by Sarah Bailey
“You not going to properly introduce us?”
“I told you in no uncertain terms to stay the fuck away from me and Avery.”
Avery clutched me tighter. I could feel her vibrating with fear. Last time she’d been near Rick, he’d had her tied up and forced her to watch disgusting videos of his sick twisted friends. Not even I wanted to show her any more of those.
“Your little darlin’ is shaking like a leaf. It’s okay, doll, I don’t bite.”
“Aiden,” she whispered. “Please make him leave.”
The terror in her voice made my heart fracture in two. Fuck. I wrapped my other arm around her, pulling her against my chest.
“It’s okay, princess, I’ve got you,” I told her, my voice low.
This was too much for her. She’d started hallucinating again, then dealing with her uncle going off the deep end, and now Rick. He needed to get out of my sight before I did something I couldn’t take back.
“I will call security if you don’t leave right now.”
Rick raised an eyebrow. I looked at him closely. I hated the sight of him. Especially since I could now see myself in him. His light brown hair, jawline and the way he carried himself. The difference between us? He was a weedy little shit compared to me. Standing there in his expensive suit, tie clip and brogues, he looked like a Class A fucking twat. Trying to pass himself off as the British elite when he was just a jumped up fuck.
“No need. I’ll say what I need then I’ll be on my way. I expect you and your little darlin’ to have dinner with me tonight at the Ritz. Be there at eight.”
He gave me a self-satisfied smirk before he turned, pulled open the door and strolled out.
Was he out of his fucking mind? Dinner with him? No fucking way. I was not about to subject Avery to that shit nor did I want to spend the evening with that sick as fuck cunt.
“Is he gone?” she asked.
“Yes, princess.”
She pulled away from my chest slightly, staring up at me. Her bottom lip trembled.
“Everything’s gone to shit.”
She wasn’t wrong about that. Everything had blown up. We could fix it though. Chuck just needed to calm down. And Rick could get fucked.
“Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not. I can’t deal with any of this. You told my uncle and he doesn’t believe us. Rick wants us to have dinner with him and I know you don’t want to go but we both know we have to.”
She looked away, her arms tightening around me.
“I’m kind of mad at you for coming here,” she whispered. “I know you’re worried about me, but it wasn’t necessary and now we’re in even more trouble.”
I took a breath, trying to tamp down on the rage I felt at that moment. It wasn’t directed at her, but she couldn’t possibly understand what it was like when I got that phone call from her. I almost lost my shit hearing how distressed she was. It’d taken a lot of fucking self-control to stay calm enough to help her.
I wasn’t going to apologise for it either. It was fucking time. All these secrets had only led us to more problems. Yes, we might have got rid of the Shaws, but it’d created more issues than it’d solved. It’d been to the detriment of Avery’s mental health. Every day I could see how wracked with guilt she was over Tristan’s death. How much it destroyed the good inside her. How she couldn’t think of herself in the same way any longer.
I backed her towards the desk, picked her up and put her down on it before sitting in her desk chair and pulling it up between her legs. I rested my hands on her thighs. She stared down at me, those doe eyes intense and appraising me with no small amount of trepidation.
“You come first, no matter what. Everything else is insignificant if you’re suffering. I’ll deal with Chuck. This has to end, Avery. You know it does.”
I was careful about what I said given where we were.
“We can keep hiding away in the shadows or we can take the bull by its fucking horns and do something about it. All I want is for you to be happy, for us to have a normal life. We can’t do that when all these secrets threaten to tear everything apart. All I’m doing is being here for you because I know how much you’re suffering, princess. That’s why I came. You need me. Don’t you know I’d do anything for you? I’d risk everything just to make sure you’re okay.”
She put one of her hands on top of mine, giving it a squeeze.
“How can I ever stay angry with you when you say stuff like that?”
I could see her trying to hold back a smile.
“We just need to take a minute. We’ll work out what to do, okay?”
She nodded. Staring down at me, she raised an eyebrow.
“You’re sitting in the boss’s chair. I mean… you know technically I’m your boss’s boss.”
I smiled as she raised one of her legs and set it on the chair in between mine. A slight change of subject, but honestly, I didn’t want to talk about that shit any longer. I wanted to make sure she was okay after her panic attack. We hadn’t had a chance to discuss it.
I leant back, staring at her. Fuck. She looked so hot right then. I tried not to think about how much I wanted to bend her over her desk.
“What’s the company policy on inter-office relationships? Am I going to get in trouble for screwing my boss’s boss?”
Her smile took on a seductive note to it. Fuck. We should not be playing this game with each other right now.
“There’s no rules against fraternising with colleagues, but we wouldn’t want anyone to think I was showing favouritism.”
Shit. Fuck. Hell, her fucking eyes were inviting me to take advantage of the situation. Was she doing this to avoid thinking about the world of shit we were in? Why did I even care when she was practically offering herself up to me on a platter?
I shook my head, smiling at her. I was not going to fuck her across her desk. I repeated that to myself over and over again as I watched her slip off the desk, turn around and place her palms on it. She looked back at me as she bent over slightly.
“Avery…”
“Isn’t this one of your fantasies?” she said, her voice low.
I’d completely forgotten I’d told her about that months ago. Fuck.
“You do realise I’ll have to go erase all of the footage unless you want security to get a surprise view of the boss getting a seeing to?”
She smirked.
“It’s lucky my husband is so handy with technology then, isn’t it?”
“You know I want to, but this isn’t the time or place.”
Not after all the shit today. We could fuck at home where I didn’t have to hide my darker desires. I’d make her feel better then. Take her pain away when we had privacy and weren’t in danger of being interrupted.
“What triggered your panic attack?”
She sighed, straightening and turning to me. I put my hand out to her. She sat in my lap and wrapped her hand around my neck, staring at me.
“Talking about what happened with my uncle and Ed. It just reminded me of everything. I guess it’s going to take a while for me to feel normal again. I don’t know if I ever will to be quite honest. I’m ready for this all to be over. I want to heal in peace and quiet rather than having to deal with all this shit.”
“You’re a lot calmer about this than I expected.”
She shrugged, giving me a half smile.
“I’m fed up of crying over what happened. I don’t want to be an emotional wreck. All that does is bring me more pain. Besides, we have more important things to worry about than the past even though I feel like it’s going to come back and haunt us.”
“The past has a funny way of catching up with you.”
“I keep worrying everything is going to blow up in our faces.”
“There’s always a possibility of that. Whatever happens, princess, remember we have each other. Even if everything goes to shit.”
The intercom buzzer w
ent. Avery shifted in my lap, reaching over and pressing down on it.
“Miss Daniels, there is a detective and a police officer here to see you,” Saskia said.
I’d met her assistant on the way in here. She hadn’t wanted to let me in the office, but when I told her, Avery was my wife, she soon changed her tune.
“Oh… Um… send them in,” Avery replied.
She lifted her hand off the button and turned to look at me. This couldn’t be anything good.
“What the hell are the police doing here?”
“Fuck knows.”
There was a knock at the door. Avery walked over and opened it. Standing there was the detective and a police officer. Detective Reynolds. I recognised her from when she questioned me.
Shit. Shit. Fuck. Fuck.
“Good morning, Miss Daniels,” the detective said. “My name is Detective Reynolds. I have a few things we need to speak to you about.”
“Oh, right,” Avery said.
Reynolds gave her a sympathetic look.
“It’s okay, Miss Daniels, it’s nothing for you to worry about.”
Avery looked back at me, eyes wide with concern. I took a step towards her. I had a sick feeling this was about Tristan and Frazier. She turned back to the detective.
“I’m not Miss Daniels.”
Reynolds frowned.
“Excuse me?”
“It’s Mrs Lockhart now. I just want you to have your facts straight. This is my husband.”
Reynolds looked past her and her eyes landed on me. They narrowed.
“Mr Lockhart,” she said.
I walked towards them, coming to a halt next to Avery.
“Hello, Detective Reynolds, it’s nice to see you again.”
It wasn’t, but she didn’t need to know that.
“I think you have some explaining to do considering last time we spoke, you claimed to have never met Miss Daniels.”
I gave her a smile. This wasn’t going to end well. I’d just have to spin her another story. I could manage that.
“What did you want to talk to me about?” Avery asked, pulling Reynold’s attention back to her.
“It’s regarding your parents’ case.”
We both stepped back to allow them in. Avery led them over to the sofas in the corner of her office. She sat down in one of them and tugged my hand. I took a seat next to her whilst Reynolds sat on the sofa to our right. The officer remained standing.
“Mis… Mrs Lockhart, this is a conversation we should be having in private.”
She eyed me warily.
“Aiden is my husband and he’s not leaving.”
Reynolds looked put out momentarily before her expression cleared.
“As you wish. You’re aware it’s been over six months since the death of your parents,” Reynolds said as she eyed me with no small amount of suspicion.
“Yes,” Avery replied.
“As their immediate next of kin, it is my duty to inform you we believe your parents’ murders are connected to the recent deaths of Frazier and Tristan Shaw.”
Chapter Fifteen
Avery
I stared at the detective for the longest moment. How the fuck had they worked that out? I mean, I knew they were connected, but no one else should. Except perhaps all of his sick associates. They must know someone was gunning for them now. That someone being Aiden. I clutched his hand tighter, wanting desperately to be anywhere else but there right now.
But the detective had said it was nothing for me to worry about. Did that mean they had no idea who it was? I hoped so. I couldn’t stand the thought of Aiden going to prison. Nor me for that matter considering what I’d done. I still felt so much guilt and remorse over the whole thing, but I had to get on with my life. I had to move forward. No matter how much Tristan’s death weighed on my conscience.
“You do? Wait… why haven’t you asked my uncle to come in? He’s also next of kin.”
Detective Reynolds looked at the officer for a moment before levelling her gaze back on me.
“I cannot give you the full details as our investigation is still on-going. However, Charles Daniels is a person of interest in the case and we will discuss it separately with him.”
I looked at Aiden. How was Uncle Charlie a person of interest? What the hell had the police found?
“Information has come to light regarding Mr Shaw’s involvement in illegal activities, some of which are connected to your father. I would ask that you do not share this information with the public.”
“Illegal activities? Do they relate to Daniels Holdings?”
Reynolds shook her head.
“No, they are regarding your father’s personal affairs. We suspect the murders were committed by more than one party and that the motive may have been revenge, but nothing is certain. Again, this is speculation and this information is confidential.”
I nodded.
“I understand. What’s said here won’t leave these walls.”
Reynolds gave me a grateful smile before her face cleared and she was back to business.
“I understand you recently announced an engagement between yourself and Mr Shaw. Yet, now you’ve informed me, you’re already married to Mr Lockhart. Would you care to explain the circumstances here?”
Aiden squeezed my hand. I hope he trusted me to spin the police a story laced with the truth. Whatever I did, I couldn’t allow them to suspect it was me who’d killed Tristan and had been there that night.
“Our relationship was a secret from our family until today,” I said. “And I had reason to believe Frazier Shaw wanted me to marry Tristan because he wanted my inheritance. You see, we found out there’s a clause in my trust fund which grants my husband full rights to it.”
Reynold’s raised an eyebrow.
“And this made you pronounce an engagement with Mr Shaw?”
“Well, Aiden and I wanted to find out if we were right. I know we probably shouldn’t have hatched our own plan to catch him out, but Frazier had been pestering me for weeks. I just said yes to get him to stop. I never had any intention of going through with it.”
The detective gave me a sceptical look, but I shrugged.
“I see. Might I ask when you and Mr Lockhart got married?”
“Five weeks ago.”
Reynolds looked directly at Aiden.
“And when did the two of you meet?”
Aiden leant back slightly, eying her with a smile.
“The beginning of the year, when Avery returned to work.”
He looked over at me, affection in his eyes.
“Sometimes there’s just that instant connection. I must admit, it has been rather fast, but when you know you’ve found the one, you know.”
I tried not to laugh. That was the single most ridiculously sappy thing I’d ever heard come out of Aiden’s mouth. Not to mention it was complete bullshit. We’d known each other for more than five months before we got married and even then, we’d been through so much, it felt like a hell of a lot longer.
Reynolds looked between the two of us as though she wasn’t sure whether to believe us or not. It’s not like she could come out and accuse us of lying. She had no reason to suspect we weren’t telling the truth.
“I see. Well… I came here today specifically to ask you if you would allow us further access to your parent’s penthouse. I have a warrant, but we would much rather work with you to find the truth.”
I’d gone through my dad’s office with a fine toothcomb so I knew what was in there. I just wasn’t sure what the hell they were looking for.
“I don’t have a problem with that. May I see the warrant?”
The officer stepped forward, pulling some paperwork out of his vest and handing it to me. I gave it to Aiden since he probably understood it more than I would. He glanced over it. When he looked up, he gave me a nod.
“Shall I get you the keys?” I asked the detective.
/>
“I would be most grateful.”
I stood up and went over to my desk, pulling out the top drawer. I’d been keeping them here because I didn’t want the reminder. There was no way I was going back there. Not after I’d dealt with the memories of what happened last time. It’d only bring me more misery. I no longer wanted to think about that night or what Aiden had done to my parents.
I brought the keys back over to the detective before sitting down next to Aiden again. He took my hand, lacing our fingers together. If he hadn’t been here when they showed up, I wasn’t sure what I would’ve done. It made me grateful he’d decided to say fuck you to our family and reveal the truth about our relationship. I was sick of the secrets too. All I wanted was normality. And I wanted Daniels Holdings gone. I was ready to wash my hands of it. I was done.
Reynolds stood up.
“Thank you for your time, Mr and Mrs Lockhart. I will keep you updated. In the meantime, if you think of anything that could help us in our investigations, this is my card. You can contact me at any time.”
She handed me a business card before giving us both a nod and striding out of the room with the police officer in tow.
I let out a long sigh of relief, staring down at the business card in my hands. Aiden took it from me and placed it on the coffee table before he turned my face towards him.
“I’m not sure she bought our story.”
“Neither am I. She was the one who questioned you that time.”
“Yeah… Don’t think she likes me.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“What gave you that idea?”
I knew very well. It was clear Detective Reynolds thought Aiden wasn’t an upstanding citizen. She’d be right on some level, but we weren’t about to tell her that.
“You know, she was just giving off that type of vibe.”
I smiled. Whilst I was glad that was over, it also brought up all sorts of further complications.
“The closer they get to the truth, the more concerned I get,” I admitted.
“Hey, they won’t find out, princess.”
“Do you think we should hand over what we know to them?”
He shook his head.
“No. We need to find out who has the girls first. We can’t make any moves against them until we know where they are. If they get tipped off, they’ll probably kill them and destroy the evidence. That’s the type of people they are. You know that.”