Page 6

Stefan Howard sat behind the wheel of his stolen sedan, chewing on a fingernail as he stared at the building Sara had disappeared into more than half an hour ago.

The place appeared to be a large townhouse, and a nice one at that.

Except for a couple of unavoidable trips he’d had to take to Los Angeles, Stefan had been following Sara every day for almost two months now, starting from when she’d still been in Chicago through her move here to New York.

In the few weeks she’d been in the city, this was the first time she’d come to this townhouse.

As far as he was aware, she didn’t know anyone here, except for the old couple she was staying with.

They were some kind of relatives, he guessed, so they hardly counted.

A flash of green drew his attention to the house next to the one Sara had entered.

A beautiful green Bentley exited the underground garage.

Stefan whistled in appreciation.

It was the kind of car he dreamed of owning.

Check that, the kind of car he would own once Sara was back in his life.

He expected it to drive away, but instead, it stopped in front of the townhouse he’d been watching.

The driver hopped out and stood by the rear driver’s-side door.

Stefan cocked his head, wondering what this was all about.

His answer came soon enough when the townhouse door swung open and Sara stepped out with a smartly dressed man who had to be more than twice her age.

Stefan’s eyes narrowed.

Who the hell was this guy?

The driver opened the back door of the Bentley for them.

Sara climbed in first, then the man joined her.

As the driver retook his place behind the wheel, Stefan started the engine of his car, ready to follow them down the street.

His head spun with visions of Sara and the fancy guy getting cozy in the back.

It was enough to make his skin crawl.

“What could she possibly see in him?” he said to himself.

Even if the guy was loaded, it wasn’t like she needed a sugar daddy.

She was mega rich all on her own.

Fifteen minutes later, the sedan stopped at the curb.

Stefan had no choice but to drive by.

As he did, Sara and her new friend exited onto the sidewalk.

He tried to see where they were going, but there were too many pedestrians, so he started looking for a place to park.

The quickest solution was a parking garage that cost him a small fortune.

Just another thing to add to his list of things that annoyed him about New York City.

The first thing he and Sara were going to do once they were back together was move someplace that didn’t get on his nerves.

Someplace like Vegas.

It was much more to his tastes.

By the time he hoofed it back to where Sara and the older guy had been dropped off, they were nowhere to be seen.

The car was gone, too.

The only places nearby they could have gone were a jewelry store or a restaurant.

He glanced through the windows of the jewelry store but didn’t see them, so he entered the restaurant and scanned the dining area.

He wasn’t worried about Sara seeing him.

He was wearing a wig and a pair of tinted glasses, so there was little chance she’d recognize him.

In truth, even without the disguise, she might not have realized who he was.

It had been a decade since she’d last seen him, and his own hair had started going gray a while back, plus he had a mustache of which he was quite fond, that he hadn’t previously had.

It was the lull between lunch and dinner, so the place was only half full, making it easy to spot her.

She was at a table near the bar, her back to the entrance.

The guy with her sat across from her, which Stefan thought was marginally better than if whoever-he-was had been sitting next to her.

A man entered the restaurant, breezed past Stefan, and approached the hostess.

He wore a suit that looked as expensive as the old guy’s.

“Good afternoon,” the hostess said.

“How many in your party?”

His back was to Stefan, so Stefan couldn’t make out what he said.

“Your guests are already seated,” the hostess said, gesturing toward Sara’s table.

The man thanked her and headed into the room.

Stefan quickly approached the hostess.

“I’m meeting somebody but am a bit early. Is it okay if I wait at the bar?”

“Of course.”

“Thanks.” He scooted past her.

“Sorry I’m late,” Herb said as he reached Stone and Sara’s table.

“Took forever to get a cab.”

“Hazard of city living,” Stone said.

“Herb, I’d like to introduce you to Sara Hirschy. Sara, this is Herb Fisher, one of Woodman & Weld’s best attorneys.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Fisher,” she said, holding out her hand.

“It’s Herb. Only judges and the opposition call me Mr. Fisher. And the pleasure is all mine.”

As he took a seat, another customer walked past them toward the bar and sat at a nearby high-top table.

“Something to drink?” Stone asked.

“Please,” Herb said.

Stone signaled the waiter, who came right over.

“A whisky, please,” Herb said.

“Neat. Johnnie Walker Blue Label if you have it.”

“We do.” The waiter checked Stone’s and Sara’s glasses, both of which had barely been touched.

“Anything else?”

“I think we’re good for now,” Stone said.

The waiter bowed his head and went to fetch Herb’s drink.

“I understand you need my assistance on something,” Herb said.

“Sara’s new to the city,” Stone said.

“I’m helping her settle in with as few hiccups as possible. One of those hiccups is a lingering but not-yet-ex husband. I was hoping you could do something about that.”

“I’d be happy to.” Herb retrieved a pad of paper and a pen.

“His name?”

“Leonard Yates,” Sara said.

“Is that your last name, too?”

“No. It’s Hirschy. My aunt insisted I keep my maiden name.”

“You actually know her aunt and uncle,” Stone said.

“Hillary and Jack Coulter.”

“I do,” Herb said.

“Good people.”

“Very,” Sara agreed.

“I’ve been staying with them, though I’m planning on moving into one of Mr. Barrington’s apartments, until I can find my own place.”

“Don’t forget, it’s Stone,” Stone said.

“Right,” she said, shyly.

“One of Stone’s apartments.”

“Stone is a very handy man to know,” Herb said.

“So I’m learning.”

“Does your husband live in New York?”

“Chicago.”

“Have you filed for divorce yet?”

“I have.”

“In Chicago?”

“Yes. Is that a problem?”

“Not at all. Illinois had reciprocity with New York, which means I can practice there.”

“Plus, we also have a Chicago office, if Herb needs any assistance,” Stone said.

“Who asked for the divorce?” Herb asked.

“I did,” Sara said.

“Is the attorney who filed for you still the attorney of record?”

“Unfortunately.”

Sara explained the problems she’d been having, then Stone told Herb about Jack’s suspicion that Sara’s current attorney was trying to get as much cash out of her as possible.

“What’s his name?” Herb asked.

“Tobias Hardgrove.”

“I’ve heard of him. Whether you decide to have me take over or not, I would advise you to find someone else. Mr. Hardgrove’s reputation is less than stellar.”

She took a deep breath, looked at Stone, and then back at Herb.

“I would like you to take over.”

“I like a decisive client,” Herb said.

“Send me Hardgrove’s information, and I’ll have a change of attorney filed first thing in the morning. Once that occurs, I’ll inform opposing counsel.”

“Thank you,” Sara said.

“Did you have a prenup?”

She winced, embarrassed.

“I’ll take that for a no.”

“My grandparents had one written up for me to get Leonard to sign, but I never asked him to.”

“Not great, but not the end of the world, either. How have negotiations gone so far? Has your ex been cooperative?”

She laughed.

“Hardly. He feels he deserves half of my estate.”

“How long have you been married?”

“Four years, but we’ve been separated for thirteen months.”

“Does the bulk of your estate predate your marriage?”

“My entire estate does. Except any interest I may have made since then, I guess.”

“That’s great.” Herb paused for a beat.

“What caused you to seek a divorce?”

“Leonard is not a nice man.”

“Did he hurt you?” Stone asked.

“Not physically.”

“Verbally?” Herb asked.

She nodded.

“He was very sweet when we were dating, and throughout our engagement. The first few months of our marriage weren’t bad, either. After that, everything I did seemed to annoy him. It was like I couldn’t do anything right. He seemed to always be either yelling at me or not talking to me at all.”

“I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” Stone said.

“Thank you.”

“I’ll need you to go more in-depth about everything, but we can do that later,” Herb said.

“Is there anything else you’d like me to know now?”

“He expected me to pay for everything, and I mean everything ,” she said.

“He has a great job, but I was the one ‘with the money,’ and I can’t remember him ever contributing a dime.”

“So, verbally abusive and manipulative,” Herb said.

“Yes to both.”

“Do you have anything we can use to show this behavior? Emails? Texts? Voicemails?”

“He was very careful about those kinds of things. But I, eh, I did record him yelling at me a few times.”

“That was smart thinking,” Stone said.

“Does he know about the recordings?” Herb asked.

“Not as far as I know.”

“What about your original lawyer?”

“Yes. I played them for him.”

“And what did he say?”

“He said he didn’t think they’d be that helpful.”

“Something he would say if he was trying to pad his fees,” Stone said.

“Send them to me,” Herb said.

“I’m sure there’s something there we can use.”

“I will.”

“Don’t worry, Sara. I’ll get this taken care of for you, and soon all you’ll need to worry about is starting your new life.”

Stefan watched Sara and the two men leave, but didn’t immediately go himself.

He had a little thinking to do.

At least now he had a name for the older guy—Stone Barrington.

He also knew the guy’s friend was Herb something or other.

Stefan had missed his last name when he’d been introduced.

Stefan wasn’t sure how he felt about Barrington now.

The guy hadn’t acted like he was trying to be Sara’s boyfriend, though Sara did mention she’d be moving into an apartment he owned.

Stefan didn’t like the sound of that and resolved to take a wait-and-see attitude toward the man.

The person who had made him livid, however, was Leonard Yates.

Stefan had barely been able to contain his rage upon hearing how the son of a bitch had treated Sara.

And how dare Yates think he deserved even one cent of her and soon-to-be-Stefan’s money.

Stefan had known about Sara’s estranged husband, of course.

He’d even stood across the street from St.

James Cathedral when Sara and Yates had walked out hand in hand after their wedding.

He’d believed the marriage wouldn’t last more than a few months.

He’d even planned out ways he could aid in its demise.

What Stefan hadn’t planned on was being arrested when he returned to Los Angeles a few days later, and then convicted on trumped-up robbery charges that put him behind bars for a little more than three years.

The first thing he did when he was released was find out if Sara was still married.

To his surprise she was, but then he found out they were separated and going through a divorce.

That meant the path would soon be cleared for his return.

Except for his monthly meetings in L.

A.

with his parole officer, he spent all his time in Chicago, following her around.

And when he learned that she was moving to New York, he’d followed her here.

But after overhearing what Sara had told the lawyer, it seemed a return trip to Chicago was in order.

Because someone needed to hammer home to Yates that he no longer had a place in Sara’s world.

And if that someone needed to be Stefan, then so be it.