by Eve Rabi
“Alicia …”
She looks at me in the rearview mirror.
“I’m so sorry for all you’ve been through. I can’t believe Damien is who he is, and I know you’ve been through hell as well, and … I’m just so sorry, Alicia.”
She reaches over and squeezes my hand. “Not your fault.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
For the next three days, I do nothing, even though every time I look at Damien, images of him shooting Reed and trying to murder me flash before me and I want to drive a butcher knife into his heart. But the secret plans I nurture help me act civil and even a tad cordial toward him.
Now that Reed’s out of the way and I have supposedly gotten rid of that thing inside me, we sit and plan photo shoots, book deals, and even share jokes.
“I have a very looooong arm,” he mocks as he pours himself his third whisky. “Nothing escapes me, goosy.”
I roll my eyes and fake a casual voice. “I believe you now, you SOB.”
He slaps his thigh and guffaws.
“As for your Rottweiler …” I jerk my head toward Alicia, who is on the phone a few feet away from us, “can’t you get rid of her? She watches me like I’m dinner or something.”
He looks at Alicia and smiles. “No can do. She’s my right arm.”
“Mff.”
When I’m alone, my mind returns to Damien’s source – the person who leaked our plans to him.
Some guy called him …
Guy. The only guy who knew, other than my father and brothers, was Jake. As I trust my family with my life, I think it had to have been Jake.
I pace for a while as I think about Jake. I remember how he visited me in the hospital and asked me to consider my child before I told the truth about Reed …
Convenient. He was setting me up. Setting us up. To think, we trusted him. Jake the snake. I dial his number. He doesn’t answer. How guilty is that? He couldn’t have me, so he decided to hurt me in the worst possible way ever.
My blood begins to boil.
***
Damien has no idea what he let himself into when he appointed his trusted skivvies to watch over his errant wife. The moment he leaves for work, Abi, Alicia, and I scour the house for the incriminating tapes. Turn it upside down, inside out, and check every crevice. As they search, I realize just how naive and even dumb I am not to think of the hiding places they check.
But, they’re cops after all, and I’m just a civilian – a pregnant one at that.
In spite of their thoroughness, they find nothing, and they sit with long faces.
“Don’t give up,” I say, feeling helpless.
“Must be in his apartment,” Abi says.
“What apartment?” I look from Abi to Alicia.
Alicia shakes her head. “He wouldn’t leave them there of all places.” She cocks her head at Abi. “Would he?”
“What apartment?” I repeat.
Abi looks at me. “I usually meet him there for …”
“You serious? I didn’t know he has an apartment. Shit! What else is there about my husband of five years that I don’t know about?”
“I meet him there too,” Alicia says.
“Well, then there must be a key to it,” I say. “Let’s forget about the tapes for a moment and search for a key instead.”
“Yeah, okay, but he probably has it on him,” Alicia says.
“Damien’s big into spare keys,” I say, opening drawers. “He always ensures there’s a spare, so let’s look.”
“Yeah.”
We start searching again. About forty-five minutes later, I find a few keys under a loose floorboard. I grab Damien’s Taser, and breathless with excitement, we race to the apartment with keys in hand.
When we’re sure no one is looking, Abi tries the key.
It fits! Resisting the urge to high five one another, we enter the apartment and lock the door. As Alicia and Abi search, I stand guard, Damien’s Taser in hand, watching the door. If he enters, I will Taser the bastard. Thereafter, I have no idea how we will handle it, and I don’t want to think about that now.
The apartment is sparsely furnished, but spotless. It does however, have all the toys a sex addict would have – handcuffs, lotions, candles, a tripod with a video camera, mirrors all around, several vibrators, a nurse’s outfit (among other dress-up costumes), condoms, and some other stuff that I’ve never seen before.
It also has an impressive bar – just about every drink you can think of. As I tiptoe around, I can’t help but wonder who the fuck I married. I feel dumb and stupid that I missed the fact that I was married to a pervert.
“Found it!” Alicia shouts.
Abi and I race to a floor safe. But our excitement is short lived – it has a combination lock.
We feverishly try every combination, every word we can think of, but nothing works. We try his mother’s name, his father’s name, his middle name, his highest golf score I know about, our anniversary, his license plate, our address …
Nothing.
“Fucking deceitful bastard!” I curse.
“Let’s try ‘deceit,’ Alicia says, and punches in some keys.
It turns! Quivering with excitement, we open the safe and strike gold. Twenty-two tapes! Quickly, we empty them in garbage bags and exit Damien’s den of iniquity.
Back home, while I stand guard, the ladies go through the tapes. To our delight, both the ladies locate their tapes right away – all thanks to Damien’s meticulous labeling.
After a few emotional moments, we go through the rest.
What I see leaves me gasping. Women I’ve never seen before are having sex with Damien. Wild, porn-style sex. Amateurish, but planned taping for sure.
Alicia knows most of them and bristles with excitement. “That’s District Attorney Lauren Burns. That’s FBI Field Agent Maryanne Perkin. That’s Teal Love, ohmygod! I can’t believe it.”
Abi is very quiet suddenly.
“Abi?” I peer at her. “Wha …?”
She holds up a piece of paper, her face the color of alabaster.
Alicia snatches the paper from her, scans it, and gasps.
“What? What?”
Alicia reads out aloud, her breath coming out in spurts.
So you found it? Big deal? My attorney has copies. Anything happens to me and he releases it. I’m smarter than you, hoe. Ha! Ha!
She flings the page onto the table. Putting her hands over her head, she starts to cry.
Abi walks over and comforts her.
“Hey, wait!” I say.
Both girls look at me.
“Damien has only ever had one attorney – Jake.”
“So?” they chorus.
“So, fuck, I will break in and steal Damien’s tapes!”
“You’ll break into his safe?”
“Yeah, it’s more a strong room. I’ve seen it.” I stare into space. “I owe him. Leave it with me. I owe him more than one,” I say, balling my fists.
Abi shakes her head. “My dad ... he would be so happy to hear ...”
I jerk my neck to look at her. “Your dad?! Why would you mention ...?”
“He knows,” Abi says. “Damien told him about the tape. That’s how he got his promotion to deputy commissioner. My father had no choice but to do as Damien asked.”
“What?!” I’m stunned.
“Damien does what he likes and my father has to shut up and accept it.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I’ve always wondered how Damien could snap his fingers and get things done so easily. He could wheel and deal and pick up the phone, and within minutes get someone on the other end of the line to do exactly as he wanted. Connected was the word. He had connections in high places. He had connections in low places. He rose in ranks faster than anyone I knew. Everything he did, he did faster than anyone.
Grudgingly, I was impressed. Now I know how he achieved – he was a fucking blackmailer! Now I’m wondering about the lifestyle we’ve enjoyed. Did his
father really leave him money, or was it from blackmail?
I look at Alicia. “I want to give those women back the tapes.”
She nods. “Let us do that. Don’t get involved in this, though. You need to leave the U.S. as soon as possible, take care of your son and the baby you’re carrying.”
“Leave the …?” I look up at her in surprise.
“He’ll come after you, Megan. Everyone eventually will, when the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. You understand that, don’t you?”
I fall silent. She’s right. I need to leave, move to another country. But before I make plans and take steps, I first have some unfinished business with a certain snake.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
The moment we see Jake’s secretary, Margo, leave the building, I open the car door and step outside.
“Wait in the car,” I fling over my shoulder. “Won’t be long.”
“Megan, wait!” Alicia calls.
“Wait in the car!” I hiss and continue walking.
Jake does not hear me enter. “Megan! I tried calling you,” he says, appearing startled to see me. “How’ve you been?”
My response to his warm greeting is to whip out Damien’s 9 mm. “It has a silencer, Jake,” I say in a quiet voice as I point it at him.
He jerks back. “What the fuck …?”
“You told him about Reed and me – about our plans.”
“What?!” He squints at me, acting all confused, the slimy cunt. “You acted like a friend and we trusted you.”
Slowly, he sits back. “No shit!”
“Quit the innocent act, you fucking lowlife! I know you once said you were gonna marry me, but Damien beat you to it. Then Reed entered the picture and you were just a sore fucking loser.”
“What?! I never said that about you?”
“It’s over, friend! I’m going to kill you today.”
“You must be fucking nuts!” he roars. “I had nothing to do with it, Megan!”
“Yeah? Why avoid my calls then, huh? Because you can’t look me in the eye, you scumbag! In hindsight, you were a snake, lending me your beach house, always being there for us, acting like our friend … all the time, you were waiting for an opportunity to destroy Reed.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” he yells and jerks to his feet.
I respond by firing a round at his computer screen. It explodes all around us.
Jake ducks. “Put that fucking gun DOWN!” he yells. “Do you know how much that computer cost? You crazy bitch!”
With a mirthless smile, I fire at his phone and then at everything around him, completely destroying his office.
Jake stares at me with bulging eyes.
“Damien had Reed and me under surveillance a week prior to the shooting. He knew everything. He confronted me with a small suitcase. Small, but big enough to fit a baby’s body in. Know how that feels?” I fire a few more shots above his head.
Jake no longer yells or curses. He slowly lowers himself onto his shredded high-back leather chair and waits silently for my next move.
“I loved him,” I say in a breaking voice. “He was my world. I could never love that way again. I know that for a fact. Now I want you to beg for your life, the way I begged for the life of my child’s father.”
Jake shakes his head slowly. “Fuck you, Megan!” he says. “I had nothing to do with Reed’s death. Shoot if you want to. But I will not beg.”
I fire again above his head, but he does not move. His defiance shakes me a little.
“You have the wrong guy. I did not call your husband.”
“Oh, yeah? You think …”
Suddenly the phone rings, startling us both. After shooting at it, it wasn’t supposed to work anymore. I take my eyes off Jake for a moment. It was exactly the moment he was waiting for. In a flash, he knocks the gun out of my hand and has me against the wall.
I’m still too weak to physically fight him, and I can do nothing except glare at him. “You are so dead,” I hiss, eyeing the gun on the floor.
He shakes his head. “The reason I did not contact you again – Lucas died a day after I visited you. Lucas, my son? Remember him? The leukemia …?”
“Wha …?”
“I was at the hospital for three days as his life slowly ebbed away. I never left his side. Three days and three nights. Today is my first day at work since his death, and I was going to pay you a visit this evening. Reed took care of my boy. I would never dream of hurting him. I respected him and yes, he was my friend. My best friend. Go back to Damien and find out who called him. I don’t believe he ever mentioned my name.”
He releases me and steps back.
Lucas has died? Jake is not acting guilty – what if I got it wrong?
Jake looks around at the office, totally ruined and smoking. “What have you done, Megan? I was your friend and you treat me like this? I knew stuff about you that no one else did, and I never betrayed you, or deserted you, or would have even thought of hurting you. I care about you. I cared about Reed, and I’m battling the loss of my son and my friend right now. I haven’t slept in days. I’m equally haunted by Reed’s death and I wonder if I have in any way contributed to it.”
I stare at Jake, not sure of anything anymore. To steady myself, I hold onto the desk.
Shaking his head sadly, he grabs his jacket and storms out of the office, making no attempt to pick up the gun lying on the floor.
For a while, I sit in his office, my mind in a turmoil.
Then, I remember the safe. The safe, which really is a strong room, is as solid as a rock. Now what do I do? I walk back to the main office and sit on a chair to think. Then, I spot Jake’s attaché case. He’s forgotten to take it with him. I jump to my feet, remembering that Jake always kept a large bunch of keys in his case.
The case is locked. No problem – I fire at the lock. Easy peasy.
With a smile, I walk to the strong room, slip in the key, and open the door. I locate Damien’s shit, which is clearly marked in three large envelopes, and walk out of the office with it.
“Why did you take so long?” Alicia asks. “I saw Jake leave a while ago. How could you ...?”
“Got your tapes,” I say.
That shuts her up.
“It’s there, encrypted, but it’s easy to work out which tape belongs to who.”
“Ohm ygod! This is wonderful.” She dials Abi. “Gotta tell her the good news.”
When she hangs up, she peers at me. “What’s wrong?”
I tell her about my encounter with Jake. “There has to be a mistake, Alicia. It wasn’t Jake who called Damien. It can’t be.”
Alicia frowns. “It wasn’t Jake, Megan. It was a girl – I mean a woman.”
“Girl?” I look at her in horror. “You said guy!”
“No, I didn’t, Megan.”
I stare at the floor of the car. Could I, in all my grief, my state of shock, have misheard her?
“That girl Reed was friendly with … Amina …?”
“Abeeda?” I spin around to look at her. “AbeedAAA?!”
“That’s it! That’s her name. She called Damien. Apparently, she found out that Reed asked a friend of hers for fake IDs and …”
“I ... I … that’s impossible! She would never do that. She loved Reed. She knows how evil Damien is.”
Alicia shrugs. “I know it was her.”
“Oh, God! I had Jake wrong.” I look behind me at his office I just destroyed. “I shot up … oh, God! He just lost his son and I destroyed his livelihood. Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh, God! What have I done?”
“He must have insurance, Megan, relax. He could do with a few more days off work. Probably got income protection and all the stuff attorneys have.”
I cover my face with both hands and cringe in my seat.
Chapter Forty
Abeeda’s family is sitting around the dining room table in solemn silence, having tea. When they see the gun in my hand, they jump to their feet.
I wave the
gun at them. “Sit down.”
Quietly, they sit down.
When I look at Abeeda, rage overcomes me. I turn and aim at her.
With huge eyes, she says, “Megan, I –”
“I’m going to kill you, bitch! You called him and he killed Reed. I know you did.”
“Megan, I … I …” When she stands up, I fire, striking the wood paneling inches above her head.
She slams back into her chair while her mother and father scream and cower.
“Don’t talk! You betrayed him – us. Now it’s your turn to die, bitch!”
I look at her terrified parents. “The rest of you – you’re going back to Iraq.”
They say nothing, but I know this is something they don’t want.
I fish out a piece of paper from my pocket and fling it at Abeeda. “You like making phone calls, so call immigration.”
Abeeda sits frozen.
“Dial!” I yell and wave the gun threateningly.
Quickly, Abeeda grabs the phone and begins dialing.
“Megan, why you doing this?” Abeeda’s father asks in a quiet voice. “It was not Abeeda’s fault Reedwan died. She cared a great deal for him. How can you possibly blame her?”
I slowly turn to her father. “You don’t know?”
He stares blankly at me.
I look at Abeeda, who is still clutching the receiver. “Tell them.”
Abeeda takes the opportunity to pause with her pretense of dialing and shifts uncomfortably.
“TELL THEM!”
Quickly, Abeeda begins to speak.
“English!” I squeeze the trigger and let off another round next to her, enjoying this opportunity to torment her after all the torment she has put me through.
She screams and switches to English.
As she tells her parents, their jaws slacken and they look at each other. When they look at me, I see helplessness in their eyes. Abeeda’s father holds his head in his hands as Abeeda’s mother begins to cry quietly.
I turn to look at Abeeda. “Make the call.”
Abeeda glances at her distraught parents and then at me.
“Do it!”
“Wait!” Abeeda’s mother cries. “We helped Reedwan when he first came to America.”