Harlen shook his head. “We would’ve noticed a dude in a wheelchair hanging around. This is a small town and a tiny campus, all things considered. Ollie, especially, would be on alert for anyone who reminded her of Sawyer. She’s scared, so she is extra cautious. She’s jumpy as a cat, and I can’t believe she doesn’t have a neck sprain from the way she’s constantly scoping out her surroundings.”
I grunted as I shoved my hands through my hair. I looked out the window to see if it had stopped raining. I was planning on walking to class, but I didn’t want to spend another hour wet and miserable. The storm had died down some, but it was still drizzling enough that I was going to call for a ride. The current conditions meant Ollie was more than likely going to stay put with her friend for the rest of the afternoon. I was relieved. I wouldn’t have left the quirky little store if I thought she was really going to run again, but I was glad to have a bit of assurance that the weather would keep her grounded.
“That’s why I’m wondering if I’ve been worried about the wrong situation all along.” What if Sawyer wasn’t as hurt as he wanted everyone to believe? What if he faked his injury just to get rid of me and keep Ollie on a leash? I tilted my head and gave Vernon a serious look. “How hard would it be to hack into a hospital and access medical records from around the time of our car accident?”
His unusual eyes widened as he rocked back on the bed, flopping backward, so he was looking up at the ceiling. “Not the hardest hack, but not the easiest either. You don’t really think that guy faked it this whole time, do you?” He sounded bewildered and slightly scared.
He sounded bewildered, but Harlen and I shared a knowing look. We both knew all about the long con. One surefire way to fool all your enemies was to make them believe you were no longer a threat. Appearing injured and harmless was the easiest way to lure prey into your trap. It was entirely possible Sawyer had tricked everyone and decided it would be best to play at being partially immobile in order to get all the pieces of his diabolical plan to fall into place. Any kind of major injury would keep Ollie by his side out of guilt. It would make my father and his mother even more willing to give him whatever he wanted. He perfectly orchestrated the situation to keep Ollie tied to him and isolated from the get-go, but once Ollie found her footing and ran away, Sawyer may have realized he could no longer pretend to be weak and incapable. Not if he wanted to force her home. Once he found out I’d let her back in my life, he would have no choice but to act because of his bizarre fixation with her and his intense hatred of me. He would have to make a move, both figuratively and literally.
“I don’t know if he’s been faking this whole time. Maybe he was initially unable to walk and regained some feeling in his legs after I was gone. Who knows with him? He’s impossible to figure out. But if we do a deep dive on all his medical records, we’ll find out for sure.” Better to fight against the enemy you knew than the one you didn’t.
“Would your old man go along with a con like that? What could he possibly get out of it? I know he was a shit parent overall, but he didn’t really go all-in on disowning you until after the accident. He did offer a bit of a buffer while you were living with that nutcase.” Harlen dragged a hand down his face as if this conversation was exhausting him. None of us liked to take a stroll down memory lane. The path was not an easy one to walk, and only these two and Fisher, and I guess Ollie, knew how dark it could get on the journey backward.
I grabbed my phone and tapped out a message to Ollie, telling her to text me when she left the store and letting her know I was going to class, but Harlen and Vernon were home for the rest of the afternoon. I didn’t want her alone in this house until we had a solid handle on how the intruder had gotten in and we boosted our security. Harlen was changing locks and adding motion sensor lights, and Vernon was getting security cameras and an alarm system installed. Mr. Peters gave his approval while I was at his place earlier, and he even agreed to foot a huge chunk of the bill for the upgrades. I didn’t care if our beloved Victorian had to become a fortress. We would do what had to be done to protect our home—and everyone in it.
Ollie messaged back that she was spending the rest of the day at the store with her colorful friend. The eccentric shop owner seemed to really care about Ollie, so I wasn’t too concerned about her being at the store without someone else looking out for her. It was actually better she was away from the house while the boys and I brainstormed our next move. I didn’t want to freak her out with unverified suspicions. Not after she’d already tried to run. Her misguided attempt at protecting me and my friends was touching but foolish. I’d learned it was better to go into battle with soldiers who had your back no matter what than it was trying to win a war all on your own. She’d learn that in time, too.
I slung my bag over my shoulder and ordered a ride to the campus.
“I don’t think my dad is aware of anything that doesn’t directly relate to making money and protecting his reputation. If Sawyer wanted to fake an injury, his mother would move heaven and Earth to help him keep up the pretense. Especially if it benefited her in the long run. With me out of the way and written out of the will, everything my father has goes to her and Sawyer. When I say my dad is rich, I mean the kind of rich that can buy private islands and the governments of corrupt countries. He could fund his own army and still have money left over. Keeping her only child in a wheelchair to keep up a beneficial charade would be nothing to her if it keeps me out of the picture for good. She hated that my dad took me in after he paid off my mom. I was a constant reminder of just how fake and worthless her marriage was. It made her livid that my dad defied her by bringing me into her home and ordering her to treat me like I was part of the family. She could easily buy off doctors and physical therapists, if need be. Neither mother nor son has much of a conscience.”
Harlen let out a low whistle and shook his head. “When you said things were going to go sideways when Ollie moved in, you really meant it. This is some crazy, soap telenovela shit we’re talking about, Huck. None of this sounds like real life.”
I snorted and started for the door. “The three of us are very aware that sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. We wouldn’t have found each other if we lived easy lives.”
Vernon was a runaway genius. Harlen was an abused kid who ended up as the only witness to the horrific murder of his mother by his father. He and Fisher found each other at the same foster home, from which they both eventually ran away. I was the bastard son of a billionaire who was unwanted and unloved. I barely survived that military academy I was forced to attend, and spent the years up to graduation enduring some of the harshest punishments known to man. All of our childhoods could be a made-for-tv movie.
“I guess that’s true.” Harlen muttered the words as Vernon suddenly sat up on the bed.
“Do you think we’re all in danger, or is he just going to come after Ollie?” His too-pretty face looked worried, so Harlen reached out to ruffle his pale hair comfortingly. Vernon dropped his head onto the beefy football player’s shoulder, and I watched as Harlen’s big body stiffened.
It was my turn to shake my head. I hid a grin as I stepped through the door. “All he wants is Ollie. She’s the one thing he could never really have. He crashed his car and nearly killed all three of us the last time he felt like he was losing his hold on her. So there’s literally no line he won’t cross to get what he wants.”