“Leave, I think. This shit isn’t easy to figure out,” I say as we walk to the door.
“Not at all. I feel as if I might have dug my own grave here,” he says as he opens the door and we walk out. He locks the lock on the door knob and I can tell he’s nervous.
“Zane, she takes that stuff on her own so don’t feel bad about it,” I whisper as we leave her building.
“I don’t feel bad at all. Not when I know what all she’s set up to do to me. But I do feel like I committed a crime,” he whispers back.
“She was shooting at you, it was self-defense,” I say as he hails a cab and we slip inside the back seat.
“The Plaza,” he tells the driver and puts his finger to his lips to let me know not to say anything else about this incident.
The ride is made in silence. Pulling up to the hotel, a doorman opens the door and we get out and go inside together. We ride the elevator up to my hotel room then go inside. Zane’s hands start shaking as he turns to me and takes my hands. “What have I done?”
Moving into his arms, I hold him tight and rock our bodies back and forth. “It’s going to be okay. I have an idea about getting her threats recorded.”
“Is she doesn’t die from the amount of drugs in her system. I have no idea what was in that needle. If she’s found like that, she’ll be taken to the hospital and then the cops will be called and her doorman will be asked who he saw her with last and he’ll tell them it was me.”
I stop him as I press my fingers to his lips. “Zane, you have no idea if that will happen. She’s a user, baby. Her body is most likely used to being assaulted by all kinds of drugs. I’m sure she’ll wake up with a hangover type of feeling and think she did that to herself. If she calls you to ask what happened, just tell her she passed out and you left.”
He nods and hugs me tighter. “I’ve never done anything like this before. I never want to do anything like this again.”
“And once we have her taken care of, you never will. It’s just a matter of time now,” I tell him and it seems to be doing no good. He’s still shaking as he lets me go and turns away from me.
“I shouldn’t have drugged her. I shouldn’t have done things this way. It’s going to screw me. I know it is.” He lies on the bed, facedown, muffling his words, “If I have ruined things for us, I’ll never forgive myself.”
“Don’t say that,” I try to reassure him as I go to sit on the bed and rub his back. “Even if she dies, you won’t be prosecuted. All you have to do is say you saw her take the hydrocodone pill with the glass of Scotch and a little later she plunged that needle into her neck, freaking you out and you left as she passed out on the sofa.”
He rolls over on one side and looks at me with a furrowed brow. “And when I’m asked why I didn’t call the paramedics or the cops, I say what?”
“You say that she confessed to you about her drug use so you thought she was doing things she’d always done and weren’t afraid of her overdosing herself. And that once you found that out about her, you were not going to see her again.” I run my hand over his wrinkled forehead then place a kiss on it. “It’ll work. I’m sure the police hear things like that all the time with drug addicts.”
“You might be right. But I’m still nervous.” He runs his hand over my shoulder to pull me down to lie in front of him. “Let’s just hold each other for a while. I need to calm my ass down.”
That he does!
Chapter 6
ZANE
My phone ringing wakes me up as we must’ve fallen asleep with all our clothes on, on top of the blanket on the bed in Elizabeth’s hotel room. I roll over to get the phone out of my pocket and see it’s Meagan.
“Thank God,” I say as I sit up and answer the phone. Elizabeth groans and rolls over, still asleep. “Meagan?”
“Hey, what the hell happened?” she asks with a slurred voice. “I feel like shit.”
“You took something, Meagan. I had no idea you were into taking drugs,” I say as I feel relieved she’s alive and am back to feeling pure hatred for her and what she’s planning to do to me if she ever finds out about me and Elizabeth.
“Drugs?” she asks as if she has no clue what I’m talking about.
“You can save the act, Meagan. You took some pill when I gave you a glass of Scotch then you took some shit out of your purse, including a fucking gun and when I argued with you about shooting up with the needle you pulled out, you shot at me twice. One of the bullets grazed my side.”
“No way!” she shouts.
“Yes, Meagan. After you knocked your ass out by injecting what the fuck ever that was in the needle, you passed out and I went into your office to investigate just how you might be procuring these drugs. I found a number in your desk.”
“You were in my office?” she interrupts me. “What did you see?”
“The shit that was in there. Anyway, I called the number from your phone and you’ll be getting a delivery of what the fuck ever you set up for delivery at ten this morning. I had no idea you were into such shit. You and I are done,” I tell her and see Elizabeth sitting up and stretching.
“Zane, you don’t understand. Those drugs are prescribed,” she argues. “I need them for migraines.”
“Oh yeah? I ask. “Then why is the name on the bottle of your prescribed medicine, not your name, Meagan?”
Her voice trembles as she answers my question, “Well, I ran out of mine and I had to get them from a friend of mine is all. You wouldn’t dump me because I have a medical problem, would you, Zane?”
“You seem to have an answer for everything, Meagan Saunders-White. What the hell are you doing with a picture of me and writing your name like that?”
“Zane, you know I’ve been after you for a while now. Don’t make it sound so weird,” she says then laughs. “I’ve made it no secret I want you.”
“But you do have secrets, Meagan. Too many of them,” I say and wait to see if she decides to threaten me with extortion too.
“Zane, don’t do this to me,” she begs.
“I can’t deal with drug users, Meagan.”
“I’ll stop. For you, I’ll stop. Even though my head will ache, I’ll stop for you.”
Now, what the fuck do I say?
Elizabeth leans over and whispers, “Tell her to give you some time to think about it.”
“Give me some time, Meagan. What I saw really shook me up, you know. I need some time and I think you need some help,” I tell her.
“Zane, please,” her plea comes out in choked words as she begins to cry. “Please, Zane. You haven’t even given me a real chance yet. Things were just beginning to go the right direction for us.”
“If it was what you wanted so badly, why did you feel the need to pop a pill and shoot up?” I ask and feel a little bad for lying to her about that but then I remember what she’ll do to me if she doesn’t get her way and that guilt flies right out of my head.
“I don’t know why I did that. I don’t remember doing that at all. All I remember is you and I drinking a glass of Scotch and then nothing. My mind is a complete blank after that.”
“Well, that’s what doing drugs does to you. But since you’re such an avid user, I’d guess you’re very used to that, Meagan.”
“I’m sorry,” she cries into the phone. “Please forgive me. Please give me another chance.”
“Like I said, I need some time to think.” I wait and listen to her sobbing then find myself tired of her fucking antics. “Goodbye, Meagan.”
“Zane, wait!” I don’t wait, I end the call and look at Elizabeth.
“Now what?” I ask her.
“Now it’s my turn,” she says. “This is the perfect time for me to get her to come at me with all the ammunition she has rigged up against you and get that all recorded so you can use it to get a conviction.”
“This feels dangerous to me. I’m afraid she might physically hurt you,” I say as I take her in my arms and pull her back down to lay with me wh
ile I hold her tight.
“I don’t think she’ll do that. Not when she still thinks she has a chance in hell with you. But we have to make sure we get her face on camera as she tells me what she’ll do to ruin you. So where should I meet her at?”
“Let me think on that for a minute,” I say then pull her face up by her chin and kiss her. “I’m just so damn happy she didn’t die from an overdose, I’m about to jump out of my skin.”
She laughs and kisses me again then says, “Me too. That would’ve been very messy.”
My cell rings again and I see it’s Meagan and sit up to take the call to see what the hell she has to say now. “What?” I answer.
“You called that number off another phone and told them I gave it to you, didn’t you, Zane? Or should I say, Dax?” she asks.
“I did. So what?” I say with an air of authority.
“So what? So, you do realize that was a drug dealer, right?” she asks me and I find it nearly laughable she’d call to confront me about calling her fucking drug dealer.
“Yes, and guess what, Meagan, you’re digging yourself a very nice grave if you think I’m going to let you make me feel bad about calling that number.”
“You’ve gotten me into a bit of trouble and I have to give them some money now to make up for giving out that number which they now have to change and alert all of their clients. It’s a damn large process and they’re making me pay for their time,” she says with an incredible amount of anger in her voice.
“Are you asking me to give you the money?”
“I’m telling you I need that money or I’ll give them your real name and address and they’ll come get it from you. You won’t want that, Zane. I can promise you that,” she threatens me.
“Wow, you are a piece of work, Meagan. You certainly hide this side of yourself very well. How much is it they want?”
“Thirty thousand dollars.”
Elizabeth hears the amount and her eyes go big. I smile at her then say, “By when?”
“In one hour,” she says. “Bring it to me and I’ll give it to them when they get here.”
“You expect me to go make a withdrawal of that large amount and bring it to you in cash?” I ask as I have a very bad feeling, I’m getting set up.
“I do. Or I can send them to you. It’ s your choice.”
Now, what the hell should I do?
Chapter 7
ELIZABETH
Zane is taking the money to Meagan as I hide in the hallway of her building to take pictures of them. I want to be sure we have every last piece of evidence there is to get on her. He has his phone on a recording app to capture her words.
My heart is beating so loud as I’m so nervous about this spying action. I’ve never been a part of anything so dangerous and deep. It’s a mixture of exhilarating and terrifying.
He knocks on her door and I start videoing him with my cell phone. Thank goodness for these little things. They make getting evidence so much easier than I bet it was in the old days before these things.
I guess they had to use big cameras and large sound recorders to get what we’re getting here today. What a pain that would’ve been!
The door opens and I hear her say, “Come in.”
“No, I’m not stepping foot in there. Here,” Zane says as he hands her a bank bag full of money. “Here’s the damn money you need to pay your drug dealer, Judge!”
“Shut up!” she hisses. “Are you fucking insane? You don’t say that kind of shit out loud!”
“Well, that’s what it’s for, right?” he asks to try to get her to say it is.
“Fuck you, Zane. If you think I’m about to admit that, you’re an idiot. Now come in and wait with me for the men to show up. I don’t like dealing with this end of the spectrum.”
“Too bad, Meagan. I’m not about to stick around to help you in any way. See ya,” he says then turns to walk away.
She steps out the door and watches him so I get a full body shot of her and feel elated. “Zane White, you need to come right back here. I don’t want to deal with these guys alone. They might hurt me.”
“Then you shouldn’t do drugs, Meagan. That’s what comes with the territory. You, as a judge, should know that without a doubt,” he says as he waves her off.
She spins around and goes back inside and I stop the video and turn to leave. But just as I put the phone down, I see two burly men pass Zane as he walks down the hallway.
Zane turns around and looks at me after they pass him and gives me a thumbs up sign. I start the video back up and record their action. We might as well get this little piece of action too while we’re at it.
One of them knocks and Meagan answers the door, letting them in. It’s not great footage but it’s something. I end the recording and turn to go the opposite direction Zane went in. Taking a different elevator down, we meet in front of the building.
His smile is huge as he picks me up in his arms and kisses me then places my feet back on the ground. “I think we have some great stuff here, baby!”
“Me too. Now let’s get over to the hotel and set things up so I can get her to come see me. I have a feeling she’s going to be pretty strung out from the effects of the drugs and her nervousness with those drug men. She should be in a real nasty mood and ready to hurl out all kinds of threats when I tell her I want you back.”
Walking hand in hand, we make our way over to a café near her apartment building to have lunch. “I did some research and I think taking this evidence to a detective is our best bet. I asked around a little and found out there’s a highly respected man in the department. Detective Lang should be the best man to trust this information with.”
With a bit of relief, I say, “I hope so. We need major help with someone in her position as a judge.”
“Yes, we do.” He opens the door of the small café and we go inside and take a seat near the window. The waitress takes our order of a couple of sandwiches and waters then just as she turns to leave us, we see the two men walk inside who were at Meagan’s apartment.
Zane taps the back of my hand and runs his finger over his lips to tell me not to say a word as the men take the table behind him. Discreetly, he pulls his phone out of his jacket pocket and begins recording their conversation.
Both men are mountainous in stature, like a couple of linebackers or something. One has shorter dark hair than the other and he’s facing my direction. His dark eyes catch mine for only a moment then I look down.
When I glance back up, he smiles at me then leans in to say something to his friend. “Pretty blonde behind you, Pete.”
“So,” the other man says. “This city is full of them.”
The waitress comes to take their order and calls them by name. “Hey Tanner, Pete, the usual?”
After the one named Tanner smacks her on the ass, he says, “Yep.”
She giggles and leaves them and I watch her go then look back and find him winking at me. I blush and look down. I don’t think all this eye contact is a good thing!
Our order comes and we eat in silence, hoping to catch them in some kind of conversation we can use. But neither of them are giving anything away as they talk about football and some fight that was on television the other night.
I find it useless and nod at Zane when we’ve finished. “I’m done, honey. Are you ready to go?”
He nods then stops the recording and puts his phone away. “I’ll go pay the bill,” he says.
We have to walk past their table to get to the cashier’s station. I’m right in front of Zane when we walk past them and the guy named Tanner reaches out and grabs Zane by the arm. “Haven’t I seen you before?” he asks Zane.
Zane chuckles. “I’m not sure.”
“I’m really good with faces and I think I just saw you in an apartment building a little while ago. Do you know Judge Saunders?”
I look at the other guy, named Pete and he gets up. “Hey guys, I have no idea what’s up but we have a meeting to get to,�
�� I say as I reach out to take Zane’s hand.
“We just have a few questions for this man here,” Pete says. “You see, the woman we just saw said a man had just left her apartment before we showed up. A man we may need to talk to. Are you that man?”
Zane nods and I find that incredibly stupid. “I’m Zane White. But you two know that, don’t you? It’s no secret that I know her. We’ve had quite a few pictures taken together and have even been on television once. I’m one of her supporters in her run for governor.”
“And are you the man who called a number she gave you?” Tanner asks.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I was at Meagan’s apartment to loan her some money for something. She said it was for some things to help her with her campaign.”
I smile at Zane and think to myself, nice save, babe!
Chapter 8
ZANE
With the camera in place in the hotel room, we’re ready to see if Meagan will give us what we need to stop her from ruining my life. Elizabeth called her a little while ago and told her she was here and needed to talk to her. Meagan was none too happy with the news but she said she’d come to her.
I’m up in my penthouse, watching everything on the computer the feed is coming to. I sent Lois home for a vacation day and she was pleased to have the day free.
Picking up a bottle of water, I nearly spill it as a knock comes to my door. “Shit!”
Leaving my office, I lock the door behind me and go to answer the door. I find Meagan standing there with her hand on her hip. “Have you seen Elizabeth?” she asks me.
“Not since I left her place. You know that. Why are you asking me that?”
“Because. I just wanted to make sure of that. So, have you decided to put last night behind us and move on with what we were doing? You know we can end up in the Whitehouse together, don’t you?”
“I don’t know how to tell you this, Meagan. I have never had aspirations to be in any kind of political office. I don’t know why you think I’d be of any help to get you where you want to be. I’m not the man for that,” I tell her as I stand in the doorway to prevent her from coming inside.
The Billionaire’s Lighthouse Series: A Billionaire, Bad Boy, Romance Page 21