Revenge & More

by Tanya Kelly

  Just as quickly her mind rejected the thought. It was true. She did love him. She wasn’t running anymore. Damon would either tell her he loved her back or run for the hills. If it was the latter, then while her pride and heart would be in shreds, she’d at least be able to say she put herself out there for once.

  She put the phone down, facedown so she wouldn’t be tempted to stare at the screen and continued on her way. It was the longest half hour of her life. When she finally pulled into her parents’ house, she quickly glanced at her phone and saw the checkmark meaning the message had gone through.

  But no answer yet from Damon.

  She bit her lip and debated phoning him but she wasn’t that brave. Not quite ready for his response, Kim got out of the car. She grabbed her bag and headed up to the front door when her mom pulled it open.

  Elizabeth Morrison stood at the doorway wearing light cream pants, a beige, loose-fitting top, and a matching cream sweater despite the warm evening. A chunky silver necklace adorned her neck and Kim caught sight of the matching bracelet as her mother waved.

  “Darling. You’re here,” her mother said, wrapping her in a hug. Kim tried not to breathe in too deeply as the copious amounts of her perfume threatened to make her sneeze. She wasn’t allergic but anyone would sneeze with the amount her mother wore.

  “How was the drive?”

  “Long, but good,” Kim responded as Elizabeth pulled her into the house and assessed her. “Darling, you look tired.”

  Gee, thanks, Mother.

  “You look great, Mom,” Kim replied instead, pasting on a smile. It was true. Elizabeth still looked a good ten years younger or more than her sixty plus years. Her blonde hair must have been freshly dyed for the wedding and shone in the light.

  Her mother smiled, always one for attention and compliments. “Come in, honey. It’s been so long.”

  Her father, Paul Morrison, entered the foyer just as Kim was hanging her coat up.

  “Hello, Dad,” Kim said and gave her father an awkward hug. If anyone looked tired, however, it was him. He wore wrinkled slacks and an old T-shirt, which puzzled Kim. She wasn’t used to seeing him in anything other than suits or pristine business casual wear.

  With a full head of white hair, tall and relatively in shape from exercise, he was still a very handsome man, but the dark circles under his eyes worried her.

  “How are you?” Kim asked, staring at him in concern.

  Her father waved his hand dismissively. “I’m good, just old age catching up to me,” he replied in a gruff voice.

  “Did you eat dinner?” her mother asked and Kim pulled her gaze away from her father.

  “Yes, I ate something on the road.”

  “Did you want to put your stuff in your room?”

  “I’ll do it later. You said you wanted to talk,” Kim said, looking from her mother to a father. They exchanged a look that made Kim uneasy.

  “We have all day tomorrow,” her mother said with a shrill laugh. “I’m sure you’re tired tonight.”

  “Elizabeth,” her father said firmly. “Let’s discuss this tonight.”

  Her mother frowned but didn’t argue. Kim set her purse down and was about to follow her parents into the sitting room when her cell phone rang.

  She fished it out of her purse and saw Damon calling. “Just one sec,” she said to her parents.

  “Hello.”

  “Kim, where are you?”

  Damon’s voice came through clearly this time and Kim smiled. “I just got to my parents’ house. I was telling you before, but we kept breaking up, that I decided to come up early.”

  The phone was silent and Kim thought perhaps she had lost the connection again. “Damon?” she shouted into the phone.

  A strangled noise came from her father and Kim looked up. His face was almost purple.

  “Dad, are you okay?” she asked.

  Her father shook his head and took a step closer, grabbing the phone in Kim’s hand.

  “Kim, I—”

  She never heard the rest as her father pulled it away from her ear. He looked down at the screen and pressed his thumb over the button, disconnecting the call.

  “Dad, what are you doing?” she asked. She recognized when her father was angry and right now he was beyond angry.

  “It makes me sick to my stomach that you are involved with that man again,” he shouted.

  “Oh my God. I can’t believe we have to do this again,” Kim shouted back. “It’s been twenty years. You need to let it go.”

  “Let’s not shout,” her mother interjected, wringing her hands. “Let’s go sit and discuss this reasonably.”

  Kim let out a sigh and was about to follow her mother’s advice when something occurred to her. “Wait a second. How did you know it was Damon Black I’m involved with again?”

  Her parents exchanged another weird look. “Let’s sit and I’ll get some tea and we’ll sort everything out,” her mother said again, gesturing toward the living room.

  “No, I’m not sitting and drinking fucking tea. Tell me what the hell is going on here,” Kim demanded.

  “We know about you and Damon because I’ve spoken to him,” her father said. His lips curled into a sneer and his eyes shot daggers of hatred when he said Damon’s name. “He told me when I met with him last week. It’s not enough that he ruined my business. He wants to destroy me by involving you, my only daughter.”

  Kim shook her head, not comprehending what the heck her father was talking about.

  “He’s been plotting revenge on this family for years and when my business was in some trouble, he pounced. Forced me to sell for less than half of what it’s worth and then tried to blackmail me into staying quiet so he could continue to string you along,” Paul said, his voice raising in anger each word.

  Kim swayed on her feet. Her mother gasped and steered her toward a chair. Kim sat down, her legs shaky. She tried to grasp her father’s words but nothing made sense.

  “What do you mean, forced you to sell and blackmail?”

  A flash of guilt passed over her father’s face. “I borrowed a little bit of money from the company. Your mother and I were having some financial troubles. But I had planned to pay it all back. But Damon somehow found out all about it and threatened to give the information to the police if I didn’t sell or if I told you anything about it.”

  “You stole from the company?” Kim asked incredulously.

  “I’ve made mistakes but I planned to fix them,” her father replied. “But I couldn’t make anymore by staying silent and watching that man hurt you again like he did before. I’ll go to jail first before I let that happen a second time.”

  Kim tried to concentrate on her father’s words ringing in her ears. She took big gulps of air in her lungs.

  “Darling, are you okay?” her mother asked, kneeling in front of her. “Paul, that’s enough,” she said, shooting her father a look.

  “No,” Kim said strongly, pushing her mother away. She got to her feet, but still held onto the chair for support. “I need to hear all of this. Everything. Damon blackmailed you?”

  Her father nodded. “I was approached by a man from Black Industries to purchase my company even though I didn’t have the company for sale. But things haven’t been great, financially, for us or the company so I met with the guy to consider the possibility. I never put two and two together that Damon Black was the Damon Black we knew twenty years ago.”

  Her father shoulders slumped, looking defeated. “The deal was just about closed when he showed up last week. When I tried to tell him to get lost, he threatened to tell the police about my borrowing from the company. My hands were tied. It wouldn’t help your mother to lose everything and see me go to jail so I agreed and let him rob me by selling the business for less than half of its value.”

  “How much did you borrow?” Kim asked quietly.

  Her father looked away. “Just enough to keep us afloat.”

  “How much?” Kim demanded
again, more forcefully.

  Paul took a deep breath and met her eyes. “A little less than three quarters of a million.”

  Kim gasped and gripped the arm of the chair. “Jesus Christ, Dad. How in the hell were you going pay that back?”

  “I just needed to wait for some investments to turn around and I would have paid it all back. No one would have been any wiser.”

  “How did Damon find this all out?”

  Paul shook his head and the hatred returned to his eyes. “I can’t be sure, but I think he’s been patiently waiting for his revenge for twenty years. He somehow obtained documents that would incriminate me from someone in the company. Maybe it was Simon. I’m not sure. But I’m pretty sure him ending up in Beechfield, meeting you, was no accident.”

  Kim remembered how she’d seen Damon at that charity function. The one that she’d received free tickets for and wasn’t even sure how they ended up hers. The tickets to that event were a small fortune she would never have been able to afford. Did Damon set that up?

  Feeling sick to her stomach and knowing the answer, Kim sat back down.

  “This is why I had to finally tell you,” her father continued. “He’s a vengeful man who wants to destroy this family.”

  Kim placed her head in her hands and blinked back the tears threatening to fall. This wasn’t the Damon she knew. But why would her father lie? She sucked more air into her lungs while inside, it felt like someone was stabbing her, over and over again. When she’d regained some of composure, she looked up at her father.

  “I don’t understand. If this is true—”

  “It’s all true!” her father shouted. “Do you need to see his signature on the contracts? I’ll get them.”

  One tear escaped and rolled down her cheek. Her father looked stricken watching her. “Why?” she asked. “Why does he hate us so much to do this?”

  “Who knows?” her father replied. “He’s always resented us, having what he wanted. He got away stealing from us years ago, I guess he figured he could do it again.”

  “Paul,” her mother, who had been standing quietly, said in a warning voice. Kim sat up straighter, looking at them as they exchanged more private glances.

  “What are you not telling me?”

  “I’ve told you everything,” her father said but she didn’t miss the warning glance he shot her mother.

  Elizabeth lifted her chin. “We said we were going to be honest. You said—”

  “We are being honest,” her father roared and Elizabeth jumped. “Don’t speak about shit you know nothing about.”

  Her mother’s eyes filled with tears and Kim was about to intervene, which she always did when her father tried to bully them around, when Elizabeth took a step toward her husband, rather than backing down which she normally did.

  “You did this with your lies.” She pointed her finger accusingly at his chest.

  “My lies?” he asked, his eyes widening as she took another step closer. “Don’t act like you had no part in them.”

  “We took it too far. Making Tom pay all that money. This is why Damon wants revenge so bad.”

  Kim stood as well from her chair, confused beyond belief at the conversation transpiring between her parents. “What are you guys talking about? Tell me…everything,” she demanded.

  “Damon didn’t steal—” her mother started.

  “Elizabeth, I warn you, don’t—” Paul interrupted.

  “Shut up,” both women shouted at the same time. Elizabeth looked startled at her outburst, even more so than Kim’s father. She looked at Kim, a sad smile on her lips.

  “He didn’t steal any jewelry. We lied to get him out of your life. I’m sorry,” she said in soft voice.

  Damon hadn’t been lying when he’d said he didn’t steal from her parents. The hope that sprang into her chest was quickly crushed by the fact that he’d been on some mission of revenge. Inserting himself into her life on purpose.

  “What about the fingerprints?”

  “We paid the officer to fabricate the evidence. We had to stop you from throwing your life away,” her father said. “He was a good for nothing boy and would have ruined your life. But you were too blinded by him to see it. We had to force you to see it.”

  “Except there was nothing to see,” Kim shouted. “What was so bad about him? The fact that he was poor? Uneducated? Or that he wasn’t Robert, the man you wanted to take over the company.”

  “Even though we lied about Damon stealing doesn’t mean he wasn’t after our money. We had to protect you, honey,” her father said, pleadingly. “Just like I’m trying to protect you now. He’s using you, to hurt me. He doesn’t love you, only what he can get from you. A man who plots revenge for years is incapable of loving anyone.”

  Kim’s eyes filled with tears, blurring her vision as her father approached. She could barely make out his silhouette as he moved to embrace her.

  He’s right. Damon didn’t love her. Back then or now.

  She took a step back and blinked, the tears falling down her face. “Don’t touch me. You’re not any different than him,” she shouted. “Both of you will crush whoever gets in your way and for the second time, I’ve been that person.”

  She turned on her heels and grabbed her car keys from the hall table.

  “Kim, honey, where are you going?” her mother asked, trying to take her hand.

  “I have to get out of here. I can’t stand the sight of you two.” She yanked her arm free from her mother’s grasp and swung open the front door, stumbling blindly to her car, the tears flowing.

  She started the car and squealed out of the driveway like the devil was on her tail. Wiping away her tears so she could see, she drove with no destination in mind. She just had to get as far as possible from her parents.

  Liars and thieves! How could they do this to her?

  Fuck Damon, too. He may not have stolen the jewelry but the thought of him plotting his revenge, purposely coming back into her life and working his way into her heart to get vengeance made her sick to the stomach.

  Damn it. Why had she let her guard down?

  Her phone vibrated in her pocket for what felt like the hundredth time. She knew it would be Damon. She debated ignoring it again but her rage needed an outlet. What better outlet than the man who had ignited it?

  Chapter Twelve

  “Fuck,” Damon yelled, slamming on the brakes. Why was this asshole driving like Miss Daisy in front of him? He beeped the horn again and looked for an opportunity to pass. He was still hours from reaching Willow Lake and Kim.

  As soon as she’d disconnected the call, he’d gotten in his car and drove like a madman. Damn, he should have told her sooner. Now he wasn’t sure he could do enough damage control to fix this.

  His chest felt tight at the hurt he imagined Kim feeling. Who knew was poison her parents were feeding her.

  Finally the car in front of him turned and Damon accelerated. He still had no idea what he was going to say to Kim, except beg her forgiveness. He couldn’t lose her. Impatiently he hit the phone button on his steering wheel again, redialing the last number. He’d been getting Kim’s voice mail nonstop and she hadn’t responded to any of his text messages either.

  “I hope it feels as good as you imagined it would,” Kim’s voice came over the line, startling Damon.

  “Kim,” he breathed. “I don’t know what you’ve been told, but give me a chance to explain.”

  “Answer me first.” Her voice dripped iciness and sounded distant. “Your revenge plan, does it taste as sweet as you imagined?”

  “No,” Damon replied softly, not even sure she heard. He gripped the steering wheel, cursing the miles between them. He needed to see her and explain. “Where are you? I’m on my way to Willow Lake. We need to talk.”

  A shrill laugh came through the car’s speakers on Bluetooth. “I think coming here is a little overkill, don’t you think? You’ve already put the nail in the coffin.”

  “Kim, please.
I was going to tell you everything tonight and explain. I wanted you to hear from it me.”

  “You’ve had plenty of time to tell me, Damon. It’s too late now. I get why you’re angry with my parents. It wasn’t right for them to frame you for stealing, however plotting years of revenge for what they did is a bit much. But what I really don’t understand is why your revenge plan stemmed to me. Why do you hate me so much, Damon?”

  His heart clenched painfully at her voice. He could hear it break. Hear the tears that probably spilled down her cheeks. Kim was tough and lashed out when she was hurt but there was no denying how much he had hurt her this time.

  “Kim, I’m so sorry. Please, babe, I don’t hate you. I lo—”

  Damon heard a loud gasp and a curse before the sickening sound of squealing brakes, crashing metal, and shattering glass.

  “Kim!” Damon shouted into the phone. Bile rose in his throat as silence greeted him on the phone. “Kim, answer me,” he yelled again, picking up his phone just as the call ended. He frantically redialed the number but it went straight to voice mail.

  Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

  Panic began to engulf him. Had she just been in an accident? Was she okay? He had never felt so helpless in his entire life. He normally wasn’t a big believer in karma but at this moment he wondered if he was being punished. Stupidly seeking revenge to perhaps lose the only person who ever meant anything to him.

  Damon took a deep breath, refusing to give in to the sense of hopelessness invading him. He grabbed his phone once again and dialed 911.

  * * * *

  Kim heard voices around her and could feel a flurry of activity. She tried to open her eyes but the light blinded her. She attempted to lift her hand over her eyes, but pain shot up through her and she cried out.

  “Kim, are you awake?” she heard a soft female voice. “I’m Dr. Hawkins and you’re at the hospital. You’ve been in a car accident. Please try not to move,” the voice said soothingly, tucking a blanket around her.

  “Doctor, is she awake?” another voice said. She struggled to open her eyes again, recognizing Damon’s voice. She wanted to see him but she couldn’t open her eyes. Then the memories came flooding back. Damon destroying her parents. Using her in his plan for revenge. She attempted to sit up and whimpered in pain.