Those pictures in Cabo. It was all Danielson? I try making sense of the details. Is Danielson after me or Jacobi? Or both?
“Your boyfriend might be at the top of his game, but his friends aren’t.” Danielson continues to click through a narrative of my life. “They’re good, but I’m better. I found out everything I needed to know. You know what Jacobi’s friend does? Kase?”
I shake my head. Roland is quiet at the door. I can’t escape, but for now, Danielson seems content to prove how much smarter he is than the rest of us.
“I like a challenge, but after you two married, I was considering hiring someone just to kill Dixon off, and well, the options aren’t as limited as you’d think.” He sticks a finger in the air, his eyes on the screen. “But—good options are hard to come by. It would’ve been a hell of a lot easier.” He barks out a laugh, making me flinch. “And I find a guy he’s buddies with. Coincidence?” He’s leering at me. I don’t know what my reaction’s supposed to be. He rolls his eyes. “So fucking stupid. Diana told Roland about the marriage contract. Conveniently around poor daddy’s death. About what your daddy did.”
Tears are gathering in my eyes. Terror’s racing up and down my spine. Help’s not coming and I’m alone with at least one psycho and another guy who’s okay with helping him. I already figured out what Danielson’s getting at about Jacobi waiting until my dad was gone before moving on the company, but I want to keep him talking. “I don’t understand.”
Fury infuses more color into Danielson’s face. He spins in his chair, but Roland cuts in. “She’s a good girl, Philip. She doesn’t think of things like that.” Philip? Roland’s expression is mostly compassionate when he gazes at me. But not compassionate enough to lower the gun. “What he’s trying to say is that he thinks Dixon hired Kase to kill your father.”
That’s absurd.
But Kase is the friend Jacobi talks about the least. I don’t know what he does for a living.
“It’s too much of a coincidence that they know each other. And that he has a file like this.” He clicks open another folder. My dad. More documents. A timeline. They knew Dad’s habits and where he went, why, and when.
I want to vomit. Somehow I stay standing, swaying.
“She don’t look so hot,” Roland says. I don’t feel so hot.
“Stay standing, princess. You have to transfer money and we won’t kill you.”
His words are getting lost. Jacobi wanted Dad dead, more than in the metaphorical sense? He was going to kill him? Or have him killed? Which is worse?
This can’t be my life.
Danielson—Phillip?—is pulling up the internet and typing in names. I watch silently, my mind whirring over the revelations, as he opens an account. “Now. I need you to log in to your bank account and send me all your money.”
Does he think I leave millions in the bank and don’t invest it? “I don’t have that much in—”
“Do it!”
I jump to the computer. He doesn’t move over and I have to lean across him. But I could go for vomiting on the piece of shit.
A crash resonates through the house, catching all of our attention. “London!”
I don’t care what they just said. Jacobi’s voice is everything I want to hear right now.
“Go deal with him,” Danielson snarls.
Roland runs off and I pounce on Danielson’s distraction. Summoning all my strength, I slam my hands against his shoulders and shove. His eyes go wide as the chair leg catches on the desk. He topples over and I race to the French doors. By the time I turn the lock and dash out, he’s pulling himself off the floor.
I run for the stairs and pray I don’t trip on the way down. Feet pound the boards above me and my heart surges into my throat.
Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. I sprint for the water. My heels go flying with the frantic pace and I’m too scared to look behind me. I run into the water, high-kneeing it like I’ve seen lifeguards do. When the water’s deep enough, I dive and swim under the surface as far and fast as I can.
When my lungs burn for air far too soon, I surface and gasp. Twisting, I try to find Danielson.
He’s diving not far away from me. Behind him, Jacobi’s racing for the water, his face a mask of determination and his dark eyes full of rage. I’m not relieved to see him. Because if Danielson reaches me first, he’s going to drown me to soothe his pride and Jacobi might not reach us in time.
I use all those skills Jacobi took the time to teach me, and swim. Because my life depends on it.
Chapter 25
Jacobi
Sand kicks up around me as I fly toward the water. London’s getting farther and farther out. Never did I think giving her those swimming lessons would save her from a human predator in the water.
Danielson’s floundering, flopping and surging toward her but the ocean is getting the best of him. She’s outdistancing him each second, getting farther and farther away from shore. As long as Danielson is going after her, she’s going to keep swimming… until the ocean swallows her up.
I charge into the water and catch up to Danielson. Wrapping a hand around his ankle, I yank with all my strength. His head ducks under as he flails against my grip. I grab various body parts, working my way up his body until I can wrap my arm around his neck. He’s jerking and fighting, but the water has sapped a lot of his strength.
I swim backward. When my feet can touch the bottom, I tighten my hold. He gets a surge of energy and slips from my grip. The punch he throws is sluggish, off-target. I easily block it and shove him backward. He cartwheels into the water, his face a mask of desperation.
He won’t quit. We repeat the hit, kick, shove pattern all the way to shore. He trips over his own feet righting himself and falls back to land. Before he rolls to his hands and knees, I kick him in his soft, squishy gut.
With an oomph, he falls back. I drop to my knees, wind up my arm and slam my fist into his jaw. He’s going to keep getting up. A man like him is driven by nothing but himself.
“London!” I whip around. She’s still swimming. “London!” Does she recognize it’s me yelling? “London! Come back!”
Finally, she pauses and faces the shore. I wave my arm high. She’s gotta be able to tell me apart from fucking Danielson.
He groans and his hand lashes out, but I nudge it away with my foot. My shoes are ruined. Same with my slacks. I keep the shoes on. Breaking a toe on Danielson isn’t worth it, though I’d gladly pistol whip him with the heel.
Returning my gaze to the water, I squint. Relief pours through me. She’s swimming back. Strong and steady strokes arcing toward shore. I tower over Danielson and feel in my pocket. My phone’s gone, either lying on the courtyard pavers or waiting to wash up to shore. I trust Cannon has everything taken care of and the police are called. Roland went down before I made it up the stairs. When I shouted, I was running into the house, and from the surprised look on his face, he thought I was alone when Cannon tackled him.
The closer London gets to shore, the more I want to run to meet her halfway. But the deadbeat at my feet is still a threat. I can’t take my attention off him.
She’s close enough to stand and wade to me, but it’s not the relieved smile I want to see. Her eyes are guarded, darting from me to Danielson like she doesn’t know who’s the real threat.
“Are you all right?” I call.
Her nod is small and she swings wide. To keep from being close to me or Danielson?
A sandy chuckle reaches my ears. “I told her.”
“What could you possibly tell her, asshole?”
She comes to a stop twenty yards away. We’re parallel to the waterline and Danielson’s curled on his side at my feet. He thinks I’m distracted again by London and slithers in the sand, lunging up to tackle me. I spin and knee him. Thanks to not being upright, I catch him in the face.
His head flings back, taking his body with him until he’s sprawled on his back.
I grit my teeth, satisfied that he’s down
for a few minutes and face London. Her skin’s pale and she’s shivering. It’s not a cool day, but with everything she’s going through, I worry about shock.
I take a step closer, but she takes one back. “Don’t.”
“London?” I reach my hand out. “You’re safe now. Cannon’s got Roland inside and the police are on their way. Danielson is a wanted man. He was after your money and your web security company.”
Confusion ripples across her face. “Why?”
“He wanted to be the only player in the game, secure government contracts. Instead of working to be the best, he cheated and used people.” I’m sure from there, he’d sell U.S. secrets for top dollar. Greed has no limits. “Come on.” I beckon her closer. “I need to hold you.”
I don’t want her coming to me. Being on the same beach is too close to Danielson. I want him escorted far away from her.
“I saw the file.”
“What file—” My hasty departure makes a reappearance in my head. My office was open and my computer was on.
She holds a shaking finger toward Danielson. “He wanted me to send him money so he could leave the country. And he opened the file.”
I should’ve buried that shit so deep in my hard drive that I couldn’t even find it. “London—”
“You wanted my dad dead.” It’s half question and half accusation. “He said he figured it out and it makes…” She scoffs and rolls her eyes to the clear blue sky, making her unshed tears glitter. “It’s so insane, but it makes sense. How you talk about Kase, or don’t talk about him. Your secrets. You know when you said you had stuff you weren’t telling me, I had no idea it all revolved around me. Is it true?”
* * *
London
The look on his face tells me everything I need to know. “You wanted my dad dead?”
His shoulders round. This was the big secret. It is definitely bigger than a folder on his computer with years of surveillance on me.
But that’s a big deal, too.
“I hated him, London.”
“There’s hate and there’s killing someone, Jacobi.” My voice is flat. I have no idea how I can be so calm. There’s an unconscious man on the beach at our feet. The cops are on their way and all I care about is a phone call Jacobi made years ago.
“I was young and stupid.”
“How young?”
“Twenty-five.” He lifts his hands like he’s going to explain and drops them. “I didn’t go through with it.”
“Because of me?”
He nods.
“And you waited until he died to go after me.”
He dips his head once.
“And the file?”
“I saw you and…” His gaze strokes over the ocean before it meets mine. “I was lost.”
He was lost in me.
He was obsessed with me.
Is he still?
What do I want the answer to be?
“You’ve been lying to me from the very beginning. As fucked up as it sounds, I thought that after we got back from Cabo, you were honest with me.” And as fucked up as it sounds, I wasn’t ready for the extent of lies. Something that should’ve been expected from a guy who not only forced me to marry him but also lied about his identity to sleep with me. It’s not like there weren’t signs all along the way.
Even with all the outraged emotions and heartache coursing through my veins, I can’t conjure a single ounce of regret for our time in Cabo.
It was a fantasy. Unfortunately, that’s all it was.
Sirens sound in the distance. The police are here and I sag from relief. The way I’ve learned that Jacobi operates, I was a little apprehensive that he and Cannon and Kase were somehow going to make Roland and Danielson disappear.
I kind of wish that was the case. I’m going to have plenty of nightmare material—with no one next to me in bed to comfort me.
“You’re right. I haven’t been honest. I was so afraid of losing you.”
“Arranging to kill a girl’s father can do that.” I can’t believe we’re having this talk over a criminal. “Did he really—” I can’t choke out the words, but I force it. “Did he really die of a heart attack?”
His face contorts into an incredulous expression. “Of course, he did. I’m not a doctor, but it wasn’t fucking me.” His shoulders hang. “I would’ve wanted him to live forever to keep you from being sad.”
I can’t let his sweet words get to me. “And the stalking? Did you break into my place any other time?” When I saw him that night, I was so desperate to know that he still cared about me, that I didn’t dwell on how he got there. But in light of the new information, I have to look into it.
“Only that one time. I just… I just watched you from afar. The pretty princess in the ivory tower. Untouchable. And I was undeserving. I am undeserving.”
A tremble wracks my body. I could cave. Run into his arms and forget about everything. Feel safe. I don’t know if I’m ever going to feel safe again.
The sirens get closer. There’s more than one vehicle. Did Jacobi call them? The place is going to be overrun and we’ll be separated for questioning. That’s what happens on TV anyway.
Jacobi’s gaze darts in the direction of the noise. “London. Please, believe me. I love you. I’ll do anything. Just tell me what.”
I want him to take me back in time, to when I didn’t know any of this, and I want him to hold me. But that’s nothing but another fantasy. I’m not a princess. I live in a world that is all too real.
“I need time, Jacobi. Time to think about all this and what it means.” I suck in a long breath and squeeze my hands into fists. “And you need to quit watching me. No more stalking. No more monitoring my accounts or reading my private messages or whatever it is you do. You want to know what I’m doing, then you wait for me to tell you.”
“Done.” His answer is too quick. Too easy.
I want to bark out a laugh, but it comes as more of a gasped hiccup. “Quit it, Jacobi. I mean it.”
He looks at me for a long moment, his jaw clenching. “I will.”
That one’s more believable. Like giving his word is painful. I can almost believe him. But not after today.
Men in uniforms rush out of the house. Jacobi instinctively puts his hands up. I follow suit. He doesn’t take his eyes off me as the officers approach, shouting orders. His body is rigid, his eyes fathomless, and his damp shirt is plastered to his chest.
I look my fill, knowing this might be the last time I see him.
Chapter 26
Jacobi
My time with the feds takes forever. I remotely answer questions, again, even two weeks later, while the rest of my thoughts are occupied with London. Her face. Her disbelief that I could think of doing something so sinister. As soon as I met her, I knew she’d never forgive me. That it wouldn’t matter that I didn’t follow through. She loved her dad too much. Her heart is too pure.
In this case, it’s the thought that counts.
I walk out of the federal office exhausted and defeated. It’s over. It’s all over. I can put to rest my dreams of revenge. Those died a while ago, but they’re good and buried. And buried with them are any chances of reconciliation with London.
Her teal eyes swimming with tears that I caused is enough to make me behave.
She’s alive and well. That’s ultimately all I care about. She’ll get over me and move on and be happy with some prick who’d better treat her like a fucking princess.
I can hang onto the thought that she’s alive in some part because of me. She’s roaming the earth because she trusted me long enough to build her swimming technique. She survived the ocean and she survived Danielson.
My car’s around the corner and when I turn, I find Cannon leaning against it. There’s no way Kase would be so close to any type of law enforcement. If Kase didn’t know Cannon from before he started his PI gig, Kase would’ve never talked to him.
“You’re not locked up,” he says.
; “No reason to be.” I should be. I park my ass next to his against the rear passenger door. “I’m a law-abiding citizen that was worried two con artists were targeting innocent women.” And Danielson isn’t talking otherwise. He thinks he’s too smart for the feds and refuses to speak. When he does, they won’t believe him. And despite what he found on me, the connections he made between me and Kase will seem like nothing more than conjecture.
I stare at the sidewalk. I don’t know where he’s looking or what he’s thinking until he says, “She talked to you yet?”
I shake my head. “I don’t think she ever will.”
“I wish I could’ve warned you, man. Women are trouble. But you were in deep by the time I found out.”
“Liar.”
He cuts his gaze to me. “Steep accusation, Dixon.”
“You and Kase whispered like school kids and conspired to send London’s information to me so I wouldn’t go through with it.”
Cannon canted his head. “It’s not a thing you can come back from. Killing someone. Whether you do it with your bare hands or are responsible for it.”
“Did you say that to Kase, too?”
“I say it to him as often as I can. His parents refuse to let him out of the business.”
Yeah. That was going to be something Kase would have to deal with soon—and he’d better make sure to call both me and Cannon to help.
“Well. Thanks.”
Cannon gives me a sidelong look. “I don’t feel like I did you any favors. Kinda feels like you were screwed no matter what. But this way, you can sleep at night.”
Since his tone sounds like he’s speaking from personal experience, I let it go. “I’m gonna go home and crash. It’s been a long couple of days.”
Redeemed: Ruined and Redeemed Duet - Book 2 Page 22