Her Carnal Games Series

by Chanel Ivy

  Thankfully, Todd’s room wasn’t as bad as the rest of the house. His mattress was turned over, but it wasn’t ripped apart like the rest of the furniture. His drawers were pulled out but only riffled through instead of emptied onto the floor.

  Todd grabbed his book bag for school, then a gym bag, and stuffed a bunch of clothes inside. Emma was thumbing through some magazines when she held one up for both of us to see. “Nice ass on this one,” she laughed.

  Todd jumped up and grabbed the glossy magazine called “Busty Bottoms” away from Emma’s hands. “That’s not mine,” he blushed.

  “Yeah, you’re just holding it for a friend, right?” I asked, rolling my eyes.

  Boys...

  Emma was on the phone, quickly getting us a room at the nicest hotel she could find, and we gave Ben the name before we left. We notified the officers that the only things Todd recognized as stolen were his laptop, tablet, gaming headset, and his two gaming consoles, along with all of his games.

  Todd was bummed about his stolen items, but he also recognized that it could have been much worse.

  On the ride to the hotel, I hugged Todd tightly and kissed his sandy blonde hair. “I love you, little man.”

  “I love you too, Mom.”

  “Are you going to be okay?” I asked.

  “Yeah. It sucks that our stuff’s gone, but it’s okay. No one was hurt, and that’s what matters the most.”

  “That’s my boy,” I replied, hugging him tighter.

  “Mom, I can’t breathe.”

  “You’ll be fine. I’m not that strong,” I laughed.

  We made it to the hotel and settled in. Todd was asleep, and Emma and I finally had a chance to talk. Emma didn’t waste any time, either. As soon as the door was closed, she started in on me.

  “Do you mind telling me what that was all about?”

  “Ben is not the cleanest of businessmen,” I said, sitting on the edge of the bed in a huff. “My best guess is he pissed off the wrong guys, messed up someone’s order, or one of his competitors is trying to scare him off.”

  “What do you mean by not the cleanest of businessmen? What does he do that’s so shady?” Emma asked, her expression getting more fierce by the second.

  “He ships wine and other alcohol products across state lines illegally. At least that’s as much as I know about his illegal enterprises. He could very well be mixed up in other things. If someone who needed something illegal shipped caught wind of him being able to do so successfully, they might have requested his services for something other than alcohol. Your guess is as good as mine, though. My intel is five years old, from back when we were married.”

  “What the hell, Mia? We don’t need this right now. This Stuart shit is just about to be wrapped up, and now this?”

  “I know, I’m sorry,” I said as I grabbed her hand, pulling Emma into a hug. “I had no idea any of this was going to happen, especially now.”

  “I know it’s not your fault, but the timing is slightly convenient,” Emma replied, pulling away from me.

  She paced the room back and forth, one arm across her stomach, the other holding her hand at her chin as she tapped her finger on her lips deep in thought.

  “What are you thinking?” I asked.

  “I think I need to fly back to Charlotte. I’ll let everyone know you won’t be in for another few days because of a family emergency. My driver will be on standby for you to take Todd to school tomorrow, and anywhere else you need to go for clothes and other essentials, but I think you should plan on staying here for a few days,” she said in a tone that told me it was more of a demand than a suggestion.

  “What are you going to do?” I asked, growing more alarmed by the second.

  “I’m going to find out exactly what’s going on, and then I’m going to fix it,” Emma said before quickly kissing me and heading for the door.

  “Wait, when am I going to see you again?”

  “As soon as this is all wrapped up, my pet.”

  In a blink, Emma was gone down the long hotel hallway, and I had no idea what she was going to do next.

  Chapter 10

  The next few days were a blur. Todd had school, Emma had my laptop shipped to me so I could work from the hotel and told me to stay the rest of the week but gave me no reasoning as to why. We barely talked, and every time I texted her, she said she’d call me soon, but never did.

  Ben visited me in my hotel room while Todd was at school to let me know the police found the guys from the security footage in an abandoned warehouse. A lot of the stolen items were recovered, but all of the perpetrators were dead. The cops said they were found in the same room with the stolen goods, deceased from an apparent overdose. They blamed fentanyl-laced heroin. How convenient.

  This story seemed all too familiar to me, which really freaked me out. I called and texted Emma that she needed to call me back, that it was an emergency, but nothing.

  “Ben, you said most of your property was recovered. What wasn’t?” I asked him.

  “All of my computer equipment except for one of my tablets and Todd’s computer is still missing. All of the documents from my safe are gone, even though they found the cash from my safe on the dead kids,” Ben replied, rubbing his face anxiously.

  “What was on those computers, and what were the papers for?”

  “My computers had lists of all of my shipments as well as all of my client’s information. There’s also a secret file on the hard drive with all the not-so-legal business transactions. The papers were supposed to be my insurance policy against getting into hot water with any of my off-books clients. I had leverage over every single one of them, and now it’s all gone. This burglary is going to put me out of business, Mia.”

  “What the hell kind of people are you dealing with that you need leverage over them to feel like you’re doing business safely? You’re ridiculous. You know that, Ben?”

  “Oh, don’t act like you’re innocent in all of this, Mia. You knew what I was doing to make as much money as I was pulling in, and you had no problem with it at the time.”

  “I most certainly did not. I only found out what you were doing right before we got divorced. I looked through your financials, and things weren’t adding up, so I did some digging and figured out what you were up to. Your books are sloppy, or at least they were five years ago. I hope you got better at being a criminal or you’re going down for this whole thing. I hope you realize that.”

  “I’ll be dead before the cops take me in. My clients will see to that,” Ben said, dropping his head into his hands.

  “I need you to sign over full custody of Todd to me,” I stated flatly with no emotion in my voice.

  “What? No, never,” Ben retorted angrily.

  “Ben, I’m serious. Think about our son. Think about the danger you’re putting him in right now. If these people find out that you have information on them, that’s incriminating and that it’s been stolen by God only knows who they are going to come after you. If they decide they’d rather just kill you, do you think they’re going to care if Daisy and Todd are in the way? Or do you think they’re going to shoot first and ask questions later?” Ben had nothing to say in response. He knew I was right, and for the first time in his life, he had no choice but to agree with me. “I’ll have an attorney draw up the paperwork, so all you have to do is sign it,” I said dryly. I took no pleasure in being right this time.

  Ben lifted his head, and there were tears in his eyes. I had never seen Ben cry before, never. Now I knew things were bad.

  “Fine. You know where to find me.”

  I contacted my lawyer as soon as Ben left and explained the situation to her. She said she’d draw up the documentation and email it to me right away. As I was hanging up the phone, there was a knock at my door.

  If Ben had changed his mind, he had another thing coming. The wheels were already in motion, and this was the best option right now for Todd’s safety.

  I answered the door alrea
dy prepared for a fight. “Ben, I’m not... Emma! Oh my gosh!” I exclaimed as I threw my arms around her, dragging her inside of the room with me. “Why didn’t you answer any of my texts or call me back?”

  “I’m sorry I’ve been quite busy with all of the recent developments.”

  “What recent developments?” I asked, already feeling exhausted just looking at her.

  “I found out who ransacked Ben’s house and why,” Emma replied, walking over to the bar in the corner of the room and pouring herself a hefty glass of gin.

  “Ben told me the cops found the kids responsible, but that they’re all dead. Fentanyl-laced heroin or some such nonsense.”

  Emma downed her drink and poured herself another. “Nonsense is precisely what it is. Tosh, it’s all tosh,” Emma replied before quickly emptying her glass again and pouring another round for herself.

  Her rapid-fire drinking alarmed me. Ben was crying, and now Emma was drinking to massive excess. Things must be getting really out of control.

  “Hey, Emma, maybe you should slow down on those.”

  “Don’t get miffed, my pet. I’m not pissed yet, but I will be soon,” she laughed. Her accent was getting heavier as the alcohol took hold of her.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “What’s wrong with me?” Emma snorted as she finally turned to face me. “What’s wrong with me is the woman I happen to be falling in love with came into my life, was attacked by some psychotic bloke who mucked everything up. Now The Company has looked into you, and in turn, into Ben and his business and decided they want to use his methods of transporting goods across state lines for themselves. They paid those daft wankers to ransack his house and steal whatever they wanted as long as they promised to get them the papers from the safe and all of the computers in the house. The fuckn’ twats thought they’d make a quick dosh but ended up dead for their troubles. That went a bit botched on their part, don’t ya’ think?” Emma slurred her words the more she talked, and I barely understood whatever slang she was using.

  “All right. That’s enough for you, Miss. Cross,” I replied as I put away the gin and dumped what was left of her fourth glass in the sink.

  Emma stumbled into me, laying her hands on my shoulders to steady herself. “You know, until you came into my life, everything went exactly as I planned. I knew what to expect week in and week out. Now, there’s nothing but drama. I haven’t had to deal with The Company this much in years. But now... now it’s like we’re best friends again, and I hate dealing with them. They make my skin crawl. How many people have to die for you?”

  My hand flew out and slapped Emma across the face before I even knew I was doing it. She stood there stunned, staring blankly at me, gripping her cheek.

  “How dare you? Do you think I wanted any of this to happen? You keep me in the dark about almost everything until it’s convenient for you to blame me. How dare you?” I replied, seething with anger at her words.

  “Well, you got what you needed, the investigation into Stuart’s disappearance is closed. They found what was left of his body in the woods by his ex-girlfriend’s trailer. His blood was all over the inside of her house with signs of a struggle. The ex-girlfriend died the first night in lockup, some kind of aneurysm supposedly. We all know who that was, though. The Company likes you, I guess. They enjoy cleaning up your messes, and they do it with flair.”

  I slapped Emma again, harder, this time.

  “You need to sober up. Until then, I’d like you to leave, Miss. Cross.”

  “Fine, but if I were you, I’d be cautious about who you talk to. You have no idea who’s with The Company and who isn’t. They have people everywhere, and they have many interests they would do anything to protect. I expect I’ll see you at work then, Miss. Blackburn.”

  As soon as Emma was out the door, I slammed it behind her and fell to the floor, crying. What just happened? What had I done? How had the last month gone from so good to so bad so quickly?

  Chapter 11

  I checked my email, and the updated custody agreement was there from my attorney. I had the front desk print it out for me and took it to Ben’s room, where he only opened the door to sign it and then closed the door in my face.

  I picked up Todd from school and discussed the new living arrangements with him in the parking lot. Amazingly, he was thrilled. I didn’t give him all of the details. I just told him that Ben and I felt it was safer that he stays with me from now on. Todd was a little disappointed that he’d have to change schools with only a month and a half left in his junior year, but he was still excited about the change.

  We went back to the hotel, gathered Todd’s things, checked out, and stopped at Ben’s house for the rest of Todd’s belongings.

  “All of your stuff is never going to fit in this car. What do you say we go to the dealership right now and get something a little more practical?”

  “Awe, Mom, I love this car,” Todd whined.

  “I do too, honey, but I’m too old for something like this, and I need something bigger, and less fast. I’m so scared I’m going to get pulled over all the time that I’m developing anxiety,” I laughed.

  “Fine, I guess you’re right.”

  We had to drive past the small airport Emma’s helicopter used to get to the dealership, and as we got closer, I noticed a significant pillar of smoke billowing from the airfield. Todd rolled down his windows, and we could hear sirens blaring in the distance.

  I pulled off the side of the road near the entrance to the airport, which was blocked by police cars and news vans. I stepped out of the car, and off in the distance, I could vaguely see rotor blades sticking up at an awkward angle pointing towards the sky and smoke rising from just below them.

  I quickly dialed Emma’s phone, but it went right to voice mail. This couldn’t be happening.

  “Todd, stay in the car. I’ll be right back.”

  “Mom! You don’t think it was Emma in that crash, do you?” he asked, tears welling in his eyes.

  “I don’t know, honey, but I’m going to try and find out. I’ll be right back.

  I squeezed between the gate and the police car while the officer was fighting with a reporter to move back. I ran as fast as I could across the pavement towards the smoky scene. There were fire trucks and ambulances everywhere, with emergency personnel rushing around in a million different directions. The helicopter came into view, and it was one of Emma’s choppers. The Cross Financial Logo covered in soot and charred black was still visible in its gold leaf lettering.

  I grabbed the first person I could desperately asking if there were any fatalities or if they knew if Miss. Emma Cross was on the helicopter when the accident happened. The man pointed me to an ambulance being loaded with someone on a gurney.

  I ran over and saw it was Jack, Emma’s pilot. Half of his face was burned, and he was covered in blood, but he was conscious.

  “Jack, Jack, It’s Mia. Was Emma on the helicopter with you?”

  “They took her already,” he managed to cough out before an officer pulled me away.

  “Ma’am, excuse me, ma’am, we have to get this man to the hospital.”

  “Is Emma Cross still alive? Jack said she was with him in the crash and they took her already. Is she alive?” I asked, beginning to get hysterical.

  “Ma’am, I’m going to need you to calm down. They already transported Miss. Cross to the hospital, are you family?”

  The question stung like salt in a wound. I wasn’t her family, but I cared for her more than anyone else in the world. Her family gave her up, but looking back on our last conversation, I did the same thing. I slapped her and told her to leave instead of talking things out like a rational adult. How did I let things get so fucked up?

  “I’m not family, but I’m her girlfriend. I just need to know if she’s okay and what hospital they took her to, please, officer.”

  The cop looked at me with compassion. I’m sure he saw this every day. People who weren’t
family caring more about someone than their actual family did, but he wasn’t legally allowed to give me any information.

  “I can only tell you that all of the crash victims are being transported to Mercy General Trauma Center for treatment. I’m sorry I can’t give you any more information than that.”

  “Thank you, sir,” I replied as I turned and ran back down through the madness and to my vehicle.

  I jumped in the car, started it, and threw it in gear with my foot to the floor racing to Mercy General. Todd quickly put his seat belt on before asking his barrage of questions.

  “It was Emma’s helicopter, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes, it was.”

  “Is she okay?”

  “I don’t know, but they’re taking everyone to Mercy General, so that’s where we’re going.”

  “How bad was it, Mom?”

  “Jack, the pilot, was being loaded in the ambulance, and he was pretty badly burned. But the back of the helicopter didn’t look to have that much damage to it. Hopefully, Emma isn’t that injured.”

  “This is crazy, Mom. What do you think happened?”

  “I don’t know, sweetie, but we’re about to find out. Hold on.”

  I sped through the streets as safely as possible. I didn’t want to end up in the hospital for any other reason than to check on Emma and her condition. I certainly didn’t want to risk Todd’s safety getting us there.

  We pulled up to the emergency entrance, and I found a spot. Todd and I both ran inside, and I asked the front desk where the helicopter victims were being cared for. When she responded that they were still waiting for those patients to come in, I was highly confused.

  “But I just left the scene, and the ambulance with Emma Cross inside had already left. The officer told me they were coming here. You’re telling me that I beat an ambulance transporting a helicopter crash victim to the hospital?” I asked.

  “I’m sorry, ma’am. At this time, we are still waiting for those patients to come in. If you’d like to sit and wait, you are more than welcome to do so. If you’ll excuse me, we have patients coming in now,” the nurse replied calmly as she rushed away from her desk to the side doors.