by Amber Lacie
A few minutes later my phone lit with her reply. Okay. Why?
I found something on Paul.
You beat the shit out of him. Just let it go.
Sorry, baby. I can’t. You have to see this.
Okay. I’ll be there right after work.
Thank you.
Once the message to Kayla was sent, I grabbed my laptop to make sure everything was in order. Grabbing my phone, I prepared to make a quick phone call to someone who owed me more than one favor––and I was cashing them all in. The line rang twice before he answered, “Bryson here.”
“It’s Evan.”
“Whatever you need, forget it. It’s not worth me losing my job and possible federal prison time. Do you know how many guys I’ve put there?”
Chuckling, I nodded my head. “Yeah, I know. I have a couple more for you to toss in there.”
“What am I looking at?”
“Embezzlement, money laundering, extortion, you name it. Let’s just say there’s a lot to work with.”
“Cut to it. You’re asking a lot of me. Just exactly what are we talking about here?”
Bryson wasn’t thrilled, but it wasn’t my problem. I had put my life on the line more than once for him. Now it was his turn to do the same for me. “You owe me one. This is me, laying my card down. I’ve done all the digging for you. All you need to do is get the files I’m sending you to the right people. Hell, I even mapped out the money trail for you. There’s enough to put them away for years, longer with the right judge.”
Silence, followed by a heavy breath sailed across the line. I waited. Another breath came and went before he finally spoke up. “Is it clean?”
“I haven’t touched a damn thing. All work is on the up and up. All I’m doing is handing it over. I just sent the files. Make some calls and handle this. Oh, and you’re welcome.”
“So, I’m just supposed to say thank you and take your word that everything is clear? What’s the catch?”
“No one can ever know it was me. I don’t want to be tied to any of it. I just want them dealt with. I figure once you see what I know, karma will handle the rest.”
“If this is the way you choose to play your hand, that’s fine. Just know you won’t get another card. We’re even.”
“Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
My plan was quickly shifting focus. With Paul and Chandeleer crossed off my list, only two things remained; figure out how Beatrice fit into the equation, and what was going on with Kayla’s roommate. Once that was completed, I was going to prove to Kayla that I needed her. Which brought me to the second thing I needed to do––I needed to prove myself. She needed to see herself through my eyes.
Kayla
W ork was boring, though it was always boring. However, knowing Evan was close, yet unreachable, only made it worse. The hours had slowly ticked by, dragging the heavy minutes behind them. The only time it passed quickly was when I took a late break to touch base with him. Originally, the plan was for me to meet Evan at my place after work, but after the last exchange of text messages, things had changed to me meeting him at Theron’s. Apparently, Evan had something to show me. Which may have explained why I had quickly maneuvered my way through traffic with no regard for the speed limit.
The suspense of not knowing what was happening was killing me. My stomach had twisted into knots while I was at work. In a moment of weakness, I had texted Eve, asking her to meet me at their guesthouse when I got off work. When she replied, asking why, all I could do was respond with one word, “Paul.”
Without hesitation she quickly replied, “Okay.” The beauty of friendship is being able to rely on someone, no matter the circumstances. I had always been there for her, even when we were both grieving in different ways over the loss of our friend. She was simply returning the favor.
Paul was never my finest hour. That was one thing Eve and I wholeheartedly agreed upon. After the party Saturday night, I thought I would be done with him, since Evan had clearly gotten the point across. Paul wasn’t allowed anywhere near me. It was one of the scariest moments in my life. I honestly didn’t know if Evan was going to be able to stop himself. His words still echoed in my mind.
It’s been a while since I’ve killed someone. Funny thing is, it’s just like riding a bike. It’s not something you forget. I can, and will end you if you even think of her.
I knew he was ex-military, but knowing he knew how to kill someone changed my perspective of him. It wasn’t that I was scared of him, but seeing him like that put me on edge. It was dangerous and alluring. Never in my life had I been protected like that.
The past few years I had buried myself in guilt, but that was no more. Paul had finally been taken care of. Now, the only person I had left to face was my father.
I had always been a disappointment to him. Never once had he approved of any of my choices, except for Paul. To my father, Paul was the son he had always wanted. Since my mother had chosen me, instead of a boy, Paul was a close second. We had only been dating for a few months when my father began to favor him over me. It wasn’t long after, that my voice was finally drowned out and Paul had replaced me completely.
As I stepped inside the guesthouse, I found myself surrounded by a floor, covered in paper. Some were handwritten notes, others were typed, and even more were in manila folders, scattered haphazardly at my feet. “Evan, where are you?” I asked while carefully stepping over the closest piles and laying my purse on the counter. “Babe?” Where is he?
I was slowly walking down the hallway peeking in the bedrooms when Evan stepped out of the bathroom wearing only a towel, followed by a wall of steam. Water droplets were still running down his bare chest into the trail of hair peeking out just above where he had tucked the ends of the towel. His thumb ran along the edge of his jaw before finding its way into his mouth where he softly bit down on it. “Do you always look like that when you go to work?”
Looking down at myself, I blushed. I was wearing a pair of black shorts just long enough not to be considered inappropriate for work, a light-yellow halter-top with a rust colored floral print, and a pair of tan wedges that fastened around my ankle. Nothing I had on should have caused that kind of reaction from him, but I didn’t mind. I loved when he was playful, so I quipped back, “If you like this you should’ve seen the knitted gray sweater I wore with it most of the day.”
The corner of his mouth curved up into a smirk. “Tell me more. Did it have big buttons?”
A soft giggle fell from my lips as we stepped closer to one another. “Insanely big. They’re oversized, and the pockets are stretched out. I think there might even be a little hole at the bottom of one.”
Within an instant his wet body was pressed against mine as he lifted me from the ground. I was so used to him picking me up all the time that my body automatically formed to fit his as my legs wrapped around his waist and my arms encircled his neck. His lips quickly found mine and I was in heaven. Using his long arms as support he backed me up against a wall while our tongues clashed in a fever of lust. My fingers knotted in his wet hair as his teeth nipped along my jaw.
“My mom has the kids, so we have a few hours. Oh my God!”
The familiar high-pitched voice immediately caught my attention. Stilling my hands in Evan’s hair, I turned my head toward the front door where Theron and Eve were standing. Though Evan didn’t seem to care. His mouth continued to mark my body, and as much as I was enjoying it, I didn’t want an audience.
“Babe, we have company,” I said sweetly, my hands pressing against his chest, pushing us apart. Unfortunately, in my haste, I had forgotten his towel was loosely tucked around his waist. As my feet dropped to the floor, so did the towel, leaving Evan standing completely nude in front of everyone.
Eve gasped as Theron covered her eyes while nodding to where we were standing. “Evan, that’s more of you then I’m willing to know.”
“Give me a second.” Evan winked at me as he walked naked into the bedro
om. Quickly picking up the towel, I tossed it at him while taking in the full form of his body with my eyes. For a split second I wondered what he would’ve done to me before the other two had barged in. Before I could get too lost in my thoughts, Eve made a point of clearing her throat, distracting me from my daydream.
“Sorry, he distracted me.”
“That’s an understatement. Was he trying to eat you?” Eve teased as I gave her a gentle hug before giving one to Theron.
“I wouldn’t know. You interrupted us.”
“You asked me to come over. I didn’t know you two were going to hump like rabbits, otherwise I would’ve waited.”
“You’re one to talk. All you two do is hump. That’s how you keep getting knocked up. You do know that’s how it works, right?” Walking toward refrigerator I grabbed a couple of bottles of water and set them on the counter for everyone. The idea of a nice cold glass of wine had crossed my mind, but I wanted a clear head for whatever Evan had to show me. By the looks of the mess on the floor, it wasn’t something easily explained.
“Funny story,” Evan walked up behind me, reached in the refrigerator, and grabbed two beers, tossing one to Theron, “I said the same thing to him a few days ago. You’d think after the first one they’d get the idea, definitely after the third.”
Theron shrugged his shoulders, “I know exactly how they are made, and I love making them.” Eve blushed as she stared up at him, while he held her gaze with his. I pretended to make a gagging sound at their display of affection. Eve rolled her eyes. It wasn’t an uncommon ritual between the three of us. She was my best friend. I was so happy she had found someone to love her the way she deserved. I might have been a third wheel most of the time when we would all hang out, but I didn’t mind. If my friend was happy, it was a position I was more than grateful to hold.
Making his way into the other room, Theron began picking through a few stacks of paper on the floor. “There are a lot of accounts here. What am I looking at?”
“Those are the reports on Chandeleer,” Evan stated. Walking into the center of the mess, he set a large gray box with a black top on the center of the coffee table. “It took me a while to map out all of the details, but it’s being taken care of.”
“By who?” Theron asked, picking up another stack of papers.
“Bryson,” Evan replied matter of fact.
“You cashed in? I’m shocked.”
Theron and Evan kept going back and forth with two-word sentences and names as though everything made sense. The confusion on Eve’s face gave me solace in knowing I wasn’t the only one not understanding what was happening. It was time to even the playing field.
Bending down, I rested my hands on my knees. “It’s the last quarter. The other team is up by seven. We’ve got two options folks––the paradigm play or the yellow tiger. Eve, you make the call.”
Mimicking my position, Eve turned to me. “Thanks, coach. Now we all know it’s been a tough season and since Bobby has a hard time even saying the word paradigm, I say we go with yellow tiger. We’ve never run this play outside of practice. Kayla, when Bobby passes you the ball, I want you to fake left. Got it?”
“Can’t. Bobby has been distracted.” My grin widened as I tried not to laugh at the fake huddle we were holding in the middle of room.
“Shit! It’s that cheerleader Brix, isn’t it?”
“Looks like it.”
“All right, scrap the yellow tiger. Paradigm it is. We’re going to need to call someone in. Theron, you’re up.” Eve clapped her hands loudly and looked over at the boys. Following her gaze, I noticed Theron and Evan both staring at us as if we had lost our minds. I began to laugh, and Eve soon followed me into hysterics. We both crashed to the floor laughing like complete lunatics.
“What the fuck are you two doing?” Evan leaned over me trying to help me up off the floor, but I held onto Eve instead, while trying to catch my breath.
“Just leave them alone. They’re both lunatics. They do this shit all the time.” Theron rolled his eyes and went back to reading the file in his hand.
“What? Seriously?”
“Yep. I’ve witnessed this stunt at least twenty times. They do it when they feel left out. I’m told it was some inside joke between the three of them. Though, it looks like since Robert is busy with Brix, they have improvised. It’s best to let them be,” Theron said.
Evan must not have been willing to let it drag out much longer, because he leaned down closer to my face. “You.” Sucking on my bottom lip, I tried hard to contain my laughter. “We need to go over a few things and I’d rather it be sooner than later. The longer you drag it out, the longer you have to wait for me to make you scream.”
Fuck. Me. When he put it like that I had no other choice, but to stop laughing. Smacking Eve’s arm, I stood up and fixed my shirt. “Get up.”
“He promises sex and you jump?” Eve asked in amusement.
“Shut up. You’ve done it before.”
“True.” Shrugging her shoulders, she stood and straightened out her t-shirt. “Can we at least get some clue as to what you guys are talking about? We’re just standing here, while you guys talk in some secret code.”
Evan gently grasped my hand and led me over to the box on the table. “It wasn’t a secret code. The benefit of being me is knowing people. I pulled some favors to get everything you see here, and earlier today I cashed them all in.”
“I’m sorry, but I need a better explanation.” I was beyond confused.
“I’m sorry, Kayla, but this is going to suck. Do you want to sit down?”
The idea held a slight comfort to it, but it wasn’t me. I was a rip the Band-Aid off as fast as possible and scream later kind of girl. “No, just tell me what I am looking at.”
“All of the accounts in this box belong to Chandeleer. A few are here in the states. The rest are offshore. Your dad has been laundering money for most of his career. Turns out, Paul was too. In fact, Paul is one of the main account holders, dispersing the money to undisclosed locations.”
I had always known my father was a crude businessman, but I never pictured him as a thief. “How much?”
“I’m not sure yet. As of now, millions.”
“Fuck.” I should have sat down. Taking a few steps back, I plopped down on the couch. Over the years, I had handled several bids for my father’s company. Now, I was worried that I had been tainted by him as well. “The ones I worked on–––were they legal? Am I in trouble?”
“They were fake. It just created paperwork to cover his trail. You haven’t done anything wrong. I made sure to clarify that when I sent everything over.”
“Over where?”
Knotting his fingers behind his neck he paced the floor a few times before coming to a complete standstill directly in front of me. “The FBI has it all now.”
“You turned my family over to the FBI? What the hell, Evan?”
“I had to. They had it rigged, baby. If it all went badly you were the one taking the fall. It was your paperwork. They had your signatures on everything.”
My head fell forward into my hands as I rested my elbows on my knees. What kind of hell am I living? What kind of father sets his daughter up to take the fall for him? “Are you sure? How do you know it was me that was going to end up taking the blame? Maybe your people got the wrong the information?” Hot tears slid down my face. Betrayal ripped through my heart, shattering me in the process. All my life I had done nothing but try to win his approval and the entire time I was his scapegoat.
“Baby, they didn’t get it wrong.” Evan sat down beside me, pulling me into his lap. It seemed the norm for us. I would cry, and he would hold me. My life was exploding around me, and the only thing that was keeping me centered were the arms wrapped around me, holding me steady.
“Kayla––I don’t know what to say.” Eve made herself comfortable on the floor at my feet. It wasn’t long ago when her world was falling apart, and in this moment, it seemed as thou
gh we had traded places.
Laying my head against Evan’s chest, I took a few deep breaths. Being with him made it so much easier. “All of these files belong to my father and Paul? That’s a huge paper trail.”
“Not just them––some were fake and led to dead ends. Which brings me to my next question…do you know anyone named Beatrice?”
Scrunching my nose, I looked up at him. “No. I’m certain I would remember a name like that.”
“Well, there goes the idea of getting any clues from you. There were two accounts linked to a Beatrice, but the weird thing is…she had two birthdates. It didn’t add up so a friend of mine dug a little deeper. She died two years ago. Everything on her went cold.”
“But why keep the accounts open?” Theron asked as he carefully set his file back in the box.
“I don’t know, man. I’m stumped. At first, I thought maybe it was two people, but all the information matches. It’s the same exact trail for each account. The only difference being the year they opened and the birthdates.”
Straightening myself up, I piped in on the conversation. “Maybe it’s another fake account.”
“That’s what I thought at first. Then the deed to her house was found, along with one credit card. It wasn’t used for large purchases––mostly just small stuff, like home repairs and groceries. It was too small of a detail for someone to manifest. In fact, I think it was a crumb left behind. Everything else had been swept under a rug. It was probably too small for them to notice so it went unseen, until we got our hands on it.”
It was a lot of information to take in all at once. “I feel sick.”
“I’m so sorry.” Evan’s fingers gently ran up and down my back. “I promised not to make you cry.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s just a lot. I think I just want to go lie down for a bit.” Slipping from his grasp, I gently squeezed Eve’s shoulder before heading into the bedroom. I don’t know how long they stayed after I walked out, but I could hear their soft voices for a bit. Eventually, my mind drowned them out with thoughts of what would happen to my family.