Beneath Your Beautiful, page 29
“There’s a great steakhouse around the corner,” Larry says as he heads left. I follow him. I need to eat, and we have a few more things to talk about before I catch the next flight home. May as well kill two birds with one stone.
We order, and I try not to zone out as Larry bombards me with information. The latest of which is that he is tracking down people who must have witnessed Gillian’s attendance at a high profile party which went on until the early hours of the morning. Hours away from where I was and where this attack allegedly took place.
I polish off the food and my thoughts scatter to the woman at home in my bed. I hope she ate something. I glance at my phone on the table. It’s almost 11 p.m., is it too late to call? A tiny black spider scurries across the white table cloth and pauses as I chew my lip. Something feels off—a twist in my gut warning me I’m not where I should be.
Larry snaps his fingers in front of my face just as my phone lights up. I swipe the accept from Honor and a dark ceiling comes into view but no face.
“Miss me already, firecracker?”
“Fox,” she whispers. Larry, seated to my left, leans over to look at the screen.
I frown. “What’s wrong?” Her gorgeous face fills the screen as she grabs the phone. She’s by the window in the bedroom.
Duke makes a grumbling noise from somewhere. “There’s someone in the main house.”
“Like one of my grandmother’s suitors?” I ask, even as my stomach drops. Honor wouldn’t call me for that.
“No, Fox.” Her eyes snap to mine as I catch the outline of the gun in her other hand. “Definitely not someone who should be there.”
“Sit tight, I’ll call the police.”
Larry sucks in a breath, making me scowl.
She shakes her head. “It will take too long.” The line goes quiet for a moment. “They are moving through the house, Fox. I think they are looking for me. I have to go.”
“Do not leave that pool house,” I snap, jumping to my feet. I race out of the restaurant and hail a cab.
“I’m so sorry if I’ve brought him to your door. I have to go and protect Helen.”
The phone cuts off just as Larry catches up to me. “Fox,” he pants.
“Not now, Larry.”
“Who is she to you?”
I arch a brow at him as my phone vibrates in my hand. “I pay you to defend me, not police my relationships.”
“But she’s—”
I glare at him and swipe my phone, hoping it’s Honor telling me she has come to her senses and is sitting tight. But it’s a message from the Ghost. I flick it open.
Ghost
Woah, dude, where did you find her? You aren’t going to believe who she really is.
I raise my fist and shout at a cab that speeds past me.
Ghost
Attached photo.
I flick it open, finding a professional picture of Honor with blonde hair on the arm of a man. Her stare is blank as fuck as she smiles at the camera. My heart seizes, and my blood runs cold.
Ghost
You have stumbled on no other than Honor Lowell, the missing wife of Gideon Lowell. New York’s DA.
Ghost
Last reward for her safe return was two million dollars. I know you aren’t short of money, but the narrative he spun was a cartel kidnapping. Makes me wonder why she’s hiding out at your pool house as your gran’s assistant. It doesn’t seem to fit.
No, but it explains why she’s so terrified. It’s as if serendipity has sprinkled her shit over me. The very woman who might be able to prove my innocence has been living under my roof. The New Year’s Eve party that Gillian attended was hosted by none other than Mr. District Attorney himself. And if memory serves, Honor didn’t disappear until a few days later.
Fox
Thanks for the info. I’ll put double the payment in your account. Ensure you keep this to yourself.
Ghost
You insult me. No need for the extra—this shit is entertaining as fuck.
I swap to a different chat.
Fox
I need that favor.
H
What do you need?
Fox
A private jet ready for me at JFK in thirty minutes.
H
Where to?
Fox
Home.
H
Done. You owe me.
Fox
I’m not done yet. I’ll be in touch shortly and you can add it to my tab.
H
Is this about the woman?
Fox
Isn’t it always?
Larry huffs. “What?” I snap.
“She’s the DA’s missing wife.”
“Yeah, I got that. Your point?”
“My point is that if you hand her over, Gideon will back off.”
I open the cab door and resist the urge to punch my lawyer. He’s just doing his job and is clueless to the kind of danger Gideon poses to Honor.
“Alternatively, she’s your ticket to freedom, Fox. Get her to come forward as a witness, and all of this disappears.”
I climb inside the cab and slam the door closed in his face. “JFK,” I snap at the driver.
He nods and speeds off. I retry Honor’s phone, but it rings out. Again and again. My finger hovers over the sheriff’s home number. Dragging in law enforcement to a potentially volatile situation where Honor’s details will enter the system and raise instant flags is risky, but doing nothing is worse. No, it’s time to call in the friendship card. I hit call and wait for him to answer.
CHAPTER 41
HONOR
My heart can’t take the betrayal.
Going on the run and calling the police to deal with the intruder would be the smart thing to do. But emotions don’t make us smart, they make us human. I’ll be damned if I’m going to leave behind the woman who has shown me more kindness and compassion than my own mother. Is it a coincidence that they broke in the one night Fox is away? I don’t believe so.
I block Duke from following me outside of the pool house. Sorry, buddy, can’t have you growling and giving away our position. Whoever is creeping around in the main house is most likely on the hunt for me at Gideon’s bidding, but they must not know I’m staying in the pool house. If they did, they wouldn’t waste time searching the mini mansion.
I click the gun’s safety off before sliding the key into the kitchen door and turning it as softly as I can manage. The click sounds loud in the dead of night, and I hold my breath as I inch the door open and slide inside the house. I let out a shaky breath and wipe my slick palms on my thighs before silently moving through the downstairs, finding each of the rooms deserted.
The next floor is going to be a little more tricky. Samuel and his team have bits of wood and toolboxes strewn everywhere. But I’m not searching the house, I’m going to reach Helen and get us the hell out of here. All I have to do is evade him. I’m assuming it’s a guy, given Gideon’s sexist view of the world. I’m also assuming there’s only one of them. My heart thunders in my chest. Shit, I hope there’s only one.
The door to the master suite is open an inch, and there’s a whisper of movement in that room. Helen never leaves it open, but she also moved into the guest room while the work is being done. I turn left down the hallway and side step the slightly creaky floorboard as I move silently. I twist the knob of the bedroom Helen will be in and slide inside. I close the door as far as I can without actually letting the latch click into place.
I spin around to find Helen sitting bolt upright in bed. I put my finger against my lips and shake my head as I stalk toward her.
“My gun is my lock box in the master bedroom,” she whispers. I don’t know how she knows what’s happening right now. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m skulking around in the dark with a gun and a silk nightgown. Nothing screams relaxed about this situation.
“We are going to leave. I think there’s only one of them. They are in your bedroom right now. Stay behind me. If he spots a loaded gun pointed at him, that should be enough of a deterrent.”
“Okay.” She slides off the bed and hovers behind me as I snatch a quick look around the corner. The master suite door hasn’t moved. Either he’s put it back exactly where it was, or he hasn’t left it yet. Isn’t it strange that it doesn’t take a flighty DA’s wife that long to search a room?
I raise the gun and steadily point it at the door. I jerk my head, indicating Helen should move past me and down the stairs. She inches around me, and as soon as I hear her pad halfway down, I turn to follow. Loud thumping comes from the right, and I swivel to see a huge dude barreling toward me. He throws my arm up and to the left as I pull the trigger. The recoil slams me back against the wall, my head bouncing painfully off it while the loud blast makes my ears ring. The shot goes wide, lodging in the opposite wall, and terror slicks down my spine. Fuck, I missed.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Helen scooping up a two by four. She swings it like a professional baseball player and smashes it over his head while he’s busily trying to disarm me.
“Bitch,” he grunts and snatches the wood from her hands before using it to shove her chest. She loses her footing and tumbles backwards down the stairs in a heap.
“Helen, no,” I whisper.
“Come quietly, Honor, and I’ll leave the old woman alive.”
His voice isn’t familiar, but if I had any doubts about his connection to Gideon, they disappear with his use of my real name. “The only way you are taking me out of here is in a body bag,” I reply in a steely voice.
He snorts and pulls the gun free of my grip. “No need for that. I won’t get my payday if I deliver you cold. A little banged up is to be expected though.” He backhands me across my left cheek, sending me sprawling to the floor. If he thinks that’s enough to scare me into submission, he is clueless as to the horror his employer inflicts on those he ‘loves.’
He tucks the gun into the waistband of his jeans and plucks me off the floor. I keep my body limp as he cradles me in his arms. That’s right, I’m a pathetic weak female who couldn’t possibly defend herself against you.
He storms down the stairs. My gaze lands on Helen, and she winks at me before her eyes flick to the gun at his waist. This is going to be incredibly dangerous, very stupid, and exceptionally courageous. But fuck it. If this man puts me into the hands of my husband, I may as well be dead.
He steps over Helen. At the last second, she snaps her foot up and nails him in his groin. Fuck me, Helen. The dude cries out, and I snatch the gun as he falters and drops me onto the floor, my skull receiving a second knock as my finger pulls the trigger. The shot skims his shoulder.
“Fuck no, not again,” I grit out, adjusting my aim. He roars and leaps forward in an attempt to prevent me from burying a bullet in him. I squeeze off another shot as his body lands on me. He grunts but circles my throat and squeezes hard, cutting off my air supply. My first instinct is to panic, but I shove it back. No. I’m not letting you win. Adrenaline courses through my system, and my heart races as I fire again. This time, his body spasms before his grip on my neck goes limp. I greedily suck in air, filling my lungs with precious oxygen.
Tremors rack my body as warmth blooms across my chest. My mind races to catch up to my actions. Did I shoot myself? I’m not ready to die. I just found someone to live for, someone to risk my heart with. It’s not fair.
Heavy pounding on the door yanks me out of my head. Helen’s worried face appears above mine. “Did you call the police?” she asks.
“No.” She frowns as the knocking gets louder.
“Helen? Cleo? It’s Sam. Fox sent me. I heard shots.
Fuck. Someone let me in, or I’m breaking down the door.”
Helen’s shoulders droop, and she moves to open the front door. A worried Samuel storms into the house and closes the door behind him. “Where’s—” His gaze lands on me.
“A little help please?” I say. He strides over and uses his boot to shove the guy off me. He helps me stand and holds me steady as I sway. When he sees the massive crimson stain covering my chest, his eyes fly wide. “It’s not mine,” I tell him.
“What the fuck happened?”
“Language,” Helen chides.
“Excuse me, Helen, but fuck proper manners when I get a call in the middle of the night from my best friend saying there’s a dangerous man invading the home his grandmother and woman are in.” He points at the man on the floor. “Someone going to explain that to me?”
“Home invasion,” Helen snaps. “That’s all you need to know.”
“Fine. How long until the police get here?”
“We haven’t called them yet,” Helen says as she bends to check the intruder’s pulse.
Her face relaxes. Because he’s dead or alive? “He’s dead,” she says with a nod at me. “That will make the next part a little easier.”
He’s dead. Gone. Unalived. I did that. I took someone’s life. Fuck. I killed someone. The room sways, and I look down at the gun still clutched in my trembling hand. “Can someone take this off me? I feel weird.”
Helen snatches the gun and snaps the safety on just as an unfamiliar ringtone echoes in the room. Time seems to stop as we all stare at the man on the floor. The ringing cuts out before starting again. Fuck this. I bend and rummage in his side pocket for the offending phone, doing my best to ignore all the blood. Unknown caller ID flashes up.
I swallow. Deep down in my gut, I know who it is. But tonight I made the decision to stop running scared. I stood up for myself and the people I care about. No more hiding. He knows where I am anyway. I slide the button to accept the call, leaving a bloody streak on the screen.
“Do you have her?” the voice from my nightmares snaps. “She better be unharmed.” I swallow as Samuel frowns and folds his arms. Helen raises a brow at me. “Honor?” Gideon drawls. “Did my disobedient wife grow a backbone?”
“Who is Honor?” Samuel mouths.
I drag in a breath but force myself to stay in the moment. I wrestle the panic welling inside of me as I gaze at Samuel and Helen. I’m not alone. “I always had a backbone, Gideon.”
“You won’t when I snap it,” he snarls. “Stay where you are and surrender yourself to my men once they reach the house in that pretty little town you’ve been holed up in for weeks. Come quietly, and I’ll leave Helen alone. You are there alone with the old women right now, and your knight in shining armor is still hours away. Don’t make her collateral damage.”
Samuel punches the mute button. “He doesn’t have eyes on the house right now, or he would have mentioned me. Don’t bow to his fear tactics. We have time.”
I nod and click unmute. “You’ll have to catch me first, husband. Happy hunting.” I disconnect the call. Helen grabs the phone, pulls out the battery, and tosses it on the floor. She grabs another plank of wood and uses it as a battering ram to destroy it.
“That’s the piece of shit you’ve been running from?” she snaps. “You should have confided in me. I could have helped.”
“I don’t understand,” I mutter. She’s worked out who I am from that call? How?
“You are Honor Lowell, the missing wife of Gideon Lowell, the dirty New York District Attorney who is currently trying to put away my grandson for rape. He thinks I don’t know, but like with you, I bided my time. I didn’t pry, I waited until you found the confidence to come to me.”
My mouth falls open. Rape? That’s Fox’s big secret? The reason he’s hiding here?
Rape.
My breathing comes in short pants as the panic I’d kept locked down threatens to overtake me. Samuel answers his phone, but I barely take notice as my head spins, trying to make sense of everything.
Rape.
Samuel trains his gaze on me, his brows lowering as he witnesses me falling apart. I can’t have fallen for another snake, for someone who hides their demons beneath their beautiful. I’m not that stupid.
Rape.
I clutch at my hair. Fox, a rapist? My heart can’t take it, and my body shuts down. Don’t let it be true. Please, please, don’t let it be true. The world sways, and black spots edge my vision. The darkness rises up, and I let it take me.
CHAPTER 42
FOX
It’s time to flip the narrative. The hunter is about to become the hunted.
The sun is beginning to breach the sky when I climb out of the taxi and race to Samuel’s house. I burst through the front door and drop my bag on the floor with a thud. Honor is curled up on his corner sofa, wrapped in a thick blanket.
Her gaze finds me, but it’s blank like nobody is home. She blinks slowly and a tear escapes down her cheek. I approach slowly just as Samuel appears from the kitchen with a steaming mug. His shoulders sag before he puts the cup down on a table next to Honor.
I kneel in front of her and swipe a damp piece of hair from her forehead. “Hey, firecracker.” No response. I’d gotten the rundown from my grandmother and Samuel as I raced across the country to get back to her. She’s killed a man. No matter that it was self defense—it leaves a mark on your soul. Plus hearing her husband’s voice for the first time in months, and his apparent threat. It’s a lot to unpack.
