He took out the phone he used as Simon James and dialled her number, suddenly needing to be assured that she was safe. But all he got was her voicemail.
He glanced at Carter with a stricken look.
“I’ll start looking into it right now,” his friend promised.
“Thank you,” he answered, his insides writhing with emotions.
Her being in trouble doesn’t mean she’s in love with you, you know.
He scowled at his uninvited thought. Of course, it didn’t mean that. But he still wanted her safe. He didn’t care if his heart remained broken as long as Geri was okay.
Chapter 16
Geri’s heart skipped a beat when she checked her phone screen. Simon!
“They’re calling us,” Tricia said with a nudge to her side.
Reluctantly, Geri put her phone back in her handbag to follow Tricia to the desk of the police officer handling their case.
“I have some good news,” Detective Senior Constable Emmet said. “Damon is going back to jail for violating his parole conditions.”
Geri exhaled her relief while Tricia frowned.
“I thought he’d already served out his full sentence,” Tricia said.
“No, he hasn’t. And soon he’ll be sentenced for additional offences. He’s confessed to a few other things, not just what he did to you girls.” Detective Emmet turned to Tricia while he pointed at Geri. “You’re very lucky you have a sister like her.”
Tricia smiled. “I know,” she said humbly.
“And thanks to you ladies, we also caught his new partner, who’s never had a criminal record. With the evidence we gathered from searching this person’s home and workplace, we have enough to charge him with multiple felonies. He and his henchmen are being rounded up by my fellow officers as we speak.”
“Wow, we helped catch criminals, Geri,” Tricia said excitedly.
“Yeah,” Geri said with a laugh, pleased that her sister had bounced back pretty quickly from her heartbreak. Damon being such a heartless bastard probably contributed to that.
“Will we need to testify against them in court?” Tricia asked. “I won’t mind at all. In fact, I’d love to.”
“We’ll let you know if it’s necessary. Now for my other good news—they haven’t spent any of your money yet, so you’ll get all of it back. Not immediately, because we need it for evidence, but hopefully we won’t have to hold on to it for too long since Damon has already confessed to this particular one.”
“Oh, thank you,” Geri said. “I was about to ask you that.”
Tricia winked at her. “Half of that can go straight to my bank account, hey, Geri?”
Geri chuckled. She’d need to tell Tricia everything and make sure she helped her sister with budgeting. Geri now believed that Tricia had learnt her lesson and could be trusted with money—with close supervision. She expected more sibling arguments to arise from that, but she hoped it wouldn’t be anything serious enough to destroy their newly formed close bond.
They thanked the detective and walked out of the precinct arm in arm.
“We have to celebrate,” Tricia said. “But it’ll have to be tomorrow. As you know, a friend of mine has invited me and Maddie to her house for a quiet birthday dinner. She also said that we can stay overnight if we want to, as her daughter and Maddie would probably love the sleepover. Would you mind being home alone tonight?”
“Not at all. Yes, we’ll celebrate tomorrow. But also, there’s a few things I need to talk to you about.”
“You mean you have more secrets apart from the Damon thing?” Tricia teased.
Geri didn’t answer until they were in Tricia’s car.
“I’m nervous about what you have to tell me,” Tricia said.
“I’m the one who’s nervous,” she said, then told Tricia about her deal with Justin.
“One million dollars!” Tricia shrieked, grabbing the dashboard to steady herself.
“Don’t get too excited. I’m returning the deposit and won’t be accepting the rest of the money.”
“Are you crazy?” Tricia said in an equally high-pitched voice.
Geri sighed. “I’m aiding and abetting them with their lies, Tricia. I don’t like it. The only reason I agreed to the deal was because I was desperate to make sure Damon didn’t hurt Maddie.”
Tricia visibly calmed. “Well, I guess we’ll be fine without the one million,” she said grudgingly. “I mean, I was lucky enough to escape Damon’s clutches, so I better not be too greedy with our luck, right? I don’t want karma coming to bite us when I’ve just dodged a bullet with Damon. And I do admire you, Geri,” Tricia said in a softer tone. “You’re so tough and strong and sure of yourself. I wish I was more like you.”
“Oh, Trish. You’re a great person in your own right. You’re raising Maddie well even with all the craziness happening around you.”
A tear fell down Tricia’s cheek. “Maddie is my shining light. I’ve not been the best mother, but God knows that when it comes to her, I try hard to be good. I really want to be good for her, Geri,” she said fiercely.
“I know that too, honey,” Geri said, squeezing her sister’s hand.
They were quiet for a long time, lost in their own thoughts as they drove home.
“So, Geri, what happened to the proceeds from the B&B?” Tricia asked, breaking the silence. “I know you said that Mum borrowed against it because of her gambling addiction—God, I wish I’d known about that—but is there really nothing left?”
“There is something left. After I paid up all the debts, I bought a property. I did have to use most of my savings to buy it outright because the remaining proceeds weren’t enough. It’s currently only under my name right now, but I want us to take the necessary steps so we can change the title deed to reflect that you are also my co-owner.”
Tricia’s eyes went wide. “Where is this property?”
“You’re living in it,” Geri said with a grin.
Tricia’s jaw dropped. “So Maddie and I are living in… a place I already half-own?”
“Well, actually, you only own forty-three percent, if we’re to take into account the extra I’ve put in.”
“Of course,” Tricia said readily. “But then… your money’s tied up and you can’t use it for something else.”
“That’s okay,” she said with a shrug.
“I can pay you some rent for your portion. It’s only fair.”
Geri smiled. “How, Tricia?” she asked gently. “You don’t make enough yet. But when you do, then yes, you can pay me some rent.”
Tricia sniffed as she focused on the road ahead of her. “Thank you. I never realised how truly blessed I am to have a sister like you until these last few days. I’m sorry it took me this long to figure that out.”
Geri let her tears form. “I haven’t exactly been the best communicator. I fought with you and was constantly impatient rather than trying to explain what was happening. But you know what? You said you admire me for my strength. You helped me become strong, Trish. And I’m a great PA because I developed my skills looking after our parents and you and Maddie. That’s something, right?”
Tricia laughed. “You have such a generous spirit to be giving me credit for who you are.”
“Because it’s true,” she said seriously. “We didn’t have the easiest life or the best sibling relationship, but it did bring out some positives in me.”
Tricia frowned. “I didn’t become strong. In fact, I was freaking stupid the whole time.”
“I don’t know,” she said in thought. “But if you weren’t so crazy about Damon, I wouldn’t have had to resort to recording him, and it wouldn’t have come to this. Then they probably wouldn’t have caught that partner of his, who wasn’t known to the police at all. Damon was so damned proud of the guy, and now both of them and their henchmen are going to jail.”
Tricia brightened. “Hey, maybe I needed to be stupid for a while to save Hobart—or even the whole of Australia—from th
ose criminals!”
“Yeah,” she said with a laugh. “You’re a hero.”
Tricia laughed with her. “Thank you, Geri. I really love you, you know.”
“I love you too.”
“You really want to decline the one million dollars?”
“Yes, I do. Apart from not wanting it because I don’t agree with what Justin and Maya are doing, my deal with Justin is the reason why I had to break up with Simon. I want him back, Trish. I miss him so much. But he’s bound to find out about this, and I don’t want him to think that I ditched him because of the money. I’ve already hurt him by not saying I love you back when he said those words to me three times. I don’t want money coming between us, even if it’s one million dollars.”
“Wow. You do love this man, don’t you?”
She smiled and nodded her head.
“Well, I say go and get him back, then.”
“Yes,” Geri said nervously. “He did call earlier when we were inside the station.”
“You wanna call him now? I’ll be quiet.”
“I want to talk to Justin first about returning his money.” She dialled his number.
“Hey, Geri. When are you coming back?” Justin asked.
“I can come back on Monday as scheduled. How’s the trip going?”
“Ugh. Our chauffeur asked to go home last night to see his family and he didn’t turn up at all today. Apparently, his kid’s sick, so I have to drive us around. It’s too damned tiring and boring. You should sack this chauffeur when you come back, Geri, and find a new one. He’d agreed to no days off for a month, and yet we’re not even halfway through his contract and he’s already taking time off.”
Geri rolled her eyes. Couldn’t Justin make small sacrifices for his grandmother? “I’ll talk to him,” she said. “Anyway, I want to discuss the one million dollars with you.”
Justin huffed. “Don’t tell me you’re asking for the rest right now. I had to sell some shares so I could send you the three hundred grand. You have it so easy, you know.”
“I actually don’t want your money,” she said, resenting Justin’s tone. Sometimes she wished Ingrid could see how two-faced her grandson was. But Justin was scheming enough to always show his nicest side to his grandmother.
“What did you say?” Justin asked in shock.
“I said I don’t want your money. I’ll be returning the three hundred thousand dollars to you, but it won’t be immediately because it’s tied up at the moment. But since I said I’d help you, I won’t leave you in the lurch either. So I won’t say or do anything to refute your story that we’re together. I just won’t proactively act out what’s not true, because I simply can’t do it. I don’t think that would hurt your cause, anyway. It’s not as if we’re celebrities that people recognise on the streets. We’re only doing this on the off chance that Eric has sent eyes to check you out. So as long as I’m not seen with any other guy, I’m sure your secret will be safe.”
“What brought this about, Geri?”
“I needed the money, Justin, which was the only reason I agreed to the deal. I don’t need it anymore, so I want to return it.”
“Simon talked to you, didn’t he?”
Geri’s brows furrowed. “No. We haven’t spoken since we parted in Sydney.”
“Don’t lie to me,” Justin said in an insulted tone.
“Excuse me! Why would I lie to you?” Now she was the one who felt offended.
“You two are crazy,” Justin spat out. “I offer you money, you both reject it. I just hope that you both keep your promise to go along with this charade, or I’ll be really angry.”
Geri’s heart hammered. “Hang on. What do you mean you offered both of us money? Does Simon know about this?”
Justin laughed derisively. “I guess you’re telling the truth that you haven’t spoken to him. Yes, Simon knows. But unlike you, he rejected my offer of one hundred thousand for doing nothing but keeping his mouth shut. He did promise he wouldn’t say a thing and, believe it or not, I do trust him on that. He doesn’t want to hurt my grandmother by badmouthing me to people. But it’s the height of stupidity to refuse a single cent for something he was going to do anyway.”
“When did you tell him?” she asked weakly.
“Oh, a few days ago,” Justin said breezily. “He did ask me how much you were gonna get that you dropped him like a hot potato. I said he shouldn’t feel bad because a million dollars is nothing to sneeze at.”
Her eyes pooled. No.
“Anyway, Geri. Until I get my deposit back, I still call the shots. Lucky you, I’m flying back to the US next Friday. You only have to show that you love me in public for five days. That shouldn’t be hard. So see you on Monday, sweetheart.” Then Justin hung up.
Geri threw her phone into her handbag, fighting back tears.
“What did he say?” Tricia asked, glancing at her.
“Simon knows,” she said in an almost-whisper. “Justin offered him money too, but Simon didn’t take it.”
“We-ell,” Tricia said slowly, “I’m sure Simon will understand why you took yours when you tell him everything. Besides, you’re returning it anyway.”
Geri stared out the window, her heart like lead. “I hope so, Trish.”
“Talk to him.”
“I will when I get home.” She wanted complete privacy for that. She didn’t know if she’d be sobbing afterwards.
Geri walked Tricia and Maddie back to the car parked across the street from their apartment building. “Enjoy yourselves tonight and tomorrow morning. When you get back at noon, we’ll go to a nice place for lunch, then do a little bit of clothes shopping afterwards.”
“I’m so excited,” Maddie said, doing little claps with her hands. “I’ve never been to a fancy restaurant before.”
Geri chuckled as she said goodbye to the two. She waved as they drove off, then waited until the street was clear of traffic before crossing, eager to get back inside the apartment so she could talk to Simon. She was as nervous as hell, but she couldn’t wait to hear his voice.
“Excuse me, miss.”
She turned her head towards a burly guy getting out of the passenger door of a black van parked right next to her.
“Can you tell me if you know this person?” The man held out his phone to her.
She frowned at the picture of Mickey Mouse on the screen. Then a large hand clamped over her mouth and she was being lifted bodily into the van. Her shock lasted a couple of seconds before her body’s fight response kicked in. She tried violently to wriggle free, but the man was too strong. When he did let her go to shut the door, another man pointed a gun right at her face.
“Move and you’re dead,” the gun-toting guy snarled.
“Who are you?” she asked, surprising herself at how strong her voice sounded.
“It’s on a need-to-know basis, and you don’t need to know,” the burly man who’d dragged her into the van said, laughing at his statement as if he found it smart. He tied her hands behind her back before slapping duct tape across her mouth and yanking a blindfold over her eyes.
“Where’s your phone?” he asked, patting her down.
She squirmed, disgusted, as the man reached into her pocket to take her device.
Someone got to the driver’s seat and the vehicle started to move.
Neither of her captors spoke and Geri sat still, terrified, as her mind whirled with questions to which she had no answers. Who were these men and what did they want with her? Thank God that Tricia and Maddie had gone, or they might have been kidnapped too.
The frightening thought that she might never see them again brought tears to Geri’s eyes. Please, God, no. She’d only just patched things up with her sister. She didn’t want to leave them yet.
Her mind flashed an image of Simon, and Geri let out a sob. She should have told him she loved him when she’d had the chance.
Chapter 17
Simon settled himself on the couch in Gavin’s study, alone
again with the brothers-in-law. He was impressed that the two detectives had somehow managed to find Tricia Blaine’s phone number in such a short amount of time. He watched as Carter put his phone on hands free and called Geri’s sister.
“Hello?” came an answer.
“Hello, is this Tricia Blaine?” Carter asked cordially.
“Yes,” Tricia said rather suspiciously.
“Miss Blaine, my name is Carter Garrett. I’m a recruitment agent who’s worked with Geri Blaine in the past. I’m so sorry for calling you after hours on a Friday night, but I’ve been trying to call your sister to no avail. I have an urgent job she might be interested in, and she’s put your name down as her emergency contact.” Carter let out a little laugh. “I know this isn’t the purpose of emergency contacts, but this is very important. We don’t want Geri to miss out on this opportunity.”
Simon smiled wryly. Bumbling Bobby Gee was good for something, after all. His conversation with the guy was the inspiration for this script, since they didn’t want to alert Geri that Bobby was looking for Simon James if they didn’t have to.
“Oh, right,” Tricia said, sounding friendlier. “Geri’s at home right now. I just dropped her there about ten minutes ago. If she’s not answering, maybe she’s taking a bath.”
“Oh, okay, I’ll try her again in a few minutes. It’s just that she wasn’t answering my calls earlier.”
“Really? I don’t think she got your calls. I was with her for the whole day. Only one person rang her about an hour ago, and it wasn’t you.”
“Oh. Maybe I’ve been dialling the wrong number, then. Can I confirm it with you?”
“Okay, wait. I don’t have it memorised since I only got it a few days ago, would you believe? I’ll get my daughter to look it up since I’m driving.”
They heard Tricia instruct Maddie to pull up her auntie’s details and read it to the man on the other end of the line.
Maddie did.
“Ah, that’s where I got it wrong,” Carter said. “I have the last number as a three, not an eight. Thanks so much to the both of you. Enjoy the rest of the night.”
The Unmasked CEO (Captured by Love Book 7) Page 14
