the house on Sandalwood Court where Vivian and Virgil had grown up, so Vivian knew quite a few of the neighbors. Were any of them still around?
She’d once had a terrible crush on Junior Ivey, the next-door neighbor’s son. Could she remember the number to his house? She’d certainly called it often enough, much to his annoyance, since he was four years older and in high school when she’d been mooning over him.
She racked her brain for the number but couldn’t come up with more than the prefix, and that was only because it was the same as her mother’s. But she remembered Junior’s father’s name and that meant she could get the rest from directory assistance.
The phone rang so many times Vivian thought she’d wind up with another recorded message, but the breathless voice of the woman who answered told her she had a live human being.
“Mrs. Ivey?”
“Yes?”
Vivian pushed her sunglasses up again. “This is Vivi—er—Laurel Skinner.”
“Laurel! My goodness. Hang on a sec. I was downstairs doing some ironing. Needless to say, I’m not as fit as I used to be.”
She’d been overweight even back then. “Take your time.”
After an audible breath, she said, “I’ll be okay in a minute. How are you?”
“Fine, thanks.”
“It’s been years and years since we’ve heard from you.”
“It has been a while.”
“Too long. Your mother tells me you have two children now.”
“Yes.”
“She’d love to see them, you know. It’s a pity you live so far away.”
The disapproval in those words told Vivian that Sonja Ivey had forgiven Ellen for the murder, if she’d ever held her accountable for it in the first place. Ellen could be quite convincing. That was part of the reason she hadn’t been charged for Martin’s murder along with Gary. The police believed Gary was telling the truth, but the D.A. didn’t have enough hard evidence connecting Ellen to the killing, and he felt she came across as too genuine to try with what he had.
“Maybe someday I will,” she said to avoid discussing why she hadn’t visited so far.
“How’s your brother?”
“Good.”
“Terrible what happened to that boy. So hard to believe.”
“Yes.” Hard to believe Ellen didn’t have a hand in it, or do more to stop it. “How’s Junior?”
“Fabulous! He’s a doctor.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. He was always a smart kid.”
“But we don’t like his wife much,” she murmured.
Vivian would’ve laughed, except she was too anxious to get to the point of her call. “I’m sorry to hear that. Adjusting to in-laws can be difficult.” No one knew that better than she did. Instead of having an ounce of sympathy for what Tom had put her through, his parents had spent most of the time they were together trying to convince her that he wasn’t really a bad person. Never had they taken her side. Instead, they’d acted as if she must be provoking him into acting the way he did. They didn’t care that something as innocuous as making the wrong dish for dinner could set him off.
“She’s a spoiled little prima donna from the rich side of town,” Sonja said.
“Hopefully, Junior is happier with her than you are.”
“I don’t think he is, but…what can you do? It’s not my place to get involved.”
Vivian glanced at Rex, who made a motion that said to hurry up. “Listen, Sonja, I’m really sorry to interrupt your ironing, but I’m calling because I can’t reach my mother. You don’t know where she is, do you?”