Blood Money: A Captive Romance (The Dirty Money Duet Book 2)

by BL Mute

  I close the door and step closer to him. “Look, I get it. You hate me, but you can’t hate me forever. One day you’ll realize the very reason I stayed away is because I fucking cared.”

  He narrows his eyes and bumps his chest against mine. “Bullshit.” He shoves me this time so hard I stumble back. “Bullshit!” The suffering in his eyes is undoubtable as his hands start to shake, and his face scrunches up in a grimace.

  “Carter—”

  “No! I don’t want your excuses! You left me.”

  You left me.

  The words are daggers to my heart.

  I shoot my eyes to the ground, too ashamed to look at him. I never wanted to leave him. If it was up to me, I wouldn’t have, but I was just a kid. A kid with no idea how to even cope with the loss of our mother or the damage it created with Mac. But I never fought to stay either.

  “Do you know what he did to me?” he asks with a frown, maintaining the harshness in his tone.

  I stay silent because I don’t even want to say it—I don’t need to. We both know, and that’s enough.

  “Answer me!” he screams.

  I shake my head. “I know.”

  “Then why didn’t you come back? Why didn’t you try to help me?” Tears well in his eyes before falling down his cheeks. He swipes them away aggressively.

  I step forward and try to pull him into me, but he pushes me again. “Fuck you, Cyrus. Fuck you!”

  Before I can open my mouth to try and plead my case any more or apologize, he swings his fist toward my face. His knuckles connect with the peak of my cheek, and I can feel the skin split. Tiny barks, but I hold up my hand to silence him. If this is what Carter needs, I’ll give it to him. Another strike but this time to my stomach. I double over and grip my center on instinct, but I don’t fight back.

  “Hit me!” he screams, shoving me even further into the house before I fall flat on my ass.

  “No.” I refuse to be the man our dad was.

  “Get up and hit me, you fucking coward!” Spit flies from his lips as he yells, and his fists shake.

  “No,” I repeat.

  His chest heaves as he stares down on me. “Get up!”

  I drag myself to my feet and stand in front of him, wiping the blood from my cheek with the back of my hand. “I’m not him, Carter.”

  Like realization registers in his brain, he opens his mouth, then quickly closes it before dropping his hands. “Why? Why’d you leave me?” More tears streak down his cheeks as his voice turns to a low whisper.

  “I didn’t have a choice.”

  He shakes his head. “I was hoping when you showed up that you would tell me that—that there would be some crazy fucking reason as to why you stayed away. Why you let him hurt me.” He pauses and searches my face. “But the truth is, there isn’t. He may have forced you to go, but you’re the one who decided to stay gone… and that fucking hurts.”

  I nod, scrubbing my hand down my face. “I know, but I’m here now.”

  Another head shake. “Yeah, and for what? ’Cause it surely wasn’t me. You need to start admitting shit to yourself because it wasn’t me that kept you away—it was him. You were a scared little boy who didn’t want to face daddy. None of this was about protecting me. It was about protecting yourself.”

  “Carter—”

  “No.” He holds up his hand. “I’m done. Done fighting. Done being angry. I’m just done with it all. You wanna fix this?” He motions between us. “Then fix it, but start with yourself.”

  Once every word has left his mouth, he moves to the small table by the door and picks up my keys I left, then hands them to me. “Now, get out of my house and take your dog.”

  I fix my eyes on him as I grab the keys. “I’m sorry.” It’s the only thing I can even think to say because he’s right.

  I spent my entire time away making sure when I came back, I would be ready to do what Carter had already done—what he was forced to do because I wasn’t here. Yeah, I thought about Carter and missed him, but my hatred and fear of Mac was stronger. And telling myself staying away would protect him was nothing more than a lie to make me feel better.

  “Goodbye, Cyrus” is the only reply I get as he ushers me and Tiny out the door and closes it.

  Patting my leg, I instruct Tiny to follow me down the steps and pull the phone from my pocket. Hitting the last number I called, I bring it to my ear as I let Tiny in the back and slip in the front. He answers immediately.

  “Bradley? Meet me at the Annalee.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CYRUS

  After waiting in the parking lot for what seemed like forever, I see the same black Tesla from his house pull up. Rolling my window down, I reach my arm out and motion for him to park in the spot behind me. I see his nod before he whips his car next to mine, kills the ignition, and steps out with a laptop in hand.

  Opening my passenger door, he slides in. “I found some more shit.”

  I jut my chin in his direction. “What is it?”

  He cocks his head to the side. “What happened to being pissy about me trying to dig for more, and what the fuck happened to your face? I know I didn’t do that.”

  I press the split on my cheek and wince. “There is no threat anymore. I told you, Ghost has been handled.”

  He raises a brow. “What does that mean?”

  “The less you know, the better.”

  He rolls his eyes and opens his laptop. After his fingers fly across the keyboard a few times, he turns it my way. “Feel like a road trip? Because we need to go to that address that was acting as a hive. There is a server there I can’t access unless I see it physically. The firewall is top-notch.”

  Nothing but numbers in columns show on the screen as he stares at me, waiting for a reply. “Am I supposed to know what that is? ’Cause I don’t.”

  He closes it, then pulls his seatbelt around him. After it’s clicked in place, he hits the fob to his car and locks it. “Just drive, dude.”

  Putting my SUV in drive, I start to pull away from the Annalee. “Did you ever get access to the cameras at Carmen’s?”

  I see him nod from my peripheral. “Yeah. I was able to set the loop up and take the other data and put it on a thumb drive.” He leans back in the seat, pushing his heels into the floorboard so he can wiggle it from his pocket. Resting his elbow on the console, he holds it up to me. I try to grab it, but he jerks his hand back. “Understand this is for her, not you.”

  I inhale deeply through my nose, then snatch it from his hold. “Wouldn’t want it any other way.”

  The drive here was awkward. Silence is normally my best friend since I’m used to being alone, but having this douchebag in the passenger seat, I felt on edge. Clearly, he doesn’t like me, and that’s fine, but it makes me worry he’s going to try some shit when I’m not paying attention. The only thing stopping him is Carmen, and she isn’t even here. Hell, I don’t even know where she is at this point, and that has me on edge in a different way.

  Shaking the thoughts away, I make the last turn and hit the unmarked road. I follow it for a few minutes before a bland-looking house finally comes into view. “That’s it,” Bradley says, pointing at it as he stares at his open laptop.

  As I turn into the drive, I put my defenses up and start watching my surroundings. The grass is overgrown and unruly, almost hiding the small, wooden porch. No lights shine from the inside, and no neighbors can be seen. Seems like the perfect place to hide or hide something.

  Putting the car in park, I step out, then open the back door. Tiny jumps out and sits at my feet. “Go investigate.” I add a whistle and point to the back of the house.

  He disappears with a soft bark as Bradley steps out. With his laptop in hand, he starts toward the front door.

  “Wait. Let Tiny sniff around. He’ll let us know if he finds anything. We don’t know what’s in there.” I point to the house.

  He kicks some gravel, then moves back to the SUV and leans against the hood. “
Scared of a fight, hothead?”

  Rolling my eyes, I lean against the car next to him. “No. I’m just not stupid. If it can be avoided, then why not go that route?”

  He shrugs and closes his laptop, tucking it under his arm. “I gotta get my kicks somehow.”

  “And it’s with fighting?” I scoff.

  A smirk traces his lips. “Well, it was with fucking, but you stole my girl, so…”

  “If you’re trying to piss me off, you’re succeeding, but there is more important shit to worry about right now rather than fighting your scrawny ass,” I bite back.

  Just as he’s about to reply, Tiny comes from around the back, sniffing the ground in the front and making his way up to the porch. When he doesn’t sense anything, he comes back down and sits at my feet.

  “Does this mean everything is okay?” Bradley asks, dropping the earlier subject.

  Pushing off the hood, I start walking toward the door with Tiny in tow. “As okay as it can be for now.”

  When I make it to the door, Bradley hands me his phone over my shoulder with the flashlight on. I grab it with one hand and use the other to turn the knob. Weirdly enough, it’s open. When I shine the light inside, I see no furniture or any signs of someone being here.

  “Go on, Tiny.” I point inside.

  He steps in and starts investigating as we follow. We make it through a small living room, a kitchen, and a single bedroom with no windows and a metal table and chair, but nothing else.

  Turning around, I shine the light at Bradley. “Thought you said this was it?”

  “It is. I’m positive. GPS coordinates don’t lie, and if they did, I would know.”

  Shaking my head, I turn back around and shine the light around the open floor plan one last time.

  “There.” Bradley points to the floor in the far corner of the living room, where something glints in the light.

  Walking over to it, I see a small, silver hook. I reach down and tug on it, revealing a trapdoor that leads to a basement. Stepping down the narrow stairs, I hold the phone’s flashlight above me as much as I can so Bradley can see. Honestly, I wouldn’t be mad if he fell and maybe broke something, but I don’t know what to do with all the shit he claims is here, so for now, I’ll be nice. As nice as I can be anyway.

  As soon as I hit the last step, there is a clearing that stretches maybe three feet before a door stops us. I stare at it for a second and see light spilling from the crack between the bottom and floor.

  “Aren’t you going to open it?” Bradley asks like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

  Holding up my free hand, I silence him, then bring my finger to my lips. “Keep your voice down.” Pointing to the bottom of the door, I continue. “See the light? Someone could be in there.”

  “And?”

  “And back to the point I made earlier. If I can avoid shit, I will.”

  Rolling his eyes, he lets out a deep breath and pushes in front of me, then shoves his laptop into my chest. “We don’t have time for this.”

  He tries the knob, but it doesn’t budge. Taking a step back, he shakes out his shoulders and charges toward the door, making sure the impact is on the side of his arm. A crack sounds out from the frame breaking, but it still doesn’t open. Repeating the same steps, he does it again. The door flies open, and light fills the small space we’re in.

  Immediately, I cram his phone into my back pocket and raise the fist on my free hand, ready for a fight, but no one is on the other side. Wires connected to what I’m assuming are servers with flashing lights line the walls, with a single table positioned in the back with a monitor. Stepping in behind Bradley, I keep my guard up as I survey the space.

  “Told you I wasn’t wrong,” he quips, walking straight to the monitor.

  I follow him and watch as he connects his laptop with a wire to act as a second screen. His fingers fly across the keys, so I just watch silently.

  “You see all of those black boxes lined up?” He points to the wall beside him, never taking his eyes off the screen.

  “Yeah. What are they?”

  “External hard drives. Normally if someone stores something on a thumb drive or external hard drive, it means they’re hiding something there. They won’t keep it on a system like this.” He dips his head toward the screen. “I won’t be able to get through them all tonight, but we can take them, and I’ll try and see what’s on them.”

  I nod like he can see me. “What about this computer? What is it?”

  “I’m still trying to break some of the encrypted files, but this is where everything was rerouted through. I know there is more, but I won’t be able to say what until I’m fully in.”

  “How long will it take?”

  “No telling. Dude was serious about hiding his shit.”

  “Can’t we just take it with us?”

  He shakes his head. “Not this one. This is the hive, and I’m afraid if we try to move it, we will lose whatever is on it. I’ve seen people put safeguards like that in place, so it’s best I just try and work on it here.”

  Great.

  I walk to one of the walls, then press my back to it and sink to the floor. Might as well try and get comfortable if we’ll be here awhile.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CARMEN

  When I open my eyes, I’m confused for a second before remembering where I am. Pushing myself up in the narrow bed, I look around in the dim light. My door is open, and sure enough, Tony is still there. I groan internally. He isn’t intrusive or rude, but knowing he’s there alone makes me feel weird and worry about what the cops are thinking.

  Throwing my legs over the bed, I stand and make my way to the bathroom and close myself inside. I splash some water on my face and try to tame my wayward hair with my fingers. As I’m staring at myself in the mirror, I hear Lydia’s voice call out.

  “Carmen?”

  I open the door and smile when I see her. “Hey.”

  She flips on the light. “Got you some breakfast.” She tilts her head toward the bed and holds up the plastic bag.

  I move back and sit on one side as she takes the other. “Any news on the lawyer?” I whisper.

  She nods. “Yeah. I made some calls last night and found someone. Apparently, he’s the best in Bexley. I gave him a rundown of things without major details. He wanted me to advise you not to speak.”

  I nod and grab one of the Styrofoam boxes from the bag. “What am I supposed to do, then?”

  “Nothing as of now. If they’re not arresting you, they can’t keep you. The lawyer is ready to meet whenever they release you, which should be soon. I stopped by the nurses’ station on my way in, and they were getting your paperwork together.”

  “Okay.” I open the box, then tear open the plastic utensils and start shoveling eggs into my mouth.

  “Have you heard from him?” she whispers.

  Him. She doesn’t have to elaborate because I know exactly who she’s talking about.

  I frown and shake my head. “No.”

  She reaches across the bed and rubs my knee. “I’m sure he’ll get in touch soon.”

  I set my fork down and close the box. “We’ll see.” I don’t tell her how I told him not to.

  Both of us drop the topic and turn when someone taps on the open door. Dr. Sullivan steps inside the room with a stack of papers in his hands. “You’re officially discharged, Miss Shultz.” He smiles.

  Standing from the bed, I take the papers he extends to me. “Thank you.”

  “My pleasure. I went ahead and added a prescription for some anxiety medicine, along with a sleep aid. Witnessing something so traumatic can have quite the impact. I suggest meeting with a therapist or coming back here if you have any issues.”

  Thinking back on the events of last night, I don’t even know how I feel. Sad? Yeah. Angry? Definitely. But above all of that, I feel… lonely. I don’t have William, and now Cyrus is in the wind too. Within minutes I lost the two people who brought me so much
comfort, and I don’t even know how to process it. One minute I feel completely gutted, and the next I’m raging, then I’m void of all emotions. Maybe that’s how grieving works, or maybe I’m just more broken than I thought.

  “Thanks.”

  He gives me a curt nod, then leaves the room.

  Lydia loads the boxes back in the bag and looks around the room. “Do you have clothes?”

  I look down at my body. “What’s wrong with my gown and sick grippy socks?” She stares at me with a blank face, doing her best not to smile. “Cops took them. This is as good as it gets.” I run my hands down the gown.

  “Well, you can’t meet the lawyer like that, so let’s go get you some clothes from my place.”

  Nodding, I round the bed and link my arm with hers. “Okay, and thanks for everything, Lydia.”

  She gives me a tight smile. “It’s what friends are for, Carmen. And you know you don’t have to pretend around me, right? It’s okay to be weak sometimes.”

  “Weakness isn’t an option. I just need to get all of this worked out first.” I try to start out of the room, but she stops me.

  “You can’t bottle things up forever.”

  “Yeah? Well, right now isn’t forever. Just let me deal with all of this in my own way, okay?”

  She takes a deep breath, then releases it. “Okay.”

  The conversation is dropped as we step out of the room. Tony stands from the chair he’s sitting in and steps in front of us. “Miss Shultz, the chief would like a statement from you before you leave.”

  “I gave my statement last night.”

  He shakes his head. “We need it in writing.”

  I open my mouth, but Lydia speaks for me instead. “She’ll come to the station with her lawyer and give a written statement, but as of now, she’s lost two very important people in her life and needs some time alone.” She wraps her arm around my shoulder and ushers me away before he can say anything else.

  I wait until we’re stepping out of the building before I speak. “Damn. You sounded professional as fuck.”