Chapter 61 False Peace
The sound of the ocean was the only thing that didn't feel like a threat, and Alex stood on the wooden deck of the small cottage with his shirt unbuttoned, looking out at the gray water as if he could find a way to wash off the last few weeks just by staring at the waves. They had driven for four hours in total silence, leaving the marble floors and the shredded papers behind.
Sarah came out of the kitchen with two mugs of tea, and she watched him for a moment, seeing the way his shoulders finally dropped an inch, even though his eyes were still scanning the treeline every few seconds.
"The tea is hot, and the phone signal is completely gone, so you can stop looking for a ghost in the bushes, Alex," Sarah said, stepping closer to him and handing him the mug, her fingers brushing against his hand.
"I don't know how to stop looking, it feels like the silence is just a trick before the next explosion, and I keep waiting for a lawyer to walk out of the water with a subpoena," Alex said, and he took a sip of the tea, his eyes closing for a second as he leaned his forehead against hers.
"There are no lawyers here, there are no board members, and there is no Helena, it is just a house with a leaky roof and a bed that doesn't belong to a trust fund, so just be here with me, okay?" she whispered, and she pulled him into the small living room where a fire was crackling in the stone fireplace.
They sat on the floor together, leaning against the old sofa, and for the first time in months, they didn't talk about bank accounts or hostile takeovers, they talked about the books they wanted to read and the way the light hit the trees in the morning.
"I could get a job at the marina, I know how to fix engines, and no one cares about your last name when their boat won't start," Alex said, and he looked at her with a look that was almost like the boy she had met in the library, a look that was soft and hopeful.
"And I can do freelance design for the local shops, I don't need a massive firm with hundred employees to be happy, I just want to draw things that don't have to be approved by a committee of men in gray suits," Sarah replied, and she leaned her head on his shoulder, feeling the steady beat of his heart through his shirt.
"Do you think we can actually do it, Sarah, do you think they will just let us go if we stay quiet enough?" Alex asked, his voice sounding small in the quiet room.
They cooked a simple dinner of pasta and bread, laughing when the old stove took too long to heat up, and they shared a bottle of cheap wine that they had bought at a gas station on the way down. It was the most human they had felt since the night of the first tabloid leak, and when they went to bed.
But the peace was a lie that Richard had allowed them to tell themselves, and while they were sleeping, a small black box hidden under the bumper of Alex’s truck was sending a steady pulse to a server in the city.
The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon the next morning when the sound of a car engine broke the silence of the gravel driveway, and Alex was out of bed and at the window before the engine had even stopped.
"Is it the police?" Sarah asked, pulling a robe around her shoulders and standing in the bedroom doorway, her face pale with fear.
"No, it’s a silver sedan, it’s not a squad car," Alex said, his hand reaching for his jeans, and he walked into the living room just as a loud, frantic knocking started on the front door.
Alex opened the door with his jaw set, ready for a fight, but he stopped when he saw Mark standing on the porch, his face red and his eyes full of tears, looking like he had been driving for days without sleep.
"Mark? How did you find us? What are you doing here, man?" Alex asked, but he didn't move to let him in, his protective instinct still screaming at him.
"The tracking detail, Your dad told me where to go because he said you wouldn't listen to a lawyer, Alex, you have to come back right now, it’s all falling apart," Mark said, his voice cracking as he stepped into the house, looking at his mom with an expression of pure panic.
"I'm not going back, Mark, I told him I'm done, he can have the company and he can have the money, I don't care anymore," Alex yelled, his hands balling into fists.
"He’s in the hospital, Alex, he had a heart attack last night after the board meeting turned into a riot, Helena is trying to seize everything, and the bank is saying that if you don't sign the emergency leadership papers by noon, they are going to call in every single loan," Mark said, and he grabbed Alex’s arm, his grip desperate. "They are going to liquidate my mom's firm first because it’s the easiest asset to gut, they are already sending the movers to her office, Alex."
"He’s lying, Mark, he’s using you to get me back into that building, he’s fine, he’s probably sitting in his study laughing at us," Alex said, but his voice was wavering, and he looked at Sarah, who was standing by the fireplace with her hand over her mouth.
"He’s not lying," Mark said, and he pulled a folder out from under his arm.
"The banks aren't waiting for a funeral, they see a weakness and they are striking, if you don't go back and take the seat, Helena is going to sell my mom's company to a holding group in Europe just to spite you."
Alex looked at the papers in the folder, his eyes scanning the legal jargon and the signatures that were already being prepared, and Sarah watched the change happen in his face, she saw the peace drain out of him and the cold, hard stone of the Harrington heir settle back into his eyes.
"If I go back, I'm never getting out again, am I?" Alex asked, looking at Mark but really asking the world.
"If you don't go back, you lose her, and you lose everything she ever worked for," Mark said quietly.
Sarah walked over to Alex and looked at the way he was clutching the folder, and then she looked at Mark, who was avoiding her gaze.
"Alex, look at me," Sarah said, her voice steady and low. "He isn't dying, he’s hunting."
Alex looked at her, and for a second, she saw the boy again, but then he looked down at the paper that listed her firm’s assets for sale, and the boy disappeared completely.
"It doesn't matter if he's dying or not, Sarah, the banks believe he is, and they are coming for you," Alex said, and his voice was no longer soft, it was the voice of a man who was already putting his armor back on.
"You know this is a trap," she said, her heart breaking as she saw him reach for his boots.
"It’s a trap I have to walk into so you can keep your life," Alex replied, and he looked at Mark with a look of pure, lethal intent.
"Let's just get in the car, we’re going back, and my father’s doctors better make sure he’s awake when I get there."