by Jillian Neal
Dan stepped back and watched the realization set in on Eric Kane. He was, in fact, down a long empty hallway with no one but Dan Vindico and Garrett Haydenshire.
“Look a little nervous there, Kane; something wrong?” Garrett mocked.
“No.” Eric attempted to edge by Dan, who stepped minutely to the left and blocked his way. He tried the same move on the other side, but Garrett blocked him with ease.
“Let’s chat, Eric,” Garrett sneered.
“Where’s my father?”
Dan laughed derisively. “You need Daddy to come clean up your shit, little boy? Because, believe me, you’re in it deep.”
“You know I’d hate you for being a prick to women in general, and I would still do everything in my power to make certain that you end up in Felsink, where you belong, no matter which girl you were messing with. But you see Eric, you decided to go and mess with our girl. That was a really, really stupid decision on your part,” Garrett huffed as he shoved Eric hard up against the concrete wall of the corridor.
“Your girl?” Eric was astounded as he made all of the assumptions Dan and Garrett were implying. His eyes darted from one infuriated glare to the other.
“Look at me,” Dan took Eric’s jaw in his hand and slammed his head against the wall Garrett had just shoved his body into. He leaned his face inches from Eric and held his head so that he had nowhere to look but into Dan’s infuriated, hate-filled eyes.
“You ever, ever come anywhere near Fionna again, and I will make absolutely certain that it is the last thing you ever do. I will break every single bone in your pathetic little body if you so much as think about her again. We already took care of deleting all of her contact information from your phone when we locked you up, but you can go ahead and forget her address as well. Forget whatever the hell it is you convinced yourself that you had with her, because if you don’t, we will tear you into so many little pieces no one will ever be able to put you back together. You got it, you mother fucking asshole?”
Eric attempted to nod. His eyes spun as Dan released him.
“Get the hell out of my face, and you better pray that we don’t ever see you again,” Garrett spat.
“Just wait until I’m Governor. Fionna was a sweet girl. You’ve ruined her. When I’m on the Board, I’m going to see to it that neither of you is employed by the Senate and that what you’re doing with Fionna is illegal.”
Dan laughed again as he shoved Eric towards the door.
“Who said we were doing anything with Fionna?” Garrett continued to provoke their prey.
“I’ve seen her with both of you. You want her all for yourselves, and she’s just very inexperienced. That’s why she doesn’t want to get involved with me. You took advantage of her. Wait ‘til I’m a Governor.”
“You’re delusional,” Garrett fought not to laugh. Dan did a better job, but he had more to lose. Fionna was far from inexperienced. Quickly shutting those thoughts down, Dan kept his hand on the back of Eric’s neck and shoved him toward the Iodex offices.
“Tuttle, would you get Governor Kane,” he drawled derisively, “his shit and then get him the hell out of my face?”
Tuttle smirked. “Sure thing, boss, and I’m glad you’re back. We missed you.”
Dan went back to get his jacket from his office, before leaving for the Arena, and saw Logan and Rainer beside his door. They were talking to none other than Mitchell O’Ryan. Rainer’s face was ghost-white.
“What are you doing here, Mitchell?” Dan demanded.
“I got some more stuff on Uncle Nic. I want my dad out of Felsink.” Mitchell’s voice faltered in his demand. Dan immediately recognized the fear.
“I talked to you two weeks ago, and you had nothing.”
“I know, and I really didn’t then, but he came by my house. He asked my mom if Marlisa could stay with us. He said he’s going to Berlin for a few months, or something. Anyway, I grabbed all of the files I found in his briefcase. I switched them with a bunch of paper, and he left before he noticed.”
Dan’s heart stuttered out of rhythm. His brain flew into overdrive. Elation and terror swelled in his rhythms.
“He will kill you if he finds out what you did,” fell from Dan’s mouth before he could halt the words.
“I know, but he’s coming back tonight to see Marlisa before he flies out. I was thinking if we could copy all this stuff, then I could sneak it back in, and he’d never know.”
“Good God, Mitchell, are you insane?” Logan shook his head in utter disbelief.
“Just please help me. My dad’s really sick. He’s not gonna make it much longer in there.”
Dan continued to draw deep breaths, as he tried to formulate what to do next. Mitchell was correct; his father wasn’t doing well in Felsink reformatory. Dan’s only concern two weeks before had been that, if O’Ryan died in prison, Mitchell would have no reason to continue to try and help Dan with his uncle.
Dan didn’t have enough evidence linked to Wretchkinsides directly to keep him in prison for any length of time, so showing up at the O’Ryans’ mansion and arresting him wasn’t a good option. If they took down Wretchkinsides without Pravus and Pendergrath, then they would most definitely kill the O’Ryans, if they ever figured out how Dan knew where Dominic was going to be and when.
“What time is he coming back?” Dan demanded.
“Mom invited him for dinner at seven.”
“Well, not that you’ve left me much choice, but I guess we’re in it now. Garrett, would you mind…”
“Already on my way. I’ll get Emily, too. And, yes, if she’s not feeling well, I’ll take her home and stay with her until you get there.”
Dan felt defeat settle thickly in his throat. He made certain that Mitchell was distracted with Rainer and Logan, and reminded himself that Garrett hadn’t said her name. Garrett seemed to understand how hard the request had been for Dan to make. He slapped Dan on the shoulder consolingly and turned, so no one else could hear him.
“She’s not gonna want to go home without you, and it’s sure as hell not me who makes her smile like she’s been smiling lately. I might do in a pinch, but I’m not the guy she wants taking care of her when she’s sick. Just get over yourself, man.”
Dan tried to keep his mind on the task ahead of him.
“Thanks,” he managed as Garrett rushed out the door. “All right,” he called loudly to every other officer, “I need every piece of information in these files.” He lifted the large stack of manila folders from Mitchell’s hands. “I need them copied quickly. I will hand you a number when you pick up your stack. For the love of God, don’t be stupid and get the documents out of order. Take a stack, take a number, and then go find any available copier. Make it fly.” Dan held up a pad of sticky notes as he gave his orders.
Everyone moved to him rapidly. Rainer and Logan took the first stack and the number 1.
“Let’s go use Dad’s copier. No one else will,” Logan pointed out. Rainer gave a single nod as they sprinted towards the Governors’ corridor.
Hard Evidence
~Rainer Lawson~
“Dad,” Logan uttered as he and Rainer almost ran into the Crown Governor in their sprint. Looking quite startled, Governor Haydenshire’s eyes goggled momentarily. “Can we use your copier? We need to get this done quickly. It’s from Wretchkinside’s briefcase. We need to get it back before he realizes it’s gone.”
“How on earth…?” Governor Haydenshire gasped, as he reopened his office door and followed Logan and Rainer inside. “Where did this come from?”
“Mitchell,” Logan supplied as Rainer casted the copier in the back corner of the plush office and primed it. “Vindico made a deal with him months ago that, if he coughed up anything he found on his uncle, he’d get his dad out of Felsink early,” Logan explained, while he began feeding large stacks of paper into the copier.
Governor Haydenshire swallowed harshly. He rubbed his temples as the ramifications settled on him.
> “Well, I sincerely hope that Daniel has some plan to make certain that Mitchell O’Ryan survives this night.” The Governor shook his head as he stepped in and cooled the machine for them. Logan slid to the other end of the copier and carefully arranged the pieces back into neat stacks. His mouth fell open with a sudden gasp.
“Rainer!” He stared down at the document copy that had just come out of the machine. The stunned shock that etched Logan’s entire face caused Rainer to drop his cast.
“What?” Rainer studied the paper in Logan’s hand. His mind rejected the information as his stomach flipped uncomfortably. He jerked the paper from Logan’s hands and recalled his flight to Rio, where he’d listened to Pete Namphis talk about his uncle having documents forged to gain custody of Rainer, once his father had been killed. To stare down at the evidence, to hold the script in his hands that had insured his misery and ultimately his uncle’s death, had Rainer’s lungs seizing tightly. His heart pounded in his chest.
“Here,” Logan supplied him with the papers that had fallen underneath the one Rainer had pulled from his grasp. It was a contract signed by his uncle, in his childish, scratching handwriting, that promised his service to the Interfeci organization at any time in the future for the services he’d been provided. Dominic Wretchkinside’s harshly slanting signature was underneath Stan’s. Certainly wouldn’t hold up in court, as contracts for illegal actions rarely did, but Rainer stared down at three pieces of paper that had forever altered the course of his life.
The original custody document that Wretchkinsides had managed to get his hands on, glared back at him.
At any time that I may not be able to care for my son, Rainer Emory Lawson, I, Crown Governor Joseph Lawson, do hereby give full rights and duties to Governor Stephen Haydenshire, until the time that Rainer comes of age.
“Rainer, son, are you all right?” Governor Haydenshire took Rainer’s shoulder to steady him.
He flipped the paper again and saw the near perfect forgery. Governor Haydenshire’s name had been replaced with his uncle’s.
“This is the only custody document I saw.” Governor Haydenshire touched the forgery, as if the very paper might singe his hands from the evil it held. “Rainer, if I’d suspected this, I would never have let you live there, even for the few weeks that you had to endure.”
Rainer managed a haggard nod. “Just finish the copies.”
“Logan, bring those when they’ve finished.” Governor Haydenshire led Rainer out of the office and back to Iodex. “Dan,” Governor Haydenshire opened Dan’s door without knocking. Dan and Portwood were making the copier in the office move rapidly, as document after document flew out the other side into a box Dan had placed to catch the evidence.
Vindico spun as soon as he heard the Governor’s voice. Governor Haydenshire handed the forgery copies and the contract to him. His mouth fell open.
“Lawson, I’m sorry,” he offered sincerely. “I suspected this, but I never thought he would’ve kept the copies.”
Garrett returned just then, with Emily and Fionna.
“What’s wrong?” Emily demanded as soon as she was in sight of Rainer.
“Rainer, are you okay?” Fionna glanced at Dan quizzically. Both Fionna and Emily sensed his utter confusion over what to feel and the desperate ache that seemed to close his throat whenever he longed to talk to his father.
Dan handed the copies to Emily.
“What does this mean?” She studied the custody document. The Governor pulled the contract from underneath and pointed to the signatures.
“Rainer!” Emily gasped.
“This is enough, Daniel. Let’s finally end this,” Governor Haydenshire urged. Rainer recognized the tone the Governor used when he was testing one of his children.
“Yeah, forging Crown Governor Lawson’s will. We can take him from O’Ryan’s house,” Garrett agreed. “He’ll go away for life for this.” He pointed to the papers in his little sister’s hand.
“He’s right, Dan. Forging Joseph’s will could easily land him in Coriolis for the rest of his life.”
Dan had to visibly calm himself. He reached for Fionna’s hand. “If we arrest him tonight, Pendergrath will kill Mitchell and his mother. Maybe now everyone understands why I was rather perturbed that Pendergrath was released from prison a few weeks ago.”
“Hey, listen, I’m sorry or whatever Rainer, but I kinda gotta go.” Mitchell’s frantic demand shattered the glare Dan was giving the Governor.
As Iodex officers began returning with their stacks of documents, he oversaw that they were restacked properly.
“Do you want an Elite team at your house, Mitchell? We will keep you safe.”
“No,” Mitchell insisted, “he’d see you somehow. He’d know something was up. Just give them to me. I’ll get them back in without him knowing. I’ll find a way.”
“Are you certain, Mitchell?” Crown Governor Haydenshire’s question was laced with deep concern.
“I’ll be fine. I gotta go.”
“All right, send a text to either Lawson or Haydenshire when he leaves and let us know that you’re fine. If I haven’t heard from you by eight-thirty, we’re coming in,” Dan warned.
“Okay, fine.” Mitchell took the mended stack and raced from the offices.
“So,” Fionna soothed sweetly as she laid her head against Dan’s bicep. “How about if Em and I borrow the Highlander and go get everyone some dinner and then we can stay and help you go through all of this?”
Vindico looked surprised at her suggestion.
“No, honey. It’s okay.” He paused and stared longingly at the stack of papers on Rainer’s desk. “I need to get you home. We’ll work through it tomorrow.” A broad grin spread across Fionna’s face. Rainer wasn’t certain what she’d just discovered about Vindico, but she was suddenly extremely pleased.
“Well, how about all of us go to my house, and I’ll make us some dinner. We can all go through this,” She gestured to the stack of files.
“That sounds more than reasonable, Daniel,” the Governor agreed.
“Are you sure?” Vindico turned to Fionna so he was staring into her eyes.
“This is huge, Dan. I know it. I can feel it.” She squeezed his hand to show him how she felt it. “And this is important to you, so it’s important to me. I don’t mind.”
He nodded hesitantly. “Okay, we’ll work while we eat, but then you yahoos are out,” he goaded as everyone chuckled, thankful that they would all be together to await Mitchell’s text. “Everyone else can head home. If we don’t hear from O’Ryan by eight-thirty, I’ll let you know if I need back up.”
Lost in a daze and going through the motions from habit alone, Rainer opened the passenger side door of his Porsche for Emily.
“Rainer, please talk to me. Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I don’t know,” he confessed sincerely.
“But, we kind of already knew all of that.”
Rainer had told Emily about the conversation he’d overheard on his flight to Rio, after she’d returned from her trip. He told her everything just as he always did.
“Yeah, I know.” Something about the finality of the concrete evidence had thrown him. He couldn’t reason why, and he certainly couldn’t explain it to Emily, as he didn’t understand it himself. He didn’t really see anything in front of him as he drove.
“You want to know what I think?” she finally asked.
Rainer raised his eyebrows and awaited her response. She squeezed the top of his hand on the gearshift. “I don’t think you’re upset because you had to live with your uncle or for all of the horrible stuff he did to you. I think you’re upset,” she choked back tears, “because when your uncle signed that contract, it was like he signed his own life away. He forced you to be the one to do what you had to do to him. He forced you to choose between us. He forced you to kill him,” she explained the harrowing reality that lay in the recesses of Rainer’s mind. His conscience was trying so hard t
o keep it from him. His shield had erected in his mind. Rainer nodded, as he blinked back tears and swallowed down the choking realization of the cold, hard truth.
Battle by Proxy
~Dan Vindico~
“Fi, baby, we don’t need to do this,” Dan argued as he opened the door to the Expedition for Fionna, and then loaded the box of evidence into the middle seat. “Let me pick us up some dinner. I planned to take you home, lay on the couch with you, and watch movies. I want to take care of you. You’re more important than any evidence.”
As the words egressed his mouth, the shock of his own statement dumbfounded him. How could she have changed him so thoroughly in such a short amount of time? Dan was certain she was exhausted and still rather tender in a few key areas from her cycle, and now she was hosting an impromptu dinner for half of Iodex and their significant others.
Fionna chuckled and leaned across the console to brush a kiss along his jaw line.
“I somehow doubt that Casablanca and Some Like It Hot are really going to be able to hold your attention, when you have the contents of Wretchkinside’s briefcase in a box at my house.”
Not certain if he should just go ahead and apologize for the truthfulness of her statement, or deny that it was factual, Dan debated. “I can’t believe that kid did this.” He jerked his thumb back towards the evidence box.
“That was really brave,” Fionna admired.
“Yeah, and that’s not really O’Ryan’s gig.”
“Dan, do you think Rainer’s all right?”
“He’s had a rough year,” Dan admitted. “I think he suspected that there’d been a forgery, so I don’t think he was shocked. But, you know how his uncle was killed. That takes its toll, trust me.”
“Well, maybe we can get his mind off of it.”
Smiling, Dan nodded. She was so incredibly sweet. Her tender care for everyone around her always pierced through the hardened edge he’d fortified around his heart.