by Tia Siren
I nodded my head, not giving him my full trust but ready to hear him out. “Tell me.”
He dragged in a deep breath and his eyes suddenly turned sympathetic. “Your dad has been dealing with some shady characters, guys who have ties to organized crime.”
I opened my mouth to deny it, but he held up his hand, telling me to hold my denial.
“His company is struggling. The investor meeting was not going to go well. I have it on good authority there were several investors ready to pull out. I know your dad has been stealing product ideas and clients from several other companies. That list of products I gave you, those are mine, and somehow your father put together a presentation that outlined those same products as his own to show his investors.”
“I didn’t tell him anything!” I quickly said, defending myself.
“I know. That’s not the worst of it, Kendall. I’m so sorry. He set up an arrangement, paid money to those same bad guys to have you kidnapped and roughed up. He paid them to hurt you. They were given the freedom to do as they pleased. You could have been raped or even killed. The idea was to frame me for the crime. He’d get the news you had been kidnapped and have to leave, buying him time with the investors until he could get the products away from my company while I sat in jail. My company would go bankrupt and he would be at the top of the food chain once again.”
I stared at him, completely speechless. It was a horrible story. I couldn’t believe he could even think of something so disgusting. He was a sick man, and I was cooped up in a hotel with him. I had been living with him for two weeks. The thought made me nauseous.
I looked down at the plate of breakfast and nearly threw up. “I don’t want this,” I whispered, pushing it away.
He rose from the bed, taking the tray and putting it on the floor before climbing back onto the bed. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this.”
“You’re lying. My father would never do that!”
He shook his head, sadness in his eyes. “He did. My investigator is working on getting the proof right now.”
“Why would you do this, Dylan?” I seethed. “This is a very elaborate scheme. You could have simply fired me instead of kidnapping me and taking me out of state. How dare you accuse my father of such horrid crimes when you’re the one doing the kidnapping!”
“I didn’t kidnap you! I was trying to keep you safe. The kidnapping was supposed to happen yesterday during your father’s investor meeting. He wanted the meeting interrupted!”
I shook my head. “You’re lying. I don’t believe you. You’re the one who has been stealing from my father all these years. His company is in trouble because you outbid him and used shady tactics to get the rights to products he had been working on. You’re the bad guy!” I shouted, rolling to the other side of the bed and standing.
“I’m not. Every product I have launched has either come out of my R&D department or I bought it fair and square from a developer. I’m not a dirty businessman, Kendall. I think you know that is not who I am.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know you at all,” I whispered.
I didn’t want to be anywhere near the man. I didn’t know what to believe anymore. Something deep inside told me my dad was capable of doing what Dylan had described. I couldn’t imagine him doing it to me, though. It couldn’t be right.
“Kendall, you know me. You’ve lived with me for two weeks. Trust your instincts,” he said, rising to his feet and facing me across the bed. “I’m not the kind of man who steals. Nor do I have to to be successful.”
“I want to go home. Let’s forget any of this happened. I just want to go home. I’ll book my flight and we’ll never have to see each other again.”
He shook his head. “I can’t let you do that. Not yet. Not until I know you’ll be safe. We’ll use my helicopter or jet. It’s safer.”
“Why do you care?” I shouted. “You don’t like me, you hate my father, and you want to destroy his company, which is going to be mine someday!”
“It isn’t like that.”
“I quit. I’m sorry I asked you to hire me. You’re right, that was wrong, but what you’ve been doing the past few years is worse. I don’t want anything to do with any of this anymore. I don’t want my father’s company. He can have it. I just want out. I’ll move to LA and work there. I’ll build my own company!”
I was rambling. I knew that. I felt completely irrational. I had no idea who I could trust, and it was making me crazy. The things Dylan had accused my father of were ludicrous. My father loved me.
“Kendall, please, calm down. We’ll stay here where were safe and wait until we hear more. My PI is very effective. He’ll get to the bottom of this and we can figure out what to do then. Trust me when I say my main goal is keeping you safe. I don’t care about the products or the companies. I want you safe.” His voice was low, and I could see the strain on his face.
I couldn’t stand to look at him another second. Seeing him was confusing me even more. I stomped toward the bathroom, slamming the door behind me and locking it. It was childish. I didn’t care. I wanted to hide from the world.
“Kendall, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to be the one to tell you. I know you don’t believe me. You have no reason to, but I’m going to ask you do it anyway.”
Glaring at the door, my frustration grew. Looking for something to throw, I picked up the tube of toothpaste and chucked it at the door. It made a soft thumping noise. Not exactly the booming sound I was going for, but it made me feel better.
I sat down on the toilet, buried my face in my hands, and cried. When had my life turned into a soap opera? Deceit and lies at every turn, and one very hot man at the center of it all.
Chapter Twenty-One
Dylan
Sunday
The fact that Kendall was still in the hotel told me she believed me a little at least. I had heard her try to call her father several times. I had no idea if she was able to talk to him but assumed she hadn’t. I had no choice but to assume because she hadn’t spoken to me since she had locked herself in the bathroom. I could live with that. I couldn’t live with her hurt or worse. I would take her ire any day of the week if it meant she was safe.
I knocked on the door to her bedroom. “Lunch is here.”
She didn’t answer, but honestly, I hadn’t really expected her to. I had hurt her feelings and pissed her off at the same time. But it wasn’t going to do me any good to stand outside the door, begging her to open it, so I gave up and walked back to my own room and called Jonathan.
“Any update?”
“I was just getting ready to call you. Adams Enterprises is going to collapse. Investors are pulling out and rumor has it the stock is going to plummet when the market opens tomorrow.”
“Why?”
“The guy has been building a house of cards. Investors are onto him now and are pulling out before they lose everything. That’s not why I was going to call you though. Things have gotten worse. He’s pretty desperate now. I found another transaction on one of his accounts. He withdrew a large sum of money yesterday.”
I rubbed a hand over my face. “What does that mean?”
Jonathan cleared his throat. “I think the danger to Kendall, you, and even your company is increasing. The money went to his connection—the same connection that was paid to kidnap Kendall.”
“Shit.”
“Exactly.”
“Do you have the evidence?” I asked, feeling anxious and wanting to bust through Kendall’s room and wrap her in my arms.
“I don’t, but I’m trying. It isn’t like I can ask my guy to go to the cops and tell them what we know.”
“I can,” I blurted out.
“What?”
“I can call the police and tip them off. I don’t care if they know who I am. This guy has to be stopped.”
“I’ll keep working on my end. You do what you need to do.”
I hung up the phone, did a quick search for the New York Police Department,
and, after several transfers, was finally connected to a detective who pretended to care about what I was saying. It would have to do.
With my phone calls done, I went back to the living room, pacing, wanting like hell to talk to Kendall but not wanting to risk pissing her off and sending her running out the door.
“Dylan?”
Her voice startled me. I spun around. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Can we talk for a minute?”
“Yes, please,” I said, walking toward her.
She stepped away and took a seat in one of the chairs. I sat on the couch, my hands on my knees, leaning forward.
“I’ve tried to call my dad several times. He didn’t answer and now his phone is going straight to voice mail. That isn’t like him. I spoke with his assistant. She said he flew into a rage after the meeting yesterday and left the office. No one has heard from him since, which is really not like him.”
“I’m sorry, Kendall. I really am. I didn’t want him to do this. This is not something I wanted to be right about.”
She looked like she hadn’t slept all night. There were dark circles under her eyes and she looked a little pale.
“I don’t know that you are right. I don’t want to believe it. Have you learned anything more?”
I dreaded what I had to tell her, but she had to know. I needed her to know how serious the situation was.
“I have.”
“And?”
“And it’s worse. He paid that guy more money. My PI thinks you’re in serious danger, and I could be as well.”
She was shaking her head. “I don’t understand why he would do this. He loves me!”
“I don’t know. I really don’t. I’m so sorry,” I apologized.
“I was led to believe you were the one who was stealing trade secrets and being underhanded,” she whispered. “I never suspected my father, though he has been acting a little strange as of late.”
“How?” I asked, hoping she would have information, evidence I needed to send the police his way.
She sighed and shrugged a shoulder. “He sent me to you for starters. He’s the one who demanded I get close to you.”
She didn’t have to say what that meant. I knew. It pissed me off that he would treat his daughter like a common whore. That wasn’t fatherly love.
“I’m sorry.”
“I should really get back and try to figure out what’s going on.”
I grimaced. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“I can’t hide here forever, and I certainly can’t hide here after what I did to you.”
“You didn’t do anything to me. I knew from the beginning who you were,” I assured her.
She jumped out of the chair. “Why would you want me around then? My dad is dangerous, and he hates you. If he’s as unstable as you say he is, you’re the one who’s in danger. You should be running from me.”
“I’m not running from you. I want you safe.”
She was furiously pacing around the room. “I don’t get it. You know who I am and what I was doing. Why are you trying to protect me from the man who sent me to deceive you?”
I shrugged a shoulder. “Because I’m not the kind of guy who’s going to seek revenge on an innocent person. You aren’t the one stealing products and trying to take me down.”
“Uh, I’m the one standing here with you. I’m the one who worked in your company. I’m not exactly innocent.”
I shrugged a shoulder. “Under his orders. You didn’t know then, but you know now.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know what to think or who to believe.”
“Believe me. You’ve gotten to know me. Come on, I’m not dangerous or evil,” I insisted.
“This is all such a mess. We have to go back. We can’t hide out here forever. I want to find my dad and ask him what the hell is going on. He owes me an explanation. I want to ask him to his face what’s going on. I don’t really know you at all.”
“It isn’t safe,” I insisted. “I don’t mean to insult you, and I’m sorry, but your father is evil and dangerous. You can’t trust him. Please, listen to me.”
Her eyes were on me, and for a brief second, I could see her willingness to believe me. It was fleeting. In an instant, her guard went up and I knew I had lost.
“Dylan, thank you for everything, but I need to go back. I truly appreciate the fact that you were trying to protect me, but this is over and done.”
I shook my head, standing to walk to her, wanting to comfort her. She shot me a look that said to stay away. I obeyed.
“I can’t do that.”
One hand went to her perfectly shaped hip as her gaze narrowed. “How do I know you aren’t the one kidnapping me? You know, the more I think about it, I think it is you. You squirreled me away to another state. My dad’s little freak-out could be because he thinks you kidnapped me! You created this asinine story to keep me here and turn me against my father.”
“Really?” I answered dryly. “You’re free to go at any time. I want to keep you safe. That is the only reason I brought you here. I don’t need to kidnap anyone, and I don’t care whether you turn against your dad or not. I only want you to know about the danger.”
“Fine. Then take me back.”
I could feel my own temper rising. “I can’t believe you’re accusing me of kidnapping you. I’m not the one who’s been lying for weeks. I’m not the one trying to steal anything.”
She looked like I had slapped her for a brief second before her shoulders went back and her chin went up. “I’ve stolen nothing. I don’t trust you. You’re throwing out a lot of accusations with no proof. I’ve known you are the bad guy for a long time. A leopard can’t change his spots!”
“I’m not the leopard!” I growled. “I don’t need to change my spots!”
As soon as the words were out, I realized how ridiculous they sounded. Judging by the look on her face, she felt the same way.
“I guess time will tell, won’t it? Take. Me. Back.”
“Fine, but I want you to stick with me. I can hire security and keep you safe.”
“No.”
“Kendall, you’re being ridiculous. You’re in danger!”
“So you say. I want to go home. I’m done with you and all this,” she said, waving her arms wide.
I said the first thing that came to mind. “You signed a contract when I hired you. You’re my personal assistant, day and night, every damn day!”
She shook her head, laughing. “Screw your contract. Quite frankly, you can take that contract and shove it.”
My eyes widened. “Excuse me?”
“Guess what, Dylan? I’m not really the girl you hired. I signed with a fake name. And if you want to sue me, go right ahead. I have money. Not as much as you, but I am quite wealthy in my own right.”
“I don’t want to sue you!”
The woman was too stubborn for her own good.
“Dylan, this thing you’re doing, we’re doing, it isn’t real. You don’t have to pretend to be the knight in shining armor. I already know it’s all a game. You were playing me. I was playing you. We’ll go back to the city and back to our own lives. We don’t have to see each other again.”
I took a few seconds to think about it, realizing she wasn’t going to change her mind. She was unreasonable. You couldn’t reason with someone who refused to see the truth. Continuing to argue with her was only going to make things worse.
“Fine. I’ll order the helicopter.”
“Good.”
She stomped back to her room, slamming the door behind her. I quickly made the call, hating that I was giving in, but I didn’t want her to think I was the one doing the kidnapping. I knew I was right. She had to see it for herself to believe me. It was the only way I could gain her trust.
Thirty minutes later, we checked out, heading to the helicopter in silence, wearing the same clothes we had worn the day before. I wasn’t sure why I had thought I could distract
her with some shopping and sightseeing. I should have known it would end like this.
The ride back to the office building was tense. I was expecting a firing squad to greet us on the roof or her angry father to be there with his mob buddies. We landed, and as we headed toward the lobby of the building via the elevator, I tried one more time to talk some sense into her.
“Leave me alone, Dylan,” she said with exasperation, her big, dark sunglasses in place as she strode through the lobby of my building looking like the daughter of a millionaire for the first time.
“Kendall, you have my number. Call me, day or night, if you need anything.”
“I don’t need a damn thing from you,” she shot back. She walked out the door without looking back.
My stomach was in knots, knowing she was headed straight into the mouth of danger without realizing it. I couldn’t control her. I never could. It was an illusion I had bought into. Now that her real identity was out there, she could be the wealthy heiress of a billion-dollar company and demand the power that went along with that title. Her power was going to be short-lived, whether she chose to believe it or not.
I would be there when she realized I hadn’t been lying, that I was the one who was truly trying to protect her.
In the meantime, I needed to get a security team hired for both my homes. I wasn’t exactly a pansy, but I wasn’t foolish enough to believe I could win a round with mob hitmen.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kendall
Sunday
I couldn’t believe the audacity of the man. He had literally kidnapped me and locked me up in a hotel. I was fuming by the time the taxi dropped me off in front of Vanessa’s building. My dad still wasn’t answering his phone and I wasn’t ready to go to his townhouse. Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I believed a little of what Dylan had said, as much as I didn’t want to and I didn’t want to walk into a trap.
I waited for Vanessa to hit the button for me to enter and rushed to her apartment.