by Fiona Archer
Adelaide sat up straight in her chair. “Maggie, you ain’t going anywhere. This town has as many strong women as it does men. We give birth and then cook a meal afterward. Do you think we’ll stand by and watch anyone try to cart you off to the big house? Honey, this is King’s Bluff. We take care of our own.”
Penny folded her arms over her ample chest. “I’m in. What do you want us to do?”
“I want you to come with me to see Alex and Kane MacKenzie. They need to hear the full story.”
“We couldn’t agree more,” Alex said, stepping through the doorway.
Four women yelped loud and shrill. Hercules jumped so fast he landed on his stomach, his paws spread out at angles so he resembled a little doggy starfish.
Maggie gathered him to her chest, hushing him as two other huge men, Kane, and one of Reagan’s husbands, Mike Langley, crowded her now too small kitchen.
“You just walk into people’s houses?” Penny stood, hands on her hips showing off her ruby-red nail polish.
Kane didn’t look the least cowed, holding himself tall and strong. “We do when the front door isn’t closed properly and we don’t want to give Olivia a chance to bolt.”
Adelaide and Matilda remained quiet, their gazes bobbing around the room like they were following the path of the ball in a soccer match.
Quinn entered the kitchen. “Bedroom’s empty, bathroom, too.”
Alex faced Maggie, his features a mask of determination from the hardness of his jaw to the uncompromising stare of his gaze. “Where is she?”
She lowered Hercules gently to the ground, then rose to her feet and felt rather than heard Penny stand at her back, just like you’d expect from a best friend.
Lifting her chin, she answered. “She’s flying to Seattle to confront a man who blackmailed her into getting some important document from your computer.”
“Seattle?” Kane glanced at his brother, then back to her. “Lawson.”
Maggie nodded. “That’s his name.”
Alex’s gaze narrowed on her and she imagined herself on a witness stand. “What was it that he used to blackmail her with?”
“He has a knife.” She swallowed, and then rushed on before her courage failed her. “The one I used to kill a man.” Maggie ignored the tightly drawn in breaths and raised eyebrows. They were SEALs, so she shouldn’t be surprised they had taken it so well. That all stood in good stead for her daughter. “My concern, Alex and Kane, is what are you going to do to get her back safe?”
* * * *
Kane didn’t miss a beat. “Whatever the hell it takes, Maggie.” He narrowed his gaze on her. “Are you up for that?”
He didn’t say it outright, but whatever happened today, if it came down to a choice between whom they had to protect, he would put the daughter above the mother. And any decent parent would agree.
Her reply was automatic. “My love for my daughter came first that night nearly thirty-two years ago, and it’s still the same now.”
Right answer.
He grinned. “Then let’s get cracking, ladies. We’ll move into the living room. Maggie you have a story to tell, and then we’ve got a plane to catch.”
Alex reached for his phone. “I’ll call the pilot.”
“Already on it,” Quinn spoke from behind, nodding to Alex. “It’s ten now. You’ll be ready in an hour?” A nod. “We’ll be there.” He shoved his phone into his pocket. “It’s a half-hour drive to the airfield.”
It paid to keep the jet local when they were at the lodge. “We’ve got thirty minutes, Maggie. Sorry, but you’ll need to talk fast.”
She did, and by the time she had finished, Kane was struck by her courage.
“That’s a hell of a story. You’re a brave woman.”
“So is my daughter,” Maggie said with no small amount of pride.
He didn’t disagree, but Kane still wanted to spank Olivia’s ass red for not trusting him and Alex enough for them to find a way together to take Lawson down. He felt the tic working in his jaw. “She didn’t come to us. We could have made this a whole lot easier on everyone.”
That wasn’t acceptable with their sub. If that made him a bastard in Olivia’s eyes, he could live with that until she cooled down. What he couldn’t live with is losing her when there were alternatives.
Like using his SOG SEAL knife on Lawson’s throat.
Maggie rushed to her daughter’s defense. “How could she if telling you meant giving me up?”
“She has to learn to trust us, Maggie, without reservation.” Alex’s tone was firm. “But now’s not the time for debate. Did Olivia take her laptop with her?”
Quinn came back into the living room with a laptop in his hand.
Maggie shot off the chair from where she sat next to Penny. “Hey, what are you doing with that?”
Kane reined in his impatience. She was concerned as any mother would be. “Amongst his many talents, Quinn’s a skilled hacker. You said Olivia had received e-mails? We need to see them.”
“Well, okay.” Maggie cast a worried glance at Quinn, then swung back to face Kane. “She took her tablet with her. Easier when traveling.”
Alex glanced at his watch. “We’ve got to move.”
“I’m coming.” Olivia’s mom squared her shoulders and took a step toward them.
“No, you’re not.” Kane cut her off, using his body to block her. “Olivia asked you to stay here and with good reason. Nothing’s changed, except Alex and I will be joining her. Let us do what we’re good at, taking down our target.”
Slowly, reluctantly, she nodded.
He looked over to Patch, who sat between the two Hammond twins being fed shortbread cookies with his new buddy, Hercules. “Think we can leave Patch with you for a few hours?”
Maggie understood the distraction, but he saw she wasn’t going to fight him. “Sure.”
He bent, kissed her cheek. “We’ll call later.”
“I’d appreciate that.” She smiled as Alex kissed her forehead.
She reached out, gripping one of their hands each. Her eyes shone with unshed tears. “My daughter loves you both, so very much. Please believe that.”
Alex lifted his free hand to rest it on Maggie’s shoulder. “Now that we know all the facts, I promise you, Maggie, we don’t intend on letting her go without a fight.”
“Then go get on that plane, boys.” Maggie’s mouth trembled as Penny hugged her close.
As he, Alex, Quinn, and Mike drove to the airport, Kane made himself a promise to reinforce to Olivia, by whatever kink-filled means necessary, the need for her to trust in her men, especially when the situation was so dire.
He understood she was under pressure and the secret hadn’t been hers to share, but Olivia had to be prepared to build more trust or else their rescue mission may save her mom, but not his, Alex, and Olivia’s relationship.
* * * *
Olivia climbed into the cab outside the arrivals terminal at SEATAC and gave the driver the address Lawson had texted her late last night. She rested a hand over her belly. The nerves in her stomach had played up during her two flights to Seattle. All she could handle was the airline’s weak coffee. When the cab dropped her off, she would scout out someplace to freshen up, and maybe if she felt up to it, grab a sandwich.
Was it actually only one-thirty in the afternoon here on the west coast? She had been up since three that morning for the drive to Billings to catch her first flight. And she had all that traveling in reverse to look forward to after her meeting with Lawson.
She brushed a bit of lint off her navy blue wraparound dress. Comfortable to wear and made from no-wrinkle jersey material, it was the kind of classy, low maintenance outfit she needed on a day like today.
Before arriving at the twenty-fourth floor of Lawson’s Enterprises’ head office in downtown Seattle, she had a call to make.
With a steadying breath she tapped the number for Nathan Benedict’s cell. It rang three times before the chairman of MacKenzi
e Corp’s deep tone answered.
“Nathan Benedict.”
“Mr. Benedict.” Not Nathan. That seemed too…presumptuous after everything that had now happened. “It’s Olivia Fletcher here. Please don’t hang up.” She rushed out her last sentence, guessing Alex or Kane had told him of her actions. “I’m in Seattle and I’m heading to Lawson Enterprises.”
Nathan’s cool tones weren’t tempered by the phone’s line. “Are you making a threat, Miss Fletcher?”
Yikes. “No, sorry. I’m…” Panicking? Wondering what the hell I’m doing? “Trying to help Alex and Kane.”
“You have a unique way of showing it.”
Fair point.
“Mr. Benedict, I believe I’m in possession of information that may get Lawson off Alex and Kane’s back for good. I’ll admit it will also be a means to an end to make sure he can’t hurt my family as well.”
“He’s threatened you?”
What was the point in lying? “Yes, a member of my family. But look,” she couldn’t afford to get distracted. She needed to get her message out. “I don’t expect you to trust me, but I know you hold Charles Graham in high regard.” Never had she been more grateful that her former boss and Nathan were old Harvard buddies. “Call him, please, and tell him I suggested you call. Ask him what information I have on Richard Lawson. If after you’ve heard what he has to say you’re still interested, please call me back at this number. I’ll be at Lawson’s head office at four this afternoon. I’m betting you’ll see me before then.”
The line was silent for so long, Olivia wasn’t sure Nathan hadn’t hung up. Finally, he spoke. “I’ll call Charles. That’s as much as I’m willing to say.”
“Fair enough.” She had to be happy with that. “Thank you for your time.” She ended the call before the urge to beg overwhelmed her.
By the time the cab dropped her off outside a towering office building in downtown Seattle, it was two o’clock. She spied a large hotel across the road and made her way over. Once inside the lobby, she headed for the restroom. After using the facilities and refreshing her appearance, she ate at their restaurant, choosing a plain chicken sandwich.
She had just wiped her mouth with her napkin when her cell rang. Her heart rate jumped at the caller I.D.
“Nathan, thank you for calling back.”
“Charles Graham was very convincing on the validity of the information. Now I want to know how you plan to use it.” He still wasn’t giving anything away, but it was a start.
She glanced at her watch. Three o’clock. “How about we meet to discuss a strategy? I’d be interested and grateful for any advice you could give me. I’m at a hotel across the road from Lawson’s office.”
If she sounded desperate, she didn’t give a damn. Lord knows her heart was broken and her mom’s freedom was at stake. She was fighting with everything she had to give.
“So I see.” Nathan appeared at the side of her table, his steel-gray hair and tanned skin set off to perfection against the blue and white striped shirt and navy suit jacket.
“Oh,” she said, and then mentally shook herself. Don’t appear weak. From this moment on, everything she said and did was up for scrutiny. “How did you know I was here?”
“I decided to wait near Lawson’s office. We obviously had the same idea.” Nathan pulled out a seat as the waiter came over. “Australian Shiraz, thank you.” When they were again alone, he looked her directly in the eye. “Why call me and not Alex or Kane?”
“Because they likely wouldn’t take my call. Even if they did, I doubt they’d believe me. As far as I know, they aren’t aware I’m in Seattle.” She gave him a half smile. “And I left it late enough when I called you that if you rang them, they still wouldn’t get here in time.”
“You’d prefer for them to think of you as an enemy?”
Her chest constricted at the mere suggestion. “I love them, Nathan, but I did a stupid thing, and now I’ve lost them.” She drew in a steadying breath. Don’t Cry. “I can only hope that after today they know I was never their enemy.”
The waiter arrived with Nathan’s wine. He thanked the server, who left with a slight nod. He took a sip, then sat back to regard her with a shrewd gaze. “So tell me your plan of attack.”
It became clear in the next thirty minutes she still had a lot to learn about boardroom tactics, but Nathan was a fine teacher.
He insisted on paying for her lunch, which she took as a good sign that along with giving his advice, he might be coming around to thinking she wasn’t the most evil bitch under the sun.
She took the opportunity to freshen up once more. Soaking her hands under the cold water was so restorative. She felt calmer, focused, as the cool breeze from the hotel’s air conditioning system wafted over the back of her bare neck. Her hair had managed to stay up in its chignon. Thank God her minimal makeup hadn’t streaked with her occasional teary eyes, and the thin gold chain made her look well dressed and not desperate.
By the time she joined Nathan in the lobby, she had ten minutes before she had to confront Lawson.
The chairman of MacKenzie Corp put his hand on her lower back and gently guided her forward. “Let’s go, Olivia.”
“You’re coming with me?” She hadn’t expected this. Nathan was still reserved with her, understandable given the circumstances.
“Oh, I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” The gleam in his eye didn’t provide her with any comfort, but she couldn’t tackle him and hold him back. What choice did she have but to move?
They made their way into the building housing Lawson’s offices. His company only occupied a few floors, three in all, a much smaller operation than MacKenzie Corp.
As the soles of her black patent leather sling backs clicked on the elevator’s hard floor, her cell rang. She made a dive into her tote, not bothering to look at the caller I.D. “This is Olivia.”
“Hey, Olivia, it’s Todd Granger calling.”
“Todd, hello.” She moved back further as two women entered the elevator on the third floor. “What can I do for you?”
“I found some more papers on Eugene Hicks.” He gave a wry chuckle. “Your enquiry prodded me to do something about Dad’s boxes, and this morning I found a statement from one of Hicks’s neighbors, a young kid, who was out fishing down near the creek that backed up to Hicks’s house. It was summer, kids fished all day until it got dark. He saw the murder happen.”
Her stomach dropped. She felt like she was free falling. Reaching out, she gripped the handle bar on the side of the elevator’s wall. Her hand felt clammy against the cool metal.
She swallowed. Had the kid seen her mom?
The elevator pinged as the doors opened. People exited. Two. The women.
“Olivia?”
“Y-yes, Todd, sorry.” She felt Nathan’s gaze on her but kept looking at the silver metallic wall of the elevator’s interior as the door closed.
“The kid heard arguing, then saw—”
The line went dead.
She reared back, held out her phone. But the call had gone.
Fucking elevator!
She hit recall. Got an engaged signal.
The elevator’s bell pinged.
Olivia looked up. Nathan motioned for her to precede him. She stood there, wanting to take the elevator back down to the ground floor, keep trying to call Todd and pray for a miracle.
Nathan gave her a pointed stare. “Olivia, we need to get out.”
She nodded, moving on autopilot as she stepped out into a reception area, the phone still gripped in her hand.
Large framed photos showing close-up details of construction-sites hung on the blinding white walls of the reception area. The images were taken at angles. She turned, trying to get away from them, to find a quiet place. She just needed a second.
The dizzying atmosphere reminded her of the old octopus ride at the county show. She could hear the loud music, the shouts of people as they flew through the air, up and down in the oversiz
ed metal buckets.
Her mouth tasted tinny. Was she leaning sideways? Or did someone tilt the room?
A man wearing a dark jacket stood too close in front of her. “Olivia.” He gripped her arm, pulled her sideways. “Olivia, are you okay?” He gave her a gentle shake.
She blinked, refocused. Nathan gazed down at her, concern knitting his brows.
“Yes.” She blinked again. “Sorry.”
Nathan stood like a shield against the room. “Look at me, little one.” She lifted her chin. “Good. Now a deep breath.” Cool air entered her lungs. “Better. Now, we have company.” Waiting for her nod, he slowly moved to the side.
“Olivia, I didn’t realize you were bringing others.” Richard Lawson’s face pulled tight with his displeasure.
“I don’t remember any instructions that I must come alone.” Olivia stood straighter. Time to fight. Not fold.
The younger man’s gaze hardened as his nostrils flared. “Having Nathan Benedict here is counterproductive to our plans.” He stepped closer. Without looking at the chairman of MacKenzie Corp, Lawson addressed him. “Nathan, you’re welcome to wait here in reception. I have business to transact with Olivia in private.”
She nodded to Nathan, hoping to reassure him.
If his frown was anything to go by, she hadn’t succeeded.
“I’ll be fine.” She followed Lawson inside a meeting room, the long board table set with twelve empty black leather chairs. Trays with jugs of water and glasses were set at various intervals on the dark polished wood table.
Lawson closed the door, then stopped near the end of the table, indicating for her to take the last seat, while he sat one down from her.
She sat and ran her gaze over the room. There was no clear plastic packet containing the bloodstained knife. Her unease deepened, sending her pulse rate skyrocketing. “Where’s the knife?”
“In the office next door.” He sat back, fanning some invisible speck of dust off his leg, not giving her his attention. “You have the document?” His bored tone matched his demeanor.