by Hadley Quinn
“You are unbelievable! You vandalized his truck? Are you kidding me?”
“Calm down, Dani. You’re so moody.”
“Kiss my ass, Brian. We’re through here.”
“He knows we’re engaged, Dani.”
She stopped dead in her tracks and turned around to look at him. “He does not. And quit saying that because we’re not!”
“Okay, so he doesn’t know. But he will.”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Why can’t you just let this go, Brian? You and I are not compatible. I don’t like to be told what to do, and to put it plainly, you’ve turned out to be a total fucking psycho.”
That amused him and he smiled. “Fine and dandy. But you still owe me.”
“I gave you back the ring.”
“Yeah, you did. But there’s more.”
“I don’t even have anything!”
“That’s bullshit.”
“It’s the truth! I used everything I had to help out my brother!”
“You’re forgetting some tiny little gifts, Dani. They’re pretty, and shiny, and are worth a lot of money. Just give me that and I’ll leave you and your boyfriend alone.”
She shook her head at him. “I thought you pawned those a long time ago. I don’t have them.”
He looked at her suspiciously. “What do you mean you don’t have ‘em?”
“I don’t have them,” she repeated slowly. “They weren’t with any of my stuff, so I just figured you took it all, along with a lot of other things I can’t find.”
Brian got up from the bed and paced to the wall and back. “You don’t have the silver box?”
She shrugged. “I thought you took it.”
He groaned out loud and ran his hands through his hair. “Then where the fuck is it!”
“That’s what all of this is about?”
“Where’s the goddamn box!?”
“I don’t know!” she shouted at him. “I’m done here.” She went to leave but he stopped her by grabbing her arm. “Ow! Let go of me!”
He took her face with his hand and pinned her up against the wall. She tried to knee him in the groin but he pressed his legs against hers so she couldn’t move. “I want the box, Dani. You find it or there will be hell to pay. Just think about your cocky ass boyfriend and picture his face all busted up. It would give me great pleasure to see that happen.”
“I’d like to see you face him yourself,” she snarled at him. “But no, you’d just put your dick between your legs and hire other people to do it!”
That pissed him off and he squeezed her face harder. “You’d better watch your mouth, princess. It’s only a matter of time before I sink you both.”
“And what is that going to accomplish? Huh? I don’t have the box, Brian. You can stop harassing me now!”
“Well now that you’ve disappointed me with that news, perhaps you should make it up to me another way…”
She didn’t like the way he was looking at her, and she pushed him away. “Get off of me.”
“Dani,” he smiled sweetly. He pressed up against her and put his lips against her face. “It’s been a long time, baby. I miss you.” He breathed her in, feeling a bit intoxicated by being so close to her again. He forced her to kiss him and she pushed him away again.
“We’re done here,” she warned him. “I’ll go through my stuff for the box, okay? I don’t think I have it, but I’ll look again.”
It didn’t seem to deter him, and he continued to kiss her.
“I said no, Brian. Get away from me!”
He ignored her, even using his hands to slide behind her to move her to the bed. He pushed her onto it, letting the unquenchable desire to have her again take over. “You can scream all you want, but it will only make it more fun. There aren’t any neighbors up here. In fact, this building is vacant because it’s been remodeled. I know this because it’s one of my company’s property investments, sweetheart. They start leasing next month; maybe you and I could shack up here.”
“I will go straight to the police. There is no way you’re getting away with this. I have a restraining order against you! I have witnesses that know I’m here!”
“You underestimate me, Dani,” he said, lying over the top of her. He kissed her some more and said, “But the problem is that I’m a lot smarter than you.”
“It’s sad that you think that,” she retorted, fighting every way she could to keep him off. It didn’t do any good. He was way too strong for her.
“Well, I’ve got my bases covered. You can’t prove anything because I’m already a step ahead of you…”
Chapter Thirteen
Van left work around five-thirty the next day. It was the last fill-in position he was going to get in a long time and it didn’t sit well with him. He was getting used to having a regular job, but now he was back to being on-call. It may have been a coincidence that Mickey called him on his way home wanting to discuss his return to the cage, but Van knew that he kept tabs on everything going on in his life, and Mickey was aware that he was now available.
“Let me discuss it with Dani first,” he told him. “Let me get used to losing my job and then I’ll—”
“You didn’t lose your damn job,” Mickey growled at him.
“I know, but it feels like it. I mean I knew it was going to be temporary, but after four months I just got used to the regularity of it. Now I’m back to the 40-man roster.”
Mickey chuckled at the baseball reference. “Well, I understand, but who knows when you’ll get called up again.”
It was Van’s turn to chuckle but he somberly added, “Well, when there’s another arsonist terrorizing the streets. Millions of dollars in damage before they finally decided to reinforce the department… But at least they finally caught the little prick.”
“Well you got four months’ of pay for it, Van, and now you know it’s the perfect time to come back. You’re blessed to be great at two different careers. Take advantage of that.”
Van nodded to himself as he navigated traffic. “I hear you. But like I said, I’ll talk to Dani. We like to make decisions together.”
“Hmm, sounds like a married couple.”
“Yeah, somewhat. We just…get along really well and…”
“And you want to marry her someday.” When Van didn’t answer, Mickey added, “It’s no secret, son. I can see it.”
“Well, we’ll just see, I guess. I’ve got a couple of obstacles to get through first and maybe we’ll be at that point.”
“She’d be one hell of a supporter in your corner, Vanny. I’m telling you. I see it.”
“Wait, are we talking marriage or the cage.”
“Heh heh, I was talking cage. But she’ll say yes, no doubt. Marriage and cage,” he added with a smile.
Van liked to think so. He felt that Dani would support him no matter what. But he still wanted to talk to her about it and he was surprised he beat her home when it was already six o’clock. He’d left her a message that he’d be a little later than usual, but he hadn’t heard back from her. He assumed she hadn’t had a chance to return his call just yet.
But something felt off after he’d been in the apartment for a minute. He looked around, noticing that it felt a little different but he couldn’t decide how. He took his stuff to the bedroom and that’s when it hit him. He didn’t see anything of hers, not one thing. He opened the closet door and his heart plunged into his stomach.
All of her clothes were gone.
He checked the dresser and the bathroom… It was the same thing. He dialed her number right away and had to leave another message.
“Dani, what’s going on? I come home and your stuff’s gone. I- I don’t know what to think. I mean obviously you’ve moved your stuff out but… What’s going on? Call me, okay? I need to talk to you. I don’t…I don’t want you to move out. I just don’t even know what to think right now, but please don’t move out…”
He knew he was rambling on, but he tol
d her that he loved her and then finally hung up. He wasn’t sure what to do at that point, but for some reason he felt like she wasn’t going to call him back.
What the hell happened?
“Jaime,” he said quickly when she answered the phone.
“Van?”
“Yeah it’s Van. I, uh… Where’s Dani?”
“Dani? What do you mean?”
“I came home from work and all of her stuff was gone. What’s going on?”
“I- I don’t know,” replied said, suddenly worried. “She never said anything about moving out. When did you talk to her last?”
“Yesterday evening. She was just about to watch a movie before she went to bed.”
“What time was that?”
“Well…must have been around six I think.”
Jaime sighed. “I think I talked to her after you did. She, uh… Oh, God…”
“What? What’s going on? You’re freaking me the fuck out.”
“She thought she found your sister.”
Van didn’t know what to say. It was the last thing he expected to hear.
“She wanted me to go with her to see if it checked out but I couldn’t,” she continued. “But she told me she was going to wait until you got home today, Van. Jesus, now you have me freaking out!”
“Just- what do you mean she thinks she found my sister? She tracked down an address and was going to see if it really was her?”
Jaime was hesitant, but she ended up telling Van everything that Dani had been trying to do to find Leah. Van had no idea, and even though one part of him wished she had told him, the rest of him just loved her even more for it.
“Okay, so where can I look for her?” Van finally asked.
“I don’t know. Let me call my family members and then I’ll call you back. Oh God, wait a minute…”
“What?”
“Quincy!”
Van was silent for a few seconds and then asked, “What about Quincy?”
“He knocked on the door when I was talking to Dani.”
“Last night?”
“Yes. But I didn’t talk to her after that.”
He thought for a moment and said, “Okay, you talk to your family, I’ll talk to Q. Call me back.”
Jaime agreed, and as soon as they hung up, they each made a phone call. Van dialed Quincy at the same time he walked down the hall to his apartment. He didn’t answer the phone or answer the door, so Van called Cody first, and then Paulie. Neither of them had seen him since the day before. He had no luck at the Divehouse either, and instead of going crazy in his own empty apartment, Van got in his truck in search of both Dani and Quincy.
He got a phone call from Jaime twenty minutes later. He was hopeful at first, but her news wasn’t any better than his. However, she still couldn’t get a hold of her parents, and even though it was a long shot, it was still a possibility.
“Have you talked to her boss yet?” Jaime asked.
Van hadn’t even thought of that and he became optimistic again. He agreed to call Dani’s work, but since he was only a few miles away, he decided to just stop by instead. It was almost seven and he was sure the business was closed, but then he remembered Dani saying there was a design team that came to work later than everyone, and left later at the end of the day.
He was lucky when he caught a couple of them leaving the building just as he arrived. He introduced who he was and one of the guys said, “As far as I know she called in sick today,” and then he got in his car.
“Yeah, I just know she wasn’t here today,” the other guy said, and he too got in his car.
Van climbed into his truck, still frustrated. He now knew she hadn’t come to work, but that bothered him even more. It explained why she had time to clear her things out, but it didn’t explain why or where she went.
He tried calling her again, but this time his message was more submissive. “Dani, I’m so sorry for whatever happened, okay? If I did something wrong, I’m so sorry. You don’t have to explain anything right now, but can you please, please, please just let me know you’re okay. Even just a text message and I won’t ask any questions. Please, Dani. I love you and I’m worried about you…”
Dani did get that message and it made her cry, just like the others. She didn’t know what to do, and she just sat in her car until she decided it was time to face her parents. It was her only option, and even though she was already as low as she thought she could get in life, she was about to go lower.
Thomas, the doorman at her parents’ apartment building, hardly recognized her. It was definitely Danielle Martin, but he hadn’t seen her in almost two years. She looked different; still beautiful, but with simple clothes on and less makeup. He wanted to express his excitement for seeing her again, but he could tell that something was wrong. Her eyes were red and puffy and he knew she’d been crying.
“They’re still in Penthouse One, right?” she kind of joked with a smile on her way by.
“Yes,” he smiled back.
She nodded and stood in front of the elevator. As a second thought, she took the stairwell instead. Thomas raised his eyebrows, surprised that she was willing to take on eighteen flights of stairs. But Dani was so used to taking the stairs to Van’s apartment she felt she could manage just fine.
By the time she made it to the top she was breathing heavier, but it had been a decent workout. Her legs were tired, but she welcomed the fatigue to add to her miserable state.
The door to Penthouse One opened as soon as she came into the hallway. Simone Martin stood there and stared at her daughter, shocked by what she saw. But she didn’t say anything just yet and waited for Danielle to speak first.
“Hi Mom,” she said, passing her at the door and entering the apartment. It looked the same as ever—posh and pristine with magnificent pieces of artwork dazzling the surfaces. Everything was arranged to compliment, dominate, or blend in—just like it was supposed to.
Simone followed her daughter in and watched her set a bag on the floor by the couch. “Are you hungry?” she asked her.
Dani was surprised that was the first thing out of her mouth. Being that their whole history together comprised of arguments about food.
“Yes, actually I am,” she admitted.
Simone nodded her head and made a phone call. Dani wasn’t surprised that her mom chose the food for her, but she was surprised there was a variety of choices that didn’t consist of just greens.
“Is Dad home?” she asked when her mom hung up.
“Yes, he is. He’s on the phone in the office.” She paused for a second and added, “He’s looking forward to seeing you.”
Dani nodded. She didn’t doubt that to be true, but it would only be a matter of time before they got into an argument about something or other.
“Good, you’re here,” Dominic said as he came out of the office. There was an awkward silence for a few seconds until he cleared his throat and said, “Danielle, I won’t bombard you with questions, but eventually I would like to know why you’ve decided to finally speak to us.”
She was almost grateful for the temporary pass, but she decided to just get it over with when she said, “I’m broke, I have no place to live, and I’m without options right now. Thank you for the consideration, but I’d really just like to get down to it. I need help, and I’d like to know what I can do to get it.”
Dominic was surprised with the full disclosure, but he motioned for the three of them to have a seat in the living room. After they were settled he said, “You’re broke because of Simon?”
Dani held her tongue for a moment, tempted to spout off her true feelings about that particular subject. She was broke because her parents refused to help their son, but she had also been screwed out of all the money she’d earned before she’d turned eighteen. They weren’t pleased with her decision to quit modeling, so the money was withheld. Dani had no idea if they still had that large sum of money or not, but she never asked.
“I’m out of mo
ney because I’ve chosen to help my family, yes,” she finally answered.
He knew her choice of words was meant to be cutting yet respectful at the same time, so Dominic didn’t argue her reasoning. “And you lost your apartment?”
She took a slow breath. “Yes, for the same reason.”
“But that was months ago. Where have you been living?”
“With…” At first she was going to say “with a friend,” but she didn’t feel that partial truths would get her anywhere. “I was living with Brian for two months and then we broke up. A, uh, friend took me in after that, but I just packed up all of my stuff from there. What I had there is now in my car. The rest of my stuff is still at Jaime’s.”
Her dad slightly nodded his head before asking, “And that friend was another boyfriend, correct?”
She sighed to herself, especially because of the familiar way her father always made her feel so cheap in the subtlest ways. But she replied, “Yes, we became pretty close. But I just can’t drag him into my life anymore.”
“You mean everything with Brian?”
“Yes,” she answered, unsurprised that they knew about it. But she could hardly think about him without wanting to scream her lungs out. She wished him dead.
“From what I know about Brian is that you had to get a restraining order,” Dominic said sternly. “Has it gotten worse? Has he still been harassing you?”
She wasn’t about to get into details so she just said, “Yes, it’s gotten worse. He threatened me last night.”
Her parents looked at each other but didn’t say anything.
“Look,” Dani said. “I’m here because you’re my parents, and I need your help. Fontaine is never around, Simon has enough troubles, and I think Jaime and Steve are having a rough time again. I need money, or a job, or whatever it is you can help me out with. Or if you could help Simon out, that would be a huge burden lifted off my shoulders as well.”
“Fontaine found him a few jobs,” Simone informed her.
“Really? Where?”
“In LA. I believe he flies out tomorrow for a few weeks.”