by Me, Tara Sue
I tried not to dwell on the fact that if Bri wasn’t in Providence, I knew nowhere else to look. It was too painful to think we’d somehow found each other after years of being apart, only to be torn apart again. Yes, she’d done some questionable things, but she thought she was doing the right thing. More importantly, I’d not given her a chance to explain why. I’d barely let her tell her side of the story.
I pulled up to the nondescript townhouse at the address Trent had forwarded to me. Since I wasn’t trying to hide anything, there was no need for me to park down the street or to attempt to make my visit look like anything other than it was.
For about five minutes, I sat in my car, watching his front door. I think part of me wanted the fucker to know I was there before I announced myself. But if he was looking out of a window, I wasn’t aware of it.
Finally I got out of the car, taking my time to close the door behind me and make my way up the tidy walkway to his front stoop. I rang the doorbell and waited, slightly surprised that he lived so modestly based on what Trent had uncovered about his life after London.
My surprise grew when he answered his own door instead of a housekeeper. “Carlton,” I said.
My surprise over his living arrangements paled compared to his surprise at seeing me on his doorstep.
“You,” he said, fitting more dislike, loathing, and bitterness in one word than I thought possible.
“Expecting someone else?” I asked, taking a moment to look him over.
Time had not been kind to him. Always on the heavy side, the years spent in a sedentary lifestyle paired with unhealthy eating habits had left him portly. A look made even worse combined with the pallor of his skin and his receding hairline.
“No,” he said. “But I expected you sooner. Guess you’re not as smart as everyone thought you were.”
He moved to the side and let me in. The door closed behind us, but we didn’t move farther into the house. Just as well. From the stench, it hadn’t been cleaned in quite a while.
His words no longer had the ability to hurt me the way they had years ago, and I just smiled, letting his vitriol hit and bounce off me. “I guess there’s no reason to explain why I’m here then since you probably already know.”
“I know I wish I’d never laid eyes on you and that piece of nothing that was forever following you around.”
The intensity of his hatred toward me was unexpected. “Why is that?” I asked. “From what I heard, you were paid very well for doing very little.”
“You of all people should know that things aren’t always the way they seem and that wealth with the ability to appear overnight can disappear just as quickly.”
“Right,” I said. Not knowing the entire story of what happened all those years ago, I tried to piece the parts I knew of together. Maybe I could persuade him to fill in the rest.
“They said all I had to do was separate you and that Brigitta. They’re the ones who informed me she’d also received a scholarship to that school you were going to and that if I’d find a way to get you to go alone, I’d be compensated very well.”
“Why would anyone care who either of us were friends with? I was barely a teenager.” I was missing something. “Why was it so important to separate us?”
He shrugged. “I learned early on that it was in my best interest not to ask questions when they gave me instructions.”
“Who are they?”
“If you don’t know, I’m not going to tell you.”
Quick as a flash, I reached out and grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him toward me. “You’ll answer any question I ask you. Understand?”
“No,” he said but didn’t attempt to pull out of my grasp. “You understand. According to my doctor, I have less than six months to live. And as you could probably guess, I don’t give a fuck about much. But I do know that I want to live those six months in peace and not have to worry about looking over my shoulder for them.”
“Are they called TPA?” I asked using the company name Trent had uncovered, but Newsome’s eyes gave nothing away.
“Never heard of them,” he said, and I knew he’d never tell me anything about the mysterious “they.”
“I’ll ask a different question then.” I let go of his collar, and he took a step back. “Have you seen Bri lately?”
“No,” he said, but his eyes shifted, and I had a feeling he was lying.
“Do you know where she could be?”
He’d been looking down, but at my question, his head jerked up. “Have you lost her?”
“Something like that,” was all I was willing to say in response.
“If they want you to find her, you’ll find her.” Newsome turned around slowly. “And if they don’t, you won’t. No one’s mentioned her around me, and I sure as hell haven’t asked.”
Before I could reply, he continued. “All this talking and thinking has left me tired. I’m going to go take a nap. You can see yourself out.”
I watched his retreating form. “How about your door? Don’t you want to lock it?”
Newsome laughed. “If they were going to get me, they’d have done it long before now. There’s very little I fear these days.”
“It’s still not a good idea to leave your door unlocked.”
“Thank you for the public service announcement. Now get the fuck out of my house.”
Without another word, he walked toward the back of the house and disappeared into a room off the hallway. Shaking my head, I let myself out and made it back to my car, a bit defeated. I had learned little other than whoever “they” were had apparently screwed Newsome over and a vague feeling he had seen or spoken to Bri lately. Or maybe someone had talked to him about her recently.
Whatever it turned out to be, odds were I wouldn’t learn very much by staying parked in front of the townhouse. At least not out in the open, like I currently was.
Three hours later, my legs cramped from sitting in my car for so long. Certain I’d learn something if I watched Newsome’s house long enough, it’d become clear why I practiced law and paid other people to do my investigative work.
I didn’t have the patience. There was no way I’d ever make it through an all-night stakeout. I was over and done after three hours. There had been no movement anywhere near the townhouse. Maybe because there was no one to move. Or maybe because someone was waiting and watching for me to do something.
I didn’t want to leave my current hiding spot because I wouldn’t be able to use it again. Not far down the street from the townhouse, there was a construction site for a new home. No one was working on in which meant there was no one to notice or care that I hid my car behind a dumpster.
The spot gave me a near-perfect view of the townhouse I’d recently left, but I was at a loss how I could continue my surveillance for much longer.
My phone buzzed with an incoming text. I glanced at the screen to see who it was and almost turned away because I didn’t recognize the number. But thinking it might be a throwaway phone Bri used, I read the message and my body turned to ice.
I have what you’re looking for. If you want it, meet me at your office.
Chapter 22
Piers
Near the harbor, I pulled into the parking garage for my office. It was after hours, so I wasn’t sure how whoever sent me the text had gotten inside. Nor did I know who it was. If forced to guess, I’d go with the bastard we’d found inside Bri’s apartment. He was the only person I’d run into lately who had a knack for getting into places he didn’t belong.
I didn’t have a weapon, but I didn’t let that bother me. If it turned out to be the same man, I assumed the sniper would also be in attendance. I was a decent shot, but to attempt a shootout with the duo who more than likely were waiting for me would be a suicide mission.
Because it was after hours, a lot of parking spaces were available. Only a few workaholics remained. I glanced around, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Though I couldn’t help but wonder if I�
��d notice if it was. Once upon a time, I had been hyperaware of everything around me. And even though I could still pick up on a few things, like someone following me, I knew I was nowhere near as cognizant of my surrounding as I’d been years before.
I parked my car near the covered walkway that led to the adjoining office building and nodded to the security guard in the lobby before heading to the elevators. I didn’t take the time to wonder how a stranger might have gained access to my office. Life had taught me a lot of things. One of those being damn near anything is possible if you wanted it badly enough.
I was unsurprised to find the outer door to my office unlocked, even though I knew my admin, Jeanie, would have never left the office in such an insecure manner. Just as I knew she hadn’t been the one to let in whoever it was waiting for me inside.
The main lights in the office were out, but a faint light shone from near the back of the hall where my personal office was located. I walked in that direction. My entrance had not been quiet, nor had I meant for it to be. I assumed whoever requested the meeting had eyes watching somewhere to alert them when I arrived.
However, even having told myself that, I couldn’t stop the slight jerk of my body when a voice called down the hall.
“Come on back, Mr. Worthington. We’ve been waiting for you.”
I recognized the voice as belonging to the fucker who broke into Bri’s apartment. Involuntarily, my eyes dropped to my chest to ensure there wasn’t a red bullseye on my chest.
We’ve been waiting for you, the man had said. Who was the we? Bri?
A few more steps and I stood in the doorframe of my office. As expected, the bastard from before sat in one of the chairs I had in my seating area. Another man, one I didn’t recognize, sat beside him. Bri was nowhere to be seen.
And I’d had about enough of this shitty game.
“I’m here,” I said. “What do you want?”
Barnes laughed. “So to the point, Mr. Worthington. Where’s the boorish politeness most of us Brits are known for?”
“People like you forced me to the uncivilized side.” I didn’t bother to tell him though I’d been born in England and was a dual citizen, I’d lived in the US for so long I considered myself an American. He probably knew all that already, and if he didn’t, I couldn’t imagine he’d care very much.
“Indeed,” he said, and I noticed how quickly his laugh had faded when I refused to cower to him. “If you recall, my text said I had something you wanted.”
“I read it less than an hour ago, so I recall the contents very well. What is this thing you believe I want?” I looked the guy sitting at his side up and down. “Because I have to say, if it’s him, I’m really disappointed.”
I was getting under Barnes’s skin, and I didn’t know why that made me feel good. Perhaps he wasn’t used to people talking to him the way I was. Frankly, I didn’t give a fuck. He was nobody to me. He might scare the shit out of Bri, but it would take more than a looney tune from the UK to rank on my give-a-damn meter. I was wondering if the sniper’s sight had somehow been faked.
“No,” he said. “Jackson isn’t for you. His part comes later. What I’m going to give you is the truth.”
“What truth?”
“The only truth that matters. The truth of your life. How you ended up where you are. The reason I’m here. Why I have to destroy you.” He spoke with a calm confidence, at odds with any sort of mental illness I could come up with. But I still couldn’t imagine what truth he thought he had for me. “I see you don’t fully believe what I’m saying.” He turned to the man at his side. “Jackson, give Mr. Worthington the shawl.”
Showing no emotion whatsoever, Jackson bent to the bag I now noticed at his feet and pulled out a black and white silk scarf. At the sight of it, my body froze, and I struggled to breathe.
Jackson tried to hand me the scarf, but I shook my head.
“You should touch it,” Barnes said. “In order to know it’s real.”
I shook my head again. I didn’t need to touch it to know it was real. “Where did you get it?”
“I would think that obvious,” Barnes said. “I got it from your mother’s body. Right after she died.”
“You killed her?” The rage that filled my body was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. I forced my limbs to remain completely still because if I moved a fraction of an inch, I’d kill Barnes with my bare hands, and I wanted to hear him confess before I did so.
“No,” he said. “But I arrived at the scene not long after. I only showed you the scarf to prove I know the truth.”
I still wasn’t sure if I believed him or not. There was nothing to keep him from lying to me. Lie or not, he’d known what he was doing when he pulled out that scarf. I’d at least listen to him now. I gave a curt nod.
Seemingly satisfied, Barnes leaned back in his seat and began, “Your father was a very wealthy man. Self-made. Like most other men who earned their money instead of inheriting it, he’d taken a few risks along the way.
“He was a smart investor. Always doing his research before jumping into something. He could also spot a company’s problem areas. Once he had all the information needed, he’d go into his office and stay there until he’d decided what to do. There were rumors he’d bring your mom in for her opinion, but I can’t say with any certainty if that was the case or not.”
It probably was, if I had to guess. I had very few memories of my parents, but I remembered they always seemed to be together. Or maybe that was simply my subconscious hoping that was what they were like.
Barnes didn’t seem to care one way or the other. “We approached your father with a new venture we needed his financial backing on, and after reading the prospectus, he promised his full support. About five months into the project, he discovered some parts of the operation that were inadvertently left out of the information he’d been given. He was furious, insisted we’d kept him in the dark and that if we didn’t fix what he considered to be ethical issues, he’d pull his support.”
I balled my fists tightly because I knew where this was heading. I knew, and once he spoke it, I would have to kill him.
“Imagine our surprise when both your parents were killed in that awful car accident,” Barnes said.
“I think the term accident is a misnomer, don’t you?” I asked through clenched teeth.
“No,” he replied calmly. “I don’t. It’s what’s listed on the official police report.”
I wondered how much it had taken to buy the officers off but didn’t voice my suspicion out loud. If what Barnes said was the truth, and I had no reason to think it wasn’t, whatever was going on had been in motion for years.
“As it turned out, your father anticipated he might become more accident prone than normal and had forwarded his concerns to a national news agency. Fortunately, we heard about it before anything could be printed. Unfortunately, we had to shut the entire operation down.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “That prank of your father’s cost us forty million, and we had to change our name.”
From TPA to the Organization, if I had to guess.
“You didn’t have any family left after your parents died, and we had a few judges in our debt. Getting you placed into the various homes over the years and creating a fund with your inheritance was easy. We planned to watch you, and when the time was right we’d bring you into the Organization and get your money that way.”
I wasn’t aware of any inheritance, but it didn’t seem like the right time to bring it up.
“But then you had to screw up everything when you joined forces with Brigitta. I told the bosses to pull you out of the homes and into one of our schools, but they wouldn’t listen.” He shook his head, as if relaying a tragedy. “By time they took action, you were already too much like your dad, and then you applied for that scholarship. A setback, but only a slight one. You weren’t a magnificent prospect, but your shadow was. I was the one who suggested the Organization bring Brigitta into the fold. We all ag
reed it would be poetic for her to be the one to bring you down when you were older.”
They had taken an emotional young girl with nothing and no one, fed her a diet of lies and deceit, and over the years, they’d groomed and molded her into what they wanted her to be. And what had my response been?
It shamed me to recall my actions. I hadn’t let her speak or otherwise tell her side of the story. Instead, I’d turned my back on her. I looked down at my fists, still clenched.
Barnes seemed to sense my discomfort, or at least that’s what I took the sadistic smile to mean. “It was a brilliant plan. With one unexpected drawback. She fell for you.”
At his calmly spoken statement, I jerked my head up.
Barnes laughed. “This can’t be news to you. But yes, she did. All those years of training and preparation and she breaks the first rule we taught her. Don’t get involved with your mark.”
Where was Bri? It hit me I still didn’t know. Had they done something with her? Punished her for breaking a rule? I didn’t ask about her. I feared if I mentioned her name, I’d show Barnes emotions he’d use against me.
“What did you do with Benjamin Douglas?” I asked in place of asking where Bri was.
“It’s useless to try to keep things from me. I know that wasn’t what you wanted to ask me. But I’ll play along for now.” He snapped his fingers, and Jackson reached back into the bag and pulled out a photo.
I didn’t want to take it or to look at it, but I did anyway. It was a burned-out car. Nothing was left but the frame.
“Too bad the body was incinerated beyond recognition. It was a quick death, though.” Barnes shrugged. “It’s the best one can hope for in this line of work and not one we afford everyone.” He smirked, and I knew he was talking about Bri.
I wanted to rip the smirk off his face. “Tell me what you did to her, you bastard.”
Chapter 23
Bri
I woke to find the darkness had returned. I didn’t like the darkness. If the Organization’s henchmen were going to do anything with me or take me somewhere, they always did so when it was dark.
