Page 87 of Her Brother's Billionaire Best Friend

Laura sighed. We crossed the old bridge away from the depot and onto Main Street. Above us was the library, the town hall. I stared at the library, thinking about all the letters I had at home. Some of which I’d still not managed to open.

“I guess…something happened,” I said. “I knew I couldn’t trust him.”

“Couldn’t trust him,” I said, resisting the urge to clench my fists. Laura could have trusted me—Conor—with anything. I could tell her that now.

In fact, this was my chance. I knew that if I confessed now, if I told Laura the truth of who I was then it was possible we could have made it all better. She might have been angry. But now, when thoughts and memories of Conor would be fresh in her mind, I could just say “Laura, it’s me—it is Conor,” and I could have ended it all there and then.

But then I looked at the library. I turned back and looked at the dingy rail depot from where I’d come. And finally I looked up, across the valley to where Lakeview stood, an imposing pale block on the horizon signifying just how far I’d come.

How much better was life with Laura now that I’d left behind my old self? All the good things I’d given her, all the special things I’d been able to do. The library, the fair, giving her the job. But it wasn’t just about money. I felt new and changed. And it was this man who Laura hungered for, who I knew she’d never betray. And it was this man—not the old me—who would never, ever let her go.

Ronnie picked us up in a dark red Jaguar outside the town hall. He drove us up to the house.

“Have people been asking after me, Ron?” I said.

“Just a little, sir. Until you called me yesterday I believe the shareholders were in the process of contacting the FBI.”

“It was just a little camping trip,” I said cockily, and squeezed Laura’s hand.

At the Solomon house, we dropped off Laura. Even if I wanted to see Kyle, I wasn’t about to risk running into David there. As I got out and opened the door for Laura, I couldn’t help but kiss her one last time, letting my lips brush up against hers while I clasped her slim waist in my arms.

“What are you doing tomorrow?” I said. “Can you work?”

“Sure,” said Laura. As I drove away, she stood at the end of her driveway, watching me.

I knew something was wrong when I got back to the house. I could already see the gate security system had been disabled. Luckily, I had a lockbox with a key. I punched in the code and unlocked my gate.

“What’s wrong with the system?” said Ronnie.

“Not sure,” I said. But a cold sense of dread had begun to spread up my body as I swung the gate open, planting my feet on the ground and tensing my shoulders as I tossed it. As I looked up to the gate, I turned to Ronnie.

“Get out your gun,” I said quietly. Ronnie nodded and took his firearm from its holster. Together, we stepped quietly up the path towards my house.

As I got to the front door of Lakeview, I saw that the door was open. Inside the hallway were twigs and water, leaves littering the hall.

“They came in during the storm,” I said. “Come on. Let’s check inside.”

“Let me go first, boss,” said Ronnie, and I nodded. I trusted him. He stepped through the door and began to sweep the house, looking for any sign of the intruder.

Who had it been? I turned to the security panel at the window and reported the data. Someone had come in during the storm, using the passcode to open the gate and the front door. Since they hadn’t reset the alarm on their way out, it had triggered the emergency protocol, locking the gate shut.

But there was no doubt about it. Someone had gotten into my house.

After Ronnie had done his sweep, I went up to the top floor. There was a quiet beeping sound coming from my bedroom. I shut the door. I didn’t want to know if they’d taken anything from the secret room. If they had, I was just about done for.

“Oh Lord,” I said, and turned back. Ronnie was at the other end of the corridor. I didn’t want him to see this.

“Ron,” I said. “Go down and call the security people. Have them first thing out here tomorrow morning. And when you’ve done that, call the cops.”

I went along the hall to where I kept my camera feed. A computer in one of the back offices had been linked up to the camera system, and I paused as I sat down. Who would I find on the screens?

I turned on the computer and logged in, and then went straight to the camera feed from the storm. I watched the trees in my garden blowing, the rain hammering down. But the door was open. It must have been earlier.

Just how early had the thief broken in? I check back through the camera feed. 8.00 pm. 7.00 pm. Finally, at 5.30 pm, I saw him.

He’d come through the gate, punching in the passcode. He was dressed head to toe in black, and had come prepared with a bag and a flashlight. Evidently he was looking to find something.

“I’ve got you now, you son of a bitch,” I said, as I zoomed in. But it was impossible to make out the face of the trespasser.