by Debra Webb
Annette didn’t respond.
She didn’t have to. He understood. He’d stripped away the tough veneer that protected the fragile woman beneath. A picture of her as a twelve-year-old child left alone and defenseless, beaten and abused, consumed him. Annette Baxter had been fighting her way through life ever since. Had been fighting for survival, most of the time against men.
He stopped at a red light. His mind did the same.
What did that make him?
5:30 p.m.
3202 Fernway Road, Drake Estate
Carson held Elizabeth for a long while. Her mother was sleeping now, but she’d been a wreck when he had first arrived.
At least Elizabeth and Patricia had each other. He’d had no one when his family was murdered.
Except his uncle Max. He didn’t count on so many levels that it didn’t seem appropriate to bother the attempt. But he’d been there as best he could.
“What can I do?” Carson asked, certain there was something. Luttrell might be assigned to the case and Carson might be on administrative leave, but that wasn’t going to stop him from doing what he could. Luttrell wasn’t nearly as good as him. And Carson intended to prove it.
Somehow, all of this was tied together. Carson was determined to get to the truth.
Elizabeth shook her head. “Thank you. Just being here is enough.” She cuddled deeper into his arms.
Guilt poked him at the idea of what he and Baxter had done in that elevator. It felt almost as if he’d cheated on Elizabeth. More crazy notions. “Have you notified the rest of your family?”
“There really isn’t anyone. Dane is never home. Who knows what’s going on with him?”
If Elizabeth only knew.
Time to broach the question. “Where is Dane?”
Elizabeth lifted her gaze to Carson’s. “I don’t know. He disappears like this all the time. And I just can’t deal with it right now.” She squeezed her eyes shut and made a desperate sound. “It’s been all over the news. Hundreds of our good friends have called. Surely Dane has heard by now that Father is...dead.” She rubbed at her temples. “For all I know my irresponsible brother could be drugged out somewhere unaware he’s even in this world.”
“I’ll find him.” That would serve more than one purpose. Carson needed the truth. And Elizabeth needed her brother. Then again, with what Carson knew; Dane was only going to bring more heartache to his family.
“Will you bring him home when you do?” She dabbed at her nose with a tissue. “Mother needs him as badly as I do.”
The fresh wave of tears in her eyes tugged at Carson’s heart. “You have my word.”
She placed a chaste kiss on Carson’s cheek. Hugged him tightly. “I know you will, Carson. You’re the one person I can depend on right now.”
Self-disgust churned in his gut, made him sick. “Your father was there for me when I needed him most.” The possibility that Drake had concealed the truth about that night to protect his son twisted in Carson’s gut. But he didn’t know that for sure. Not yet.
Elizabeth blinked at the emotion brimming past her lashes. “But I wasn’t.” She wiped at eyes. “They sent me away.” She closed her eyes and shook her head again. “I shouldn’t even be asking you to help me.”
“Of course you should. We’re like family.” He swallowed back the bitter taste of deceit. “I won’t let you down, Elizabeth.” Even as he said the words snippets of those moments in the elevator with Baxter flashed in his brain. Good God, the information he was keeping from Elizabeth now...what had he turned into? Where were his ethics? His vow to defend justice?
Elizabeth’s tearful farewell as he left ripped his heart to shreds. When had he become such a consummate liar?
It was one thing to distort the facts in the courtroom to win a case.
But this was Elizabeth.
He should have told her the truth.
But he couldn’t.
He couldn’t talk to anyone, couldn’t trust anyone...
Not until he had all the facts.
And maybe truth wasn’t always found by doing the right thing. Maybe sometimes you had to break the very laws you were supposed to uphold to ensure justice was served.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Carson would find Dane.
Elizabeth watched him drive away.
She had smelled Annette Baxter’s distasteful scent on him.
Elizabeth told herself not to worry about that. He had been investigating the woman. Just because Wainwright had put Carson on administrative leave didn’t mean he would give up.
Carson never gave up.
He would win and Annette Baxter would be history.
It couldn’t happen quickly enough for Elizabeth.
Baxter and Fleming were scourges on the face of this city. They both needed to be sent to prison for the rest of their despicable lives.
If anyone could do it, Carson could.
Elizabeth knew he wouldn’t let her down.
If her parents hadn’t sent her away, she and Carson would be married by now. Perhaps have children.
She thought of the way he’d hugged her before he left. It wasn’t too late.
Elizabeth sighed. She should check on her mother. This was so difficult for her. Patricia tried so hard to be the perfect wife, the perfect mother. At times she failed, made mistakes, but didn’t everyone?
Elizabeth would take care of her, as she had so many times taken care of Elizabeth.
Considering the tranquilizers her mother had consumed, she should be sleeping soundly by now.
Elizabeth trudged up the stairs. She was so tired. Her mother would be disappointed that Dane wasn’t there. But Carson would find him. Telling her so would be reassurance enough.
Outside her mother’s bedroom door, Elizabeth hesitated. Her mother was speaking to someone.
Had someone called? Elizabeth hadn’t heard the phone.
The door wasn’t closed completely so she eased it open just a crack more so she could hear more clearly. Was there news of her brother?
“You have to listen to me,” her mother whispered sternly to whomever was on the other end of the line. “You have to do as I say. Now. Tonight. There’s no time to discuss the details.”
Her mother paused for a long moment. Elizabeth frowned. No wonder she hadn’t heard the phone—her mother was using her cell.
“Please,” Patricia pleaded, “trust me. You have to trust me. Do as I say and everything will be fine. You know I would never let anything happen to you. Tell me the truth and I’ll take care of everything.”
She had to be speaking to Dane.
Poor Mother. She worried so much. Dane had hurt them all far more than he realized. Now Daddy was dead and Dane wasn’t even here to support Elizabeth and their mother. What kind of brother failed to be here at a moment like this?
One who couldn’t be counted on.
For anything.
“Don’t worry,” her mother urged, “this is not beyond salvaging.” Another long pause. “You know I will. I’ll take care of everything the way I always do.”
Elizabeth started to ease away from the door. The conversation made her uneasy. What was going on? If her mother was keeping things from her...
Patricia’s rush to enter another number into her cell caused Elizabeth to hesitate. Who was she calling now?
“It didn’t work,” Patricia muttered vehemently into the phone. “What am I supposed to do now? She isn’t going away...and he’s helping her. This has to stop. Do you hear me? Otherwise...”
Her mother’s face contorted with anger as she listened to a response she clearly did not appreciate.
“I don’t care,” she snapped. “Do whatever you have to. Just fix this mess!”
Had to be about Dane. Elizabeth could only imagine what Dane was up to. Heaven’s sake, what had he done that would keep him away from home with their father murdered? And have their mother so overwrought?
There was only one thing Elizabeth k
new for certain would strike such terror into her family.
Verifying her conclusion wouldn’t be simple. Lieutenant Lynch and District Attorney Wainwright had insisted that a security detail be left at the house.
Elizabeth would need to escape their careful watch.
She waited the hour or so until it was dark. Then she slipped out of the house the way she used to as a teenager. Usually to creep through the woods to meet Carson. Into the garage and out the side door nearest the woods.
With the flashlight gripped firmly in her hand, she sneaked into the dense cover of trees. The underbrush was thicker now. She and Dane had kept it trampled down when they were kids. A trail had led straight to the Tanner home. But that wasn’t her destination.
Once she was deep enough into the woods she turned on the flashlight. She was close. Very close. Then she saw it, the makeshift cross she’d fashioned from leftover craft supplies. It was brown and dirty now from exposure to the rain and winter weather. It had stood there, looking more like an x than a t, for twelve or thirteen years—since the last family pet had passed.
Her breath caught. She hadn’t brought a shovel because she hadn’t expected to have to get her hands dirty.
But now—she stared at the disturbed ground—good Lord.
Elizabeth dropped to her knees. She clawed at the already loosened earth. Someone had been here.
What the hell had Dane done?
Her fingernails scraped something hard. She wiggled it loose. Grabbed the flashlight and directed its beam there.
She sucked in a ragged breath before the tranquility she counted on so very much cloaked her. “Pepper,” she whispered wistfully as she tilted the skull so that she could trace the fracture line with the light. “Poor thing.” He’d simply been too large for a family pet. He’d always made such a mess. A German shepherd could be such a nuisance. Her mother had suffered tremendously attempting to endure the big, sloppy animal.
Elizabeth tossed the damaged skull aside and kept digging with one hand, holding the light with the other. The bones glistened in the light, gleamed so white. Each one told a story from Elizabeth’s childhood.
“Digger.” She cradled the much smaller skull in her free hand. Such a sweetheart. A dachshund. Far smaller than the German shepherd but so pesky. The animal had dug holes all in the yard. Dane had loved this one so much. Too bad. Mother’s flowers were too delicate for the little beast. Elizabeth lobbed the skull aside.
Bones, bones, bones.
She dropped the flashlight, dug faster.
Where was the little tin box?
She smiled as her fingers curled around the cool metal. There it was. Not bothering with the light, she opened the little box and fingered the interior.
Empty.
Her heart pounded. He wouldn’t have done this!
Surely not.
She sat back on her haunches and directed the light into the box. Nothing. She surveyed the mess she had made.
They were missing.
Fury welled up inside her so fast she could hardly sit still.
She had to find Dane.
If he ruined everything...he would be so, so, so sorry.
Chapter Thirty-Four
7:00 p.m.
31st Street, Fleming Estate
Annette waited in the observatory.
Her hands were still shaking.
Inside, she trembled like a newly hatched bird who couldn’t see or stand, much less fly.
How had this happened?
She had set out to solicit Carson Tanner as an ally. She had been in charge. She had made the rules, set the pace.
Her eyes closed as she relived that moment when he’d made her reach a physical climax. No one had ever been able to do that. Not even once.
She had gone months, sometimes more than a year without sex, and even then her chosen victim had not given her an orgasm.
What made Carson Tanner so damned special?
Yes. she was between a rock and a hard place. Yes, she was admittedly feeling vulnerable. But those conditions had never induced such a physical bonding before.
She couldn’t possibly be in lust with him, much less love. She wasn’t capable of either emotion. The only other human she had ever loved was Paula. Her sister by choice. Annette supposed that she had loved her mother, but her betrayal had left the memory foggy.
The really frustrating part was that Carson left Annette feeling exactly like that little girl who’d awakened one morning to find her mother still hadn’t returned. Was gone for good. Annette and Paula had walked home from the Walmart. Annette remembered sitting by the window and watching for hours, hoping her mother would come back. Paula had moaned and called out over and over again from the other room. But Annette had ignored her. She had been certain if she watched long enough, eventually she would see her mother coming.
But she hadn’t.
No one came until three days later when a nosy neighbor had reported the children being left alone for an extended period.
Annette had tried to hide herself and Paula when those people had arrived. But Paula wouldn’t stop making sounds. Even when Annette put her hand over her mouth, she kept moaning and crying out.
Then the police had found Reggie’s decomposing body under the back porch.
Years later when Annette had finally escaped, she had promised herself she would never be afraid again.
Never.
She was afraid now.
The realization sent another tremor quaking through her.
Afraid for Paula. Afraid of the...unknown. Maybe afraid of Carson Tanner and what he could make her feel. Her body melted each time she thought of him. The sensations, the heat. All of it was new to her, all of it prompted by him. Only him.
Control had been essential to her life for more than a decade. Now it was gone. She was in a reactive state. She hated that place. Hated it. Hated it.
Fury burned away some of the more fragile emotions, and she was glad for it. She wanted to be angry. She wanted to feel anything but this weakness. This need.
The door opened and Otis appeared, looking regal as always.
Annette rearranged her expression into one he would expect. Courage, determination. “Good afternoon, Otis.”
When he came close enough, she kissed his cheek.
He stepped back, surveyed her closely. Uncertainty broke out on her skin as tiny beads of perspiration. He never missed anything. He would know something was wrong.
This was the first time in all the years they had been together that she had hidden anything from him. He didn’t know about the rings. And he couldn’t know what she had done for Carson Tanner.
Never, never, never.
“You look a little flustered,” he noted. “Things are not as they should be.” That wise gaze met hers.
She flashed a pathetic attempt at a smile. “Things are...complicated.”
“Yes.” He stroked his chin and seemed to reflect. “Things are very complicated.”
“Daniel is dead.”
“I hadn’t heard that.”
Who was he kidding? He heard everything. Otis Fleming generally knew a man was dead even before the dead man recognized it. Annette resisted the urge to knot her hands together. “I need your help, Otis.” She hated the feeling of not being able to handle her own affairs. But this was way beyond anything she could hope to turn around.
“I understand you’re concerned for Paula,” he announced. “I’ve been looking into centers of the same caliber as the one here. There is one in the Caymans that I would recommend.”
The chill that had been hovering around Annette, settled deep into her bones. “That’s probably a prudent move.” The American authorities couldn’t touch her there. Both murders would be pinned on her. She didn’t need to be able to see the future to speculate. She knew.
His gaze locked on hers once more. “As dear as you are to me, Annette. The time has come for you to go.”
She’d known this was so, but she
hadn’t wanted to face that reality. “Yes. I’m aware that I’m fighting a losing battle.”
“They have formed an alliance against you. They will do whatever it takes to bring you down in order to protect themselves. As we speak they are working to tie Zachary Holderfield’s murder to you. As well as Senator Drake’s.”
A frown worried her brow. “I’m aware of their proposed strategy.” All too aware.
Otis moved his head side to side in regret. “I’m guessing evidence was planted pointing to you. They’re far too cocky just now not to have at least one ace up their sleeves.”
She wanted to ask him if there was anything he could do to help, but she knew better. Otis Fleming had been like a father to her. Loved her, she felt certain. But he would not sacrifice his standing to save her.
That she understood with complete certainty.
She was on her own. Just as she had been most of her life.
“Well, I should make arrangements to go before it’s too late.” She blinked back the burn of tears. Dammit.
“That would be the judicious choice.”
She started to end the conversation there, but she had to ask, “Why have they done this? I’ve been keeping the powerful in Birmingham out of trouble for ten years. Doesn’t that count for anything?”
A rare smile touched the older man’s lips. “You have indeed. I’m very proud of how far you’ve come. I have no doubt you will build an even more esteemed clientele elsewhere. However, power is a very dangerous thing. It can be your best friend or your worst enemy. You possess a great deal of power, Annette. It has become toxic to those in your debt. They will take you down, no matter how many of them must be sacrificed in the effort.”
They. The elusive they that no one could ever know about. Only Annette and Otis knew the names on her client list. Most didn’t even know about one another. But a handful of the most powerful who had given and received personal recommendations to acquire her services had come together, formed that alliance Otis spoke of. Wanted her gone. She could thank Dane Drake and his self-indulgence for that.