The Enforcer

by HelenKay Dimon

  She smiled at him. “Do you trust me?”

  Loved her and was desperate to protect her from the horrible disaster she was about to invite into their lives. “More than anyone.”

  “And I trust you.” She leaned in and kissed him again. There was nothing short or sweet about this kiss. It blinded and disarmed. When she pulled back her lips were red and full. “We can figure this out.”

  “Kayla.” God, he would give her anything. But this?

  “Please.”

  Her determination overwhelmed him. He could feel his life splintering apart. The only way he knew to repair that was to try to control it. “You know I’m going to want a strategy and to have Wren on board. He’s a fixer. We might need him to step in and handle the fallout, and he’ll have to be ready.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you.”

  His heart flipped over. “Then don’t leave me.”

  “Never.”

  Chapter 32

  Kayla dreaded dealing with this, being there today, the conversation—everything. This was about closure. For her and for Paul. She’d insisted she had no choice and still believed in that, but facing her past now nearly dropped her to her knees.

  She probably would have fallen right there in the middle of Matthias’s room at the inn, but he’d never let that happen. He’d stood beside her, letting her lean against him. Ready to catch her because that’s what he did.

  He’d argued against her divulging her secret, now, after all these years. He wanted her safe and free. She understood the extreme risk here, and that she likely would be dragged into another police station and interrogated. She’d explain about Doug and what he did and his threats and how he lunged at her that day . . . just as a part of her hoped he would.

  There were excuses and explanations, but the bottom line was the same—she had killed him and gone to see him knowing that might happen. Now she had to figure out a way to live with herself. That was the only chance she had of a future with Matthias. And she desperately wanted one of those.

  Paul walked to the far side of the room and turned around to face her. Getting him to meet her here hadn’t been hard, not after Matthias worked his magic and made sure the kid wouldn’t spend a minute in jail. But looking into those eyes so filled with wariness, she wasn’t sure what to say. She’d practiced a speech but the words fell away when confronted with a person instead of a bathroom mirror.

  Paul erased the opening-line jitters by talking. “I heard about what happened on the boat.”

  She still couldn’t deal with the memory of those harrowing minutes without breaking into a full-body sweat. Hopefully someday, but not yet. Her past had put Lauren in danger. Matthias risked his life to step in. There’d been so much destruction, all because Mary wanted vengeance on the wrong person.

  Rather than explaining any of that, Kayla told the simple truth. “It wasn’t a great night.”

  Paul’s eyes narrowed. “You’re okay?”

  “Yes, but a few days ago you might have considered that bad news.”

  “I get why you think that.” Paul leaned back against the wall with his hands behind him. “But I was never going to hurt you.”

  “Then what was the plan?” Matthias slipped his arm around her and balanced a hand on her lower back.

  “Scare her. Get information . . . I dunno.”

  Matthias shifted again, this time to angle his body in front of hers. Not fully but he’d morphed into protector mode. “Terrifying her made her more likely to run than answer any questions.”

  Kayla glanced at him, hoping to send a silent message. She hadn’t asked for the meeting as a way to scare or warn Paul. They needed to step carefully here.

  “I’d been told . . .” Paul shook his head. “Forget it. Doesn’t matter.”

  “It kind of does.” After all, they were talking about her life. Every move had been dissected and analyzed over the years. She’d been tracked and threatened. Every ounce of stability had been robbed from her. She accepted a huge portion of the responsibility for how her life had spun out, but there was a lot of information she didn’t know. So, if he had insight, she wanted him to speak.

  “I thought I might find something in your apartment. Some sign of Doug. Some information about his whereabouts or confirmation that you guys were in contact.” Paul looked everywhere but at her as he said the words.

  Matthias sighed, as if he’d run out of his last drop of patience. “That wouldn’t be a very wise move for a scheming killer, would it?”

  “I didn’t know what she was. I knew what I’d heard.”

  Kayla could guess from where but Matthias didn’t need her to belabor this topic. He’d been sifting through all of her choices and threats for days now. He’d handled enough.

  On this one issue, she’d tried to take the lead. “From Mary Patterson. Enough said on that. Look, Paul—”

  “It’s Ben.” He threw her a half smile. “Please use my real name. I actually miss being me.”

  “Right.” For a second she’d forgotten. Seeing him one way for weeks then trying to merge him into another person in her mind turned out to be harder than she expected. “Sorry.”

  Paul, now Ben again, pushed off from the wall and came to stand in front of them. “Just tell me.”

  The time had come. A swell of indecision hit her. It hugged her chest in a vise. She wanted to push his comment away and keep talking about easy things like names. “I don’t know what you’re—”

  “He did it, didn’t he?”

  Her throat closed and a banging headache echoed in her brain. He’d made it so easy. All she had to do was agree, but for some reason she couldn’t open her mouth. Panic flowed through, overwhelming everything else.

  She looked up at Matthias, looking for guidance. He nodded and the hand on her back began to move. It brushed over her, calming her. It was a subtle reminder that he was there for her.

  The strategy shouldn’t work, but it did. The fierce tightness in her neck eased enough for her to swallow. “Yes, Ben. He killed all three of them.”

  She’d said that sentence so many times in the beginning. She told her dad and the investigator. She repeated it until people turned it on her and tagged Doug as her accomplice. After that, she stopped talking at all.

  Now reality crushed her. The truth sat right there. Doug, in a fit of anger or just to prove he could or to punish her—any or all of those—killed three of her friends. Swept in and destroyed them before they could fight back. She still wasn’t sure how. They all would have fought back, which suggested to her that Doug launched a sneak attack. That fit with the coward she knew.

  As she ran through it all in her mind, Ben stood there. Silence thumped around them. No one moved and she could not think of a single helpful word to say, so she didn’t even try.

  After a few seconds, Ben shifted his weight. His gaze searched her face then he glanced at Matthias. By the time he looked back at her again, Ben’s face didn’t show any emotion. “Did you know he was going to do it?”

  “I don’t even think he knew. That’s how his personality worked. He would be fine one minute then rage the next.” It was more than a bad temper, which was the excuse everyone used to explain his anger away. It wasn’t a minor thing. He lost control over nothing. A violent energy swirled around him whenever anyone questioned him in any way. Nick and Steve had hated Doug.

  “But something happened that day.”

  If only the answer were that clear. “I’m honestly not sure what set him off that day compared to any other day. Not exactly.”

  “Something about you?”

  Matthias started to answer, but she put the back of her hand against his chest and he stopped. Ben wanted to understand. She got it because so did she. “Probably. See, I didn’t actually put it all together at first. I was too stunned to think about who killed them while I was still reeling from what I’d seen. Then I heard about the cigarettes, talked with Doug about the deaths and got a stran
ge vibe from his reaction. It didn’t take long for me to know with absolute certainty that he did it.”

  “The police said the cigarettes could have been there for a long time.”

  She’d heard the story, and maybe that’s how forensics worked, but the timing explanation wasn’t true. A defense attorney might depend on it to create reasonable doubt. God knew the second the excuse came out it became gospel. “When we broke up I went into this weird sort of frenzy. I went all over the house removing any sign of him. Nick and Steve helped, and we searched outside and . . .”

  Matthias nodded, supporting her and holding her just as she needed him to do. “Go ahead.”

  “Doug always smoked under that tree. After we broke up, I saw him standing out there, watching my window.” Sometimes right after dinner. Other times she’d wake up with this odd sense of discomfort and find him there.

  His presence proved to be a silent vow that he owned her. Only he could decide if they were over. It was abusive and suffocating and she’d blocked so much of that part that when it rushed back on her now it plowed right into her chest. He’d warned her and she’d assumed his goal was fear. He’d certainly achieved that but even she hadn’t been prepared for the killing rage.

  “So this was all about you dumping him?” Ben shook his head as if the explanation didn’t make sense.

  She understood the confusion, too. Ben acted and thought like a rational person. He knew people broke up in college, got upset and moved on. But there was nothing about the way Doug reacted to what he viewed as bad news that could ever be considered usual or healthy. “There were two sides to your brother. He liked sports and parties and could skip classes but still pick up everything. He could be charming and funny. I know because that was part of what attracted me to him.”

  Matthias’s thumb kept running over her back, keeping her panic from spiking. “And the other side?”

  “When someone embarrassed him or questioned him, something happened.” She didn’t even know how to explain the way fear would paralyze her when Doug’s mood shifted. “He couldn’t stand being challenged or wrong. This anger would sweep over him. It was as if this evil took hold of him and he’d get mean and wild. Throw things, grab me.”

  Ben wiped a hand over his face and continued to shake his head. Whatever was happening inside him, he clearly had trouble taking in all he heard. “That’s shitty but it’s not murder.”

  “He escalated. I should have called the police, but I thought I could handle him.” She tried to breathe but the air wouldn’t fill her lungs. “I cleaned the cigarettes the day before the murders. They were there right after. I guess he’d been watching us again.”

  “You didn’t know that side of Doug?” Matthias asked Ben.

  “The temper, sure. He could be mean.” Ben stopped there. For a few seconds he didn’t say anything else. When he finally started talking, the blank look had disappeared. His face pulled taut with stress and his voice shook. “My parents sent him to boarding school. My mom had trouble controlling him and my father traveled a lot.”

  She had to say it. The last thing that would lead to her ultimate sin. “He told me he left me alive to teach me a lesson.”

  “You’re telling me that because he’s dead.” Ben delivered the comment without any question in his voice.

  She hadn’t said the words. Hearing them from Ben had her reaching over and touching Matthias’s side. A second later he slipped his hand from around her back and slid his fingers through hers. “I don’t—”

  “I’m not asking.” Ben held up a hand even as he stared at the floor. “The use of the past tense. We got a message that he was going hiking, which he often did, but no calls or status checks. He disappeared. Combine all that and it seems obvious now.”

  “I’m so—”

  “Don’t say anything else.” His head came up and he looked at her then. “I’m thinking I know what I need to know.”

  That quick she was thrown back to the moment. She could see Doug standing in front of her and remember the weight of the gun. She could pretend she didn’t mean to kill him, but she’d taken the weapon with her and that fact would always condemn her. “Are you going to go to the police?”

  The wait for Ben’s response seemed to tick on for an eternity. Kayla felt her insides shrivel. Every part of her deflated as she waited for the final blow to land.

  “Maybe we’ve all had enough?” Ben almost whispered the response.

  For a second she thought her brain had filled in the answer she wanted, the one that left her off the hook and stopped her from having to defend herself. Then she shook her head, sure she’d misheard. But Matthias’s shoulders fell as some of the tension choking the room eased. She swore she could hear the breath whoosh right out of him.

  “That’s a big statement,” Matthias said.

  “I can blow this up and drag us all through it, but for what end? I can remember him as I saw him, as his twelve-year-old baby brother. He was smart, detached, fun at times and difficult at others.”

  The words bounced off her. She could hear them but the shield she’d erected, the one to protect her from when Ben inevitably unloaded, kept her from processing the words. It was as if her brain clicked in a minute or two behind the actual conversation.

  “He was also violent as fuck,” Matthias said.

  Ben exhaled. “If I don’t dig, I don’t have to deal with that.”

  This couldn’t be happening; she never got lucky. Not ever. This time she didn’t deserve the fortune. But just because Ben might be ready to move didn’t mean anyone else in his family would. “What about your parents?”

  “It’s over for them. After the allegations came to light they shut down. Then Doug disappeared and it was like they just accepted it in silence. As if it was easier than dealing with the potential monster they’d created.” Ben let out a harsh laugh. “No wonder they never wanted to talk about him.”

  Matthias squeezed her fingers but kept his focus on Ben. “So, now what?”

  “My parents think I’m at Georgetown, so I should get there.” Ben reached in his pocket and took out his keys.

  Before he could leave, she stepped in front of him. She should say something, apologize. They’d basically silently agreed to not discuss Doug’s death. Ben was letting her walk away without taking any legal responsibility. The thought humbled her. It was a gift she’d never be able to repay.

  She reached out but dropped her hand before she actually touched him. “Tell me what else I can do for you.”

  “You’ve done it.” His voice cracked as he talked.

  “Closure.” The word broke something inside her. The heaviness that had dragged her every step for seven years started to lift. A ray of light shone underneath. “You’re letting me live my life.”

  “It sounds like you’ve earned it.”

  An hour later Kayla still sat on the couch in the room Matthias never intended to stay in. Ben had said a few more words and they’d exchanged contact information. Little did the kid know Matthias already had it thanks to the investigation. But after all the goodbyes and the stunning end to the horrible tragedy, she sat there, not moving and not talking.

  He wanted to give her time to let it all sink in. Hell, he needed a few minutes. Listening to it all, watching Ben listen while she struggled. All Matthias had wanted to do was rush in and resolve this. To take her out of there. But in the end she didn’t need to be rescued. She made the hard call and followed through. He respected the hell out of her for that.

  She had more guts than most of his men in the field. Even more than he did.

  He walked over to where she sat and squatted down in front of her with his elbows balanced on his knees. “Do you feel any relief?”

  “Not really.” She sighed and her hands went to her lap then she rubbed them together. “It’s more like I’m happy Ben might be able to move on.”

  “I’d put my money on him being okay.” Matthias would make sure that happened. He’d alr
eady talked to Wren about helping the kid. Between the two of them, they should be able to point Ben in the right direction and help him find a new and much healthier obsession. One not fed by Mary.

  “And now you have the answer about Nick. Your mom . . .” Kayla’s words stumbled. “Mary . . . likely won’t believe it, but she has bigger problems now.”

  Hiring a paid assassin out of the back of a magazine had not been a smart move. Elliot, or whatever his name really was, was dead, which made the proof harder, but every move she made looked suspect. She’d done a horrible, destructive thing and didn’t see it. When he told her Kayla was alive and the attacker hadn’t been successful, Mary broke. She cried and begged him to try again. Didn’t even seem to notice when the police took her away for questioning.

  “I still don’t think she realizes how huge her choice was.” He doubted Mary was in a place to hear the truth or ever believe it.

  “She’s lost, Matthias.” Kayla reached out and grabbed his hand. Pulled him up on the couch beside her. “She’s been buried in hate. She has guilt about Nick and you—”

  Not likely. “You’re half right.”

  Kayla moved closer. She almost sat on his lap. “Is it possible that she won’t let herself get close to you because getting close means she might lose another son and be broken all over again?”

  “That’s a pretty nice spin on her behavior.”

  He understood what Kayla was doing. She ached to make this better for him. After all she’d been through, so much uncertainty and fear, she put his mind and his heart first.

  Damn, he loved her.

  “I want to see what we can do to keep her out of jail.” Kayla dropped her little bombshell then stared at him.

  “No fucking way.” That wasn’t even a hard call. He had the money, but that wasn’t the point. She’d made Kayla’s life hell. Hired a killer . . . who the hell did that? He would not give her a free pass.

  “She needs help, not jail.” Kayla’s fingers tangled with his. “I think you know that. Why else would you have hired a super lawyer and paid her fees?”