Equity (Balance Sheet #3)

by Shannon Dermott

  “What is the plan?” Even though Matt wanted to keep his hands as clean as possible, I was sure they ran it by him before it was approved. They hadn’t called me about it. I’d talk to James once this was over.

  “They’ve tranquilized the two with whatever stuff they used on Bailey.” My fist balled. “From what Bailey said they let her up to use the restroom. Her story of events will change from there. She will claim there was a struggle where she and the camera guy went down. She landed on the camera, which happened to be perfectly positioned at his mouth.” He quirked a grin at me before his serious cop face came back. He continued to tell me what Bailey would tell the cops. The part I didn’t like was that we had to leave her there with those two and move away in order to make it look like she saved herself, tranquilizing her captors before contacting the police.

  “Is she okay with this? Is she okay?” I asked in a rush.

  Tongue in cheek, Matt shrugged. “As well as can be expected. She’s shaking, and Turner has kept her calm.”

  My fist ached and wanted to hit something. In order to hide the emotions that were on my face, I turned my attention to one of the monitors that showed real time what was happening inside. Comforting her should have been my job. I felt helpless hiding there in the truck. She didn’t need me, I told myself.

  Matt put a hand on my shoulder before patting me like a child. He walked away and I didn’t curse him for the gesture. He understood. And he didn’t gloat that I’d lost her to Turner like he had to me a couple of months back. That only made me like the guy more. Fuck, I’d hated him for kissing Bailey; now I respected him.

  The upside was morning would be here soon and it would be all over. I’d forgotten to ask Matt if they made the identity of the culprits. Before I could, the team and Turner came back. “It’s a go.”

  Not wanting Bailey to be alone with the pair any longer than necessary, I held off. We had to move the truck and my car before the cops showed up. Response time would be short and we didn’t want to pass them on their way in. So I shuffled out with Turner at my heels. I’d hoped the guy would remain in the truck. It was good I guess. I had questions for him.

  Chapter Eight

  When the door opened, a big blur of a man connected with my captor. I sucked in a breath even though I wasn’t out of danger. Kitty, despite the mask that covered her face, looked murderous. She turned and began to move quickly from the bed with scissors upraised.

  They’d decided to gag me to stanch any further comment from me during their video. I tried to warn Kalen, but my words were gargled and muffled. Tears leaked from my eyes. I felt helpless.

  I had no time to process how Kalen had found me before my room was flooded with bodies. I swore I saw Matt with his hands around Kitty’s neck. But then it was Turner’s kind face that filled my vision. My hand reached to push back the lock of brown hair that flopped into his face. I only saw for a second before my vision blurred again with tears. This time happy ones.

  His thumbs wiped them away before working my gag free. At the same time, I felt my binds loosen at my legs. I drew them to my side, trying to form a ball. Turner murmured words I didn’t understand before he turned to release my arm.

  I took the opportunity to look in the direction where I thought I saw Kalen. He stood there like a valiant knight, all beautiful and dangerous, as someone spoke to him. For the briefest of seconds, I thought his eyes found mine. Then Turner was back, blocking my view. When my arms were free I completed that ball. I gave into the grief, pain, relief and shame, and sobbed.

  Turner was at my back, stroking my hair, trying to give me comfort. Little did he know, his touch made me cry harder. When I finally opened my eyes, I looked to see the room still crowded. But when I glanced around, Kalen was gone. A pair of jean-clad legs stepped in my vision. With quick breaths, I looked up to find Matt staring down at me.

  My eyes closed on his pity. Matt was a cop, trained to interrogate. He no doubt caught me looking for Kalen. I sobbed again. The bed dipped and I was sandwiched between two guys who cared about me. But they weren’t the comfort I wanted.

  Matt brushed away strands of damp hair that were pressed to my face. “I know this is hard, but I need you to tell me everything.”

  This wasn’t something I relished. I just wanted to get far away. But I’d seen enough cop shows to know it wasn’t that easy. I would likely be repeating this tale numerous times before I could go home. And where was home?

  “I don’t remember much in the beginning. He, I think, came from behind with something sweet smelling in his hand and covered my mouth with it. After that, I woke up here.”

  Matt interrupted me. “When you woke up, how did you feel?”

  “A little sick and confused,” I admitted.

  Matt nodded. “Go on.”

  I proceeded to tell him everything as I remembered it, including my trip to the bathroom. I looked away when I mentioned how complacent I’d been allowing myself to be bound again without trying anything to free myself. Matt’s face held no judgment.

  Once I finished, Matt rubbed his knuckles across my cheek after he seemed to release a breath. “I’m glad you are okay.” He stared in my eyes a long time. “I have to go talk to some other people. Turner will stay with you.” He nodded at Turner who was still at my back.

  Rolling over, I buried my face in Turner’s chest and let him hold me while I let loose a second round of tears.

  My nightmare seemed to crawl on while we waited. I wasn’t allowed to leave. A guy I didn’t know came over and began to explain how I needed to modify my story if I wanted my captors to remain behind bars. I couldn’t tell the truth. I had to take the glory for my own rescue. When it was explained that they’d used some questionable methods to obtain the intel in order to find me, I understood all too well. Stories of rapist and murderers getting off on technicalities weren’t an infrequent occurrence.

  Although I could argue that two wrongs didn’t make a right, my anger was so close to the surface that I agreed. The story was that after I went to the bathroom and came back, I faked tripping. Stumbling into the guy, he came down and I landed with the camera between us. The girl got tangled up, and I reached for the injections of the knock-out stuff they’d given me. I got a lucky shot into the girl’s neck and another dose to the guy. Then I called the police.

  The worst part was they had to leave me alone with those two for me to call the police. They swore, they’d given the pair enough to keep them knocked out. But they armed me with the guy’s gun as protection. It was reasonable that I would have grabbed it after I saved myself. I left it on the night stand by the phone as I waited for the sirens.

  It wasn’t long. It was satisfying to watch the pair taken out of the room handcuffed to stretchers. They were still out cold as I tested my new story for the first time. The security guy said that the camera had enough evidence to prove I was, in fact, a victim. I wondered if they’d left the footage of Kalen storming in like a Highland warrior.

  Kalen, I hadn’t seen him since that first glance. He’d rescued me, but apparently he didn’t want anything to do with me. He’d done his duty, I guessed, because he would see saving me as his obligation.

  Although I’d been drugged and slept for a number of hours, I was still tired. After a grueling amount of time going over my story again and again, finally the police let EMTs look at the burn marks around my wrist and ankles where I’d tried to free myself. My dress was done for with the split up the middle. Thankfully, Kitty hadn’t cut all the way through before the cavalry showed up.

  This, however, wouldn’t be it. I’d been warned by the security team that I’d be taken to the police station. I shouldn’t be a suspect. According to my own story, I’d been kidnapped out of state without identification and means to obtain my own transportation. Thus for my own safety and protection, I would be taken in by local, state police or FBI. Once there, I needed to ask to call my lawyer if they dumbly tried to charge me. If they didn’t, I was still su
pposed to call the lawyer who would arrange a hotel for me. The police wouldn’t want me to leave town.

  The sky was bright blue when I finally left the local police station. FBI had been called in because it was a multistate crime. However, the evidence had been in my favor. I felt like I sleepwalked to my hotel room. The lawyer who showed up passed me a hotel room key once he pulled out front. It had to be a strong desire for a shower and sleep that had me remember the room number he’d given me.

  If the place had looked anything like the rat trap I’d come from, I might have not gone in. But this was upscale. I was certain I had Matt or Kalen, probably Kalen, to thank for it. It shouldn’t have surprised me in the least when I let myself in the room that Kalen stood there with his back to me.

  NINE

  Breaking the silence, I asked, “How is she?”

  Focused on the road, I got a shot of his stony face from my periphery. For a second, I thought he wasn’t going to speak. “She’s tough.”

  I stopped myself from saying, I know. “Did they –”

  “No,” he said, stopping me short of asking a question I didn’t really want to ask. Still, his answer was a relief.

  The lift of that heavy burden had me close my eyes for a brief moment. The next question I might have known the answer to if I’d stayed around long enough.

  “Did she know who they were?”

  “Yeah,” he answered. “It was some guy who was her acting supervisor on the audit.”

  A slew of curses left my lips. Turner continued undeterred. “She didn’t know the woman.”

  The truck ahead of us pulled into a deserted lot. I parked behind them, not bothering to wait for Turner to get out before I was shutting my own door and heading for the back of the truck.

  The door opened and Matt stepped out. “I know you have questions,” he said in greeting.

  He paused and I heard the hurried footsteps behind me.

  Once Turner and I were shoulder to shoulder, Matt began. “I’m sure Turner told you that Bailey wasn’t touched.” He paused with a pensive look while rubbing at his chin. “That’s not exactly true.” My spine stiffened. “The woman touched her but only her breast. Thankfully, we made it in time.” He turned a meaningful glance my way, admonishing me for my rash decision to charge in alone. “According to Bailey, the guy worked for her accounting firm. The girl, however, she didn’t know. With the simultaneous use of multiple computers, the picture your team got of the woman doesn’t match any of your employees with a picture currently on file.”

  “Wait, why would you have pictures of your employees?” Turner asked. There were tense lines from the furrows in his brows as he spoke.

  “We have multiple locations around the globe. Human Resources takes pictures of new employees for security and a way for employees not working in the same location to put a face to someone they are talking to.”

  That was as far as I was going to go into an explanation. This wasn’t as important as the million other questions that started to work their way into my mind. “If she wasn’t an employee—”

  Matt finished my thought. “Then there is still someone else out there who would be involved.”

  “Why would you say that?” Turner’s question almost made him sound like he wasn’t the sharpest of lads. However, he hadn’t yet worked in the business world.

  “Someone who works for me would have approved the bogus invoices and created the wires sending my money out to a numbered account that doesn’t belong to me.”

  Turner shoved a hand through his hair.

  Matt, however, wasn’t finished. “That’s not our only other problem.”

  ~~~

  I stood staring out into the growing sunlight waiting for Bailey. My team had alerted me she’d been released and the lawyer had dropped her off downstairs. I probably shouldn’t be here. Yet, I couldn’t stop myself from going to her room and using the key I had.

  When the lock clicked, I also couldn’t make myself turn around. There were so many things I wanted to say and do. I was still at a loss about having my own selfish questions answered or focusing on more important matters.

  At the faint click of the door closing, I stiffly said, “Are you really okay?”

  Her whispered yes barely carried to my ears. Still I didn’t turn around.

  “Kalen.” Her voice carried with volume this time. There was pain in the way she said my name. The kind that made me face her.

  “Now isn’t the time for that.” The sight of her was still breathtaking. Tendrils of hair hung loose around her face. My foot almost moved in her direction. Touching her would be a mistake, one that we couldn’t indulge. Her dress looked intact. However, based on the report I received, I knew that the girl had cut it from the hem nearly to her middle. Anger flared in me, making my words come out in a growl. “You have some decisions to make.”

  Her body froze and I knew she had misinterpreted my anger to be directed at her. I continued. “Once the media gets wind of this, they will swarm this place like minion ants. You don’t need to be near here when that happens. Your lawyer is on his way back to take a deposition.”

  Eyes like pools of white grew right in front of me. The instinct to protect kicked in. I wanted to hold her in my arms and tell her everything would be fine. That, however, wasn’t my job anymore.

  “The other problem is that you didn’t know the woman,” I stated.

  She shook her head. Her lips were sealed in a slight line of despair. And I wasn’t finished. I was going to shake her world even further. “She doesn’t appear to be an employee of mine.”

  I waited for that to sink in. And then I saw it. She began to crumble with the impact of my words. I moved to catch her in midair before she hit the floor.

  With her cheek pressed to my chest, she said the words. “This isn’t over. There could be someone else out there looking for me.”

  Turner walked in, having a key. For a second longer I held on. This wasn’t my room. It was theirs. Locking eyes with him, I released Bailey into his care.

  “I have an offer.”

  A knock came at the door, interrupting the rest of my statement. Apparently three wasn’t a party, we needed four. Matt walked in after Turner opened the door.

  “Have you told them?” he asked.

  Irritated, I held my tongue until I could calm it. “Matt and I think you should go somewhere no one would ever look for you. A place where the media can’t find you.” I glanced between Turner and Bailey. “I’m offering for you to come to Scotland with me.”

  Turner huffed. “Of course you are.”

  Instead of giving voice to my annoyance, I faced Bailey. “It’s the same offer from the other night. Turner is welcome to join us.”

  She glanced at him before giving me the full weight of guilt in her eyes. Gratefully, Matt jumped in. “There are advantages to leaving the country. Most likely this won’t make global news.”

  “Will they let me go?” she asked meekly, and I hated the weakness I heard in her voice. It wasn’t her being weak that bothered me. It was that this shit had happened and had taken a part of her she might not ever get back.

  “Your lawyer is a former prosecutor. He thinks that he can take a video deposition that will hold up in court during the grand jury phase if you are out of town. Remember, you aren’t on trial. They think they have enough evidence even without your testimony,” Matt said convincingly.

  He spoke of the video they had of her tied up as the damning evidence. I watched Bailey shrink before me. She withered as if a year were a second. I wanted to hold her, to reassure her. Turner was busy glaring at me. And I wanted to tell him he’s an arse for his jealousy at a time like this.

  “Can I think about this?” she asked.

  “Sure,” I said and crossed the room to the door. I had to get out before I said or did anything that betrayed my true feelings. I was dying inside that the girl I loved had chosen another. I didn’t look back because I couldn’t. If I saw any amoun
t of pleading in her eyes, I might have tossed her over my shoulder to take what was mine. It’s too late for that. She’d let Turner have her and I didn’t think I could ever forgive her for that.

  Chapter Ten

  The staccato beats of my heart were no rival for the turbulence of my emotions as I watched Kalen walk out the door, barely looking at me. Matt followed him. When I found Turner’s brown eyes, my heart wasn’t put at ease as it had been in the past.

  I licked my suddenly dry lips before biting the lower one, unable to come up with words. Thank goodness he easily read me and enfolded me in his embrace. In his warmth, I let out the torrent of emotions I hadn’t been able to free with all the people that had surrounded me since I’d been freed.

  It took a long time for me to surface from the fear that had drowned me.

  After accepting his gentle strokes of my hair and murmured words filled with love, I finally stepped out of the circle of his arms. “I’m sorry I got your shirt wet.” I sniffled and turned to find the bathroom to blow my nose.

  “Bailey,” he called out to me, but I kept walking.

  The sounds I made blowing into the tissue were certainly not pretty. However, I caught Turner standing with his forearm against the molding on the door, waiting for me.

  A noiseless crumple of tissue dropped in the trash did nothing to break the silence as he waited for me to say something. What could I say? There was so much, yet not enough that could explain the chaos in my heart.

  “I’m here whenever you’re ready.”

  I nodded and waited until he stepped back, giving me space to move into the main room. I dropped to sit on the bed, unable to stand with the weight of everything on my shoulders. Would he be angry if I told him I wanted to go with Kalen? Could I stand to be on a plane with Kalen, knowing he hated me?

  Slumped, I sat with my hands folded in my lap and studied the pattern of the carpet.

  “Should I go?” he asked quietly. He wasn’t referring to Kalen’s offer.