“You don’t think the head of the United States is a place you’d like to be in someday? Come on, who doesn’t have even a tiny dream to run the country?”
“Me,” I tell her and cock my head to the side. “What do you say to ending this quest for me? I’m really not the man to get you where you want to be.”
“You are. You’re just not seeing the big picture. That’s okay. I don’t need you to. I only need you at my side. I can do the rest,” she says.
“I’m just really not sure about you and I, now. With all I’ve found out. You have to understand that, Meagan.”
“I don’t understand that, Zane. I’m the same person I was before. I usually don’t pass out. I have no idea why that happened. I use the medication to control my migraines, that’s all. The medicine has never done that to me before. I’m no drug addict. I swear that to you,” she says as tears fill her eyes.
“I still have to consider that you get your medications from drug dealers instead of being prescribed them by a legal doctor, Meagan.”
“Well, I’ve been cut off by the doctors who did prescribe them to me. And that’s the truth. I had no choices once I couldn’t find a doctor to help me any longer.” Her hands fly to her face as she cries harder. “I hate this. I hate you knowing this weakness about me.”
“I hate it too. But I do now so you’ll just have to give me space. I hope you can understand that,” I tell her then step back to close the door. “I’ll call you if I decide this is something I can handle.”
She gives me a nod and I close the door and lean back on it with a long sigh. The woman is a mess. A complete mess. I hate that I’m feeling guilt over the drugs I used on her. She’s a monster who’s set me up for treason and yet I still feel guilt over using drugs on her.
Taking a deep breath to help ease my conscience, I walk back to my office to watch the video. I take a seat in my chair and see Elizabeth going to answer the door to her hotel room. Meagan is standing at it with clear eyes.
It doesn’t look as if she was crying her eyes out moments ago. She probably took a pick me up pill and put in some eye drops to get rid of the redness that was in her eyes.
“What did you need to talk to me about, Elizabeth?” Meagan asks as she walks into the room.
Elizabeth closes the door then gestures to the small table and chairs. “Please take a seat.”
Meagan does then crosses her legs as she looks Elizabeth up and down. “You’ve lost some weight. Good for you.”
“Yeah, well being blackmailed to leave the man I love tends to make my appetite non-existent. So, I’m here to beg you to stop this. Zane came to see me and I upheld my end of the deal. I told him I didn’t love him and he broke down. It nearly killed me to hurt him like that.”
“But it would’ve taken everything away from him if you hadn’t,” Meagan says with a cold tone.
I sit up and find myself furious at her. She is the most selfish woman I’ve ever encountered.
“I want to know what it will take to get you to stop setting him up for treason. I have to have him in my life. He nor I can take it,” Elizabeth says.
“You can’t have him.” Meagan uncrosses her legs and leans up to look Elizabeth in her eyes. “He’s very close to where I want him.”
I actually laugh out loud with her stupid remark. She’s delusional!
“You sure about that?” Elizabeth asks then stands up. “Because he told me, you and he had a platonic relationship.”
“That doesn’t matter. He told me he was ready to move on and he wants me now.” Meagan gets up too and glares at Elizabeth. Her finger wags in Elizabeth’s face. “You listen to me, you useless tramp. That man is way out of your league. He’s destined for greatness and I’ll be damned if you stop that.”
“He already is great,” Elizabeth says as she takes the finger Meagan is waving in her face and the action makes me tense as they’re too close and I can see some slapping might happen soon. “End this blackmailing shit, Meagan.”
“I will not end it. If you do so much as go to try to talk to him, I will send the information I have to the authorities. He’ll be picked up and hauled away in minutes with what I have on him,” Meagan says then steps away from Elizabeth. “I don’t want to do that to him but I will. His choice is me and only me. Don’t take it personally. I’ve always planned on doing this to any woman he tried to get too close to.”
“Have you?” Elizabeth asks. “How long have you had this little plan in place, Meagan?”
“I’ve worked on it for a couple of years,” she answers and now I know how come she has so much shit put together to fuck up my life.
I knew this amount of shit didn’t happen in the small measure of time since I met Elizabeth!
To be continued…
The Billionaire’s Lighthouse Series
A Billionaire, Bad Boy, Romance
Book 8
His Pursuit
By Michelle Love
Description
Threats. Passion. Decisions.
Meagan Saunders is pulling out all the stops as she tries to stop Elizabeth and Zane.
A sting operation has Meagan arrested but a botched job arresting her has her free again.
The couple are sent out of town to stay safe as the authorities expect Meagan to retaliate against Elizabeth for going to them with the blackmail scheme.
Zane and Elizabeth decide to face Meagan head-on.
But has Meagan made things even more dangerous for them?
Chapter 1
ELIZABETH
“He loves me, Meagan. If you insist on pursuing this, I’m afraid I’ll have no choice but to go to the authorities. You don’t want that. I know you don’t. You have this budding political career to consider,” I tell her to try to get her to stop this insanity.
“Without Zane, it’ll take me much longer to get that career going. And I’m not afraid of you going to the authorities. No one will ever believe you. I’m afraid you have no choice but to leave Zane White alone if you really love him,” Meagan says then goes to sit back down. “It would be a shame for the man to be sent to prison. Don’t you agree?”
My eyes migrate toward the hidden camera hidden in the vase on the small table by the door. I think we have all we need and it’s time to call that detective Zane found out about. I wink then say, “It would be a damn shame for that to happen. But I think it would also be a damn shame to leave him for the likes of you.”
“But you will. Or those things I have on him will find themselves in the hands of the media which will lead to an investigation on him and then we’ll both lose him forever. I have everything I need to make that happen. It’s taken me hours and hours to make up the documents, forge his signature, buy a few things to plant in his home if it comes to that. I’ve worked hard to make sure I have all my bases covered.”
And with that confession, I have all I need, I think. I make my way to the door and open it, gesturing for her to leave. “I have much to think about then, don’t I.”
Meagan gets up to leave and stops as she gets in front of me. “Do us all a favor and leave this town without contacting him. I know you have yourself in the same hotel he lives in so you should leave sooner rather than later. If he sees you, it’ll stir things up in him again and I just managed to get him settled down from the heartbreak his visit to you gave him.”
“Like I said, I’ll think about this whole thing. I’m not happy right now with any of this and I was hoping you would come to your senses about things,” I say, giving her one more chance to do the right thing.
“I won’t stop this. I’ve planned this for a long time. Your pleas are falling on deaf ears.”
With a nod, I close the door as she leaves. Then I walk up to the hidden camera. “Time to make that call, baby.”
My cell rings and it’s Zane. “Hi, did you catch all that?”
“I did. I think you gave her a lot of opportunities to stop this and that should look good on our part. Time to
let the authorities deal with her,” he says. “I’ll be down once I’m sure she’s out of the building. I’m going to call the concierge, Tristan, to let me know when she’s gone.”
“Okay, see you soon,” I say and end the call then go to pour myself a glass of wine.
I had a small amount of hope she’d stop this. It actually hurts me to do this to another human being even though she has plans to destroy the man I love. It’s not as easy as one would think to go handing a person over to the authorities. Taking away their career, their respect, and their freedom.
A heavy weight is on my shoulders with the responsibility for ending things for her. If she’d just come to realize she isn’t invincible. I think this wouldn’t have to happen. She thinks her word will trump mine but has no idea of the evidence we have on her.
Perhaps it’s unfair not to tell her about that fact. I don’t know. All I know is I finally feel I have the upper hand and that feels both good and bad. I’m not the type of person who hurts others.
A knock at the door has me going to it and Zane is waiting there when I open it. His arms go around me as he comes inside, closing the door behind him. As he looks into my eyes, I know he sees my dilemma. “I know, baby. I’m fighting guilt too. I suppose when you have a good heart, it’s not as easy to hurt people even if they have a bad heart. But we’re doing the right thing. The detective is on his way to talk to us, here in your room.”
I nod and rest my head on his wide chest. “I feel so torn. She deserves everything she gets and I know that. But I can’t help feeling bad about bringing this all down on her. I hope that detective can tell me how to shake off this heavy guilty feeling.”
“Can you imagine a person like her being governor or worse, president?” he asks me in an attempt to cheer me up, I guess. His arms are tightly wrapped around me as he sways back and forth with me.
“So what you’re saying is we’re a couple of heroes who are saving America?” I ask as I laugh.
“Yes, heroes!” He picks me up and carries me to the bed, lying me down on it and caressing my cheek. “Try not to let it get to you. I know your heart is good and this is hard for a nice person like you, and me for that matter, to go through with.”
“She is quite the monster, isn’t she?” I ask as I look into his dancing eyes.
He nods then kisses me. “She is.”
“I tried to get her to stop,” I say as I run my hand through his hair. “She’s just so focused.”
“I just wish I’d taken some time to notice this about her. I really had no idea she was capable of such a thing. But then again, I never paid that much attention to her or any woman for that matter. Until you showed up in my office, turning me into another person.”
“Are you ever sorry, I came into your life, Zane?”
His head shakes slowly as he says, “Not for a minute, baby. And I’m never letting you go. You’re stuck with me.”
“I like the sound of that. Being stuck with you sounds like Heaven, to be honest,” I say.
His eyes go a little dark as he frowns. “I’m sorry I brought this crap into your life, Elizabeth.”
“Don’t be. It’s not your fault,” I say and wish like hell this was already over and we were months down the road with this ugliness far behind us.
Chapter 2
ZANE
Sitting at the small table in Elizabeth’s hotel room with Detective Lang, I slide the plastic bag to him with her phone that Meagan broke. Her prints should be on it. The pen and paper that should also have Meagan’s prints on them are in it too and with everything we’ve collected, he thinks we have a solid case.
“You really should’ve come to us in the very beginning, Miss Cook,” he admonishes her.
She looks down and messes with the hem of her skirt. “I know that now. I just didn’t know what to do.”
“Most people don’t,” he says.
“So what do we do next?” I ask as I take Elizabeth’s hand to stop her nervous fidgeting.
“Wait. Don’t let her in on a thing. Keep your distance. Maybe go down to Chesapeake City for a while. We don’t need you to be around to do our job. I’ll have a warrant by this afternoon to search her apartment before she has time to get rid of anything. Thanks to you two and your detective work, we’ll easily be able to get into her computers and phone.”
I smile and pat Elizabeth on the back. “See, it’s all working out.”
She nods and looks at the detective. “Why do I feel so awful, Detective Lang?”
“People who would never do a thing like this often have a hard time taking action against those who have it in them to do things like this to people. It’s a normal reaction to having a good set of morals and a conscience. If you didn’t feel anything then that would be cause for concern,” he tells her.
“That’s a relief,” she says and squeezes my hand. “I’m normal!”
The detective and I laugh and I kiss her cheek. “Why would you think any other way?”
Pink stains her cheeks as she blushes. “I just feel like I should feel more vengeful. She’s trying to get you put into prison after all. Some kind of hate should be flowing through me and all that’s really moving inside of me is a sadness that things have to go this way.”
“You’re a very sweet woman,” the detective says. “I’m going to get out of here and get this thing going in full swing. Like I said, it’d be best if you got out of here for a while. She’ll be picked up and booked but she may have someone who will bail her out. I’m pretty sure she’ll find it in herself to be vengeful.”
“I agree,” I say. “I think a little impromptu vacation is in order. You have our numbers if you need to ask us anything. You have everything we managed to scrape together, anyway,” I say then walk him to the door.
With a nod, he leaves us alone and I look at Elizabeth with a smile on my face. She gets up and comes to me with her arms spread wide open. “I need a hug.”
Holding her, I feel her body shaking and know she’s taking it hard that things had to come to this. “You’re so damn good, baby. Now I want you to stop all this and tell me where you’ve always dreamt of going. Oh, you do have a passport, don’t you?”
“No,” she whines. “But I’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii. So I won’t need one there.”
“Hawaii it is then. We’ll pack some swim suits and get the rest of our clothes there.” My cell rings and I take it out of my pocket to find Meagan’s name glaring at me. “I have no idea if I should answer this or not.”
“I think you should but don’t let her in on anything,” she says as she eases out of my arms.
“Hello.”
“I want to talk,” Meagan says as if she’s going to stop at nothing to get her way.
“I told you, I need to think,” I say.
“I have some pretty damning evidence on you and I need to explain things to you so you can better understand what I’m capable of and what I intend to do if you think you’re about to cut me off.”
“Let me call you right back,” I say and end the call. “That bitch is about to start blackmailing me too.”
“No way!” Elizabeth sits down as she shakes her head in disbelief. “She’s going off the deep end.”
“She is and I’m about to see what the detective thinks I should do about this.” I dial his number.
“Lang here,” he answers.
“Detective Lang, this is Zane White. I have interesting news. I just received a call from Meagan Saunders and she’s on the verge of blackmailing me now. I was wondering what you want me to do.”
“She’s itching to go to prison, I guess,” he says. “Normally, I’d tell you to set her up again and get her on video but since we already have a ton of stuff on her I don’t think that’ll be necessary. In roughly fifteen minutes we’ll be storming both her apartment and her office. Call her back to hold her off on sending anything out just yet. It’ll be harder to control if that happens.”
“Got it,” I say then e
nd the call and call Meagan back.
“Well, that was rude of you, Zane,” she answers.
“Sorry. Now, what were you saying? I had another call. An important one or I wouldn’t have hung up on you like that.”
“I was saying I want to talk to you,” she says.
“But you said something about damning evidence too. What the hell do you mean by that?”
Elizabeth shoots me a look and mouths, ‘Be nice, remember!’
I nod as Meagan says, “When we meet I’ll tell you about that. I didn’t want it to come to this but I don’t know that I have a choice anymore. I’ll come to your place.”
“I’m not home. And I have things to do today. If you’re dead set on talking to me we can meet tonight at your place,” I tell her and shrug my shoulders as I have no idea what to say. Then it occurs to me to find out where she is right now. “Or better yet, tell me where you are right now.”
“My office,” she says.
I smile with the knowledge that heartless bitch is going to end up on the evening news tonight. “Great. I’ll be over there soon and you can tell me what you have to say. Can you wait there for me?”
“I will. And I hope you can take me seriously when I tell you what I have. I want you. I want you to marry me and you’re about to give me everything I want. I’m going to see to that, Zane.”
“You sound pretty sure of yourself for a woman I’ve never spoken one word of love to. But I’ll be there. Just wait for me.”
She makes a terrible laugh. One that sends chills through me then says, “Love has no place in a marriage anyway. See you soon.”
Tossing the phone on the bed, I pull Elizabeth to sit on my lap as she walks past me looking at the bottle of wine behind me. “You don’t need a drink. You need me.” Kissing her sweet lips, I feel elated that Meagan is about to get what she deserves. “I should call the detective to let him know where she is and then you and I will pack up and head to JFK to get on my jet and make our way to Hawaii. I can’t wait to watch you lounging around in a bikini all day.”
The Billionaire’s Lighthouse Series: A Billionaire, Bad Boy, Romance Page 22