Page 38 of Moonlit Hideaway
“My heavens,” Mom exclaimed, but Hank was already out the door. He barreled to the yard just as Sierra disappeared into the back door.
Good. This meant he could have it out with Liam alone—man to man.
“That’s it, Liam. I’ve had enough. You’re done here.”
Liam held up his hands defensively. “She’s overreacting! I just found a scarf, and now she’s accusing me of theft.”
Hank took out his wallet and counted out Liam’s wages. “Did you take her things?”
“I’m telling you, she’s blowing things out of proportion. I don’t know what she has against me. I haven’t done anything to her.”
“I don’t care. You can’t hassle Jane. She’s under enough stress as it is. Show me your trailer, or I’m calling the sheriff.”
Liam didn’t look as confident as he did before, but he nodded. “Sure. Guess I’d better move along. I did a good job for you.”
“You did, but don’t put me on your reference list, okay?” Hank followed Liam as the guy opened up his trailer.
“Here you go. Look around. I’ve got nothing to hide.” Liam allowed Hank a quick search, which turned up none of Sierra’s things.
“Look, I’m sure there are lots of jobs on Hatteras,” Hank said as he gave Liam an extra fifty bucks for severance pay. “Around here, if we find something, we notify and see if anyone claims it. You should’ve brought that scarf to me. We take care of each other here.”
Liam shrugged as he locked up the trailer. “Funny how upset Jane got over a scarf. Makes you wonder if she’s hiding something.”
“That’s none of your concern.” Tension tightened Hank’s jaw, and he gritted his teeth.
“Word of advice, buddy.” Liam’s grin was shifty as he glanced up at the second-floor windows. “You’ve got a nice little girl up there. Would hate to see Jane bring danger to your family. It’s not too late to let me take her off your hands.”
“She’s not going anywhere with you.”
“One day, you’ll regret picking up women you know nothing about.” Liam’s expression was smug, as if he knew something about Sierra.
“Leave now, and don’t ever come back to Hattokwa.” Hank stood firm and pointed toward the road.
He couldn’t ignore Liam’s words, but at least the menace was gone. Had Sierra brought danger to the island? To his family?
To be on the safe side, he called Sheriff Davis.
“Hey, thought I’d let you know. I fired Liam. He was bothering Jane, and it looked like he had one of her scarves. He says he’s leaving the island.”
“I’ll have him followed,” Ruth said. “Send me everything you know about him. Business card, contractor’s license, references, whatever you have.”
“I’ll text you what I have.” Hank looked toward the house and saw that Sierra’s lights were on. “I’m going to see how Jane’s doing. Talk later.”
Chapter Fourteen
Safety was a relative thing, and Moonlit Harbor was no longer a haven. Liam Walsh saw to that. The only question for Sierra was what she would do about it. She’d tried running before, but she should have known. She could never outrun the family. For all she knew, they’d had a tail on her from the start. It could have been inside her purse, slipped into her luggage tags, or sewn into her guitar case. She’d been careful, but apparently, it hadn’t worked.
There was no use crying over her mistakes. Liam knew her whereabouts, and he’d admitted to taking her things so that she couldn’t leave the island. She had to assume Uncle Tony knew, but most likely, her mother did not because her mother was a blabbermouth.
Could Uncle Tony be using her mother to get to her? Did he want control of the businesses her father left to her? Could Tony’s plan be to eliminate Marco but install Liam as her husband? Or could it be worse? If she died without marrying, her mother would be her heir.
Was this the sudden interest Tony had for her mom?
Think. Think.
Sierra paced around the tiny room, mindful of the creaking floorboards. What would Daddy have done?
Take them all out, of course.
