Sex, Money, and the Price of Truth (The Price Series Book 2)

by PE Kavanagh

  LOLA: Hey. Barbara can't get to Scott. Can we meet again? To brainstorm?

  AIDAN: I’ll get back to you.

  Despite obsessively checking her phone, Lola didn’t hear back from Aidan until the middle of the afternoon.

  AIDAN: Be at your apartment at 6pm on Friday. Thanks.

  Lola read the message over and over, hoping that some secret meaning would emerge. Or that her intuition would kick in and she would fully understand what was going on. And what he was planning.

  She’d spent the entire day worrying, so by the time she arrived at her apartment, she was exhausted. She’d barely seen Aidan all week. What could he possibly want in her apartment?

  The first sight, upon opening her door, was wrong. That face did not match that room. Anymore. She opened her mouth to scream, but couldn't. She felt like someone was squeezing her throat.

  “Close the door,” ordered Scott, sitting on her living room couch.

  “What are you doing here? How did you get in my apartment? You better leave RIGHT NOW!”

  “Hey, hey, calm down, Lo. Sorry I had to do it this way. I just want to talk to you. Will you close the door and come sit down with me? I just want to talk, okay?”

  Lola assessed all her options. She could run out the door and call the police, leaving him in her apartment. She could stand where she was and call the police. She could find out what was going on. She stepped slowly toward the chair opposite the couch, closest to the door, but did not sit down.

  “Wow, you look great, Lo. Really great. I can’t believe it’s been so long.” He shook his head and smiled. His dark blonde hair had grown over his eyes. She shivered.

  “What do you want, Scott? I mean, other than to break into my apartment. Oh, and terrorize me.”

  “Don’t be dramatic, Lola. You were always so dramatic. I just wanted you to know that I was thinking of you. Isn’t that okay?”

  “None of this okay, Scott. None of it.”

  “Listen, I want to say I’m sorry about all the stuff that went down with us. I didn’t understand what I had, and I acted like an asshole. I’m sorry.”

  She sat down, afraid the fear and anger would buckle her knees.

  “We had something great, Lo. You were the love of my life. I’m a different man now. I’ve been to hell and back - you have no idea - but I’m different now. I think we can make it work.”

  “Have you lost your mind? It’s been two years and you think you can woo me with anonymous letters?” She wasn’t sure how much he knew about her investigations.

  In two strides he was standing in front of her. “Lola,” he said as he grasped her arms tightly, picking her up off the seat, “I know it’s been tough for you too. But I’m back now.”

  “You’re hurting me, Scott. Please get your hands off me.”

  He tightened his grip. “No. You’re mine, don’t you understand? It’s time for you to stop being such a fucking whore and come back to your senses.”

  “Let go of me!” She tried to wrestle free.

  “Get your hands off her!" She immediately recognized the voice that came from behind her, although she couldn’t turn to see him. In a flash, she remembered that it was Aidan who’d told her to be here. Had he set this up? Was he involved?

  “What are you doing? It’s not your turn yet!” Scott said as he loosened his grip on Lola. Aidan strode toward him and Lola broke away, toward the kitchen. Scott took one big step toward her, catching her by her hair. She screamed.

  “Shut the fuck up, Lola!” Scott screamed back.

  “What are you doing Aidan? What is going on?” Her voice was choked with tears and rage.

  “I said, get your hands off her, Scott.”

  “Or what? What do you think you’re going to do?”

  Aidan lowered his voice. “This was not the plan, man. Her neighbors probably heard her screaming and are going to call the cops. You need to get this situation under control.”

  Lola couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Aidan was working with Scott. This whole thing was a setup. Her stomach clenched.

  Scott pushed her forcefully toward the couch. “Alright, bitch. Go sit over there and shut your mouth, or I’ll shut it for you.”

  Lola took the few steps over to the center of the couch, noticing her purse was just across, within arms reach. All she had to do was get to her phone and call 911.

  The two men stood, scowling at each other. All she needed was for them to look away, even for a second. Instead, Scott broke away from Aidan's glare and sat down across from her, in the chair she’d just been in. In the way of her purse.

  “What do you want, Scott? What do you want from me?” She knew it was only adrenaline keeping her from breaking down.

  “What do I want? That’s a stupid question. You know exactly what I want.”

  “I don’t, Scott. I wish you would tell me. I want to help you, but I don’t really understand what you want. You say you want to get back together, but you’re acting like you want to hurt me.” She spoke in the sweetest, calmest voice she could muster.

  He stood up and walked over to her. She braced herself. He took her chin and turned her face up toward him. “You ruined my life, Lola. You really hurt me. I’m willing to forgive you, but you have to take your punishment. It’s only fair.”

  Anger brought her to her feet. “Punished for what, Scott? For you screwing around on me, over and over? For my not wanting to be with someone who did nothing but lie to me?” She screamed in his face. “Are you fucking kidding me?!”

  He grabbed her by the throat. “Shut up, bitch,” he growled.

  In a second, Aidan came around her right side, then between Scott and her. She heard a crush of bones and Scott stumbled back, away from her, giving her enough time to grab her purse and run back into the bedroom.

  A loud crash startled her. Maybe they’d just kill each other. Then, complete silence. She sat on her bed, waiting. Minutes passed. How long before the police came? She looked around her room for something she could use to defend herself. There was nothing.

  The footsteps headed toward her room. Shit.

  “It’s okay now, Lola. You can come out.”

  She was confused by his calmness. He let himself in and started walking toward her.

  “Stay away from me! I just called 911 and they’ll be here any minute!” she screamed.

  “You did what? Oh my God, Lola.”

  She heard the front door and ran past him into the living room. Instead of police officers, she saw her best friend.

  “Maddie! You can’t be here. Aidan and Scott have been working together. The police will be here any minute.”

  “Holy shit, Lola!” She looked over at Aidan. “What the fuck happened?”

  “It didn’t quite go as planned,” he said quietly.

  Lola and Maddie noticed Scott, sprawled on the floor behind the coffee table.

  Maddie shrieked. “Aidan!”

  “Why are you talking to him, Maddie? Don’t you understand, he’s part of this! He’s been working with Scott!”

  Maddie looked square at her friend. “Lola, you don’t know what’s going on. Aidan was supposed to tell you. I don’t know how this went so wrong, but it’s not what you think. I need you to calm down. Right now.”

  Lola’s head was spinning. She wanted desperately to understand but it was not making any sense.

  “What the hell happened, Aidan?” Maddie barked at him.

  He started pacing. “He got here too early. I think he saw me enter the building and he came after me. I couldn’t tell him I was meeting with Lola beforehand. I had to play it off. So he was here when she got here and I couldn’t warn her.”

  “Why is he passed out on the ground??”

  “He came after her, Maddie. I tried to hold back, but I couldn’t help it. He had her by the throat!”

  Maddie looked back at Lola, whose fingers automatically lifted toward her neck. It all happened so quickly, she was busy trying to piece it together
.

  “Dammit!” Maddie screamed.

  The pounding on the door startled all three of them.

  “NYPD! Open up!”

  Maddie was closest to the door and opened it.

  Two officers entered. One spoke. “Lola Jennings?”

  “No. I’m Madalena Bruckner. Her best friend.”

  The second officer saw Scott on the ground and ran to check his pulse. Scott started blinking his eyes.

  “Lola Jennings, you called 911. Please explain what happened here.”

  Lola wasn’t sure how she found the ability to talk, but it all came out.

  “That,” pointing to Scott, “is my ex-boyfriend, Scott Mackenzie. He broke into my apartment and was threatening me. He tried to choke me.”

  The officer pointed to Aidan and Maddie. “Who are you two? What is your involvement in this situation?”

  “We are her friends,” Maddie answered. “Aidan saw Scott attack her and punched him out.”

  “Is that true, Ms. Jennings?”

  What could she say? It was not clear enough yet. “Yes, that’s true.”

  “Are you pressing charges?”

  “Yes, she is,” Maddie answered again.

  “Excuse me. Ms. Jennings has to decide herself.”

  “I’m a little disoriented, officer. I’m still trying to piece together what happened.”

  “Does anyone need medical attention?”

  That’s when she first noticed the welt growing near Aidan’s left eye. “No, sir.”

  “Good.”

  “We’re all heading down to the station. To take your statements.” Looking at Scott, “Are you able to walk, sir?”

  Scott rubbed his jaw. “Yes. I think so.” The officer moved him toward the door. “Wait a minute! That guy punched me! Why am I being taken away?”

  “Everyone’s being taken away.”

  * * *

  It was nearly 10pm when Lola, Maddie, and Aidan found each other at the exit of the police station. They had all been separated and had not had a chance to talk. Maddie immediately took Lola’s arm, but did not speak until they were past the rows of police cars in the parking lot. “Are you alright?”

  “No. Not even a little bit.”

  “Okay, honey. Let’s get a car home and we’ll explain it to you.” Lola hadn’t noticed that Aidan was also standing next to her, doing something on his phone. Everything was moving in slow motion.

  When the car appeared, they filed in, one by one with Lola between them. She couldn’t even look at him.

  “Lola, you’re safe now,” Maddie said, taking her hand.

  “Safe? I don’t even know who I’m supposed to be safe from!”

  Aidan spoke. “I’m sorry it was such a shock, Lola. The plan was never supposed to put you in danger. That was my fault. I didn’t expect…”

  “The plan? What plan?”

  “When Barbara wasn’t able to get in touch with Scott, I got in touch with him myself. I told him that I wanted to help him get back at you. So we planned an ambush.”

  “Why are you even here? Why didn’t they arrest you?”

  “I recorded the whole thing. Even the conversation that happened before you got there. He confessed to everything.”

  “Seriously? That’s amazing, Aidan,” said Maddie. “Thank God. The cops wouldn’t tell me anything.”

  “That’s what I was trying to do. Get evidence of what he had done, so we could end it. But he showed up too early, and I couldn’t warn you, prepare you. I…”

  “It sounded like you were working with him. Like you wanted to hurt me too.”

  “I know. That’s what I was pretending so that I could trap him. You know I didn’t mean any of that, Lola. As soon as he laid his hands on you, I stopped him. I wasn’t going to allow him to hurt you.”

  She mulled that idea over in her mind.

  They arrived at her apartment and all three exited the taxi, entered the building, and walked Lola up to her apartment. Maddie used her key to open the door and took Lola straight to her bedroom.

  She couldn’t shake the daze. Aidan came in carrying a glass of water. She looked up at him but didn’t take the glass from his hand. “I thought you were mad at me. Really mad.”

  “I… I don’t want you to worry about that now. It doesn’t matter anymore. All that matters is that it’s over. Scott doesn’t have to have any part in your life.”

  “And you?”

  Maddie looked from one to the other. “Maybe I should go. So you two can talk.”

  Lola grabbed her hand, preventing her from walking away. “No. Stay.”

  Maddie sat back down.

  “What did you know about this?”

  “Aidan told me yesterday that he was setting this up. He asked me to come over in case you were very upset and needed some support. I was as certain as he was that it would go fine. That Scott would crumble. I’m sorry he hurt you, Lo. I can’t imagine what that must have felt like.”

  “He didn’t hurt me. Much. It’s fine. I imagine Aidan’s injuries are much more serious than mine.” She looked over at him. “Why don’t you go put some ice on your hand and your face?” He understood this was not a request, and walked out of the bedroom.

  “Babe, I think you should rest now. It’s been a long, scary night and you’ll be thinking much clearer in the morning. Look, you get to sleep in your own bed…”

  “Do you believe him, Maddie?”

  “I do. He included me in all of it.”

  “Just a few days ago, he was furious with me. The things he said…” You couldn’t afford me anyway. “I haven’t even seen him since our meeting with Barbara. He's been avoiding me.”

  “I know what he said, Lo. He’s very sorry. But that’s between the two of you. I know he’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

  “I’m having a hard time, Mads. It’s not making sense.”

  “I understand. Why don’t you sleep on it? You guys can talk in the morning, clear everything up.”

  “I want to talk now. Please ask him to come in here.”

  As Maddie walked out of the bedroom, Lola let herself fall onto her pillow. She curled her knees into her chest.

  “You need to rest,” he said from the doorway.

  “I’m not going to rest. Not with my head this full.”

  He took one step into the room. “Lola, there’s a lot to say. But it all boils down to a couple of things. I did what I thought was the right thing, to help you out of the situation with Scott. It didn’t go exactly right, but I think it ended well.”

  “Why did you continue to help me? You were so angry.”

  “I was hurt, Lola. The way you were treating me was devastating. I realized you would never see me how I wanted you to. All you could see was… my past. But I didn’t stop loving you.”

  Tears ran across the bridge of her nose onto the pillow, breaking open into deep sobs which she didn’t try to stop.

  Maddie came into the room and knelt beside her friend. “It’s going to be alright, sweetie. I promise. The worst is over. Everything will feel different in the morning.” Maddie gave her a soft kiss on the forehead before walking out of the room. Aidan began to follow her out.

  “No…” Lola said between sobs.

  “What do you need, Lola? What can I do for you?” His voice cracked.

  “Stay.”

  Aidan looked back at Maddie, who nodded to him and spoke. “She needs you now. Even if she doesn’t understand it completely.”

  He walked to the far side of the bed and got in, enveloping her body with is. He kissed the back of her head while her body shook. “I’m here, Lola. I’m right here. No one can hurt you.”

  * * *

  She woke up to sounds in the kitchen: drawers opening and closing, water running, plates and cups clinking on the countertop. It took a moment to remember why she was fully dressed and who was in her kitchen. The events of the previous night downloaded all at once and she panicked. “Who’s there?!” />
  Aidan ran in to her room. “It’s me, Lola. Just me.”

  His face was disfigured, with a large purple welt where his left eye used to be and a thick scab across his lip.

  “Holy shit! You look terrible.”

  “Thanks.” He paused to look at her. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m okay. Sorry for screaming just now. I just got scared. I forgot…”

  “It’s okay. It’s fine. I’m sorry I woke you. Coffee should be ready soon.”

  “Sounds good.”

  He walked back into the kitchen, returning shortly with a large white mug.

  “Thank you, Aidan. You’re…” What could she say to this man? He had taken all her bullshit and hypocrisy and was still taking care of her.

  “No thanks needed.” He stood empty-handed.

  “Aren’t you having any coffee?”

  “I figure you’d like to have some time to yourself. I’m going to head home.”

  “The last thing I want is to be in this house by myself.” She felt embarrassed about how childish she was being, but it didn't matter.

  “I can call Maddie. She might already be on her way.”

  “Do you have to go?”

  “I don’t have to go. But I feel like I should go.”

  “Why?”

  “You’re not… I mean… you might need some time. To feel steady again.”

  “I want you to stay, Aidan.”

  “You’re still feeling scared, Lola. That’s normal. It will take a while to fully process what happened. But I know you’ll be fine. Everything will be back to normal very soon.”

  “Normal? What’s normal? You sound like it’s over. With us. Is that what you’re saying?”

  He closed his eyes while his chest expanded around a deep, slow breath. When he blinked his eyes open, they bore into her. “I can’t be here for this part. It’s too hard for me. And maybe it’s too confusing for you. We… I have to say goodbye, Lola.”

  She started to choke, the tears coming too fast. “But I love you, Aidan.”

  He had already walked out the door.

  18

  A New Story