Unbreakable 2, The Mystery of Lilly (Cypress Grove Series)

by Nichols, Amie

  "Relax, Mr. Hansen. We just need to speak with Lilly about Matt Henning." The shorter and younger Agent Westchester says.

  "Gentlemen, what can we help you with?" Jacob is now in the room and moves to stand next to Luke.

  "Mr. Greene, I presume?" Agent Givens says. How do they know who everyone is, I wonder to myself as my two protectors are shielding me from seeing the agents.

  "Yes," Jacob answers and doesn't seem surprised in the least that these men know who he is.

  "If it is all right with Ms. Sumnor, we have a huge favor to ask of her," Agent Givens says, stretching his neck to see me over Luke's broadness.

  "What do you mean, a favor?" I question, staring at the broad backs of Jacob and Luke.

  "Ms. Sumnor, we first want to say how glad we are that you are okay," Agent Givens says once Jacob and Luke have parted enough for them to have a conversation with me.

  "Thank you," I nod, "now what do you mean you need a favor?" I can't even imagine what I could do for the FBI.

  "Well as you know, Matt Henning is now in our custody," Agent Westchester begins.

  "What does this have to do with the FBI?" Jacob asks the question I know we are all thinking.

  "Matt Henning is a contract killer. We have been after him for quite some time," Givens says, making me shudder at the fact that he was hired to kill me.

  "He has killed many influential people, including Judge George Lynn."

  "The Supreme Court Judge, that Judge Lynn?" Jacob sounds astonished.

  "Yes, we know it was him, we just don't know who hired him," Westchester answers.

  "So what does this have to do with Lilly?" Luke grates his jaw tight. I can tell he does not like where this might be going.

  "Mr. Henning has never failed a job, until. . .well. . " Givens nods in my direction. "We need information and we believe that Ms. Sumnor might be the only one he will tell."

  "Absolutely not," Jacob interrupts.

  "Hell no!" Luke yells at the same time as Jacob starts yelling his objections.

  Westchester puts his hand up telling the boys to calm down and give them a minute. "She will be safe. We just need her to talk to him."

  "You've got to be fucking kidding me, how in the hell can you even consider asking her to do this? The fucker stalked her and kidnapped her!" Luke is yelling while Jacob is pacing, spewing a few cuss words himself. I'm numb as I listen to all of the commotion. Emma is at my side, and I believe for the first time in her life she is speechless.

  "I understand, Mr. Hansen. This is not something we would normally do to victims, but if we can find out who has been hiring him. . .like I said he has murdered a lot of important people at the orders of someone. We just have no idea who," Givens says, placing his hands in his front pockets. "We have interrogated him and he is tight lipped. We also know that as soon as he is in general population he will be killed because of the stuff he knows. We need to get this out of him before that happens."

  "Well, you're just going to have to find another way, because no way in hell," Luke shouts, "over my dead body!"

  "Mr. Hansen, he has money and very expensive lawyers. We know he killed those men, but we don't have solid proof. Right now he's looking at a max of five years in prison."

  "What the fuck are you talking about? He kidnapped her, he, he, he. . . blew up our house and—" Jacob is so frustratingly angry he can't even speak complete sentences.

  "We know, but he has a very good legal team. He has millions in his bank accounts which we can't freeze because we don't have the proof we need. He's a very smart man. That is up until Lilly, this is the first he has ever messed up," Givens grates, it is obvious that the thought of Matt Henning getting away with murder is a hard pill for him to swallow. It is for me, too, five years max, really?

  "I'll do it." I blurt out causing everyone in the room to turn abruptly toward me. I will do whatever I have to to make sure he stays in prison his entire life. I've seen him, I know he has a weakness, and that is me.

  "NO! NO! NO!" Luke shouts at the ceiling. "Fuck me, no, Lilly."

  "What choice do I have, five years and then he will be free." I give Luke a stare that tells him that this is my decision.

  "Let him go into general population, they said he would be dead in days," Jacob adds to the argument.

  "Not if his lawyers get him into protective confinement, which so far they have succeeded the past couple days. He has been so well protected, and I hate to say it, but I'd be surprised if he spent more than six months in jail.

  "Emma, say something, talk some sense into her!" Luke is now yelling at her, and she has a dumbstruck look on her face.

  "I think she has to do it." She gives Luke her most pathetic face, which sends him into a slew of cuss words making everyone in the room wince. "Luke, that judge being killed was a big deal. It changed the chain of command in so many ways. Finding out who is responsible is like the Pelican Brief all over again, dirty senators, judges, and cops. It's kind of a big deal," she says, now watching me.

  "Oh for crying out loud, I don't give a fuck about all of that shit! All I care about is Lilly, and putting her face to face with that monster again." Luke is so mad the veins in his tight jaw are throbbing.

  The agents leave after I request a moment alone. "I'm doing this, and I will be fine. It will be my screw you to him. Making sure he spends the rest of his life in prison."

  "Lilly—" I hold up my hand as Luke starts to object.

  "Trust me, I can handle it. Him only getting five years, I cannot handle," I tell Luke firmly, who looks as if he is going to explode he is so angry.

  "Lilly, you never listen to me, goddammit!" Luke shouts at me making me wince at the anger in his voice. He sees my face, then glances down at the floor before bolting out of the room.

  "Luke!" I shout after him, but he's gone with the slam of the door.

  "He'll come around, Lil, he just doesn't know how to protect you, and that's all he wants to do," Emma says while stroking my hair.

  "What, that's just stupid," I spout.

  "No it's not, he feels helpless. You should have seen him when he woke up and we hadn't found you yet. Jesus, he was climbing the walls."

  "It was no picnic for me either, I thought he was dead," I growl.

  "No one said it was a picnic for you, I can't even imagine what you went through, Lil, but give the guy a break. He's worried about you, he wants to protect you from everything, and you are telling him straight to his face that it's not his decision," Jacob growls back at me before he leaves the room also.

  I look at Emma stunned. Why in the world would they not want me to do this? "He could be free in five years, Em. Why would they want that? Am I missing something?"

  "There's a lot of emotion going on right now, Luke already feels as though he's failed you. Now you're going to be face to face with that psycho again. I believe he feels like you are not giving him a decision in the matter. You know, he's your man and wants to protect you." Emma shrugs it off as being testosterone mixed with lack of sleep mixed with one stressful week.

  Chapter 6

  The next few days I stay in the hospital, there's a deep cut on my side that is getting infected so the doctors want me to have IV antibiotics. Luke is sullen, but doesn't venture far.

  "Hey you," I say softly, standing when Luke comes in. I'd just gotten back from the bathroom and was going to lay down, but instead walk up to my brooding man. I grab his t-shirt and fist the material.

  "Hey," he says, running his hand through his hair. He had been sleeping on the couch in the room the past couple nights. I tried to get him to come into the bed with me, but he insisted I needed rest so he stayed on the couch.

  "How long are you going to be mad at me?" I look up to meet his eyes.

  "Are you still going to do it?" He looks down at my hand.

  "Yes."

  "Lilly, what do you want me to do? I almost lost you, all I want is to take you home and be with you the rest of my life. But wait. . .
we can't go home because that psycho piece of shit blew up our house."

  "We are going to start over at Cypress Grove though. I know your dad has been really busy getting it all cleaned up." I smile up at him.

  "Lilly, I don't know what to say, you're just going to do whatever the hell you want anyway." I can tell he is getting worked up again. I don't like it. He's barely touched me since the agents came here. Every day I feel a little more distance. Emma keeps telling me that he'll come around, to be patient.

  "I love you, baby," is all I can think to say.

  "Look, I've got to go and help Dad so everything is done when you're ready to come home." He kisses the top of my head and gives me a weak smile before he leaves the room.

  I start crying as I stand there all alone in my hospital room. He didn't tell me he loved me back. Crying harder, I find the clothes Emma brought for me. Pulling on jeans and a t-shirt between sobs, I find the card that Agent Givens gave me. I wipe the tears from my eyes and sit on the edge of the bed. Using the hospital phone, since I still don't have a cell, I call the agent.

  "You're doing the right thing," Givens says to me as he opens the door to the FBI building in New Orleans. "I'm surprised you came by yourself."

  "Let's just say that it is better for everyone that Luke and Jacob are not here, they're not exactly on board with this." I follow the agent down a long corridor into a little room. Agent Westchester is waiting in the room and stands when I enter.

  "Ms. Sumnor, thank you so much for doing this. I know it is very hard for you," he says, motioning for me to have a seat across the table from him.

  "We haven't told him you are coming. We are hoping the shock of seeing you will catch him off guard," Givens says, taking a seat next to his partner.

  "What makes you think he even still cares, he left me in a dirty dungeon."

  "Because the first thing he told us when we arrested him was where you were. He was worried about you. In fact, he was on his way back to you. You need to know that this man is a professional, he is cold as ice. We know of at least ten murders for hire."

  "Are you trying to make me feel better about this?" I half laugh as the nervousness sets in. If I wasn't so mad at Luke for the way he left me earlier, I would wish he was here. Actually, no I wish he was here, I wish he was here to take me away from this very stupid idea.

  "You will be totally safe. He is handcuffed to the floor and to the table. We will be right outside and we have two-way mirrors on all sides with agents stationed at each one."

  "Your goal is to find out who hired him for the Judge’s murder," Westchester says, "but any info you can get will help, if you want out just get up and leave."

  "Let's get this over with," I blurt out, wiping my sweaty palms on my jeans.

  "Right through this door," Givens says, putting his hand on my back as I stand in front of the door with Matt Henning on the other side. I look at myself in the mirror that is on the door. My face is still bruised and the cut on my cheek is better, but it was one of the deeper ones so it still looks nasty. I tuck my hair behind my ears, reach for the door knob, and take a deep breath before opening the door.

  What I see when I walk in is the man, but he looks different. He is cleaned up, shaven, and for the first time, I really see him. He is very attractive and normal looking like this, except, of course, for the orange jumpsuit and being handcuffed. When he looks up at me his eyes widen. He makes to get up, but is stopped by the chains that are bolted to the table.

  "Lilly, oh my God, Lilly." He is in disbelief. He shuts his eyes tight and then opens them again, as if he is dreaming or hallucinating.

  I don't know where it comes from, but all of a sudden a plan forms in my head. I have confidence, and the need to make this man suffer is fueling that confidence. He sits down watching my every move. I have yet to speak, the room silent as if he is waiting for me to say anything.

  "You lied to me, Matthew," I calmly say, standing behind the chair across the table from him. My hands grasp the back of the chair for support.

  "Only my mother calls me Matthew." He lifts his eyes to meet mine. They are dark grey, almost black. I don't know what to say to his comment, so I just stand there and stare at him for what seems like hours. "But you can call me any name you want," he says with a sickening smile. If I didn't loathe this man, I could see where he could get anything he wanted with that smile.

  "How did I lie to you, Lilly?" It's like he is playing the game also, which I didn't want. I wanted him to be putty in my hands.

  "You said you loved me," I say with the betrayal in my voice. Like, how dare he say something he did not mean?

  "I do, with all my heart. I have never loved anything or anyone more than I love Lilly Sumnor." His eyes are watching my face for any kind of expression. It's show time now.

  "Where I come from, men don't leave the woman they love to die in dirty dungeons!" I shout at him looking him straight in the eyes. "They don't do things like this!" I point to the gash under my eye.

  "I wasn't thinking properly, I was just frantic to get you out of there." There's the putty I wanted.

  I walk around the table so I am just close enough that if he reached out I would be just an inch from his grasp. I lift my t-shirt slowly, watching his eyes widened as he watches my every move. I lift it just under my breast showing him the huge gash in my side.

  "This does not look like love to me!" I yell. He reaches out to touch me, but is stopped short by the chains. I lower my shirt and move back around the table, this time I sit in the chair. I place my hands on the table just close enough that he can barely reach me again.

  "I'm so sorry, baby." He has his forehead flat on the table sobbing like a child. Repeating over and over that he is sorry, that he loves me and what can he do for me to forgive him. His hands are clasped together in front of me on the table. I hesitate for a second and reach out for them. Just when I am about to touch them I pull back. This is it, I feel like if I am going to get any info from him it is now. Slowly I reach for his hands again. This time I make contact, I wrap my hands around his.

  He lifts his head slowly, staring at my hands on top of his. He rests his forehead on top of our stacked hands rolling his head back and forth over the tops of my hands as if he wants as much skin on skin exposure as he can get.

  "Do you want to be with me, Matthew?" It's now or never, the sooner I can get the info out of him the sooner I can get out of this room.

  "Forever and always," he sobs his face still down. Now he moves his hands so he is holding mine. He starts to kiss my knuckles, making my stomach turn.

  "You need to do something for me then," I whisper, leaning closer to him like it's a secret.

  "Anything, everything, I'll do whatever you ask." He is placing kisses all over my hands, before he looks up at me his eyes sad and beaten.

  "You need to tell them who hired you to kill the Judge," I blurt out before I even have time to think. It's either going to work or it isn't.

  "Magado, Senator Magado," he says without a blink of an eye. I sit there speechless; amazed he just spilled it out like that.

  I look up at the two way mirror wondering if I am done. No one is coming in to say good job you can go live your life now, so I sit there while he makes out with my hands, looking up at me with puppy eyes. Right now I can get this man to do anything I want. I'm sure the men behind the glass know that, too, that is why they haven't come in.

  "Who else has hired you to kill?"

  "Jane Sumnor, Michael McCain, but most of my jobs came from Senator Magado." His voice is boyish as he talks. It sounds ridiculous these talks of contract killings coming from this mush of a man right now. He starts rambling on and on about whom he's killed as he focuses on my hands, tracing them with his fingers, and then kissing them some more.

  Just when I'm about to run from the room screaming because I can't take another second of listening to this man go on and on about all of the people he's killed, a very tall woman dressed in an expensi
ve designer suit busts through the door. "Matt, stop talking now," she orders. Following her is a man who also in a very expensive designer suit.

  "Get her out of here now!" The woman orders the man in the suit, which he complies by grabbing my upper arm with so much force I almost fall out of the chair. I stumble to catch my footing.

  Matt still has a hold of one of my hands and is screaming at the top of his lungs in a wounded animal type scream, "NOOOOO!" My hand is yanked from his grasp as I am dragged out of the room. I hear Matt screaming, yelling profanities at the woman to get me back in there. Then the door shuts, leaving the room suddenly silent.

  Chapter 7

  Matt Henning

  They told me it was all a trick. That Lilly was using me for information. That she was put up to it by the Feds.

  They are all liars, I know the truth. She loves me and wants to be with me. I could tell by the sound of her voice she really does. I know she is mad because of the way I had to treat her. Seeing those cuts and bruises on that soft skin made me love her even more. She has my marks, my marks on her body making her mine. She will always be mine.

  They think that I won't ever see the light of day again. I've held up in a hole for days just waiting for my target. I know that I will find a way back to her because no one is going to keep me from being with her again. It's just a matter of time, and she will wait for me, I know she will.

  Chapter 8

  "That was perfect Lilly." Agent Givens comes up to me grabbing my shoulders giving me one of the happiest smiles no doubt ever existed.

  I look around the room and find what I am frantic for. A sink with soap. I scour my hands as I hear the agents behind me celebrating.

  "Sorry, Lilly, we thought it best not to tell you we called his lawyers. We wanted the element of surprise, now he thinks you are still with him. He will stick to the confession," Givens says, leaning up against the counter with his grin still plastered on as I wash my hands for the fourth time now.