by Jen Talty
“You don’t think, if he’d known the truth of his heritage, that he would have been able to handle himself differently when it came to Jessica? I was not only unplanned, but I was unwanted.” Patty held up her hand to shush Nana. “My mother didn’t want me at all. She let my father, who did want me, talk her into a loveless marriage. It lasted years, but it screwed me up. Reese reacted so negatively to the abortion because Jessica never gave him the choice, and he wondered, after his mother died, if his mother had ever given his real father a choice. The genetics don’t matter. It just matters to Reese that there was no discussion. In either situation…” Patty paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. “If Reese had know about Holland, well…”
Patty let the words hang. It was a cruel statement, and she shouldn’t have gone that far with a woman she barely knew. She was about to apologize when she found herself staring down the wrong end of a gun.
Again.
* * *
“How long does it take to arrest an asshole?” Reese paced in the station house.
“Relax,” Jared said. “That file will put Holland behind bars for years. We got the tree guys to roll over on him. We’ve got Conrad’s information. Stop worrying.”
“I won’t feel better until he’s locked up,” Reese said.
“I have to ask,” Jared said. “Doesn’t it wig you out, just a little, that this man is your biological father?”
“Not really,” Reese said. “Actions make you a father, and after a closer look at the facts, I realize that man knew all along that I existed. He saw me at Conrad’s office. He knew when I pulled the trigger on Terry that I was his kid. He knew when I put in an offer on the Heritage Inn that I was his long-lost son, and he couldn’t have that. To him, I’m a bastard, and my family was just a revenue source. A way to build his empire. He chose to take the money, build his company, make millions, and then he chose to fuck with his own flesh and blood. I just don’t get the why he wouldn’t try to connect with me. I’m a State Trooper. He could have tried to put me on his payroll.”
“Would you have gone for that?” Jared asked.
“Of course not.” Reese glanced at his watch. Stacey must be enjoying herself, since she was the trooper that got to go along for the arrest. Frank and Reese were too personal with the case, and Jared wasn’t even on duty. Reese wasn’t worried about how green Stacey was, because he trusted her with his life, but so far, nothing. Until Stacey barreled through the doors.
“He’s gone,” she said. “The taskforce was in place. Had all the proper warrants. Everything was perfect, except it took too long.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Reese said. “We’ve had tails on him for days.”
“He had a dummy car,” Stacey said. “When we arrived at his hotel, his SUV was in the lot. We ran the plates. It was his. We stormed the room. Nothing. Just gone.”
“Conrad?” Frank asked.
“Oh, we got him, and he and his family are in a safe house. FBI and State’s Attorney already copped a deal with him. He won’t see any jail time, but the poor bastard won’t be able to practice law.”
Reese called Patty, but got voicemail. Same with Nana. “Fuck.”
“What is it?” Stacey asked. “I don’t like your tone.”
“Can’t get a hold of Patty or Nana.”
“I drove by. Cars in the driveway. It all looked good. I’ll call my dad and Doug. They’ll go over and check on them.”
“I’ll go,” Reese said as he started to gather his belongings.
“Holland had to have known he showed his hand and we connected the dots with you being his son.”
“He did,” said a familiar voice from behind Reese. He so didn’t want to turn around, because he knew exactly who that voice belonged to. “Hello, Reese,” Jessica said.
“Who are you?” Stacey asked.
“I think that’s his wife,” Frank said sarcastically.
“I heard you were looking for me,” Jessica said.
Reese opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He cleared his throat. “Your timing is interesting.”
“Not really.” She waltzed across the room, her long, red hair flowing as if she were a model in the middle of a shoot. She wore cowboy boots, skinny jeans, a tight shirt showing off her cleavage, and a lined jean jacket. A far cry from the country club girl he thought he’d met.
She got so close he had to take a step back. He felt every single eye in the station on him. Or her. Or both. He was grateful for that because, had it been anywhere else, his response to her might have been deadly.
“What? No hug and kiss for your long-lost wife?”
“Unless that envelope in your hands is divorce papers, you and I don’t have much to say.”
“That would make you happy, now, wouldn’t it?” She handed him the envelope, but not before leaning in close and whispering in his ear. “I guess you didn’t know, I work for Holland. Holland is not only going to destroy you, but he’s going to get his revenge, and all your money, and finally, I will get a piece of the pie. Your meddling grandmother and that nasty little girlfriend are alive, but not for long, so I suggest you do as instructed without letting anyone in this room know.”
He took the envelope, glancing Stacey’s way. He had only seconds to catch her gaze and pray they had that secret language.
“Perhaps we can take this outside, where it’s a bit more private?” Jessica whispered.
Reese glanced inside the envelope, and it was all he could do to keep from vomiting. “Sure thing.” He wrapped his hand around Jessica’s bicep and squeezed as hard as he could. He knew he bruised her, and to her credit, she pretended he wasn’t hurting her until they got outside.
“Get your fucking hands off me.” She managed to escape his grip. “They are going to die unless I get you there, right quick. So, I suggest you just get in the car and shut the fuck up.” She pulled back her coat, showing a weapon. “And trust me when I say I don’t care if they live or die. I’m only in this for the money. The money I deserve, after marrying you and then being abandoned.”
“Abandoned? That’s funny.”
“You drive,” she said, ignoring his jab.
He got in the front seat of her car then took off out of the parking lot. As he followed her directions, with a gun pointed at his side, he continued to glance in the rearview mirror, but saw no sign of Stacey. Or Frank. Or Jared.
But he hoped they were somewhere behind him.
* * *
“I’m so sorry. This is all my fault,” Nana said.
Patty didn’t blame anyone but Keith Holland for her current predicament. “We need to focus on how to get out of here.”
“We need to find a way to untie ourselves.”
“That’s pretty hard without a knife,” Patty said. She was duct-taped to a chair in an abandoned warehouse with the great-grandmother of her child, and she was sure they were both about to die at the hands of her baby’s grandfather. Talk about a mindfuck. This predicament actually called for a few cuss words.
“Elizabeth,” Holland said as he stepped from the shadows. “We have some business to discuss.”
“You won’t get away with this. The cops are on to you.”
“I’m not worried about a few cops,” he said, “including my stupid son. So disappointing to see he’s so much like his mother.”
“You’re a bastard,” Nana said.
“True,” Holland said, “but your husband was just as bad. How long has it been since he passed? Two years?”
“Don’t you ever speak of my husband.”
Patty couldn’t stand to listen. She chose instead to focus on trying to free her hands, but it seemed useless. She glanced at Nana, then to Holland. “What do you want with us?”
Holland laughed. “What I’ve always wanted. The Baxter fortune.”
Patty was about to say not as long she were alive, but realized he had no intention of keeping them alive, and whatever he had planned,
it wouldn’t be pinned on him.
“We gave you plenty.” Nana struggled to break free, but failed miserably.
Holland nodded. “You gave me a good start, but your husband continued to fund me, so when he died, and those payments stopped—”
“You’re lying!” Nana lurched, knocking her chair over, smacking the side of her head on the cement floor with a loud thud. She cried out in pain.
“Someone lift this old woman up,” Holland barked, and one of his cronies scooped her up, setting her upright. The side of her check was already bruised and swollen. A bit of blood dripped from her mouth.
“Now, how is it that a smart woman like you didn’t know your husband paid me every year to keep me quiet and out of my son’s life?”
“He’s not your son.” Nana’s voice trembled. Patty could tell she was a bit dazed and confused from the knock on the head.
Patty looked around, trying to count the men in the room. She saw four, including Holland. Doors on both ends of the building, and skylights above. There were options, if she could get herself untied, but she would get her and her baby killed trying to escape. And to think, last summer, she had said she wanted more excitement in her life.
“Biology doesn’t lie,” Holland said, waving his gun around as he circled them like a shark. “I always thought it would be nice to get to know Reese. What a horrible name. Whose idea was that?” He paused, waving his gun in Nana’s face. “I often dreamed of bringing him into my business. Teaching him, so one day he could take it over.”
“I seriously doubt that.”
Holland backhanded Nana.
“Leave her alone!”
Holland waved his gun in her direction. “I’d shut up, if I were you. Now, where was I? Oh, yes. My son. See, I did have those thoughts, but God, I did not want anything to do with that bat-shit crazy daughter of yours. About the only thing she was good at was giving blowjobs, and even those got boring.”
“You’re a disgusting pig,” Nana said.
Holland stood over Nana, his gun to her temple. “Eleanor came to me after Reese was born. I refused to see her, but I did sneak a peek at my boy, and I knew he was mine. I thought for a moment I might want him. I actually went to your husband, but Alistair refused to turn the boy over to me. Ultimately, I’m a greedy man, so when he offered me more money to stay out of the kid’s life, I milked that until the bastard up and died. I thought that he would have made a provision for those payments to continue, but he did not. So, I thought I’d come find my son and see what he was doing.”
“You knew all along that he was here?” Patty asked.
“I’ve always known where my son was.” He tugged at Nana’s hair. “See, he wasn’t supposed to shoot Terry. I could have gotten Terry off easily that day. I just wanted to see my son in action. Boy, did I see him. Good shot. Takes after his father that way. I also knew he was too brainwashed by you and Alistair. So, I had to get rid of him.”
“You’ve a very cruel man,” Patty said. “Please, let Elizabeth be. For now, your gripe is with me and Reese.”
“I don’t think so.” Holland shrugged. “Now, Elizabeth. You start making those payments again, and we can call it even.”
“The cops are going to be here soon,” Nana said.
“Yeah, I sort of showed my ass, didn’t I?” Holland let Nana’s hair go, then inched closer to Patty. “But I’m not worried, because Elizabeth is going to give me all her money, and then I’ll just disappear.”
“Over my dead body.”
“No,” Holland said. “Over Patty’s, and her baby’s, dead body.”
* * *
Reese pulled into the abandoned parking lot of the old Kendrick Paper Company. Almost nothing remained to indicate this property had been a business.
“Why?” he asked as he walked with Jessica toward the deserted building.
“Why, what?”
“The abortion?”
“There was never supposed to be a baby. Holland paid me to marry you. Not have your kid. I didn’t want it, so I got rid of it. I never anticipated your nana would find out.”
“Did you get pregnant on purpose?”
She laughed. “No, but it served a purpose. I got you to marry me. Holland thought I should keep the baby, but no way was I going to do that. So when you took off, Holland let me go. That sucked, until about a year ago, when he saw you settling down with some woman, so he decided to pay me to see what you were up to. I’ve been staked out in this God forsaken place for months.”
“Please, no. I’ll do whatever you want,” he heard Nana say, her voice weak and trembling. He assessed the situation, wondering how far behind the cavalry was, and how long would it take them to figure out a plan.
The warehouse was empty, other than some junk and a few empty beer cans left behind by teenagers looking for a place to party on weekends.
“You’re a cold and sad woman.” Reese followed Jessica through the doors, then around the corner, where he saw Nana and Patty, tied to chairs. They saw him as soon as he entered the room.
“I don’t care what you think,” Jessica said. “Package delivered,” she said to Holland.
“Oh, a little family reunion,” Holland said. “Patty, have you met Reese’s wife?”
“Can I have my money, please?” Jessica asked.
“I can see why you don’t want to be with this one,” Holland said to Reese. “Whiny little bitch...and the answer is no. Not yet. So go stand over there.”
Reese tried not to focus on how banged-up Nana was, and instead attempted to figure out a plan to get them out of this intact. “What do you want, Holland?”
“Money,” he said. “It’s always about money.”
A man with a briefcase and a laptop appeared. Someone else set up a folding table then placed it in front of Nana. “This here,” Holland said, taking a stack of papers from the man, “is your new will. Well, not new, since it’s backdated two years. Sign it.” He shoved a pen in her face. She took it then signed.
Reese wanted to tell her to do everything extra slow, but it looked like she’d already figured that out. Reese glanced at Patty, who locked gazes with him immediately. The love pouring out of her was overwhelming. His knees nearly buckled, but he broke the gaze and went back to the impossible situation.
“Good girl,” Holland said. “Now, access your bank accounts, and transfer all your cash assets into this account.” He opened the laptop then gave Nana a piece of paper. “This is for Jessica’s trouble.” Once again, she did as instructed. The only noises were her fingers tapping the keyboard and few swallowed sobs.
“It’s been a real pleasure,” Holland said. “Time to make this look like a crazy, unfortunate accident.”
“Impossible,” Reese said. “Conrad rolled over on you. He confessed everything about how you’ve been blacking mailing him, getting him to break the law for you.”
“He’ll redact it once you’re out of the picture,” Holland said. “He won’t have a choice.”
“You’ll kill your own son,” Nana said. “Your grandson. Just for money?”
Holland shrugged. “Should have thought about that when you blackmailed me something I didn’t do. Eleanor was begging for it.”
Reese closed his eyes and clenched his hands. “I think I’ll be the one killing you,” he said.
Holland laughed. “Doubtful.”
Reese saw the signal from the roof. “You’ll at least be behind bars and I’ll get my divorce from your lackey,” he said. He didn’t get a chance to finish his redirect before the first kill shot came through the skylight, hitting Holland square in the chest. Reese pulled his gun, something Jessica hadn’t thought to look for, then nailed two of the other men, who were heading for the doors. He turned to Jessica as she bolted toward the exit. “I’d stop, if I were you.”
“Nope,” she yelled. “You’ll have to shoot me in the back.”
Before Reese could pull the trigger, the doors swung open. Jessica fired a shot and then m
ore gunfire echoed, and Jessica dropped to the floor. Reese raced back to Nana and Patty, trying to untie them both at the same time, and failing.
“Let me help,” Stacey said, taking over untying Nana.
He nodded and turned to Patty. “Are you hurt?”
She shook her head.
“Nana? How you doing?”
“Been worse,” she said.
Reese would never be able to truly piece together the next moments in coherent thought. Holland was dead. His father was dead, and despite his mother’s insanity and addiction, and his grandparents’ lies, they had all tried to protected him from a very bad man.
That counted for something.
Then there was Jessica. As she lay there, dying in Jared’s arms, she refused to cop to anything. Her last words were ‘Fuck off.’ The only resolution she left Reese was that he was now a free man. Free to start a life with the woman of his dreams.
Nana apologized profusely for keeping her knowledge of his father from him, and he understood her motives. He probably would have done the same thing, in the same situation. In the end, as they loaded Nana into the ambulance, she told him the fortune was his.
“I’ll stay with her,” Stacey said as she climbed into the ambulance.
“Thanks.” The question was, how much of it did he want? Money seemed to do weird things to people. All he wanted was to provide a good stable home for his family.
He understood now why his grandparents made it so hard for him. Made him pay his own way. They had seen, firsthand, what true greed did to a person.
Themselves included.
It wasn’t pretty.
“I’m riding with her,” he said to the other ambulance tech as they loaded Patty in to the vehicle.
“I’m fine,” Patty protested.
“Okay, still riding along.” He climbed into the ambulance. “Two heartbeats?” he asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“Huh, I won’t be needing...” he shook his head. He never wished Jessica dead. There was no love lost, but she was still human.