Equity (Balance Sheet #3)

by Shannon Dermott

  “I bought it for you, for us. I wanted a place you could, we could make our own. The apartment I’m in now belonged to my father. Everything in it is his. I had a place back home. When I came to work here in the states, I stayed at a hotel. Like I told you before, I never planned to stay here until you.”

  “You bought this for me?” I felt my face scrunch in confusion. Dumbly I couldn’t fathom what he’d done.

  He stepped forward tentatively. He looked unsure at how I was handling this information.

  “Yes, I bought it for you. I know you’re not ready to live with me. But I hope in time, you’ll let me move in with you.”

  My mouth opened and closed a few times before I was able to let more words come out. “Where’s your apartment, or your dad’s?” I asked and shook my head from bafflement.

  “I’m a couple floors down. This place came available and I snapped it up. I hoped if you moved here and didn’t want me to live with you, I could be close to you, to our wee bairn.”

  I did a three sixty turnabout. “I can’t afford to furnish this place. I probably can’t even afford the utilities even if I got a job here.” New York paid more than they did for the same job in DC. I knew that from firsthand experience.

  Honestly, I waited for him to say he would take care of me. My retort was ready on my tongue. Instead, he surprised me.

  “We can figure that out. First you have to agree to move back.” He kissed me again, stopping my protest. “Let me at least give you the tour.”

  “And if I say no?”

  “I’ll move here on my own. I’ll rent out my place or let Griff stay there.”

  “Griff’s moving here?”

  “So he’s told me. He’s the head of my security team. And I think he wants out of Scotland.”

  “And if I agree to move here and not let you stay with me?”

  “I’ll have a roommate. And maybe you’ll let me spend the night when Griff brings his lasses to stay the night.”

  My eyes narrowed. “This is like some form of bribery.”

  He only grinned.

  Forty-Two

  After showing her the four bedrooms and baths upstairs, I gave her a tour of the main floor. There was a living room, family room, library and office. I even showed her the guest room or housekeeper room. We’d stepped out of the kitchen when Bailey was snared away from my grasp.

  My first thought was that I promised to keep her safe. Instead, her face filled with panic as the fannie bawbag held a gun to her head.

  “I half expected the two of you to go at it in one of the rooms upstairs. I can’t say I wouldn’t have minded getting a look at your boonie burd.”

  I wanted to snarl that she wasn’t my girlfriend but my wife. Those words died in my throat when he pulled her back some more, putting distance between us, and got closer to the door.

  “Don’t say it.” Then he began to mock me. “Don’t touch my bonnie lass or I’ll…” He laughed. “But I am touching her. And bloody enjoying it.”

  “Since when do you start talking like the English?”

  “I’ll fucking talk how I want to talk.”

  In a calm voice I didn’t feel, I asked, “How’d you get in here?”

  Apparently, that was a funny question, for he laughed. “You should have your security people check the cleaning crew.”

  I knew they did those kinds of checks. I imagined once they looked into what happened today, they’d find he was a last minute replacement.

  “What do you want?” I asked instead.

  “What the fuck do you think I want?” His eyes were wild, flicking back and forth between Bailey and me. As much as I wanted to ring his neck, I stayed where I was. I knew he wouldn’t have a problem killing her. I wouldn’t let that happen. I’d give him whatever he wanted as long as it meant she’d live.

  “They say you’re worth over a billion dollars,” he continued. “Is that more or less in euros?” He shook his head and I didn’t like how the gun pressed hard into Bailey’s temple. Her neck was bent at an angle for all his pressure from the gun barrel. “I’m thinking you wire me… let’s say half of that. Five hundred million dollars, because I assume your net worth isn’t all cash.”

  He was wrong about what cash I had. I didn’t bother to argue. “I need to call someone to do that.”

  “Fine,” he said waving the gun. Bailey straightened her neck and I tried not to look at her so he would focus on me. “Just don’t do anything to be a hero and you’ll get her back.”

  I plucked my phone from my pocket, trying to think fast.

  “Put it on speaker,” he demanded smartly. After his dollars to euros conversion, I wasn’t sure how intelligent he really was.

  The phone buzzed through the speaker once I dialed a number. I could only hope this would work.

  “What’s up boss?” the voice answered.

  “I need to wire a half a billion dollars to an account.”

  There was a pause. I sincerely hoped the person on the other end would understand and play along.

  “Sure thing. Are you near a computer?”

  I nearly let out a sigh of relief but suppressed it. With my eyes still on Sandy, I gave him a questioning look. He nodded. “I’m not yet. Give me five minutes.”

  “Okay, call me back.”

  “Alright pretty boyo, we will follow you. If you even stumble, I will blow her head off.”

  I took careful steps out of the apartment and into the hall. I pressed the button for the elevator while he stood several feet away with a gun wedged between him and her. With only two apartments on this floor, we didn’t encounter anyone along the way.

  In the elevator, Bailey with her back to his front gave me pleading eyes. I cursed myself again for putting her in danger. She was right. Being near me hadn’t protected her at all. I looked at her then I quickly glanced up but not at the security panel. Hopefully, I’d reminded her that we were being watched.

  Disembarking two floors down, again the hallway was silent. There were still only two doors on this floor. I opened my apartment and dropped the keys in the Waterford bowl on the table to the left. The space mimicked the minimalistic approach much like the lobby of the building with two-story vaulted ceilings. The furniture also had a modern feel. Not much was in this room except a sofa and two matching modular chairs. I hadn’t cared much for the style. The dark wood floors and dark grey furniture left me feeling like a boy stuck inside the house on a stormy day.

  “My office is down this hall,” I announced as I strode down on the left past the stairwell located in the middle of the space. Once inside the room, I turned the lights on as there were no windows in the hall. The ceiling on this side of the apartment was only nine feet from the floor because the bedrooms were located above.

  I didn’t wait for Sandy to follow. I had to trust for a second that Bailey was okay. I didn’t want him to follow me and see what I was doing on my computer. Once he was inside the door, I made the call to distract him. Meanwhile, I was activating my security cameras in the house. They were there in case of a burglary. However, they weren’t on all the time because I wanted to maintain some level of privacy. I needed them on now.

  “Are you near a computer?” the voice asked without preamble.

  “Yes,” I said with the speaker phone active. “I’m logging in now.” Of course, I was actually logging out of my security system.

  “What’s the account information where you want this wired?”

  My eyes locked on Sandy. He had to give me this information. He nodded towards the phone and I assumed he wanted me to take the caller off speaker. I did so. He spoke in a normal voice but in a way as if he didn’t want to be overheard by the caller. It didn’t matter, we were being monitored and recorded as we spoke. He gave me the bank name and the number account. I passed that on as if we were actually making this happen. I did a couple of head nods and typed on the computer like I was approving the wire. Sandy’s fault was not coming around the desk to verif
y what I was doing. It was a risk. One I had to take.

  “Say that again,” I said while activating the speakerphone again.

  My accomplice said, “I see your authorization on my end. It will take about fifteen minutes. I’ll call you back once I have confirmation it’s gone through.”

  The call ended and I left my phone on my desk. I rounded it and stood before it, not venturing any closer to where Sandy still held Bailey firmly around her torso.

  “Why are you doing this?” I asked, hoping to get him to make a false move or at least not think about my security team and or the cops who should be closing in less than fifteen minutes if that’s what my guy had tried to tell me.

  “You think this is some kind of TV drama where I spill my master plan?”

  “I just want to know why you hate me so much.” Actually, I didn’t care. I wanted him away from Bailey.

  “I’ll tell you what I plan to do.” It was then he made his first mistake.

  He dipped his head to the place I loved on Bailey’s neck, taking his eyes off me. I gave Bailey a good hard stare before I silently walked forward, keeping my eyes on them. Bailey blinked twice, which I thought maybe was a signal for something. I didn’t have time to puzzle it out.

  He continued to talk. “I’m going to fuck her while you watch.”

  Bailey wasn’t in agreement. She did three things in rapid succession. Her right foot came down on his. Her right elbow moved forward and back with a punishing blow to his gut. And her head slammed back into his face. He released her, doubling over for a second to grab at his nose which squirted blood.

  Then, she lunged to one side. Unfortunately the direction she chose was opposite that of the door. I wanted her to get away. However, because I was already moving in their direction when this all went down, I caught him in a chokehold with his gun hand firmly wrenched between us. I could have snapped his neck the way his head was angled oddly in my hold. But death was too good for him.

  What came next wasn’t something I ever planned to do again. I was a guy and knew the most vulnerable spot on a man. I needed him to speak to the camera, telling every one of his crimes. He needed to be locked away with no question of his guilt. So I grabbed his balls and twisted. His yelp was worthy of his girly name.

  When I knew he understood I wouldn’t be letting go unless he answered, I asked, “Why did you steal my money?”

  “Why do you think? I wanted to hurt you. You fucking stole my life away that day you broke my nose.”

  I hadn’t known for sure I’d broken it, but I did know I’d broken other things when I heard bones snap. No doubt Bailey’s blow to his head had broken it again.

  He laughed then. “In the end, you didn’t save the lass. I still fucked your Kiwi. And she was just as fresh as that day, unspoiled.” By Kiwi, he meant Keely. I didn’t correct him because at this point I didn’t know her role. And I wasn’t sure how much time we had before the cops came and he shut up in favor of a lawyer.

  I would tell the police my next squeeze of his balls was an involuntary response to the grip I had him in. He yelled again, squealed more like a pig this time.

  “How did you get access to steal from me?”

  “That was easy.” He chuckled again, and I knew that was all to save face because I had the upper hand. “After fucking Kiwi, the dumb whore opened up about you and her boss. She had no idea she was setting you up for this. Her boss was a needy little thing too. Say the right things and fuck her good and she talked and talked. After I asked her about money moving protocols, I mean she was your finance manager, she laughed about how easy it would be to get around wiring money. Apparently, your clerk was out with her kids a lot and had given your manager her banking password to initiate wires when she wasn’t around. Your manager thought the password was so funny she shared it with me, not knowing I was paying attention to her log in information when she had to work from bed.”

  “How about Kevin? How did you convince him to help you?”

  “After I’d test everything out and had taken some money, I hired the best American private detective to look into potential employees for a high security level internal job. With the names from e-mails, I passed it along. Kevin turned out to be hard into fetish clubs. The private detective uncovered Kevin’s wish for a slave in the Dom/sub scene he met over the Internet. She, however, was seeking a new Dom with ready cash. Without any, he was perfect for my scheme.”

  “Is my money in that numbered account we just wired the money to?”

  This time he stayed silent. I squeezed until I thought I felt something give.

  “Yes,” he said bouncing on his toes a little under my grip.

  “What’s the password?” He was turning all kinds of red in the face.

  “Like I’d fucking tell you that.” He continued to squirm and I had to tighten my grip at his neck to keep hold of him.

  “What’s the password?” I repeated, clutching his ball sack tighter.

  “Kiwi likes it rough,” he chirped and a string of numbers. “And I bet your lass likes it rougher.”

  He tried to rile me with that last statement. And he succeeded. While I was trying to get him to spill his secrets, he’d managed to switch the gun to his other arm that wasn’t trapped. He lifted it and began to aim at Bailey who was slowly making her way to my desk. I think she was planning to call the police. I didn’t have time to ask.

  When I let go of his balls to stop him from shooting her, I inadvertently twisted my body, reaching for the gun arm and still trying to maintain my hold. His neck snapped in the process. He went limp in my arms. Stunned at what I’d done, I let him go. He dropped to the floor like a stone. The cavalry showed a couple of minutes later. Not before I got a good view at Bailey’s horrified expression.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  There wasn’t time to talk. We were immediately separated as the cops took our statements. I was taken to the kitchen, still shaken from what had happened. I knew though when the EMT workers came, they would be removing a dead body. I saw none of it. I only heard a gurney being wheeled in and out at some point.

  I didn’t see but heard officers talking about a video of the incident. It was at that point I was released to go upstairs. Kalen was still with them, and I wondered if he would be cuffed and taken to jail. Then what?

  Without anything else to do, I found myself exploring the upstairs on my own. I knew when I found his bedroom. The other rooms I’d come to first were furnished but looked empty. The one I’d ended up in looked lived in with a large metal frame four-poster bed. There were a few other pieces of furniture, but the bed in this one looked like it was used even though it was made up much like the others.

  Simple yet elegant modern furniture adorned this room as it did throughout what I’d seen of this apartment. Pretty as it was, it didn’t feel like Kalen’s place. He himself had called it his father’s place. I understood his statement, staring at the frames filled with art that reminded me of the art show at Lizzy’s when Kalen showed up and we played wicked games in public in front of a blob of paint someone passed off as art. This was much the same. The kind of stuff artists passed off to be too deep for the weak minded to understand.

  I explored the room and the attached marble bath, ending up in his closet. It wasn’t filled with fifty thousand suits or shoes. In fact the room, which could double as a bedroom without the racks and shelves lining the wall, was mostly empty. Yes, Kalen had a collection of clothes. However, it wasn’t so much that it felt wasteful.

  Once I was done, I waited sitting on the bed for Kalen to finally show up. There had been fear in his eyes before the cops separated us. I hadn’t been able to thank him for saving my life. He’d looked haunted. I knew that having killed that Sandy guy wouldn’t bring him peace. I just hoped he would survive the experience.

  When he finally came through the door, he looked relieved to see me.

  “I didn’t think you’d still be here.”

  I met his weary eyes wit
h a fierceness of my own. “Where else would I go?”

  That seemed to break through to him. He strode over to me and kneeled before me. He pulled me down the short distance to wrap me in his embrace. He buried his face in my hair. “If he’d hurt you, I would have never forgiven myself.”

  He sounded like a man on a ledge, calm and resolute.

  “What are you talking about? You saved my life.” I hoped I came through just as steadfast as he had.

  “I put you in danger, Lass. You were right. Being near me put you in danger.”

  Stanchly, I said, “No! Together, we survived this.”

  My fierceness must have gotten through. His next words were, “That reminds me, where did you get your moves?”

  I felt the heat in my face. “Matt insisted on teaching Lizzy and me self-defense. He said every woman should know how to get herself out of a bad situation.”

  He nodded. “I should have guessed. It looks like I owe him one.”

  His eyes still held a sadness that looked eternal.

  “You did what you had to do.”

  He huffed. His words were thick with his brogue. “You probably think I’m a monster and want nothing to do with me.”

  “I want you just the same. In fact, I need you now.”

  We both had ghosts we needed to exorcise. I had no idea if people were still in the apartment. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was us.

  “What?’ he asked in disbelief.

  With my eyes on his green ones, I said, “I need you to bind my hands and make love to me.” Just so he understood me, I added, “I need you to take those memories away with new ones. I need you to make me feel safe.” I knew he needed this as much as I did. I needed him to know I trusted him implicitly.

  His head bobbed slightly. His words were barely whispers. “Anything for you.”

  There were light touches around my waist, and I felt and heard my zipper slide down. My skirt then succumbed to gravity and pooled at my feet. With gentle hands that had fiercely protected me that night, he unbuttoned my blouse. Fingers barely a whisper on my skin, he shrugged the offending piece of clothing off my shoulders. I was left in a black bra, a swath of fabric labeled panties and a garter belt I’d worn just for him that held up thigh-highs for show. I never wore the latter except I’d planned on surprising him.