"I'm sorry," Jenny sobbed in an apologetic voice. "This is all my fault."
I looked at her to see tears dripping from her eyes as she stared despondently at the floor. It made me even angrier at Bennett. He'd made Jenny feel responsible for this shit, when he was the only one to blame here.
"No!" I snapped out. "It's Bennett's fault," I added with a low snarl.
Just then the door to my office burst open and Angel rushed in. She saw the mess on the floor by my desk, looked at the hole I'd put in the wall. Then her eyes fell on Jenny, who was still kneeling on the floor in tears. Her eyes widened in surprise, and focused on me questioningly.
"Is...is everything okay in here?" she asked as she eyed me cautiously.
"No," I said harshly. "Nothing is okay right now." I turned to Jen. "I'm telling her." I needed Angel to know what was going on now. Her life and future were almost as tied up with Apex Ink as mine.
"But Gareth said-"
"That doesn't matter now," I interrupted her. "Angel needs to know," I added gently, not wanting her to think I was upset with her. "It affects her now." I went over to Jen and took her hand to help her up off the floor. I wrapped her up in my arms and held her close.
"Okay," she replied as she snuggled against me for comfort, "but Gareth said we should go up to your apartment in case the press shows up at the shop." Holy hell, I didn't even think of that possibility. This nightmare just kept getting worse.
"The press?" Angel asked as she stared at me in confusion. "And who the hell is Gareth?"
"Let's go upstairs to my place," I told her with resignation. "I'll tell you everything."
"Okay," she nodded, her eyes filled with worry and fear.
Suddenly, I was hit by a heaping dose of guilt, and I understood exactly why Jen felt that way over what Carter Bennett was doing to me. It was the same guilt I felt about Angel being sucked into this mess. I didn't want to drag her down with me. It was too late now, and as I took Jen's hand and led her up to my apartment with Angel close behind, I had a bad feeling that it was too late for a lot of things in my life.
**********
I watched Angel's face turn pale as she watched the newscast on Jen's phone while sitting on the sofa in my living room. I was on the other side of the room since I couldn't even bring myself to look at it again. Just hearing it was bad enough, and it made me feel ill.
I'd explained the situation that Jen and I were in, and how it got to this point. I hadn't seen Angel since I learned about Carter Bennett and how he was blackmailing Jenny. This was all news to her, and she was horrified, as she should be. This whole thing was fucked up.
"This must be why that woman canceled her appointment," Angel said with a frown as she handed the phone back to Jen, who was sitting next to her.
Jen blanched and looked at me guiltily. "You had a client cancel already because of this?" She pressed her lips together as she fought not to cry.
"Hey," I said softly and hurried over to kneel in front of her. I ran a knuckle down her cheek. "We're both victims here, remember? It's not your fault, Jen."
"I know," she said waveringly, "but I still feel guilty."
"I understand, honey." I somehow managed to give her a warm smile. "I really do." I cast a glance at Angel, catching her eye and giving her a pained expression.
She looked at me in exasperation. "Neither of you have a reason to feel guilty about anything."
"It doesn't change the fact that my problems are going to affect you, Angel." I sighed deeply. "This could destroy Apex Ink, and everything you've helped me work for."
"The key word here is 'could', Ford. It could. That doesn't mean it will." She put a hand on my shoulder. "Besides, I was your friend long before we started this place. I'll still be your friend, even if it's gone." Her face turned sad. "You were there for me when my family wrote me off, and I'll be here for you now. That's what friends do."
Her loyalty and friendship meant so much to me. I'd been more than happy to support her when she came out to her family, especially when they didn't react well. I was glad she was here for me now. I needed it.
Before I could thank her, the doorbell rang. I stood and hurried down the stairs to answer it. I was certain that it was Gareth, and I was desperate for him to tell me what to do right now. I felt angry, helpless, and more than anything, terrified.
I looked out through the peephole just to be sure. Gareth looked pissed, like more pissed than I'd ever seen him before. Part of me didn't want to answer the door. I eased the door open, and Gareth surged forward, the dark menace glittering in his eyes making him look dangerous and on the verge of actual violence. His black Dolce and Gabbana suit merely added to his intimidating demeanor. He pushed past me and started ranting as I followed him up the stairs.
"When I find the fucking bastard who leaked this shit, there'll be fucking hell to pay." His body was ridged with suppressed rage, his voice low and threatening as he continued. "...sick bastards playing with peoples lives like fucking cowards piss me the fuck off and-" His rant abruptly ended when he entered the living room and saw Angel sitting with Jenny. "Who are you?" he barked out at her, his eyes focusing on her fiercely. Angel and Jenny both withered under his dark dominating glower.
"That's my best friend, Angel Taroni," I answered for her, feeling my own anger rising again.
He turned his hard stare on me. "Did you tell her?" he asked angrily.
"I did," I answered unapologetically.
"I specifically requested you not to talk to anyone about the case." He stepped closer, his brows knitting in a scowl as anger turned his eyes black. "Do you want to go to prison, Ford?"
I crossed my arms and faced him head on, the Dom in me coming out to meet his dominating stare with one of my own. "She's my business partner, and this affects her now too. She needed to know, so I told her. If you don't like it, then you know where the door is, because I'm pretty sure that my money says I'm the one in charge here. Right?" I dropped my voice dangerously. "If you remember anything about me, then you'll remember that I'm not a man to be fucked with, and when I make a threat, it's not a bluff." I leaned forward for emphasis. "Ever."
Suddenly, the corner of Gareth's mouth turned up into a roguish grin. "I know," he replied as his eyes glittered with amusement. "I still have the slightly crooked nose to prove it, Ford." He nodded in acknowledgment of my victory, then abruptly moved on like it never happened. He turned to greet Angel.
"I'm Gareth Caxton, Ford's attorney." He held his hand out toward her with a charming smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Angel."
"Um...you too," Angel mumbled in confusion. She reached out and shook his hand with a stunned look on her face, thrown off by Gareth's sudden change in mood. It always amazed me how adaptable Gareth was, ebbing and flowing with any situation, and letting things go almost on demand. Apparently, that hadn't changed at all.
Angel looked at me questioningly. "Business partner? I'm just your employee, Ford."
"Technically," I admitted with a nod, "but you're so much more than that, Angel. Apex Ink wouldn't be here if it weren't for you, and if something happens to me, it'll be yours." I'd had my will in order since starting my business. My father was an estate lawyer, and he'd insisted I have a will, even if he didn't approve of my choice of business at the time three years ago.
"What?" she blurted out in shock.
What she didn't know was that I'd been planning on asking her to be my business partner officially for some time now. I'd just been so busy that I hadn't gotten around to it yet. It was just as well. I didn't want to drag her down with me right now.
"Just promise you won't start plotting my death, now that you know." I threw a grin at her.
"I...I don't know what to say," she said, still looking stunned.
"You don't have to say anything, Angel," I said. "You're the only person I'd trust it with if I wasn't here."
"Thanks, Ford." Angel's eyes glittered with emotion and gratitude.
I simply nodded and gave
her a warm smile, before turning to Gareth. We had more important things to worry about right now. "So what's the plan, Gareth?" I asked gravely. "I don't know what to do, or even know what the fuck is going on, and I'm terrified." My voice broke a little, and I was ashamed of my weakness, so I stared at the floor, not wanting to meet Gareth's eyes.
"Ford," Gareth said gently. "There's no shame in being afraid right now. I'd be more worried if you said you weren't. This is about as serious as it can get. Your life, as you know it, is at stake, and so is your future."
"Gee, that's comforting," I replied sarcastically as I took a seat between Jen and Angel.
"I'm just being honest with you," he said as he sat down on the edge of my recliner. He leaned his elbows on his knees and twined his fingers together. "But that doesn't mean we're helpless here. This case is bullshit, and I'll prove it, no matter how much Bennett may think he's gotten away with it. My investigator is looking at the evidence the police have, and he's looking discretely into Bennett too. If that bastard has tripped up somewhere he'll find it. I'm having him look into Sarina Wilkinson too. Bennett is probably blackmailing her in some way, or paying her off. If we can figure out which, maybe we can get her to recant her allegations."
"Sarina is a good person, Gareth," I said with a doubtful expression. "I highly doubt she'd do something like this for money."
"Ford." Gareth eyed me skeptically. "You'd be surprised how the offer of money can change a good person. Especially if it's an exorbitant amount."
I shrugged, not wanting to argue with him. He'd always been a lot more jaded than me, even as a teenager. I imagine his job didn't improve his trust in others any either.
"How are we going to deal with the press?" Jen asked. "Should we talk to them and set them straight? Ford's innocent and they should know. Maybe they can make sure everyone knows that before they ruin Ford's business and reputation. Isn't what they're doing called defamation? Ford can sue them over that, can't he?"
"If they were reporting blatant lies, yes," he answered her. "But all they reported were the facts. If ignorant people assume he's guilty, we can't do anything about that. All we can do is try to prove his innocence for the world to see. So until then I don't want anything said to the press. If they show up and start badgering you, you're going to keep your mouths shut."
"Is...is that a possibility?" I asked, horrified by the very idea of being hounded by reporters. I was a very private man. I didn't want that kind of attention in any form.
"It might," he admitted. "Especially if they figure out who your mother is."
"Holy fuck," I breathed out, feeling panicked. I didn't want to ruin my mother's reputation right along with mine. Guilt swamped me at that thought. Jen put her hand on my knee, and grabbed it in a death grip.
"I expect the police to insist on another interview in the next few days," he continued with a sympathetic expression. "Hopefully, my investigator will have something we can use by then to get this asinine case dismissed." He gave me a stern look. "So until I tell you otherwise, I want you to keep a low profile and stay out of sight up here."
"But the shop." I shook my head. "I need to work. I have clients and responsibilities."
"Ford," Gareth said gravely. "At this point, none of that matters."
I opened my mouth to argue, but he cut me off bluntly.
"If we don't focus on what's important right now, you won't have a business, Ford. Trust me. I'll get you out of this, but you have to do what I say, or I won't be able to do my job." He glanced at Angel and Jenny. "That includes anyone else who's close to you."
The girls nodded in immediate agreement, but I stared at him dubiously for a long moment. I didn't like the idea of hiding or giving up control over my life to someone else in a desperate situation like this. It went against every fiber of my being.
"Ford," Angel said reassuringly as she touched my arm. "I can run the shop. You know I can. You don't have to worry about it. You need to take care of yourself right now." She squeezed my arm. "I'll take care of the shop until you come back. Okay?"
She was right, and I did trust her with the shop completely. I just hated putting this all on her, and I felt guilty about it, but what choice did I have? I let out a harsh defeated sigh, then acquiesced. "Alright," I answered reluctantly.
"Okay," he nodded grimly. "I'll be in touch if anything changes, and I'll let you know when we'll need to meet with the detectives again. If I can, I'll try to give you a heads up when they get search warrants for your building too." He stood to leave. "Do you have any questions before I take off?"
We all shook our heads. I think we were all in too much of a daze to have a coherent thought at the moment.
"If you need me for anything, call me day or night." He nodded and let himself out. I was grateful. I didn't have the energy or the will to move right now. I put an arm around Jen and pulled her in against my side, needing her close. She snuggled into me with a soft sigh.
"I'm going to head back down to the shop, Ford," Angel announced as she stood to leave.
"Alight," I said dejectedly. "Thank you for doing this for me, Angel. I'll never forget it."
"You're welcome," she replied with a wan smile. She touched my shoulder briefly then walked out.
I scooped Jen up and set her in my lap, then burrowed my face against her neck as I held her tight. I breathed her in as I tried to get what little comfort I could find. Neither of us said a word. There was nothing to say to make this better, so we simply held each other. I savored every second, because I feared there was a very good chance now that every moment I had with Jen could be my last. I'd never hoped to be more wrong about something in my entire life.
**********
"We should order something to eat," Jen murmured softly in my arms. "We never ate any lunch."
We were curled up on the couch together with me spooned against her back as we lay on our sides. I'd been dozing in and out, refusing to move or let go of her for a while now. It'd probably been at least an hour.
"Alright," I agreed, not telling her that I didn't eat any breakfast either. I wasn't hungry then, or now for that matter, but she was right. I did need to eat, whether I felt like it or not. "But shouldn't you get back to work?"
"I'm not leaving you right now," she said desperately as she pulled my arms tighter around her. "They can live another day without me."
"Good," I murmured into her hair. I didn't want her to leave either.
"Do you want pizza or Chinese?"
"Pick what you want, honey," I said with little inflection. "I'll eat whatever you get."
She sat up, and I let her go reluctantly. I watched her reach for her phone. It was still where Angel had left it on the coffee table. I felt an irrational hatred for the damn thing, since it'd had that horrid video on it. Holy hell, I wished there was a rewind button for my life. I wish I'd never heard of that goddamn fetish dating site. Which led to the question I asked next.
"How did Bennett find out about Sarina?"
Jen paused and looked at me thoughtfully. "Well, from what I've read his company is into computers and security. He must have one hell of an IT department, and he probably has some unethical people who will do whatever he says whether it's legal or not." She sighed. "I don't think we're the first people he's targeted like this. From what I've seen on the Internet, anyone who crosses him finds themselves in some kind of legal or financial trouble. It can't be a coincidence."
"How does someone get away with all that?"
"Power, money, or connections." She looked at me sorrowfully. "Probably all three."
I lapsed into silence as I watched Jen find a restaurant on her phone's web browser, wondering if I stood a chance of getting out of this, given what I was up against. She called and ordered some food, and I was about to pull her back into my arms, when the doorbell rang.
Jen gasped. "Do you think that's the police again, or the press?" She looked at me fearfully. "What should we do?" she whispered.
; "I doubt it's the police again, honey." I sat up and gave her a quick hug. I didn't believe what I'd said, but I didn't want her freaking out like I was. Just the thought of the humiliation of being arrested and being locked in a cell again filled me with icy terror. "I'll go look, and if it's not someone I recognize, I won't answer it." I tried to sound confident and reassuring, even as my heart was pounding in my chest.
I forced myself to go downstairs, even though I didn't want to, and looked through the peephole. My heart felt like it stuttered to a stop when I recognized who was at my door. It was someone I never though I'd see here again. Fuck me. It was my father. He had to have seen the news report. Why the hell else would he be here now of all times? His face was unreadable. I couldn't tell if he was angry or what he was feeling. Either way I didn't want to talk to him. I was certain he thought I was guilty, and I didn't have it in me to deal with it right now. He rang the doorbell again, and I just stood there trying to decide what to do. Hadn't I dealt with enough shit already today?
"Ford?" Jen asked behind me. I glanced up the steps to see her approaching with a worried frown. "Who is it?"
"My dad," I whispered as she came up next to me and touched my arm.
Her eyes widened in surprise. She looked through the peephole herself. "What the hell?" she snapped out angrily, her eyes flashing blue fire. Then she pushed past me decisively and yanked the door open before I could even think to stop her.
"What do you want?" she asked him harshly as she glared at him.
He opened his mouth as a startled indignant expression crossed his features, but she interrupted him before he uttered a single sound.
"If you're here to berate your son for something you should know he'd never do in a million years, then you can get the fuck out of here right now."
I stared at the woman I loved in stunned awe. Holy fucking hell, she was amazing.
My father's face hardened. "I have every right to question my own son when I see him accused of rape all over the goddamn news." His voice was low and dangerous, and didn't affect Jen one bit. "And I've had about enough of you butting in where you don't belong, young woman."
An Act of Redemption: Order & Chaos Book 3 Page 7