by Raven Dark
He nodded.
A long sigh left her before she lifted her eyes and tears splashed onto her cheeks. “It makes so much sense now. It was never just about our lifestyle.”
Rock brushed her tears away with his fingers. Her eyes welled anew and her lips trembled.
“I’m sorry I never told you.”
“No, don’t apologize. I understand why you didn’t. My father, though…” She gritted her teeth, fists tight. She stood from the couch but stopped when he took her hand.
“Annabella, if you don’t want to see me again, I’ll understand. But you deserve to know.” He stood. “When I went to my father’s parole hearing, it triggered something. A memory from right before he killed her.”
She visibly swallowed.
“He got drunk and flew into one of the worst rages I’d ever seen. I don’t even remember why, but he was screaming that she’d disrespected him. He took off his belt and hit her with it. He was punishing her for embarrassing him in front of the guys. I didn’t understand it until now but that’s why I always get a little weird after punishment scenes.”
She put her head back, closing her eyes. “And that’s why you were freaked about the caning just then.”
“Yes. I always worried you wouldn’t want me if you knew what kind of monster my father was.”
Her chest rose and then fell. “I’m so sorry.” She slipped her arms around him and pressed herself against him. The warmth and softness of her had such a calming effect on him.
“God, it must have been so hard for you, holding all this in.” She drew back and took his face in her hands. “You sweet, sweet man. Never, never think I wouldn’t want you. Nothing could ever change my feelings for you. I love you, Rock. I always will.”
Love. His heart bounced. Rock groaned and enveloped her in his arms, unable to draw her close enough. He’d spent so long afraid she’d hate him if she knew the truth, the relief of knowing she didn’t nearly sent him to his knees.
For the first time, he knew she was right. He was not his father, he was a good man. Annabella Clayton, one of the strongest women he knew, wouldn’t love him if he weren’t.
He rocked her gently for a moment, then pulled back. “I’ve been waiting for you to say those words for a long time.”
“Have you now?” Her smile shook.
“Yeah. I love you too, you know.”
The grin that lit up her face warmed him to his toes. “Really?”
“Oh yeah.” He cupped her face. “I always have. If I didn’t think it was the best thing for you at the time, I would never have left this damn town.”
“The best thing for me, huh?” She cocked her head. “You know how stupid that sounds?”
“Yeah, I know. Come here.” He bent his head and kissed his woman long and hard on the mouth. When he drew back, he traced her lips with his fingers. “It’s a good thing you do love me.”
“Why’s that?”
“Cause I’ll never get enough of you.”
* * * * *
Ella looked across the table at Rock. That was the third time he’d put his hand in his pants pocket in as many minutes. He also hadn’t touched his stuffed crab. What was wrong with him? Normally he wolfed food down.
It had been three days since he’d told her about his father and until today, he’d seemed far less worried than he had in a while. Like a weight had been lifted off him. Now he looked…nervous.
“Rock, are you okay?”
“What? Sure, why?”
“Cause there’s still food on your plate. What’s wrong?”
He looked at the plate and let out a soft chuckle. “Sorry, sweetheart.” He cleared his throat, then reached across the table and closed his huge hand over hers.
“Annabella, you know I meant it when I said I love you.”
Her stomach fluttered. She’d never get tired of hearing that. “Yes.”
He looked at his lap and she thought she saw his chest expand. When his head lifted again, the warmth in his eyes melted her insides.
“Listen. I don’t know how we’ll manage it with me living in New York and you living here. I would never ask you to give up Clayton Enterprises for me, and I won’t leave the firm. But I want to spend the rest of my life with you. If you want the same, there has to be a way to make this work.”
She was about to open her mouth to tell him they’d commute, if he wanted to live together they could manage, but she didn’t get the chance. Rock stood up, shoved his hand into the pocket of his slacks and pulled out a palm-sized velvet box. Then he dropped smoothly to one knee in front of her.
Ella’s heart sped up, a giddy, crazy beat. He held the box up, a sexy smirk twisting his lips. It shook slightly, and the vulnerability made everything in her turn to mush. The box was too big to be a ring, but she knew enough couples in the lifestyle to know what lay inside.
Slowly, he opened the box. On a bed of red velvet, a gold chain with an elaborate “R” gleamed in the light. Little amethysts, her birthstone, twinkled along the chain. For those within the lifestyle, the collar took the place of a ring.
When Rock spoke, his voice was soft and low. “Will you marry me, Annabella Clayton?”
Eyes stinging, she covered her mouth with her hand. Three years she’d loved him, wishing she could have spent her life with him. Six years had passed since then. How did he make her feel as if it had been a lifetime, and yet as if no time had passed between them at all?
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.” His voice was soft and tender. “I’m never, never letting you get away again.” His hand smoothed her hair back off her cheek. “I’ll spend the rest of my life making you the happiest woman in the world.”
She wanted to say yes but her throat was too tight, so she nodded instead.
“Words, girl.” His eyes sparkled.
Ella sniffed and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him close. Love for him swelled until she thought her heart would burst. “Yes, Rock. So much, yes.”
* * * * *
The next morning, Ella let herself into her father’s office. Dad wouldn’t be coming by until later, thank God. She would have to tell them eventually. Her stomach tightened. She was going to marry Rock, the one man she’d always loved, but how would she avoid world war three when she broke the news?
At a knock on the door broke her thoughts and she looked up in the midst of hunting up the file. “Come in.”
Dad’s secretary entered and crossed the room handing her an envelope. “A gentleman dropped off a package for you this morning, Miss Clayton.”
Ella studied the envelope. The front had “urgent” stamped across it in red.
“When did this show up?”
“About twenty minutes ago, Ma’am.”
Brows scrunched, she checked the address and her blood iced over. J.W. Holdings, Scalder.
Once the secretary left, she tore open the letter and drew out the contents. Two large eight by ten snapshots.
The blood drained from Ella’s face. “Son of a bitch.”
Both photos showed a picture of Ella, from the side, stark naked and tied to a tree. Rock stood behind her, a fist full of her hair in one hand and the cane in the other.
“Shit. We’re screwed.”
CHAPTER 18: OUT OF TIME
Ella’s mind raced. She gripped the pictures, resisting the urge to crumple them. Rock had told her before, evidence in a case needed to remain as close to the way one originally found it as possible.
She cursed and pushed ran her hands through her hair. Dad and Shayla both knew about her lifestyle, but they would never forgive her for this. Both would blame her for being so careless. Her, and Rock.
Hands shaking, she pulled her phone out of the pocket of her pants. He must have had us followed. But she couldn’t think of that now. She’d have to call Rock and tell him. Scalder hadn’t stated terms, but she could well imagine what they were. Sell him the company or these photos would go to the media. She and Rock were out of t
ime. They needed something on him and they needed it now.
Ella was about to put in the call to Rock when the phone rang making her jump and nearly drop it. She looked at the screen. Scalder. She swallowed and answered the call.
“Clever tactic with those pictures, Scalder.”
He gave a genial chuckle. “I got lucky. I know a good private investigator.”
“State your terms or hang up.”
“Ohh, testy. All right, surrender Clayton Enterprises by five o’clock tomorrow afternoon or the world sees a whole other side of you and the lawyer. One I don’t think you want to share.”
Ella clenched her fist around the phone. “Tell me something, you prick. What did you get on the Mosses? I know you wouldn’t have done this if you didn’t have something on us both, otherwise you’d tip your hand to them.”
“Oh, they were a lot easier, sad to say. Infidelity’s an explosive thing, Miss Clayton. People have a habit of hating a man who cheats on his wife, no matter how justified the man thinks he is, and you’d be shocked to see what Mr. Moss was willing to give up to avoid his people seeing evidence of it.”
Anger coiled in her gut. Mike would have died before he cheated on Judy. She didn’t know how Scalder could have such evidence, but she had no doubt it was a lie. Her fingernails bit into her palm. Had Mike already signed anything? Had he sold to Scalder?
Ella wanted to tell Scalder to go fuck himself, but she knew she needed time. She put on her best defeated voice. “I’ll consider your offer, but please don’t do anything until I refuse.”
“Done. Remember, sign the papers in the envelope by five tomorrow or those photos end up in every paper from here to New York City.”
The phone clicked as he hung up. Ella drew a deep breath. Tomorrow. One day. She looked at her watch, 8:00 AM. She and Rock had thirty-two hours. Shoving the pictures back in the envelope, she called Rock.
“I know,” Rock said when Ella told him about the photos. “I got the same ones. Bastard. I’ll be over to pick you up shortly.”
“Rock, we need to get him, now.” She hated that her voice shook.
“I know, sweetheart.”
“My father can’t handle losing the company he’s spent his whole life creating, and I refuse to let that slime ball turn my city into a cesspool of corruption.”
“Me too. Annabella, it’s going to be all right. I suggest we pay another visit to those people Scalder paid off in Kranton and see if we can’t get one of them to talk this time.”
“Okay, but we have to make another stop first.”
“Where?”
She told him quickly about the Mosses and Rock cursed.
“Mike wouldn’t cheat on Judy. He’d die first.”
“I know, but if Mike signed anything, Scalder might already have won, at least over them.”
“Then we need to get to them before they sign. Be ready in fifteen minutes. I’ll call Mike. Let’s hope he hasn’t put pen to paper yet.”
* * * * *
“Mike, Judy!” Rock slapped the elevator door aside and he and Ella tore down the hall after the Mosses, who were just locking up the office. “Wait, you two!”
Mike lifted his head and the smile he offered Rock looked strained.
“Morning,” Judy said, barely lifting a hand in a wave.
Rock’s blood boiled. Judy had never looked so defeated. “Tell me you didn’t sign anything that asshat gave you.”
“Not yet.” Mike’s gripped his keys with white knuckles. “We were going to take his offer to you first.”
Ella let out a breath and so did Rock.
“Good,” she said. “Please don’t do anything yet.”
“Why? He has us.” Judy shrugged.
Rock exchanged a look with Ella. “Judy, what exactly does he have? He told Annabella something about Mike cheating on you.”
Judy sighed. “He found this photo of Mike at a Christmas party last year. One of his old girlfriends jumped on his lap right as someone took the picture and kissed him before he could stop it. I saw it, so I know it’s not what it looks like, but we can’t prove it. Scalder’s using it against us, and we have no way to prove it’s not true.”
“You know how this town is,” Mike said. “Big on family values and Christian traditions. There are certain things you just don’t do.”
“We know,” Rock and Ella chimed at once.
“A man cheats on his wife here, and in the eyes of our investors he might as well commit career suicide.”
“Well, if we have any luck, no one will ever see that photo.” Rock clapped Mike’s shoulder. “Just give us until five tomorrow. Don’t sign anything until you hear from us, okay?”
“What the hell are you gonna do?”
“With any luck, no one is going to have to worry about Scalder for a long, long time,” Ella said.
Outside Clayton Tower, Rock opened the passenger door of his car for Annabella.
“So, onto step two?” She looked at him hopefully.
“Yes.” Rock waited until she slid into the seat. “I already called Avery. His flight arrives at three and we’re picking him up at the airport.”
* * * * *
At nearly four that afternoon, Rock and Ella followed Avery’s Lincoln Town Car in their own rental on the two hour long trip out to Kranton. They pulled up to Mallgrove Estates, a high rise building owned by one of the men Scalder allegedly paid to turn a blind eyes on his illegal activities.
It took everything in Rock not to find the land developer and bury him in a very deep hole.
“So you’re sure you can get officers out here to protect this guy if he talks?” Ella shut the passenger door of the car and took Rock’s hand while they made their way up an immaculate walkway to the front door.
“Yes,” Avery said. “If this landlord’s life really is in danger—and by his reluctance to talk last time you were here, it is—I can ask for a detail to be placed on him. My supervisor won’t say no.”
“Good.” Rock rubbed Ella’s back, glad to see her relax a little. “The last thing we want to do is promise him help and then have to go back on it after he tells all.”
In minutes, the three of them stood in the landlord’s main floor office shaking hands with him.
“You’re certain you can make good on your promise?”
“Yes, sir.” Rock seated himself opposite the man’s desk and Ella followed suit. Avery stood beside them, hands clasped behind his back, feet apart. When the owner didn’t look convinced, the agent spoke up.
“If you tell us exactly what Scalder did and you’re willing to testify against him, the FBI will have protection on you within hours. I’ll stay with you until they arrive.”
The owner’s eyes widened. He lowered himself into his chair, took out a pen from a holder and turned it in his fingers for a long time. At last, he focused his attention back on them.
“Three years ago, Scalder bought this and two other estates out here. Myself and two other people he paid to keep quiet were tenants at the time, friends. In the first two months after he acquired the property, several people became violently ill, myself included.”
Rock leaned forward.
The owner turned the pen in his hands again. “Over time we came to believe it was something in the buildings making us sick, but when we reported it to Scalder, he blew us off. That’s when we started to investigate. We already knew a lot of his deals were shady. Eventually, I broke into a boiler room that wasn’t supposed to be locked.”
“What did you find?” Rock asked. He could feel the tension radiating off Ella and Avery.
‘Barrels. Dozens of them, with biohazard symbols on them.”
Rock heard Ella’s sharp intake of breath and his own face paled. “As in toxic waste?”
“Yes.” The owner thumped the desk and pushed to a stand running his hand over his thick, dark beard. “We learned he was storing toxic waste in all the buildings he owned here. We found at least one barrel was leaking and that�
�s what was making us sick. All of us knew the ramifications. If Scalder was caught, he’d be in prison for a long time, and if he discovered what we knew, he’d make sure we couldn’t talk.”
“What did you do?” Annabella asked.
“We discussed our options and agreed to pay the sheriff a visit the next day. Except, when we took the sheriff out to the sites, the barrels were gone.”
“Shit,” Rock muttered.
Ella shook her head. “Somehow he found out you knew.”
The landlord nodded. “Now we had no proof, so we tried to fight, to get someone to listen. Months went by as we worked to convince the building commissioner that Scalder was not the best thing for this town since sliced bread. We were all ready to go to court, and that’s when Scalder suddenly showed up, paying everyone’s medical bills like some concerned father of the year. Most of us were in dire straights due to the medical expenses piling up, so when Scalder offered us money—a lot of money…” He bowed his head in shame. “We took it and dropped the case.”
Rock sat back, letting out an empathetic sigh. He imagined Bob Trent’s bills would have been enough to force him into a buyout.
The owner shook his head. “You have to understand. We had families to provide for. He was too powerful. Legal and medical fees were killing us. We didn’t know how to fight him anymore.”
“Sir, this isn’t your fault.” Ella leaned over, waiting until he looked at her. “I know how it is, trust me. Scalder’s spent the last month trying to turn my life and the lives of others in Clayton-Moss upside down. He’s offered me a pretty sweet deal, and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t seriously consider taking it and just letting him have my father’s company.”
Pride filled Rock’s chest. Pride for her compassion, her willingness to fight for others and stand up for what was right.
The owner’s eyes widened at her words. “Miss Clayton, you can’t give into him. We should have kept on fighting. The man spreads corruption like a disease. Almost everyone is too afraid to fight him. If we had fought harder over the waste violation, we might have been able to get Scalder out of this town, and these properties would have new owners. Owners who care about the tenants’ welfare. If you let him run your town, I guarantee it won’t be long before people get hurt or worse. No, if you can stop him, you have to, no matter what it takes.”