by Maggie Thom
“What’s going on?”
Startled, she looked up. Graham was staring at her intently.
“I don’t do well at weddings.” She gave a half-hearted smile. “Actually these new shoes are pinching my feet. Do you mind watching Chance for a bit? I just want to run down to the room for a minute.”
“No. If you’re going, so am I.”
“Really, I’m fine. Okay. I’ll just go to the bathroom down the hall. I’ll be right back. Keep Chance safe.” She kissed Chance on the cheek, and he gave her a big zerbert in return before snuggling into Graham’s arms as he watched her leave. Closing the door behind her, she leaned against it for a moment, wondering when her nightmare was going to end. The soft sounds from the wedding reminded her she now had a lot to lose. It was no longer only about her and Chance.
After slipping into the bathroom, a flashing light signified she’d received an email. Stephen must have grown tired of her nonresponse. Even though it was from him, she felt compelled to open it.
‘It’s time to end this game, Tarin. I know where you are but so does he.’
Her body involuntarily shuddered. She’d been getting a pretty clear picture of who might be behind her missing week but she still didn’t understand it. She had to get out of there. Tucking her cell into her bra, she opened the door and peeked down the back hallway. Sending one of the men to find her personal supplies seemed to have worked. She made sure it was clear before making her way to the stairwell. Slipping through the door, she made her way down a few flights before taking the elevator. She made her way to her room.
She opened the door and when she didn’t see anyone, she made her way to the closet. Someone cleared their throat. She froze as though whoever was sitting in the chair behind her wouldn’t be able to see her.
“At last we meet, Tarin. Officially, I mean.”
She turned slowly. The heavy curtains had been closed, casting the room in darkness. But his gray sideburns stood out in the darkness beneath a fedora and he was dressed in a suit. His hands were resting in his lap and he was casually aiming a gun at her.
Her eyes widened. “Who are you?” But she knew. It had been his picture she’d seen when she’d fainted.
“Oh my dear, I’m hurt that you wouldn’t know.” He shook his head as though he was talking to a child that had disappointed him.
“Why me?”
“Why not you?” He smiled without warmth. “Let me see. Your father is rather ruthless in his business dealings, but certainly you don’t think he’s created all that success on his own, do you? Your father is slick, he took a lot from me in a deal, so it seemed quite logical to choose you.”
Tarin glared as she let that sink in. She had her father to thank. Again.
“I feel now that I’ve got my heir, we’re almost even. I still have a surprise or two but nothing you need to worry about.”
“Your heir?”
“Why, of course my dear. Chance is my answer to the future. With him, I’ll take back everything.”
“You. You’re his father.”
“Yes.”
She struggled to control the anger coursing through her so she could think logically. “But he’s two.”
“Yes. And it’s time I started grooming him. You’ve done a decent enough job, although I do question some of your decisions. Stephen was trying to look out for you, keep you safe.”
“You were paying him?”
“That wouldn’t be right, would it? But then, when have I ever done what’s right? Let’s say he was my insurance for the future. Obviously, I chose poorly in that area. So I guess we both picked the wrong man.”
Tarin wanted to punch him until he bled but knew if she was going to get out of this alive, she had to keep a level head.
“Do you mind if I sit? My shoes are killing me.” She edged to the side of the bed, well aware of the gun pointed at her heart. Gingerly she sat and eased her feet part way out of her shoes. While she was making a big production of that, she reached into her bra where she’d tucked her cell phone and pressed the button on the side to record hoping the audio would be decent. “Oooohhh, thank you.”
“You do look lovely. That was also one reason why I chose you. I mean, I could have had my pick of women, just as your father did.”
“How do you know so much about me?”
“Didn’t I mention your father and I go way back? I found the woman who became your mother. Well, I guess I should say gave birth to you. She really didn’t stick around after she got paid. And of course you were instrumental to me in conceiving my son.”
She couldn’t even go there, it made her so nauseous. “You sent me an email saying you knew my mother. I suppose you put Stephen up to it as well?”
“I needed to get your attention and I needed to find you. You did very well at hiding yourself. Congratulations on that. I do admire someone who thinks outside the box.”
Tarin didn’t know how to respond. He was chatting with her like they were talking about the weather.
He stood. “It’s time I handled this situation. The idiots I’ve had to hire have almost set back all my life plans. But no more, I’ll make sure things are done right. Get up.”
She was so riveted by his demented plan, she couldn’t move. With more force than she’d have expected from someone his age, he grabbed her arm and yanked her to her feet. She stumbled over her shoes, falling to her knees. When she realized it had pulled him off balance, she dropped flat onto the floor and quickly rolled away from him before coming to her feet and racing to the door. Her fingers scraped over the doorknob as an ear-piercing bang sounded simultaneously to something whizzing past her ear. She flattened herself against the wall.
“Damn you. You’ll pay for that. Where’s my son?”
She shuddered hating the reference. “He’s at my friend Bobbie’s. I’m sure with all you know about me, you know about her. We have to go to her house.” She stepped forward and brushed her hands down the silk dress now horribly wrinkled. If she acted normal, maybe she had a chance. If there was one thing she’d make sure of, it was that he’d never get near her son.
Since he didn’t say anything and wasn’t doing anything to stop her, she opened the door; only when she’d have turned left, he jammed the gun into her ribs.
“Good try. We’re going in the opposite direction. I’m sure the wedding party has to be wondering where you are. And I’m sure Chance, it is Chance? Not sure I like the name you chose for my boy but then again, I can always change it. Anyway, I’m sure he’s waiting for you with the others. Besides, I haven’t seen all of those invited for a long time. I really can’t believe they didn’t invite me. Rather rude not to have family there, isn’t it? And it’s probably driving them a little crazy that I didn’t crash their party like they were expecting.”
The whole time he was talking he was prodding her to walk to the service elevators. He shoved her inside. “The twenty-first floor. You know this worked out so much better than I’d planned. I was just in your room, checking to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. I really don’t like surprises. And besides, I had really just planned on taking my son, well, not before I made sure the others got what they deserved, of course.”
“You’ll never get my child, at least not while I’m alive.”
“Don’t make any promises I can keep. ”
“You. It was you who had someone shoot the arrow at me.”
“Actually, it was supposed to kill the woman you met with. You were getting a little too close. And I couldn’t have you learning all my secrets and then going to the police, could I?” He smiled at her.
Her world came crashing in on her as she saw what insanity really looked like.
Chapter Sixty-One
“Where’s Tarin?”
“She said she was just running to the bathroom. We have guys everywhere, right?”
“Yeah but we’re talking about Geoff.”
“Dammit!” Graham ran for the door and yanked it open. “J
ohnson, where’s Tarin?”
“She went in there.” He pointed to the women’s bathroom.
Graham burst past him, pissed enough to punch him. He raced through the empty bathroom and into a second hallway.
“Where’s Cooper?”
The young man turned tomato red. “Ms, Roth asked him to buy her a feminine product.”
Graham was about to yell when he saw the staff elevator at the far end of the hall open. A glimpse of a sparkling blue dress was all he needed to see to know it was Tarin. He wasn’t sure who the black suit next to her belonged to, but no doubt it wouldn’t be good.
Geoff. Shit!
He shoved Johnson, despite his protest, back into the women’s bathroom and waited several seconds until he heard her pass by and then eased open the door. Then he hustled across the bathroom and out the other side. There was no way he could make it into the ballroom without being seen. But it didn’t matter, Geoff had already made his grand entrance.
“Hello, Bailey.”
The noise in the room vanished faster than the speed of light. Graham could only imagine what was happening. Tarin was standing slightly in front of Geoff.
Graham sneaked back through the restroom and into the hallway, leaving Johnson at the other door. If he came at Geoff from behind, he had a chance that he wouldn’t see him until it was too late.
“Bring me the boy.”
“Geoff. What are you doing?”
“Uhhhh, Dorothea. I see I still haven’t succeeded in making you die. Natural causes would have been so much more... dignified for you. I tried so hard to make that happen. But I see you still won’t, you know, die. So that option is now out. But you won’t have to worry about it much longer.”
“Why, Geoff? What the hell are you doing?”
“You mean besides destroying Caspian Winery?”
“You were behind all the sabotage. The vinegar—”
“Oh my, that was brilliant, wasn’t it? You know Tom was really easy to convince that if he helped me, I’d put him in charge. Like that would ever happen. And you all thought it might be Oliver. It was such a good plan. Tom hasn’t wanted to be disloyal but money will buy anything.”
Graham wanted to punch him for the angry, hurt flush that filled Dorothea’s face.
“The hijacked trucks?”
“I orchestrated that. Brilliant, wasn’t it? The vinegar wine, oh, I wish I could have seen your face, dear sister, when they brought you that news. I guess it wasn’t quite as devastating as I’d hoped because I was really planning for your ultimate demise.” He looked at her oxygen tank. “I guess not all was a loss, I managed to at least start your downhill spiral.”
“Oh, Geoffrey.”
The tears in her voice and the weakness alarmed Graham more than anything else. Geoff just might succeed in killing her without lifting a finger.
“Don’t move, Guy. Bailey. Your henchmen. Not only can I take out one of you but I can take out Tarin too. Maybe her young son? Back up. Send the child to his mother. He’s mine.”
“What have you done, Geoffrey?”
“I started my family, Dorothea. I know how important that is to you. Well, now I have mine—several girls and another boy—all are pretty much useless. This child is the only one I want. He’s my heir. I will train him to be so brilliant and so powerful.”
“No!” Tarin jerked her arm out of his grasp, only to grunt in pain as he jammed the gun into her back before she could even take a step.
Graham knew he was running out of time but he also couldn’t run the risk of alerting Geoff to his presence. Just then, he caught sight of Johnson, who’d made it across the other hallway and was standing right outside the doorway. Graham motioned for him to wait until he gave the order.
Geoff was continuing, “Oh, Dorothea, you always tried to be the mother I never had. Always tried to make up for the humiliations. Well actually, your real mother, my step-mom, and dear old dad, who couldn’t keep his zipper zipped, just stood by. We had so much fun, didn’t we? The whippings, the beatings, all the things that let a boy know he just wasn’t good enough.”
Dorothea was openly sobbing. A woman Graham hadn’t noticed earlier stepped in front of Dorothea.
“Ah, Laura-Jane. Nice to see you again.”
“You.”
“Get out of the way, Dorothea gets to be first. Don’t worry; you’re going to get yours as well, for not doing as I asked.”
“You’re a sick man. I won’t be part of your depraved world.”
“And you won’t be and once I’ve done away with you, your child will be next.”
“Nooooo.”
“Enough, Geoff.”
“Shut up, Bailey. You’re still on my list too. And I don’t mean Christmas list, either.”
“You tried to blow us up!” Tarin cried.
“Slight miscalculation; you weren’t supposed to be there. Thankfully, you were able to get out. But to be fair, I don’t care about you but my son, that would have been unforgiveable. That man who made that mistake is no longer in my employment.”
“Meaning he’s dead,” Guy stated.
He shrugged and turned to Dorothea. “This will be the last breath you take.”
His hand came up fast as Graham leapt forward at the precise moment as Tarin grabbed Geoff’s arm. The gun fired; the roar deafening. Then everything seemed to morph into slow motion. One of the officers had also jumped onto Geoff and was already taking him down with Graham. They all collapsed in a pile on the floor. Graham was dazed and winded but he scrambled up to find blood splattered everywhere. His eyes scanned the others: Bailey, Guy, Dorothea—Tarin wasn’t moving.
Chapter Sixty-Two
Tarin knew she should move but for once she felt safe and free. She shifted slightly in Graham’s lap, his arms immediately tightening around her. She only hoped he’d still want to do that once he knew everything about her. It was one of the reasons she didn’t want to get up; she didn’t want to face that reality yet. When she’d first opened her eyes, she’d found herself held gently in his arms while he was sitting on the floor with his back to the wall. Her first thought had been of Chance but she’d seen him right away; across the room, he was being held and rocked by Bill. He was laughing and giggling, so she knew he was unaware of what had gone down. She became aware they were no longer in the room where the wedding and the ensuing shooting had taken place. She shuddered as she thought how close Geoff had come to taking everything from her.
She couldn’t prevent the moan that escaped her lips as she moved to get more comfortable. There was no question she was going to be black and blue from the dog pile that had happened when Bill and Graham had tackled Geoff. Since Geoff had such a hard grip on her, she’d ended up somewhere on the bottom.
“You okay?” Graham’s gentle concern and the warmth of his breath whispered across her cheek and straight to her heart.
“A bit of a headache and bumps and bruises. But I’m okay,” she said quietly, not wanting to break the warm, safe cocoon she was enveloped in.
“Hey guys. You okay?”
Tarin lifted her head to look at Guy and Bailey, who had their arms around each other.
“Yeah. I don’t think it’s quite the wedding you’d planned but it sure had a big bang—and the ending we wanted. Well mostly, anyway.” Graham smiled tiredly.
“A little more than we had wanted or hoped for but we’re married. And that son of a bitch is dead.” Bailey gave Guy a deep kiss.
“Dorothea, I really think you should go to the hospital.”
“I’m fine, LJ but thank you. I’d like you to meet my family.” Dorothea introduced her new assistant to everyone.
“And since I know what you do for a living,” LJ looked directly at Guy and Graham. “I know you’re aware of my life prior to this job. Yes, I ran an escort service. And yes, I was interested in Caspian Winery for purely selfish reasons. I met with Dorothea a few weeks ago and shared my story with her. She knows everything and she had me th
oroughly vetted. You can as well but I promise you, I’m not here to destroy her. Geoff had wanted me to do that but I couldn’t. I never thought he would want me to do something so sick.”
She looked each and every one of them in the eye but when she got to Tarin, she watched her carefully before walking toward her. Tarin pushed herself to her feet.
“I have so much to share with you. I don’t know where to start. I’m the one who’s been sending you emails about finding my daughter.”
“Did you?”
LJ took her hand. “Yes. And I’m slowly building a relationship with her.”
“There’s more. I think I went through what you did. I believe Geoff is the father of my daughter. I never slept with him but he had me drugged and artificially inseminated. I’m assuming it was the doctor who helped him that left me with the piece of paper with just a logo on it. It led me to Caspian but I hadn’t heard from anyone and I wanted my life to go back to normal. Which it was for a long time. I thought the whole thing was some sick bastard who got off on drugging me and having his way with me for a few days. Especially since I couldn’t identify him. When I found out I was pregnant, I almost had an abortion but I couldn’t. But I wasn’t mother material either. I gave her up for adoption. But when Geoff threatened that he’d hurt her if I didn’t do some damage to Caspian Winery, I had to do something. He watched everything I did. Knew every move I made. That’s why I contacted Dorothea.”
Tarin gasped. She’d been right. There was someone else who’d gone through what she had. “Do you know if there were any more?”
LJ shook her head. “I think I found the doctor who might have helped Geoff but he died in a freak accident. But I’m betting he kept some records.”
“I had a piece of paper stuck to my back as well. He obviously was trying to do something to stop Geoff by giving us a clue. He also gave me a code; I’ve seen it on bills from Caspian. Maybe there’s a paper trail.” Tarin looked at Graham to gauge his reaction. He was watching her with questions in his eyes. Not feeling able to answer them just yet, she turned away. The ringing in her head, thanks to the gun that went off right next to it, intensified. She pressed her fingers to her temple as she watched Bill entertain Chance in the corner. She couldn’t believe how much she owed that man. Not only did he treat Chance like a precious child but he’d saved them all. The minute Geoff had raised the gun, he’d charged. She shuddered to think what would have happened if he hadn’t been brave enough to make that move. Thankfully, this was over and Geoff had been the only one shot.