"But-"
"No," I snapped out, giving her a sharp glare. "We'll figure out another way. Understood?"
She nodded jerkily. "O...okay." Her voice was still shaky, but the sheer relief in her eyes was unmistakable.
"Now, I gotta get dressed." I pulled her to her feet with me as I rose from the floor. I led her to the bed and urged her to sit, then threw on jeans and a T-shirt. I grabbed my shoes and some socks, and sat next to her to put them on.
"Are we going somewhere?" she asked softly as she scooted closer, and leaned against me.
"We're going to David and Natalie's house," I explained. "If anyone can help us deal with that fucking lunatic, it's David. He's a psychiatric nurse, remember? That and he's always awake at the ass crack of dawn."
"I should call Andy to meet us there," she added, her voice starting to sound more sure. "He needs to know what's going on." She made a pained face. "I just hope he's not mad at me over all this. It's all my fault."
"Honey," I answered her as I cradled her face in my hand. "I think it's pretty safe to assume you're not going to be the person he's mad at. Believe me, I know. I'm a big brother too. We'll be lucky he doesn't go try to beat Carter's ass today. Lord knows I want to beat the fuck out of the guy right this second. And this isn't your fault. This fucker is victimizing you all over again, and we're going to put an end to this shit."
She nodded with a wan smile, it was a relief to see, even if it was pretty unconvincing. "Come on." I rose and took her hand, then led her out of my apartment and down to my truck.
Jen called her brother on the way to my sister's house. I could clearly hear Andy's irritation and loud foul language over the early morning phone call when he answered the phone. When she told him that she needed his help and to meet him at David's house, he must have heard the tension and seriousness in her tone, because he quieted down and the call ended quickly after that. Jen turned to tell me that he'd probably beat us there, since he lived in a nearby neighborhood. She looked pretty freaked out for the rest of the trip, and I held her hand the whole time. She squeezed my hand so tight that her knuckles were white. This was going to be tough on her. I was the only person that she'd ever told the whole truth about Carter and what he did to her eight years ago. Telling me had been bad enough for her, and now she had to rehash it all over again.
We pulled up next to an bright yellow Mitsubishi Evo in David and Natalie's driveway. I assumed it was Andy's. For some reason, I think it suited him. He was a pretty colorful guy after all. He climbed out of his car as I put the truck in park. He went to stand in front of my vehicle as Jen and I climbed out.
He looked tired as he looked worriedly at Jen. "I'm going to let you go to the door first. I'm not going to be the one to piss Natalie off by waking her up this early or upsetting the baby. She scares the shit out of me." He looked completely serious.
An unexpected laugh burst out of me. "Apparently, you know my sister pretty well."
"Natalie's your sister, dude?" he asked in surprise. "Huh. It's certainly a small world, since Jenny and David used to-" Andy suddenly cut himself off as his eyes widened in realization, and he glanced toward the house then back to me, his eyes filled with horror. "Um...uh..." He threw an apologetic expression at his sister. "Hang out?"
"I already know about Jen and David," I made quotation signs with my hands, "hanging out together, Andy." I smirked at his discomfort. "We're all cool."
"Thank fucking god," he blurted out as his entire body relaxed. "I thought I really stuck my foot in some deep shit." He finally took a good look at his sister, and noticed that she wasn't smiling at all, and was standing there hugging herself with a pained look on her face. "Jenny?" he asked with concern as he grabbed her shoulders and surveyed her face closely. "What's going on? Are you okay?"
"Can we go inside first?" she asked him softly. "I...I only want to explain it once."
"Alright," he said softly as he shot a worried look at me. I gave him a sympathetic expression and nodded. Jen turned and came over to me. I wrapped my arm around her and led her up the sidewalk to the front door with Andy following us.
I knocked softly instead of ringing the doorbell, hoping not to wake Natalie or the baby if they were still sleeping. A few moments later, David opened the door dressed in just a pair of athletic shorts, and cradling little Daniel, who was only in a diaper, against his bare chest. He looked surprised as he eyed the three of us standing there.
"Sorry to show up this early, David," I said before he could say anything first.
"It's okay." He smiled welcomely. "I'm always up long before now. Daniel and I were just having a little father son time. He likes to get up early too, much to his mother's dismay."
He looked at Jenny, immediately honing in on her distraught demeanor with his sharp eyes. "What's going on?"
"We've kind of got a situation that we could use your help with."
"Yeah, sure," he immediately replied as he stepped back. "Come on in."
I led Jen in, and Andy followed in our wake.
"Hey, Dave," Andy said without any humor or his usual wry tone.
"Andrew," David replied, looking even more concerned. "Have a seat," David said, motioning toward the sofa as he walked toward the hallway to the bedrooms. "Let me go put a shirt on."
Jen wandered over to the couch and sat in the middle of it, and Andy and I flanked her on each side. She grabbed my hand and then her brother's, and just sat there looking lost and holding on to us like we were her lifeline. Andy stared at his sister, his eyes filled with worry and confusion as we waited for David to return.
Finally, David walked back in with Natie following behind him wearing a long silky red robe with Daniel in her arms. She shot me a questioning look with sleepy eyes as she took a seat in the mission-style chair to the right of the couch. David grabbed the ottoman that went with it and scooted it to the opposite side of the coffee table from us, and sat down as he eyed us expectantly. Jenny fidgeted nervously, gripping my hand almost painfully and looking at me pleadingly.
"Honey," I said gently. "It's okay. No one here will judge you or think less of you. I promise. Go ahead." I knew that's what she was thinking. I could see the fear and shame in her eyes.
"Eight...eight years ago I dated a guy named Carter for about a month," she said in a wavering voice. She began describing how charming and convincing he was for weeks. She told them how he convinced her that he loved her and guilted her into having sex with him, and not stopping even when it hurt because she was a virgin. She faltered a little when she got to the part where she confronted him several days later after not hearing from him, and how he laughed at her, calling her a stupid slut then telling her that love didn't exist and to fucking grow up.
David sat and listened patiently with a deep furrow between his brows, his eyes sharp and attentive to everything Jenny said. Natie looked horrified and pissed. I glanced over at Andy at that point. His face was a mask of barely suppressed rage, his eyes flashing a fiery blue. Jen turned to face her brother.
"Then a couple of weeks ago Elliott Carter Bennett showed up at the dealership offering a deal to Dad."
"What?!" Andy blurted out as he flew to his feet. "That arrogant fucking prick is that douche-bag Carter?" He shook his head in disbelief. Jen nodded almost imperceptibly. "Are you fucking kidding me?" he snarled out. "Why didn't you tell me? Why the fuck would you want to hand our dealership over to that raping piece of shit?"
Jen gripped my hand even tighter. "He...he blackmailed me." She took a shuddering breath. "He said he'd ruined all of us, even Lydia, if I didn't do what he said. I...I didn't have a choice, Andy. And yesterday he told me I had to leave Ford and be with him if I wanted Dad to keep running the dealership after the deal is signed, and if I didn't want him to ruin Ford too."
The anger on Andy's face immediately drained from his face to be replaced by horror. "Holy fucking shit," he blurted out in stunned voice.
"I'm so sorry," she said in a dejected t
one as she hung her head in shame.
Andy dropped to his knees in front of sister. "No, I'm sorry, Jenny. You didn't do anything wrong." His voice dropped to a menacing growl. "But that fucking bastard's not going to get away with this shit."
"That fucking bastard sounds like a psychopath," David announced in a tight voice, his eyes bright with anger.
"Well, duh," Andy added with an eye roll. "He's obviously fucking nuts. The guy's a goddamn Fruit Loop. "
"Though I don't disagree, that's not what I meant," David explained calmly as he shot a slightly amused look at Andy. "I mean psychopath as a psychological diagnosis. He fits all the signs."
"And what exactly are those?" I asked curiously.
"Charismatic, manipulative, arrogant, and a complete lack of empathy." He checked off each description with his fingers. "They literally have no feelings or a conscience. They always have to win, and they never admit they're wrong. Add all that to someone rich, powerful, and smart enough to convince everyone around them that they're just like the rest of us, and you have a recipe for a nightmare if they take an interest in you."
"But why?" Jenny asked in a pleading voice. "Why me? I never did anything to him."
"Well," David told her with sympathetic eyes. "You're probably nothing more than a diversion, a challenge. Psychopaths are bored easily and are constantly looking for stimulation. You were probably just a game to him eight years ago, and he saw the opportunity to play with you again and took it to amuse himself."
"He sounds like an evil asshole," Natie added with disdain.
"I won't argue with that," David said to his fiancee with a grave expression. "I've evaluated a few of them, and talked to enough of their victims, to wonder if that's what true evil really is, a lack of conscience. A psychopath can literally do anything to anyone and feel absolutely no guilt whatsoever. It's terrifying."
"What can we do, brother?" Andy asked as he sat back down next to Jenny and put an arm around her. She leaned into him gratefully. "You know, besides run him down in the fucking street with my car then back over his sorry ass just to be sure," he snarled out fervently.
"Well, the ideal solution is to end all contact with the man, so refusing his business deal is the most important thing you guys need to do." David began running a hand through his beard. "You don't want to be under this predator's thumb, or beholden to him for anything. He's addicted to power and feeds off wielding it over others, and he'll use it to his advantage. Any promises or assurances he gives you otherwise are probably lies. Once he has power over you, he won't relinquish it."
"That's the problem, David," Jenny said with tears welling in her eyes. "He's made sure no on else will help us. There are no other deals to be had. We'll lose everything if we don't take it. Our financial situation is really bad right now, and we can't stay afloat without help. There's no one rich enough or powerful enough to defy Carter and help us."
A sudden epiphany hit me like a jolt of electricity. "What if I know someone who is?" I asked as I met my sister's eyes across the room. She looked at me questioningly, then suddenly her eyes widened in comprehension.
"Mom," she breathed out.
Jen looked at me in consternation. "But...but I don't want him to go after her too. Carter is the CEO of the most powerful business in town."
"No, he isn't," I answered assuredly. "Have you ever heard of the Ford Equity Group?"
"Yeah," she said in confusion. "It's a huge company, and they've been around forever. They own a ton of properties all over town, but what does that have to do with-" She cut herself off as she stared at me with widening eyes. "You mean it's named after you?"
"No," explained. "It was named after my grandfather, Nathan Ford. I'm named after him. Ford Nathan Spencer.
"So was I," Natalie added. "And I have our grandmother's first name, Elizabeth, as my middle name."
"Holy shit," Andy blurted out in shock as he looked at Natie and then me. "That company is massive. Your Mom's fucking loaded, dude."
I shrugged. My sister and I had never been ones to brag about our family's wealth. Neither of us wanted to be judged or used because of it, so we never talked about it much.
"Do...do you think she'd really be willing to help us?" Jen asked with the first real hopeful expression I'd seen on her face today.
"All I can do is ask," I told her as I stood and pulled my phone out of my pocket, then went to the kitchen for some privacy. I called Mom, and when she answered I explained the situation to her. When I finished, her outrage was intense, immediate, and completely out of character.
"I knew that boy was a bastard just like his goddamn father," she growled out in a tone I'd never heard from her before. It was frightening and reminded me eerily of my sister. I pulled the phone from my ear and gaped at it in shock, wondering who the fuck I was talking to. Victoria Spencer never talked like that. "You tell your Jenny not to worry," Mom said fiercely. "There's no way in hell that I'll let that monster hurt her family, or you, honey. We only have two days, so you have her and her family come over here right away. I'll contact Tom so we can get the ball rolling on a new deal for her family's business, one that's fair and works for all of us."
"Thanks, Mom," I told her as I sagged with the relief that flooded my body. "You have no idea how much this means to me."
"I'd do anything for our family, Ford," she said in a passionate voice. "Anything, and since you love Jenny, that includes her now."
"I love you, Mom." I told her softly. "I don't tell you that enough."
"I love you too, baby boy." Now she sounded like herself, her voice getting a little overwrought. For once, I didn't mind her calling me her baby boy. I didn't even roll my eyes.
I ended the call and walked back into the living room, looking around our little group as they eyed me expectantly. A smug shit-eating grin spread wide across my lips. "That fucking bastard's not going to know what hit him."
**********
"I'm scared, Ford," Jen whispered as she leaned toward me, her shoulder touching mine. "What if Carter does something to us after this?"
I gripped her leg under the conference table firmly. "Everything will be fine. You'll see, honey."
She nodded, but she pursed her lips and looked doubtful. I couldn't blame her for being nervous. Carter had been messing with her head for a few weeks now, but she needed to realize that she had nothing to fear from that arrogant prick after the contract with my mother was signed.
I glanced across the small conference room to watch Tom Caxton going over the business contract he had spent most of his holiday weekend drafting for my mother. She sat next to him, her attention riveted on his face instead of the contract lying in front of her. They were both sitting very close to each other, and I wondered how long it would take them to acknowledge the obvious attraction between them. The idea of my mother finding love again brought a small smile to my lips.
Catty-corner to them was Andy, Ted, and an impeccably dressed balding man with short-cropped graying hair that was Jack Tierney, Purcell Auto's corporate attorney. It had been an advantageous coincidence that Jack and Tom were both partners in the same law firm, Caxton, Tierney, and West. It had helped expedite this whole thing, so we could get everything finalized this morning, and it had also ensured that Lydia's job was secure. The third partner in their firm worked for the owner of The Glass House and knew about Carter's threats now. I couldn't wait to see that dickhead's face when he showed up later this morning and realized he'd been outplayed by the very tattooed guy he'd dismissed out of hand as a nobody. I'd never been happier to be underestimated in my life.
Finally, Tom slid the papers toward my mom, and she smiled as she touched his hand briefly when he handed her his pen. She began signing the contract everywhere that Tom pointed. When she finished, she looked up at Jenny, and gave her a warm smile as she pushed the paper over to Ted.
Her father looked grateful and relieved as he accepted the pen from Mom and began signing it himself. He'd been morti
fied when Jenny told him the truth about Elliott Carter Bennett at my mother's townhouse on Sunday. He'd apologized over and over again to his daughter for bringing Bennett in as a possible business partner, the pain and guilt he was feeling written all over his face. I felt bad for him. It wasn't his fault that he'd unknowingly invited that snake into his family's lives. He was a good man and a good father, and it made me hurt inside over the end of my relationship with my dad.
I looked over at Andy to see him grinning like an idiot at me. I suspected that any of his overprotective big brother feelings that still lingered, were long gone now. His attention turned back to his father as Ted slid the contract over to Tom and smiled. The relief at the table was practically palpable.
"Fuck yes," Andy blurted out loudly as his grin widened.
"Andrew." Ted shot a glare at his son as my mother gaped at Andy in incredulous shock. Jack and Tom merely smirked in amusement. It was all I could do to smother a laugh. Jen wasn't as successful and giggled softly under her breath as she leaned into me with relief.
"Sorry," Andy mumbled out sheepishly, but his smile didn't waver at all as his eyes continued to dance with glee.
"Excuse me," a female voice interrupted us. We all looked over at Dad's assistant, Joyce, in the doorway. I'd met her earlier today, and she was an older kind woman who'd worked for Ted for years. "Mr. Bennett is here for his meeting."
Jen stiffened next to me, and I grabbed her hand under the table.
"Bring his sorry fucking ass on back here," Ted told her with a smug smile. Andy glared at his father, since he'd just been scolded for the same foul language himself.
"Of course, sir." Joyce smiled conspiratorially at her boss before walking away, since she was well aware of what was going on.
"Alright, game faces everyone," Ted announced. With David's advice, we agreed to play it cool with our victory. We were going to present a united front, and let Carter know that we were on to him, and we weren't going to be manipulated by him anymore. Hopefully, he'd quickly lose interest in harassing Jenny when he realized it could no longer gain him anything, and he'd move on.
An Act of Release: Order & Chaos Book 2 Page 25