“I haven’t taken any of their calls.”
“And Anna? I’m sure she must be so worried about you.”
“I need to clear my head first, figure out what I have to do.”
He ran his hand through his hair.
“Do you think he did it?” Lila asked finally, out loud. She knew he was thinking the exact same thing.
“Yes. Lila, you have no idea how sorry I am about all this. I’ve done so many things in my life when I was younger, and up until today, I haven’t regretted any of my actions because I knew what I was doing. But seeing her like this, I feel guilty because I knew he wanted to kill her.” His eyes narrowed. “He wanted to kill her. To spite me. He would take a life just to get me in shit deep trouble.”
It sank in fully.
“That fucking son of a bitch!” He closed his eyes and swore, spitting out a line of expletives. “Come, let me take you home.”
“What? Now?”
“Yes. Come.”
He took her hand and led her back to the car. She didn’t know what all this was. She was still confused about the predicament he was in. It wasn’t until they were finally home that she decided that now was the time to come clean.
“Killean, why is he so hell-bent on destroying you?” Lila asked. “And don’t say it’s because you slept with Marisa.”
He sat on the edge of the sofa, far away from her reach, and sighed. He needed a shave and a haircut.
“Revenge, of course,” he spat bitterly. “And when I found out he stole from me, I might have left him a pauper.”
“Of course you did. So where do we go from here?”
“We?”
Lila nodded.
The look of genuine confusion on his face irked her. Of course she wanted to offer her help.
“Lila, I want your support, but I won’t pull you into my mess.”
“If you want my support, then I am in way deeper than both of us want to admit, Killean. I noticed that you had no problem taking Katherine’s support.”
“Katherine…I can’t explain her, Lila.”
“Of course you can’t. That’s what happens when they mean so much to you. You can’t explain them.”
“Stop talking to me like I’m supposed to feel guilty.”
“Stop treating me like an errant child,” she snapped.
“She understands me in a way—” He stopped himself and looked at her, eyes wide.
“Don’t stop on my behalf. She understands you in a way that I don’t?”
“That’s not—”
“That’s exactly what you meant. I get it. She’s been with you way longer than I have. So I don’t feel bad. But at some point, you have to choose who is more important, the sex queen or me.”
To her utter astonishment, he let out a bark of laughter. She stared at him as he leaned back into the sofa and howled with laughter. The man being accused of attempted murder by several newspapers was laughing at me. How ironic. Not liking where this argument was headed, she sprang from the sofa. The laughing stopped, and his palm closed around her wrist.
“What?” she snapped.
“I’m sorry, love. Sometimes you leave me with no choice.”
“To laugh at me?”
“No. I say stupid things. I’m sorry. I wasn’t implying that she was more important than you are to me.”
“How would you feel to know that I chose Aiden over you? Since I’ve been with you, we don’t get to see each other much.”
His eyes softened as realization sank in. “I understand. I’m sorry. Forgive me. You’ve thought of me so much. And I wasn’t happy to see Katherine there, either. I told her to go home, and then she just started crying.”
“Crying?”
“Yes. I felt guilty.”
“Of course you would make a woman cry.” Lila smiled ruefully. “Oh, Killean, can’t you see? Katherine loves you. She wants you, but she can’t have you. Actually, I don’t blame her for hating me. I see the fascination.” She leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his rough jaw.
He looked at her, confused, and her smile widened. This was how he looked when he was clueless. Adorable and child-like in nature.
“And you’re happy about that?” he cried, flabbergasted.
“No, not happy. I understand.”
“You are one strange woman.” He sighed. “Katherine claims you verbally attacked her at the café,” he said. “I knew that didn’t add up, so I forced her to tell me. She started it first, so I threatened her.”
Lila’s eyes widened.
“I told her if she ever confronted you again, I’ll end our friendship. I haven’t spoken to her since.”
“You didn’t have to do that, Killean.” Lila felt a sudden empathy for the sad, stunning actress.
“Why didn’t you tell me what she did?”
“Because she’s your best friend, your only friend. I don’t want to come between that. And I can handle Katherine. But it’s nice to have someone defend my…honor?”
He caressed her cheek lovingly.
“I’m glad I have you.” He rubbed his nose affectionately against hers, making her laugh. “Now, I gotta go take care of business.”
“What business?”
“Russell.”
He stood.
“What are you going to do?”
“I haven’t made up my mind yet. I’m going to make a few calls, make a few arrangements.”
CHAPTER
NINETEEN
It was six o’clock when Lila came in and found two men in suits standing in the living area with Ron. Lila knew who they were instantly. One was taller and stouter with thin dark hair, graying at the temple. He had suspicious eyes looking all over the place, inspecting. The other was shorter and wore an impassive look.
“Detectives, what can I do for you?”
Ron left them quietly.
“Is Mr. Knight home?” the suspicious one asked.
“Why are you asking questions you already know the answer to?” Lila returned.
“I take it he is,” he muttered.
“Detectives.”
Killean had entered the room quietly. Lila noticed the expression on his face as he stared at them. He was dressed for no company in a white t-shirt, grey sweatpants, and was barefoot. His hair was damp, and he had shaved.
“You’ve gotten me at a bad time,” he said impatiently.
“We won’t take long,” the tall one said quickly.
Someone was a firecracker tonight. Lila was sure this was all a thrill for these detectives, trying to hook one of American’s richest men for attempted murder.
“I’m Detective Spade, and this is my partner, Williams,” he added.
“I remember you from the station, not likely to forget,” Killean replied, his eyes flickering to her then back to the men.
“Let’s cut to chase here, gentlemen. My girlfriend and I are having dinner.”
“Mr. Knight, we went through the video footage of the building. For a few minutes, the CCTV for that floor went black before coming back on again. We assume this was when our killer moved in.”
“But you never mentioned that you spoke to Miss Cane hours before she met her fate. That was taken outside of Knight HQ. You two were seen in an argument and you man-handled her.” William had seemed to find his voice.
“I never thought a five-minute conversation with a woman I once knew was relevant to finding her attacker.”
“What were you two arguing about?”
“Matters of the heart, Detective.”
Lila frowned, wondering what that meant.
“I am a suspect now?”
“No, Mr. Knight, not yet,” Spade said, as though they were discussing the weather.
“Yet?” The word left her mouth before she could control her tongue.
The three men stared at her.
“That’s how it seems now, Ma’am.”
“Thank you for your time, Mr. Knight,” William said. “We’ll be in touch ve
ry soon.”
He showed both men to the foyer where Michael was waiting.
“How irritating,” he growled.
“Calm down.” Lila took his hand in hers.
“Thank you.” He pulled her into his arms and pressed his lips to her fingers. “I’ve got to fire some people tomorrow.”
She sucked in a harsh mouthful of breath. “What? Killean, be thoughtful.”
“Aren’t I always?”
“You know what I mean.”
“I don’t like incompetence, Lila. I’ll make it up to you. I just need to get all the crazy people out of my life.”
“Killean?”
“Yes?”
“Speaking of crazy, I’ve come to realize you’re a magnet for mad women. Yesterday I saw a woman across the street, a brunette. I also saw her with Russell the night before.”
“A brunette?”
“Hmm, don’t tell me you slept with her too,” Lila joked.
Killean pulled out his phone.
“Hey, Ron, can you pull up the videos of the CCTV for this entire week and Friday too? Email them to me.”
He hung up and sighed.
“I think the one you saw outside the building was Jasmine, my ex-wife.”
Lila’s eyes flared. She recalled Katherine saying something about a marriage when they’d first met in the café. Lila hadn’t given much thought to it then.
“It isn’t something I willingly talk about, Lila, not even with my family.”
“Why would it be a shock for her to be here? You two are divorced, but she lives here.”
“Jasmine has been living in California for the past two years. She just came back.”
“For what reason?”
Killean dragged a palm down his face before meeting her gaze. “I don’t know, Lila. I don’t know.”
***
Thankfully no one at the university asked any questions, though Lila got quite a few questionable glares. She hadn’t even waited to evaluate the situation. Langman hadn’t judged her when he found out, just told her to be careful. But in some people’s eyes, she was fucking one of the university’s benefactors.
“Lila, there’s a Miss Hunt here to see you.”
Lila looked at Mitchella with an are you serious expression. What did Katherine want? Lila had no interest in whatever she had to say. Probably she was here to tell her off again.
Lila abandoned her research and made her way out to the library. Katherine was sitting on the sofa leafing through a magazine, looking all beautiful with her dark brown hair cascading down her back in a bundle of sexy curls. She crossed her legs, showing off long, toned thighs. Lila was aware that all eyes were on her, particularly the men who went by. They must have realized who she was. Lila couldn’t help but think what was not to like about this woman by any man? Killean came to mind.
Katherine glanced up from her magazine and stared at Lila from head to toe. It wasn’t through hostile eyes this time, but a form of surprise. She raised her eyebrow. Was it the clothes? India had upgraded both their wardrobes with new designer things she’d brought from Europe.
“Let’s do this in the office,” Lila said.
She stood and followed Lila to the empty office; Langman had a class.
“What do you want?” Lila demanded as she closed the door behind them.
“Well,” she murmured.
“Can you make this fast? As it is, I don’t particularly like you, and I’m quite irritated that you’ve shown up here asking for me. I thought you wanted nothing to do with the gold digger in Killean’s life.”
She stood so they were both sizing up each other. Thank god for these gorgeous Ferragamo heels.
“And how did you know I work here?”
“I saw it somewhere. Killean didn’t tell me, if that’s what you’re thinking. We haven’t really spoken since. I came to apologize for what I said. I figured that there shouldn’t be any bad blood between us.”
“Was that before or after you threatened to take me down if I ever hurt Killean, or was it when you realized that you’d probably lost him because of me? So you think coming here to apologize will get you back on his good side. Don’t take me for a fool, Katherine. I told you I’m not like the others. I don’t play cat fights. I punch.”
“Killean was right to scold me. It’s just that I’m protective—”
“Of what you can’t have? It doesn’t give you the right to go around meddling with other people’s relationships, especially not mine. I was quiet then, but don’t take me for granted, Katherine. You don’t know me, and I don’t care to know you. I love Killean very much, and it wouldn’t make any difference if he were a janitor. Maybe you aren’t familiar with those men. I don’t know or care how much he’s worth. I’m not you. I don’t date men for their net worth or titles.”
She nodded and tilted her chin in defiance as she knew her jab hit a few nerves. “Well, Lila, I apologize for doubting your feelings for him. We’ve been friends for years, and I’ve seen him get hurt by a lot of people. And now this has happened to him.”
“What do you know about it?”
“Nothing. Killean doesn’t run to me with everything as you’d think. I know him, but I don’t really know him, just the parts I discovered by myself. And I get that you’re uncovering him too. I don’t know if you’re interested, but we could work together to take down this Russell once and for all. I’d hate to see Killean go to prison for attempted murder. We both know he’s innocent.”
“Katherine, don’t feel bad, but I work alone. I don’t like crowds.”
“Call me if you change your mind.” She held a card out, and Lila hesitated before taking it. Katherine laughed. “Come on, Lila. I didn’t come here to argue. I’ve told you off once before, and I’ve crossed the line where Jasmine is concerned, and I apologize for my behavior. Now you’ve told me how you feel, and I accept defeat. Killean is lucky to find an honest girl like you.”
“What did you just say?”
The wheels seemed to spin in Katherine’s head, and her eyes widened.
“It’s nothing,” she said.
Lila’s eyes widened, and then she laughed. “You brought her into town, didn’t you? Jasmine? Killean told me that was the name of his ex-wife.”
Up until this time, they hadn’t discussed the shock Killean had dumped on her yesterday. After he’d told her that he’d been married and divorced, he’d gotten a call to leave.
Katherine’s shoulders sagged. “Listen, Lila. That was a long time ago.”
“You’re unbelievable! You barge in here and apologize, but you have an agenda too. Please leave.”
Lila looked down at the card, then back at her before she turned and opened the door.
“I called her the day we had the altercation in the café. I was pissed and I dug her up. Later I thought about it and I knew I fucked up. I tried to get her back to Cali, but it was too late.”
Lila said nothing, and Katherine gave a resigned sigh.
“Call me if you make up your mind.”
***
Lila wasn’t surprised when she reached the entrance to the living room and saw the two detectives seated with Killean, who looked up at her with a relieved expression.
“Killean?”
“Hey, love.”
“What’s going on?”
“The detectives are about to arrest me,” he said.
“What?”
She rushed to his side and put her arms around him.
“What are you talking about?”
“We got a call the other night, Miss Montgomery, from Marisa Cane at twelve p.m. the night she was taken. She told the operator very hysterically that you, Mr. Knight, were trying to hurt her, that you had her at gunpoint.”
“Killean doesn’t have a gun.”
“His security staff does,” Spade backed up quickly.
“And at that time in the evening, Detectives, we were engaging in hot, mind-blowing sex. He never left. CCTV cameras can prove
that.”
Both men exchanged wary glances.
“You can ask the receptionist on the ground floor about Mr. Knight’s schedule. She knows it well, even more than I do. Somebody is trying to frame him. He’s a very high-profile man, and you don’t think he has a few enemies? You’ve got to be dumb if you think otherwise.”
“It doesn’t change the facts.”
Lila was getting very irritated. “You mean that evidence doesn’t matter? Is this how the police handle their affairs? By manifesting stories in their mind? So what about facts? Somebody else tried to kill her and placed her in his building so it would look like he did it. It’s called a set-up. Ever heard of it? Or are you two just busy on a rampage to get the billionaire? Climbing the ladder of ranks, I see.”
Neither detective tried to hide their expression, one disgusted, the other shocked.
Lila continued on the same breath. “Don’t you know rich people don’t get their hands dirty? They hire someone else to do it for them. And by the way, don’t you—”
“Lila, that’s enough now,” Killean interjected.
“They’re trying to implicate you.”
“Do I look shaken to you, love? Why would I be? I didn’t touch a hair on Marisa’s head.”
She sighed and rested her head against his shoulder.
“Okay, then,” Detective Williams said, looking confused. “We’ll talk to eye witnesses downstairs.”
“I am a busy man, Detectives, and I manage a lot of companies and thousands of employees. I don’t have time to waste. And if your bureau cannot find Miss Cane’s attacker, you leave me no choice but to take matters into my own hands. I owe it to her, as we’ve known each other for years, and I want her to recover quickly and tell you who did that to her.”
Lila watched them go with a roll of her eyes. Killean looked at her with a little smile.
“You have a gifted mouth,” he said.
“Killean, now’s not the time to be crude.”
“The way you stood up for me.”
“Hasn’t anyone stood up for you before?”
“No, not really.”
“Not even the sex queen?”
“Not like you just did.”
“Well, I’m glad.”
A thought suddenly flashed through her mind, and she pinned Killean with a look. “Why didn’t you mention Russell to them?”
Wicked Dirty Games (Dirty Billionaire Series Book 1) Page 22