How to Tame a Silver Fox – Episode 34
Evan’s revelation made Harper tighten her grip on Caroline’s envelope. Chris had been her father’s closest friend for most of her life, the man who entered danger as naturally as other people entered a room. She had never considered that her mother might once have seen him as a threat.
“Why investigate Chris?” Harper asked. She kept her voice level, aware that he was listening from somewhere beyond the locked door despite the removed earpiece.
“Because Sloane recruited him first.” Evan watched for shock, but Harper gave him none. “Chris was nineteen, broke, and good at violence. Sloane used men like that until they learned too much.”
Evan claimed Chris eventually turned against the organization and helped Mark dismantle part of it. Caroline wanted proof that his loyalty had truly changed before allowing him near her family.
“What did you find?” Harper asked.
“That he would die for your father.” Evan’s gaze shifted toward the door. “Caroline worried that meant he would also lie for him.”
The answer fit too many recent wounds. Chris had protected Mark’s secrets, accepted blame for Boston, and entered Harper’s life under a partial truth. Yet he had also learned to stop when she asked.
Evan nodded toward the drive. “Caroline recorded every account tied to Sloane. Sebastian wants it because it proves the university donations were only one branch of the network.”
Harper asked why Evan shot Mark if they had once fought the same enemy. His expression hardened. “I needed Sloane to believe I had chosen his side. The bullet was meant to wound, not kill.”
“You could have killed my father to maintain a disguise.” Her anger broke through. “That isn’t protection. It’s arrogance.”
Evan absorbed the judgment without protest. Perhaps he recognized the same flaw in himself that Harper had fought in Chris.
The study window shattered. Evan pulled Harper behind the desk as a bullet struck the safe. Men crossed the lawn outside, moving toward the house.
Chris broke through the study door seconds later. He checked Harper for injuries before turning his weapon on Evan. “Step away from her.”
“Sloane’s team is here,” Evan replied. “Save the reunion.” He revealed a narrow servant passage concealed behind the bookcase, one Caroline had shown him during the investigation.
Chris distrusted every word, but the footsteps in the hall left no time for questions. Evan entered first, Harper followed with the drive, and Chris guarded the rear.
The passage ended inside the old greenhouse. Security officers engaged the intruders near the front entrance, giving the three of them a clear route toward the woods.
A wounded attacker appeared between the trees and raised his gun at Harper. Chris stepped into the line of fire, but Evan fired first, dropping the man.
Chris stared at his former friend across the smoke. Neither gratitude nor forgiveness passed between them, only recognition that Evan had protected Harper.
They reached the vehicle, where Harper finally opened Caroline’s envelope. The first line was not about Sloane or Mark. It read: If Chris is still beside you when you read this, then he became the man I hoped he could be.
The final line struck even harder: But never confuse his promise to protect you with a promise to love you.