Devouring the SECRET (Corrigan & Co. Book 2)

by Crystal Perkins

  Chapter 12

  Faith

  It’s the day of the dinner, and I’m in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on my part of the meal. I have my chef’s coat over my dress and clogs on my feet, which I know looks funny. But I didn’t want to have to completely change. It’s not a fancy dinner, but I wanted to look nice. I have on a sleeveless, high necked dress that has black leather in the middle and at the waist. The rest of the dress is white and rust colored with a funky cross-over and asymmetrical hemline that goes past my knees. Once I’m done in here, I’ll take my hair down and put on my heels.

  Susan has invited Jane, Cyndi, Helen, Maggie, and Mallory to the dinner. Maggie and Mallory are bringing their husbands. The rest of the Griffins will be here, too, because they’re backing Susan and her new initiatives. Not the kids—they’re with a babysitter so the adults can have some fun. Zane and Quinn Wilson are coming, and Miles Corrigan will be here with Alex Griffin, but Matt said he had no interest in it. He’s hanging with most of the girls and Nate at Reina’s place, watching Zack’s game. Ainsley’s on the road with him, but everyone else is home from missions at the moment. Aiden is, of course, here since he’s still posing as the head of security.

  I’m not exactly sure who else is invited since Judy wouldn’t tell me. She said most of them were supposed to be a surprise to everyone else. I only know about the guests I do, because I work for them. I guess I need to act surprised, though. I finish what I’m doing and then head into the Great Room. What I see makes the blood drain from my body, and I almost fall over.

  “Are you just going to stand there, Faith? Don’t you want to greet your family?” Judy is smiling as she asks, and now I know she’s behind everything. She has to be. I had that odd feeling, but bringing them here confirms it.

  “They aren’t my family. It’s the spineless bitch who carried me, her husband the murderer, and the devil herself—who gave that bastard the fake alibi that kept him out of jail when he killed my father.”

  “Jesus,” Gavin says as he comes towards me. Aiden stops him, and it’s Cyndi who puts her arms around me.

  “Now just wait a minute, you ungrateful little whore,” my grandmother says as she walks to me.

  Cyndi steps in front of me. “I can guarantee that you don’t want to take another step. In fact, I think you should leave.”

  “We were invited, and I’m not going to let some spoiled brat who lied to the police about me, force me to leave.” Morty says.

  “Lied? You son of a bitch. I heard you. Heard the names you called my father and how you said my mother was yours before you killed him.”

  “You were blindfolded, playing hide and seek. You saw no one, and you can’t prove otherwise.”

  I turn to Aiden, and meet Gavin’s eyes first. I see that he realizes why I didn’t want to be blindfolded, and understands what it meant that I let him do it. What I’m about to do now will end what we have, but I have to do it.

  “I need a gun, Aiden.”

  He reaches around him and hands me a Glock, without question. I know it’s not his only weapon, but it’s his favorite. I cock it and then turn to my stepfather, keeping my finger off the trigger. For now. He backs up and so does my grandmother, as Cyndi moves to stand beside me.

  “Do what you need to, Faith. I love you.”

  I raise the gun, but Gavin’s voice stops me. “Don’t do this, Faith. He’s not worth it. Especially if he killed your father. This will make you just like him.”

  “I didn’t sneak into his house and kill him while he was playing with his seven year old daughter. He did. All because his wife had left him for my dad years before, and he was embarrassed that a simple Asian chef had bested him. You weren’t there. You didn’t hear the names he called my dad.”

  “And you were helpless to stop it, weren’t you Faith.”

  None of us saw Selene step into the room, but she’s here. With a half dozen women, including Elizabeth. They’re dressed for combat and glaring at me. I step in front of Cyndi and face my other enemy.

  “I’m not helpless now, Selene.”

  “With a gun. But we both know you can’t hold your own in hand to hand combat.”

  “Try me, bitch.”

  “What the hell is going on here?” Gary Griffin asks.

  “I’ll explain it later,” Maggie tells him.

  “You know?”

  “Later. I promise.”

  “What makes you think you’re walking out of here, Maggie? Faith is my primary target, but I owe you and your precious friends some revenge, too,” Selene informs her.

  “You’re not going to touch them, Selene. You came for me, so send your minions away and let’s fight.”

  “She came here for you, but she brought them here to help me too,” Susan says.

  “Mom?”

  “Gavin, I’m sorry I had to involve you in all of this, but it was necessary.”

  “What are you talking about? The Corrigan women have been helping you.”

  “To find the mole on my staff? No, they really haven’t. Since I’m the mole.”

  “You were selling state secrets? Are you insane?”

  “I did it to flesh them out. These five women think they’re above it all, above us all. Your father supported them while he was alive, and was going to give a large amount of his money to the Foundation. But it wasn’t just his. That was my money, too. I told him I’d fight the will if he did that. So he gave the money to you.”

  “He left a letter for you, Gavin. I had to make sure you could be trusted before I gave it to you,” Jane tells him.

  “I-I don’t believe this. They help people, Mom.”

  “And kill them. Don’t forget that you just stopped Faith from killing her stepfather,” Susan says to him.

  “You are insane. He killed her father. Of course she’s going to be angry.”

  “If we’re sharing, you should know that your mother killed your father, Gavin,” Selene says.

  “Shut up, Selene,” Susan says, looking like a cornered animal.

  “You should know by now that you don’t control me.”

  “I control the purse strings,” Susan tells her.

  “Oh, please. I have more money than I’ll ever spend. I just needed you to believe that I was short on cash. And besides, Gavin controls your money.”

  What the fuck is going on? I’m trying to sort it all in my head. Maybe I need to say it out loud to understand it all. “Let me get this straight. Gavin’s dad supported the Foundation, so Susan killed him to get control of his money—through Gavin. Then she partnered with you to try and take us down. You had Elizabeth approach Gavin to work for them, telling him we were trying to blackmail Susan. All so you could get back at me for outing you as the crazy bitch you are. Then you both framed me for stealing state secrets, and invited everyone here to see you take me down.”

  “I resent the crazy bitch remark, but that’s pretty much it. I always knew you were smart, Faith. Weak yes, but not stupid,” Selene taunts me. I’m not taking the bait.

  “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not the girl you tried to break three years ago.”

  “Now you’re just being delusional.”

  “This is ending tonight, one way or the other. I suggest you choose jail, Selene, and turn yourself and Susan in,” Jane tells her.

  “Faith may have improved, but she can’t take seven of us on, even with help from her friend.”

  “I wouldn’t bet against us. Ever,” Aiden tells her.

  “I bet you’re good in bed. I was going to take Gavin, but maybe I want you instead.”

  “You’re not taking me anywhere,” Gavin says with a look of disgust on his face.

  “Really, Gavin? What if I promised to spare Faith? Would you go with me willingly then?”

  “If I thought you meant it…. yes. But you’re orchestrated this whole situation just to destroy her. You’re not letting her go.”

  “Too true. I just have to figure out how
to best handle the problem. Oh, and you staffers over there can stop trying to covertly dial 911. My tech expert has blocked all transmissions out of here, and even the great Scott Griffin can’t undo that without equipment.”

  “Touché, bitch,” he tells her. What she doesn’t know may just kill her, but I’m more concerned about getting people out of here before we go to battle.

  “Must everyone call me that?”

  “There are other words I could use, but my mom’s here.”

  “You used to be such fun, Scott.”

  “You slept this crazy chick, bro?” Ryan asks him.

  “Fuck no. We just used to hang out and play video games when she hid her crazy better.”

  “It was so cute that you thought I liked the games. I wanted you, Scott. But then you met her. Who knew a full-figure would break you,” Selene says, looking at Yasmin.

  My knife whizzes past her cheek, drawing blood before it hits the wall. “Say something else about my friends.”

  “Don’t,” she tells the women who were advancing on me as she wipes some blood from her face with a smile. “Maybe this will be even more fun than I thought.”

  “Clear the room, and let’s go.”

  “They’re not leaving, but we do need them out of the way. Move to the walls everyone, unless you want to be collateral damage,” she commands.

  I slide off my shoes and pull my hair into a quick braid. Everyone moves to the walls, except for the minions. “You can’t take me one on one, Selene?”

  “Of course I can, little girl. Move to the walls, ladies.”

  “Using that word liberally, aren’t you.”

  “My women get the same training you and your friends did. They are proper.”

  “Good luck with that.”

  I know I shouldn’t be poking the bear. Especially since I’ve never once defeated her in hand to hand combat. But like I told her, I’m not the same person I was three years ago. That’s partly due to her, and now she can see what she helped create.

  We circle each other, trying to see the rhythm in each other and determine weaknesses. I know that I won’t strike first, but she’s going to try for the same thing. If I don’t give in, she’ll have to. It’s just a matter of waiting her out.

  * * *

  Gavin

  This is insane. The whole things is just plain fucking nuts. Faith is in a fight to the death with a psychopath, and my mom…well I can’t even wrap my head around what I found out about her. Jane and Cyndi have her at gunpoint, away from everyone else. Aiden is beside me, but he’s analyzing Faith and Selene, so he’ll be no help. I don’t want to stand here doing nothing, but for the moment, I have to. There’s nothing I can do to help Faith or anyone else.

  As I’m thinking this, Selene throws the first punch. Faith dodges it and hits her in the stomach. It seems to make Selene even crazier. The kicks and punches are flying faster than I can keep track of. They go at it for several minutes before breaking apart.

  Selene has a bloody lip, black eye, and is holding her ribs while limping. Faith’s dress is torn, her chin is swollen, and there’s a cut above her eye. Other than that, she seems fine. I want to fist pump. My girl is a badass. Selene underestimated her, and she knows it.

  I see the wheels turning as she stares at Faith. She’s trying to figure out how to win, when she knows she’s losing. Faith is strong and brave. I can see the warrior in her, and it doesn’t bother me, or make me question our relationship. Because I understand now that some people—people like Selene and Faith’s stepfather—will never change. As long as they have money and power on their side, they’ll continue to hurt people. Unless they’re stopped. That’s what the Society girls do. It’s what Faith does. She told me it’s not their first choice, but sometimes it has to be their last.

  While I’ll never condone killing someone—or an eye for an eye—as a blanket solution, I see now that every situation is different. And I can handle what Faith does. And support her and hold her when it’s over. Because no matter that it’s needed, none of the women will do it lightly. And I know it has to weigh on her and her friends sometimes. I can be her rock when she needs me to be.

  The thought is freeing for me, and I must be showing it because Aiden nudges me. “You get it now, don’t you?”

  “Yeah man, I do. She does it because she truly has to when there’s no other option. She’ll never love it, though.”

  “No. None of them will. I’m glad you’re cool with it.”

  “I am. I’m worried at the moment, though,” I tell him as Selene initiates another round of punches and kicks. “She’s not going to allow Faith to beat her.”

  “No. She’s not. Help’s on the way, though.”

  “I thought she blocked the cell signal.”

  “She might have, but Scott and Ainsley made our trackers immune to that. I activated mine when Selene walked in. Doing that sent a distress signal to everyone.”

  “Looks like Selene underestimated all of you.”

  “Most evil people do. They’re too narcissistic to see us clearly.”

  We stop talking as we see the women separate again. Selene is even worse off. Faith has a few more cuts, but she’s still looking okay. Selene screams and lunges for her. Faith dodges her again, and Selene goes down.

  “Grab her,” she orders Elizabeth.

  She steps forward with another woman. Faith maintains her fighting stance, until the other women spread out. Two grab me before Aiden can stop them, placing a gun at my temple and a knife at my throat. They motion for him to back off, and he does. Because what else can he do? The other two walk to Cyndi and Jane. They both turn their guns to them, but Faith shakes her head. She’s not going to risk them. She turns to me and mouths “I love you” before standing straight up and letting them hold her.

  Selene looks more crazed than ever as she wipes some more blood from her face, and looks at Faith. “This was definitely a surprise. You should be thanking me. I obviously made you stronger.”

  “Who I am has nothing to do with you. Evil begets evil, and so I took nothing from you. I learned to be a better fighter because I wanted to help, not hurt.”

  “Such a lofty speech. It won’t save you, though. Look at her, Cyndi. You brought her in, and now you’re going to watch her die. And for what? So the five of you can play God?”

  “If we wanted glory, we would shout what we do from the rooftops. We do this because someone had to, and we had the means to make it happen. Don’t you dare try and belittle what the women who work for us do. And if Faith dies today, know that I will find you. No matter where you try and hide, it won’t be enough. And when I do, it will be you who dies. I guarantee you that.”

  “Such brave words from an old woman.”

  “She is brave. And smart, strong, and compassionate. It’s the last trait that separates her and those other women over there from you. It’s why they’ll always prevail. I may die today, but I know that nothing could be better than the love they’ve surrounded me with from the moment I joined them. They replaced the family I lost and gave me something so much better. Especially when I lost my grandparents last year,” Faith says, holding her chin high.

  “Oh honey, they weren’t lost. That ‘car accident’ they died in was no accident. I killed them.”

  No. Just no. Please God, no. How much can Faith take, and not break?

  “I helped her, of course,” the evil stepfather says. “I told them I wanted to confess and then slipped the sleeping pills in your grandfather’s drink. He fell asleep at the wheel; boom they were dead!”

  I see it in her face as she starts to fall. Elizabeth and the other woman force her back up as tears fall down her face. I won’t let them do this. I can’t.

  “You are all a sick bunch of assholes.”

  “Aww, are you sad for your sweet little fuck, Gavin. Her stepfather sucked in the sack, but she must’ve been pretty good to have you so loyal,” Selene taunts me. Or tries to. I’m not taking her bait.


  “I love her. And what we do is none of your business.”

  “You’re still using present tense when talking about your relationship? That’s so cute. You just don’t get it. Let me spell it out for you. Faith is going to die. I’m going to kill her right here in front of you.”

  “Only because you have your helpers. You couldn’t beat her on your own, like you planned. So now you’re cheating. That must make you feel so big and bad.”

  Selene walks over and punches me, causing the knife to cut my chin. Not deep enough to leave a scar, but it hurts like a motherfucker. At least I’m distracting her. If help really is on the way, I want to give them time to get here.

  “We used you and you didn’t figure it out. I might let you live and be my personal chef since cooking is all you’re good at, stupid boy.”

  “Have you seen the movie, The Help? Because there’s a pie in there I’ll happily make for you.”

  She punches me again, this time in the stomach. I double over and get another cut under my chin. When I look up, Faith’s begging me with her eyes to stop. She inclines her head, and I get it. The other women still have Cyndi. Faith can’t help me without possibly sacrificing the woman she loves like a mother. I wish I could tell her that I’d happily die in her place if it comes to that, but I know her well enough to know that she would never allow that to happen.

  “I love you, Faith. Always. Forever. I love you.”

  “That’s so sweet. A deathbed, or in this case death room, declaration of love.”

  She turns and hits Faith, hard. Then she does it again. We’re all forced to watch her punch and kick Faith, while those bitches hold her so she can’t defend herself. I hear bones crack, and my blood boils. I know I’m no match for these women, and it will only make things worse if I try to get away. Finally, the assault stops when Faith can’t stand any more, even with their help.

  She’s on the floor, curled into a ball and crying. Selene is laughing at her, calling her names. Elizabeth kneels on the floor and pulls Faith’s neck to the side. Selene lifts her heavy combat boot, and my breath stops. I know she’s getting ready to stomp on her throat and kill her. Thankfully, she doesn’t get the chance.