by Carter Blake
He makes eye contact with me, as if he’s trying to work out what my motives are, so I shake my head to ensure him that I’m not being threatened too.
“You know as well as I do that what he’s doing is wrong. This isn’t just some revenge thing, this is a pill that could save lives. He needs to be told, he needs to pull his head out of his ass, he needs to be made to understand. If we let him do this, it could change things forever. Even money can’t be a motivator enough for you to think that’s okay.”
“I don’t know.” He shrugs helplessly. “If you didn’t stop him, if his own daughter isn’t motivation, then I can’t see anything that will be.”
We sit in silence for a few moments, just trying to work out where we need to go next, when a face fills my mind. This isn’t all about money, and revenge, and it never has been. There’s another element to this, something that we’ve all been missing, when really it could be the key to absolutely everything.
“I might not be able to stop him. But I think there’s someone that can. It might be a risky strategy, one that could go either way, but right now it’s the only shot that we have.”
“Who?” Wesley asks me anxiously, moving closer to the edge of his seat. “Time is against us, so I’m really willing to do anything at this point.”
I face him with a pounding heart, hoping that he isn’t about to hate me for what I’m about to say. It will take this problem back to its origins, which really could go in the best way possible, or the worst, but it has to be worth a shot. I just hope that everyone else agrees.
“Madeline,” I eventually whisper. “Your Mom. If anyone can get through to him, it has to be her. If he really loved her, maybe he still does.”
Wesley goes pale. “No. I’m not getting her involved. ”
“Then what? It’ll be a PR nightmare if the media finds out those documents were stolen. Even if they are returned, your investors will lose faith in security.”
“Shit.” He drags his fingers through his hair, then nods. “I’ll ask her.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, and exhale through my nose, praying that she’ll agree. I may hate my father in this moment, but I still don’t want him to go to jail, and that’s exactly where both of us will go if I don’t get those documents back.
Chapter 22
Wesley
“You’re on your way?” I hear Naomi ask Amber anxiously. “Yep, okay we’ll see you there.”
We’ve decided to confront Michael just before he heads into his meeting with the Russians. To do our best to stop him before he goes through with his plan. If he doesn’t, then I’m going to have no other choice to call the police.
There are so many things that could go wrong which makes me extremely nervous, but we just don’t have time to come up with something better.
Michael could have lied to Oliver too. If he’s capable of lying to his own daughter he could do it to just about anyone. Or the meeting could have already happened. Or seeing my Mom could simply anger him further. There aren’t any guarantees. I really prefer certainty. But what else can I do?
“You okay?”
“Yeah,” Naomi replies in a shaky tone of voice. She’s really worked up about this, and I know that it’s because she blames herself, but to be honest I’m beyond all of that now.
She made a mistake. A huge fucking mistake. But she’s trying to redeem herself. That’s something.
I just want this done.
All I care about is getting the formula and my other research notes back.
Once I’ve done that, I can start worrying about everything else. About what I’m going to do about her.
We’ve been sitting in the car, outside the Russian offices, waiting for Michael to arrive, but the more the clock ticks, the closer to midnight we get, the more possible issues I think of. The tension, the anticipation is killing me, I just need to get this started, now.
“Wait,” I hiss quickly. Spotting some headlights. “Is that his car?”
Naomi sits up straighter, following my eye line, and I watch her face change totally, telling me that it’s time.
“He’s here,” she hisses quietly.
I gulp everything down, trying to ignore my pounding heart.
“Michael,” I yell out angrily. “It’s time for this to be over. Give me the documents.”
“Ah, wow, I am impressed,” he sneers, looking between Naomi and me. “Then again, it should be easy to find out my plans when you’re fucking my daughter.”
I hear Naomi’s sharp intake of breath.
“You lied to your daughter,” I react, my temper flaring at his words.
“I lied to her because I knew that she couldn’t be trusted, and guess what? It looks like I was right. Turning her back on her father, the only family that she has left, the man who raised her, who gave her everything. All I wanted was this one thing from her, and she couldn’t even do that right.”
“Stop,” There’s unrestrained emotion in Naomi’s voice, but mostly anger. “What the hell is wrong with you? I’m not betraying you. I’m trying to do what’s right.”
“The formula is mine.”
“Was yours,” I say harshly. “You may have started it, but my Dad, my company, I have progressed with the research to turn the drug into what it is today, and I will not have it falling in your hands. All you’ll do is sell it for a massive profit, and so will the Russians. The only people who will lose out in this scenario is the people suffering with cancer, the people we could help.”
I don’t know if reasoning with him will work, but I have to give it a try.
“No, they aren’t the only people who will suffer,” he growls. “You will too. You’ll lose your company, your reputation, your father’s legacy…everything that was handed to you on a plate.”
“Handed to me?” I exclaim, wondering if this has been a part of his problem all along. “My Dad didn’t tell any of us that he was going to pass, not until right at the very end. None of us were prepared for it, least of all me. I’d been working at Future for a while, trying to learn the ropes, but I never took it too seriously. I was always more interested in messing about with… with women and drink. Then I inherited a whole damn business, a whole load of people relying only on me. I had no experience, no idea what to do, but I took to the challenge, and I’ve worked my ass off ever since. Things weren’t just handed to me. I have grafted every fucking day.”
He doesn’t answer, he simply moves closer to me, with a look of pure hatred on his face. I get the impression that he’s just about ready for a fight, which is totally unexpected to me. My heart thunders louder as I shove my sleeves up my arm. I’m not much of a fighter, and this certainly isn’t something that I thought I would have to do, but I can’t just stand here and take it either.
“Dad, no, stop it,” Naomi screams.
But he doesn’t listen, he just keeps on coming. That is until the screeching of a car engine grabs his attention.
“What the fuck is this?” he yells furiously. “Have you actually brought back up with you? Are you that much of a pussy?”
“I could have called the police, but I didn’t.”
“Then who–” His eyes widen as he watches my mother get out of the car.
Everything about Michael instantly changes – his facial expression, his body language, everything.
He’s still in love with her, and he probably always has been. Maybe this has been as much about that as everything else. If that’s the case, then maybe we can still work this out without calling the authorities.
“Michael,” Mom’s expression is warm and inviting, and she moves closer to Michael without any fear. In fact, she’s acting as if she’s greeting an old friend, and as if the rest of it is all not happening. I’m amazed by her, and praying that it won’t get her hurt. Mom is the only family I have left and I will absolutely lose it if something happens to her tonight. “It’s been far too long.”
Her arms are outstretched, but he won’t move into th
em. He’s simply staring at her as if he’s seen a ghost.
“The last time I saw you was when you forced me out of the business.” His voice is filled with pain and betrayal.
“Now you know that isn’t true,” she tells him, reaching out and rubbing his cheek gently. “I saw you a little while after, by which time you had a baby on the way.”
I can see him breaking, just a little bit.
“I’ve missed you,” she says, a small smile curving her lips. “We were always friends. More than that at one time.”
“I…I always loved you,” he tells her sincerely.
“I know,” she says sadly. “And I loved you.”
What the hell?
“You don’t want to do this. By hurting my son, you’re hurting me.”
“It killed me to see you with John.” His jaw clenches and he looks away briefly, then back at her. “I guess that’s why I always needed revenge. I know that’s wrong, and I know it was even worse to drag my only daughter into it, but in a way I suppose I wanted to punish her too.”
I glance over to Naomi, to see her frozen like a statue, as if she has no idea what to do.
“I loved Jenny too. I mean, not at first, but by the time Naomi was born I did…then she was taken from me too. I felt like I was cursed, that I made everyone around me leave, and I…I…I didn’t have anything else but what I’d worked so hard towards.”
There are tears falling down his face now. With just a few words, my Mom has completely shattered him. She must be some kind of genius or something, I don’t even know what to think about it all.
“I’m so sorry, Michael.” Her hand rests on his arm.
“I work a crappy job for hardly any pay, and I keep thinking about how things could have been, had I not been so pig headed.” He sighs, and I can see him finally letting some of the truth free. “Of course that was my fault, I understand why you did it now, but that doesn’t help me to recover everything that I’ve lost, and the life that I’ve wasted.”
“This isn’t the way to get that back,” Mom tells him kindly. “This will just end up being another error to add to your list. You will regret this, just as you regret everything else.”
I hold my breath at this moment, wondering which way it’s going to turn, before I see Michael slowly nodding, effectively solving everything. As he goes back to his car, and he grabs the paper work, I feel everything inside of me clench. This is it, sink or swim, the moment the future of my company and my father’s legacy is decided.
“Here,” he says weakly, handing it to me. “Take it. It’s yours.”
I don’t know what to say, but luckily I don’t have to say anything because he turns to face Naomi.
“Naomi–”
“Don’t,” she holds up her hands to stop him, then turns on her heels and practically runs to my car.
“Please don’t blame Naomi for my mistake. She thought she was doing the right thing.”
I give a small nod.
Michael gives my Mom a small smile. “I’m sorry.”
“I forgive you, Michael. For everything.” She lets out a small, shaky breath, then leans over and does something unexpected – she kisses his cheek.
“Take care of yourself, Madeline.”
We both watch silently as he walks towards his car, then takes off.
“You should go talk to that girl of yours,” My Mom says, squeezing my hand. “Looks like Michael isn’t the only one who needs some forgiveness.”
I walk towards my car where Naomi sits, tears streaming down her face, even though her expression is stoic, her gaze clouded over.
“Are you okay?” I ask her quickly as I start up the engine.
“I think so,” she sighs. “Let’s just get this paperwork back to your office. Lock it up where it belongs.”
“And then?” I ask, because I seriously don’t know what I’m going to do. I still want her, so fucking much it hurts.
“I don’t know…” She glances out the window.
The thought of not having her in my life is devastating.
Chapter 23
Naomi
“Is that everything?” I ask Wesley, feeling an intense sense of relief as the documents get locked back in that safe, exactly where they belong. That’s where I should have left them, that much is obvious, but now I can relax knowing that I’ve undone what I did.
I still don’t know where my life is going after this – especially not with my Dad’s revelation floating around in my mind – but at least I can move on knowing that I have closed this insane chapter of my life.
“I loved Jenny too. I mean, not at first, but by the time Naomi was born I did…then she was taken from me too. I felt like I was cursed, that I made everyone around me leave, and I…I…I didn’t have anything else but what I’d worked so hard towards.”
That’s the most I have ever heard my Dad talking about my Mom, and it’s left my head all over the place. In a way, I’m glad that he loved her, it makes me feel so much better about the fact that I’m alive, but in another it’s made me feel so much worse. I lost him yet another love, no wonder he used me for his revenge, he wanted revenge on me too.
“That’s everything,” Wesley smiles, looking relaxed finally. “How are you feeling?”
I don’t know how to answer that, my emotions are all over the place.
And he’s just being so damn nice. So understanding. I almost destroyed his life, and he’s looking at me like he actually cares how I feel. I can tell that he’s forgiven me, it’s written all over his face.
At this point, I wouldn’t blame him for having me arrested. He still has every right, even though I did get the documents back.
I am desperately teetering on confessing everything, telling him that I’m moving away, just to escape everything that I’ve done, but I can’t.
As soon as I tell him that, he will do everything within his power to stop me. I know what sort of man he is now, and I can’t allow him to talk me out of it. This is the first real decision that I need to make totally by myself, and I don t need any outside influences when it comes to making it.
So instead of saying anything, I cup his face in my hands, and I kiss him lightly on the lips.
He wraps his arms tightly around me, and he kisses me with a deep fiery passion, igniting that spark inside of me all over again.
Can I really do this? Would it be so wrong to say goodbye in this way? After all, it’s symbolized so much of who we are to one another
Desire overcomes Wesley, and he really begins to claim me with his mouth, leaving me with absolutely no choice.
How can I resist him, when he’s holding me so close, consuming me with so much passion? Driving me so wild? As he pushes me back against the wall, pressing his body up against mine, I allow him to take me at will.
“Wesley,” I gasp loudly, as his mouth moves down to my neck.
His hands move over my body greedily, feeling my breasts, my curves, my thighs, then he begins tugging at my clothes, needing them off, needing me to be naked for him. This might be the end for us, but I’m desperate to see that intense desire in his expression once more.
I want his eyes all over me, devouring me, to give me something to remember when all of this is gone.
I step back and slowly peel off my clothes, teasingly, seductively, and the more naked I become, the quicker and more ragged his breaths become. “You too,” I tell him, smilingly. “I don’t want to be naked on my own here.”
As he reveals that amazing body to me, I really struggle to keep it all inside. Tears threaten to well up in my eyes at even the idea of giving everything up, however much I know that I have to. I still find it unfair that the only guy I’ve ever really fallen for, is the one that I can’t have…but then again, I have no one to blame but myself.
“You are so beautiful,” he moves back to me, pushing me back up against the wall, which against my hot, sticky skin feels colder than anything I’ve ever felt before. I squeal loudly, but h
e just laughs it off, his hands instantly warming me.
“Say you’ll be mine,” he demands, growing against my lips.
How can he still want me?
I cringe inside, trying to ignore the guilt that’s racking through my body, but then he grabs at my knee, lifting it up until my foot is pressed against the wall, and he presses his erection up against me, making forget everything.
“Say it, Naomi.”
“I’m yours,” I murmur, because it’s the truth. No one will ever own my heart the way he does.
He runs his fingers up my thighs, causing me to shiver lightly under his touch, and soon his hand reaches where I’m now aching for him. I need him to touch me there now, more than I ever have before. I arch my back, pressing myself against him, but still he doesn’t seem to get the hint.
“I need you,” I tell him, probably a little too honestly. “I need you, right now.”
“A little impatient, aren’t we?” he teases, slipping a finger in. As he massages my pussy, sending crazy waves of pleasure crashing right through me, I forget the reason why. “God, you feel good.”
I slide my hands down his body, unbuckling his belt, wanting to feel him too, and from the way he groans loudly with joy when I take his cock in my hand, I know he wants it too. I run my fingers up and down his shaft, matching the speed which his fingers are moving in and out of me, and soon we’re both gasping, panting, moaning with pleasure. I feel like I might be teetering too close to the edge of desire already, and that I might just lose it at any second, but then he slips his hand away, and grips his cock.
“Is this what you want?” he asks me in a strained tone of voice.
“Yes,” I moan, the sight of him stroking himself so freaking hot.
“Are you sure, Naomi?”
I appreciate him being careful with me, being cautious with my emotions, but that isn’t what I need right now. I just need to be taken, to be consumed, to be swallowed up whole by pleasure.
“I’m okay,” I pant, yanking him even closer to me. “Aside from the fact that I need you so bad it hurts.”
