Too Late for Regret novel Chapter 124

The Best We Can Do

Chapter 124

Charlie’s POV

It’s the morning of the trial, and I’m ready to get this over with. My sources are telling me that Eddie, the guard at the prison, volunteered to escort Tiffany and Gretchen. Their plan is already underway. I have my man from the prison following them. I didn’t want him to be in the transport van with them. I believe that Eddie is the only one in on it with them. This means that the poor, unsuspecting driver of the transport van is likely going to end up hurt.

I have a former medic riding along with my employee following the van, just in case. I have my suspicions about how today is going to play out. Mark and I have spent a great deal of time in the last three weeks coming up with alternate plans. We started planning once we knew Tiffany had hired an attorney and was going back to court. I had done as much as possible to keep Ana safe.

I noticed someone tailing us a few weeks ago. I had my men follow him at a discreet distance. Since our subdivision was gated and had security in place, he parked on the street just past where you pulled in. The few times he’d followed us before, he tried to see where we went, but our home is in the back of the subdivision. He knew this and used a drone to follow us to our home. They got his tag, and Colby got to work.

He was a private investigator hired by the Vaughns. Why, after all this time, would they hire them if not to come after Ana? When he followed us last night, Colby was in the vehicle following him. They had driven past us and entered the subdivision in the SUV. They parked one street over, and when the drone came this time. Colby was ready for him.

The P.I. was flying the drone around our home, looking for a weak spot. Good luck with that. There are no weak spots. It was dusk, and then he got bold. He flew it over to Holden’s home to look around before coming back towards our house. It was almost dark now, and Colby took control. Killing the power to the drone, dropping to the ground hard in our backyard. That was the reason he killed the power. He didn’t want the P.I. to know we had his drone.

We also didn’t want him to know that we were onto him. What’s he going to do? Admit he was following us? Stalking us? That would bring unnecessary attention to him and potentially bring the Vaughns into the middle of it. If Tiffany moved forward with her plan, then they would be accessories. They wouldn’t want that to happen, and he drove away, leaving the drone behind,

Colby killed the power while it was still in Holden’s backyard, but the momentum had it land just inside our yard. Colby was going to review the SD card to see what the P.I. had been up

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1. to. He had been following us much longer than I had realized, which made me feel uneasy. He had at least two hours of coverage detailing when Ana left work, visiting the non–profit as it was being built, and out on a date with me.

It’s my job to protect her. He knew her schedule, and that made me furious. I dropped the ball. I should have assumed that Tiffany would need to know Ana’s schedule. I thought that she would try to come after her at the courthouse. I now see that she is likely to use Holden’s home to gain access to our home.

My mind was working at a furious pace. I called Mark over, and we had the guys come with us. This was an all–hands–on–deck moment. The plan has been revised, as we have received new information. Tiffany isn’t going to do this in front of a group. She won’t be confronting Ana at the courthouse. She was planning on getting Ana alone and tormenting her one last time. I’m positive that she wants her dead now. I knew they would try to get me called out for some sort of emergency. One that required my involvement, so Ana would be left at home,

alone.

So, we headed over to Holden’s home. Jon checked through the window, but we didn’t see a red light on the security system. But we were cautious and ready to leave if we triggered the alarm. Holden had left in a hurry and hadn’t come back since. The upstairs blinds were in place, but he hadn’t closed the lower blinds when he left. Colby was quick to pick the lock at the back door. We were all relieved the alarm didn’t go off. I guess Holden was in more of a hurry than we thought he was.

Colby wasted no time. We had been prepared to do this tonight, as we had watched him with the drone a few days before. The P.I. was careful to conceal his presence so that it wouldn’t be obvious that he was watching us. The drone was high enough up that we wouldn’t have heard it. But Jon and Drew had watched him follow us and saw the drone being used to determine our location. It was daylight at that time, and he couldn’t afford for us to notice

him.

So he waited for dusk this time to follow us home. I have to say that Hudson hired a professional. That said, it won’t get him out of the accessory charge that’s coming. I want to obtain proof that Naomi was also involved and send them all to prison together. I can’t allow Tiffany to come back after Ana. I already know that she wants my wife dead. So our plan is clear. If Tiffany poses that kind of a threat, we let her get close enough to try to engage, and then we stop her.

Colby had two cameras in his backpack. Small cameras that wouldn’t be noticed. Mark kept watch out front, listening to the scanner to make sure that police hadn’t been dispatched. Colby placed the cameras in the corners, facing each other, to ensure as much area as possible was covered. We just needed to be careful. Mark believed that the Vaughns might have keys to Holden’s home.

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We weren’t entirely sure about that. I think Holden had distanced himself from his family. The man I had following him had confirmed that Holden was living in his penthouse, but had no contact with his family for months. Maybe seeing how vicious Tiffany was, how badly she hurt Ana, had changed his opinion about his family. I know he tried to apologize to Ana after everything fell apart.

I wasn’t going to let Holden near her. Yet he still ended up showing up for the trial against Sasha and Joyce. He still fancied himself to be her savior, her white knight, but that wasn’t going to happen. He had his chance with her; he had no one else to blame but himself for his actions. Did Tiffany and Gretchen make plans to seduce him and Seth? Yes, yes, they did. But no one forced either of them to have s*x with them. That was on them all day long. So no, I don’t feel bad for either of them. Not at all. Holden’s choices cost him a wonderful woman.

His loss is my gain.

We got the cameras up and tested quickly. Everything looked good, and both cameras had audio. So we would be able to hear why they were saying, if they went this route. This was a short–range camera, and Colby set it up to record at our house. We might need evidence at a later date. Of course, we would come back and retrieve the cameras. We wouldn’t be leaving any proof behind. However, we would have an anonymous delivery provide the coverage if needed. We all wore gloves, so good luck proving it was us. I’m sure Holden might recognize his home, but what’s he going to do? Report us? With what proof?

My assumption was confirmed less than two hours later. My ex–fiancée’s bodyguard, who had come to the office with her, called Mark. He had Mark’s number from being given his card, and called to warn us. Samantha was being paid to cause an issue within our company in an attempt to draw me away from our home tomorrow night. Now we had a definite timeline to work with. My level of fear has now escalated. I needed a definite plan in place. I won’t allow Ana to get hurt, not on my watch.

I knew Tiffany’s parents would help her. They blamed Ana for this, the same as Tiffany did. Refusing to take any kind of blame at all for their own actions in this. Naomi has been a terrible mother. Neither of her children has grown up to be a pillar of the community. How could they, with a scheming mother like her? Hudson at least has an excuse. He worked fifteen–hour days; he didn’t have the time nor the energy to deal with them when he got home.

But he’s funding Tiffany now. Whether it’s out of guilt or anger over how things went down. Either way, he’s allowing Tiffany to evade justice. That won’t help her. She needs to know that there are boundaries in place that she shouldn’t cross. Not encourage her to do whatever she wants to do, and them have her father rush in to save her. It seemed at the first trial that they honestly didn’t know what she had done. They got over their shock fast. Clearly, they’re willing to do anything in their power to protect her.

I sat down at our home with Mark, Jon, and Colby to make up a new plan. I needed to ensure

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that, no matter what happened tomorrow, Ana would be safe. She sat next to me and occasionally added to the conversation. She knew exactly how dangerous Tiffany was; she had learned that lesson all too well.

Jon drove Colby home. They were going to come back with Rita. She and Colby were going to spend the night in our guest rooms. I had originally planned for her to come to the courthouse tomorrow, but Ana’s idea of having her and Colby here was a good one. No one would see them arrive; they would think Ana was alone when I left. Colby would be watching the cameras and able to let us all know when it was starting. Rita was willing to stop Tiffany and Gretchen. I had complete faith in Rita, but this was my wife we were talking about here. I hated the thought of Tiffany ever getting her hands on Ana again.

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