There’s another pop, and then darkness. And none of it matters anymore.
Chapter 13
Arianna
The room is dark when I wake up, a dim set of lights spinning as I blink, trying to get the world to come back into focus.
“What the . . . where am I?” I slur, my voice sounding like I’ve had a few too many to drink. That’s ridiculous. I rarely drink, and never more than a single glass of wine after watching my parents’ drunken struggles. No . . . my brain aches, and I try to focus again, trying to remember. There was . . . a bear?
I try to move, but other than wiggling my arms a little, I’m immobile. Looking down, I can see black duct tape wrapping around my body just below my breasts, holding my arms tight against my body, my wrists also bound in my lap. There’s another line of black tape around my thighs and then a fourth around my ankles.
“What the . . .?” I repeat, blinking as my eyes start to come back into focus. Standing across the room from me . . . wait, not a room. It looks like maybe some sort of industrial closet or something. But a few feet away is . . . the bear?
Okay, so at least I didn’t dream that up.
I feel wetness trickle down my hairline and over my ear, and I shake my head. The movement both makes my headache turn into a splitting migraine and clears my thoughts. Nope, that’s not water . . . that’s blood.
“Who are you?” I croak. “Where am I?”
Bearman stands there for a moment, silent, but I can feel the coldness of his stare through the black mesh of his eyes. I strain my ears, searching for any clue to where I am. I can’t hear anything, but I can feel the subtle motion of the water, so I think I’m still on the boat.
I always thought if I were in some awful situation, like the attacks or kidnappings you hear about on the news, I would be the type to shut down, just cower in the corner and pray for someone to save me. The too-stupid-to-live girl who repeatedly falls while running away from the chainsaw-wielding mass-murderer in movies. I never actually considered that something like this would ever happen to me. But now that I am finding myself in this nightmare, I’m not scared into frozen inaction. I’m pissed. I’m angry. I’m . . . furious.
I don’t think about whether it’s a smart choice or not. I just growl out, “Hey, Bad News Asshole, I asked you a question.”
Bearman steps closer but still remains silent. Fed up with his act, I swallow to clear my throat and take a deep breath. “HELP! HELLLLLLL—”
He slaps me across the face, and while his costume pads the blow a little bit, my ears start ringing again. He looms over me, threatening in a creepy costume way. “Shut the fuck up, bitch!” he says, his voice muffled by his costumed head. “It won’t fucking help you.”
“Who are you?”
I don’t wait for the answer, seeing an opportunity he didn’t mean to give me. Though my legs are bound together, I’m not tied to anything, and I bend my knees, placing my heeled feet on his furry belly and pushing with all my might.
He stumbles backward, slamming into the wall with a decent amount of force. I’m sure the costume helped take the brunt of the blow, but at least I’m fighting back.
The man chuckles, reaching up to remove his fuzzy head. The light is pretty dim, but there’s no mistaking who it is. The maniacal smile is new, however. “Hey, Arianna . . . got time for that drink now?”
“Melvin,” I gasp, shocked. “What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here?” Melvin asks, laughing shrilly. “What are you doing here? You said you were going to meet people, to make connections. The only connection I see is you being a dirty slut for that narcissistic thief.”
I’m taken aback by his fury. It was obvious that Melvin didn’t like Liam, especially after Liam shut down his market forecast suggestions, but this? This is utter madness. “Melvin, the party—”
He cuts me off, slapping his palm on the metal wall of the room and continuing his rant as he paces. “He’s nothing! Just a spoiled little rich boy whose daddy bought his degree. Not like me. I earned mine with hard work and intelligence.” He points at the side of his head to reiterate his point, but he doesn’t look like the smart analyst right now. His wild eyes, mussed hair, and sweaty skin instead give him a crazy evil look. I don’t bother arguing about Liam’s father, who I know for a fact didn’t pamper Liam and buy him any success.
He comes closer, leaning over me, but he’s learned and holds my legs down this time, not giving me an opening. “He’s an empty pretty boy, good for PR. And you fell for it, just like the board did. But I won’t let him ruin everything I’ve worked for.”
He bends down, picking up something from the floor, and I realize with a shiver that it’s my baseball bat. There’s a dribble of blood bright against the pale wood and my stomach turns. That’s my blood. I’m almost certain Melvin is going to hit me again, but I’m sure as fuck not going to be a stationary target. I twist and turn on the floor, trying to get away and yelling again, “HELP—”
He doesn’t hit me, though he shoves the end of the bat into my gut hard. My breath leaves me in a whoosh and my distressed cry is cut short.
But though my vocals are absent, Melvin is ramping up. His voice gets louder and louder, spittle gathering at the corners of his lips. “It should have been me as Morgan’s CEO. He stole it from me.”
Slam! The bat clangs against the wall, and I huddle into myself, wanting to be as small a target as possible now and figuring I need to protect my vital organs from another blow. “I’m the one with the MBA, specializing in finance statistics.”
Slam! “I’m the one who’s saved Morgan from financial ruin and increased our profits sixteen percent!”
Slam! “Sixteen. Percent. Do you know how hard that is? Of course you don’t. But I do, and I did it.”
Slam! “Me.”
He begins pacing again, and I dare a glance up, watching his progress across the room and back. Distantly, I hear a beeping sound, and through the small crack under the door, I can see a flash of red light. I wonder if something is wrong with the boat, but I figure I have a more pressing threat than possibly sinking right now.
I have to do something though. Eventually, Liam will realize I’m missing, but probably not until after his speech, and I don’t know how long I was out. Maybe it’s been a few minutes, maybe it’s been an hour. I don’t know.
I search my brain. Though this is nothing like the contract negotiations I learned about at school, negotiating always has a similar construct. I hope that’s true of a hostage situation, especially when I’m the fucking hostage.
I try to find some common ground. “Melvin, you’re right. Sixteen percent is an amazing increase and you did a great job. I know Morgan and the board appreciated that.”
He sneers, “Not likely. They didn’t even acknowledge that without me and my predictions, Morgan would’ve been virtually bankrupt years ago.”
I hear what he wants, some recognition, and try to figure out how to get that for him. “Melvin, we can tell them. They should know how important your work is. They want to know that. They need to know. We can tell them . . .”
He barks out a mirthless laugh. “We? We aren’t doing shit. You’re a nobody, a pawn that Liam plays with. But pawns can be sacrificed, Arianna.”
A shiver runs through me at his threat and my eyes lock on the bat as it swings at his side with every step.
“He didn’t deserve to be CEO. He didn’t deserve you. I was nice to you, you fucking bitch.” His eyes shift to me, hot hatred sparking in them. “But no, even when I warned you, you fell for his act too. Just like them. He’s got them all fooled. But not me. I can see what he really is.”
I’ve got to keep him talking, let him think that I’m on his side. Play the part. It’s not the one I’ve played most of my life, but I can damn sure play it now. I let my voice pitch higher, my eyes wide as I say, “I can’t see it, Melvin. I guess I’m just too young and inexperienced, even though you warned me. Please, tell me
what you see in Liam. What he really is.”
“Fucking useless,” he spits out. For a second, I think he’s talking about me, or at least about the me I’m pretending to be, but then he keeps talking. “He’s an entitled brat, handed anything he ever wanted. He rolled into Morgan and changed everything, not giving a shit about the people who built the damn company. He swaggers around like a fucking rockstar, smiling at people as he stabs them in the back. But if that’s what they want, that’s what I’ll give them.”
He freezes, breath panting as his eyes lock on me. I can see that something has clicked in his mind and I know my time has run out. He comes closer, and though I thrash about, he stays out of my range. His lips spread, his teeth bared in a threatening smile. “Oh, yeah, I’m gonna smile while I set him up to take the fall for this. They’ll find your body with his filthy cum all over you and know that you’re his whore. Your fingerprints and his on the bat.” Unbidden, my eyes tick to where his still furry-gloved hands grip the bat, leaving no trace of him. “And when he’s on the six o’clock news as a cold-blooded killer who murdered the sweet, innocent intern he was fucking, I’ll step in and save Morgan the way I should have before he ever came. It’ll be me.”
“ME!” he yells, tapping his chest with the bat tip.
I flinch at the loud sound, but when he adjusts his grip, both hands holding the bat like he’s ready to swing, my body goes into flight mode. I struggle against the tape anew, thrashing back and forth to get away and screaming.
Even as I flail, my eyes close as I prepare for him to swing. For the blow that will end this all so much sooner than I’m ready for. I’m sorry, Liam. I wanted to say I love—
Before I can complete my thought, the door to the room bursts open and Liam comes through the door, roaring with rage. Seeing Melvin, he catches his arm, stopping the bat in mid-swing before Liam spins them both, slamming Melvin into the wall so hard his glasses go flying off. I feel hands tugging at me, but I ignore them, my eyes locked on my saving angel. Liam may be my angel, but he looks like an avenging demon as he knees Melvin in the face, Melvin’s head banging off the back wall before he slumps to the floor unconscious.
“Don’t worry, we’ve got you,” a familiar voice says in my ear, and I realize it’s Jacob. I wiggle against the tape restraints, suddenly needing desperately to be free.
Liam kneels in front of me, his eyes filling with tears as he sees my bloody cheek. My eyes rove his face, needing to make sure he’s real, that he’s really here, that this is really over.
“Oh, doll,” he whispers, stroking my cheek. “I’m so—”
“I love you,” I blurt out.
Liam stops, and I feel my wrists and then my arms free as a crew member slips a knife into the tape binding my wrists and cuts me loose. My arms lift of their own volition, grabbing at Liam to pull him close for a hug. I bury my face in his neck, blubbering against the warmth of his skin, “I love you. When Melvin was about to kill me, my only regret was that I didn’t tell you that. I love you, Liam. I trust you, I need you, I love you.”
I feel the tape holding my legs let go, and Liam picks me up, holding me safe and secure in his arms. “I love you too, Arianna. And I promise, I won’t ever let anything hurt you again.”
Chapter 14
Liam
“Are you sure you can handle this?” I ask, not trusting anyone, not for a second. I eye the tiny blonde in front of me, but she doesn’t flinch a bit. That’s probably a good thing, but it still frustrates me.
But Ari’s calm voice soothes my fears. “It’s fine. We’ll be good while you’re gone. I promise Daisy and I will sit right here on the couch, watch a movie or two, and be safe and sound.”
I take a steadying breath, knowing that she’s right but fighting the instincts that yell in my mind to not leave her, to stay by her side and keep her safe. But I realize that’s a lesson in futility. Ari’s going to do whatever the fuck Ari wants to do, and we’ve established that. Oh, she’ll do exactly what I tell her, obediently drop to her knees for me or run a million copies at work. As long as that’s what she wants to do. Give and take, take and give. And we’ve found that perfect balance together.
So I leave the two women curled up on my couch to go get ready, but I can’t help but pause at the door to listen as they gossip.
“Holy shitballs, chica. What the fuck happened? I mean, I know the basics from when Liam called . . . which, by the way, when I answered your number and it was him saying you’d been hurt, I about came through the line at him.” She’s not the least bit apologetic about it and really had been pissed as hell at my calling until her anger had morphed into cold fear at the news.
Arianna laughs, then hisses in pain, but I force myself not to go back in. “Sorry about that. Was kinda busy with the paramedics then.” I hear the creak of the leather couch as one of them moves around, then Ari speaks again. “Well, I was kidnapped by Melvin, a crazy asshole who was all butthurt at being looked over for the CEO gig, like he had some right to it that Liam didn’t. He thought he’d frame Liam for killing me, but Liam came busting in and saved me.”
Daisy whistles. “Fuck, girl. That’s so scary.” They’re both silent, but then I hear the sniffles and wonder which one is crying or if they both are. “How’d they even know where you were? And what happened to Melvin?”
“Well, Melvin was swinging my bat around like a Major League Baseball player, slamming it on the walls and stuff. I guess at some point, with his swings or maybe when I kicked him into the wall, a sensor for the boat was set off. The alarm sounded on the bridge and in the hallway, but the siren was pretty far down the hall so I could barely even hear it, and Melvin was too far gone in his anger to notice it, but it led them to check there. Liam had already realized I wasn’t in the audience for his speech and knew I wouldn’t miss it, so he knew something was wrong. I got lucky.”
It’s quiet for a moment, and I say a little prayer of thanks at how lucky we all got that night.
“Then, between Liam, Jacob, and the crew, they held Melvin down until the police got there. He’s got a broken nose and a concussion from the fight. He’s worse off than I am, maybe.”
She lists out Melvin’s injuries matter-of-factly, but I secretly confess to myself that I’m not sorry. Not in the least. In fact, I’d do it again, beat the shit out of him even worse for daring to touch a single hair on Ari’s head, for using her as a pawn to get to me.
“But you’re okay?” Daisy asks, the concern for her friend obvious.
“Yeah, I’m on concussion watch for a week. But it’s a mild one, not too bad, considering the blows I took. I should be fine to start school on time, just have to rest until then and be careful I don’t overdo it. Speaking of, I can’t really watch movies. Doctor said no screen time for a bit,” Ari says, her voice already getting weaker than when she started her tale.
“No problem, honey. You seem pretty wiped out. Why don’t you take a nap for a bit? I’ll sit right here and wait.”
“Mmkay,” Ari responds, and I can tell she’s already half-asleep. I’m just about to tiptoe down the hall when I hear a ‘psst’ from the living room.
I peek around the doorway and find Daisy looking at me with a bemused smirk and a glint in her eyes. She mouths, “We’re fine, go get your shit done.” And then she shoos me with a waving motion of her hands. If she weren’t Ari’s best friend, I’d kick her out on her ass for her sheer gall.
But Ari loves Daisy, so I give her a pass. But not before telling her through a series of gestures to keep her eyes on Ari and call me if she needs anything.
As comfortable as I’m going to get that Ari is in good hands, with Daisy at her side and Randolph on extra alert, I head to the office.
* * *
Jacob is standing at the front of the room when I arrive, the rest of the board already seated around the table. “Please, I’m not at liberty to discuss what happened at the party.”
Jacob’s a good man and an even better friend. We
knew this meeting was going to be a shit show, but I’m not one to shy away from the hard stuff when it’s necessary. And this definitely is.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,” I say, and all eyes turn to me. The people seated around the table are all in suits, their usual office garb even though it’s Sunday morning. I was too focused on taking care of Arianna to bother with dressing up, though, and I’m in jeans and a polo shirt. It’s a perk of being the fucking boss. There’s a murmur of greeting and I launch into what they really want to know.
“As you’re all aware, there was a rather disturbing incident on the boat at Helen’s party.” I pause, letting my eyes click from person to person, wondering if they feel the same way Melvin did. Or hell, maybe someone here was in on the idea with him? My mind races at the thought.
John Summers, a long-standing board member, speaks out. “Liam, we don’t know what happened. Just that everyone was waiting for the big cover reveal and your speech, and then we were all shepherded below-deck to the dining room. We could see that there were a lot of flashing lights, police or fire, maybe, and then we were told we could go home. We don’t know anything.”
“I see. Well, then let me explain a bit of what happened,” I say before launching into the whole sordid tale. I leave out the part about Arianna and me fucking on the balcony, simply saying that Melvin had figured out that Arianna is important to me and was going to use her against me to have me removed as CEO.
Another board member, Susan Johansson, speaks. “I think we all knew how unhappy Melvin was with your leadership and that he wanted you fired, but I can’t believe he would go to these lengths.” She shakes her head disbelievingly.
I glance to Jacob, who shrugs. He caught the same slip I did. “I’m sorry, did you say Melvin wanted me fired?”
Leather and Lace Page 13