Determined: To Win (Determined Trilogy Book 3) (17 page)

I moved my face toward the voice. I didn’t recognize this one. Heavy footsteps came closer and stopped in front of me. A cold hand reached out and pulled my chin up. I tried to yank my face back, but he held firm.

“Huh. Would have thought she’d be prettier,” he admonished.

“I know, right?” Gina agreed in response.

I shifted and tried to point my face in the man’s direction. “Who are you? What do you want?” I said to the darkness. My questions were greeted with a chuckle.

“I think you know who I am, Sam.”

I stilled. “Why would I know who you are?”

“Come on, think about it for a moment.”

I paused, even though he was right. I did know the answer. I felt a chill rip through me.

“Brian.”

“See? I knew you could figure it out. David did always go for the smart ones. It’s too bad it never seems to work out for any of them.” Brian chuckled as he stepped away and Greg came up to me, pressing the nose of the gun against my temple. I winced.

“What do you want?” I hissed again.

Brian’s tone stayed light. “Ah, right to the point I see. Hmm, well, now that is a very good question, Sam. Why do you
think
you are here?”

“Fuck if I know. Because you guys are a bunch of fucking psychos?”

Brian walked back and forth in front of me, his shoes rapping lightly on the hard floor. “Tsk, tsk. Sam, there is no need for cursing. We’re all friends here.”

“We’re not friends,” I growled.

“But I know you know my associates. I’m just sad
we
haven’t had a chance to meet until now. I know you are very important to David. And that makes you important to me.”

I was already tired of this guy. “Why. Am. I. Here?” I asked again, through gritted teeth. I knew blindfolding me was supposed to scare me, but it was having the opposite effect. I was pissed off. Angry. I wanted to find out what the hell was going on, and it was so hard to read people without being able to see their faces.

“A little impatient are we?” Brian chuckled. “Oh, Sam, come on, you are smart. Now think. Why do you think we would go through all the trouble of bringing you here?”

“I don’t know. Because you’re all fucking lunatics?” I spat.

“Oh, Sam. Don’t give up that easily. Think about it. David has something I want. And now he’s also trying to take what is mine. Now what do you think about that? That hardly seems fair, right? What was I supposed to do?”

“Be a grown up,” I scolded through my grinding teeth. “It’s just business.”

“Ah, but that is where you are wrong, Samantha. This is much, much more than just business.” He paused. “Now, if he has something I want, something I need, and he isn’t willing to give it to me, what exactly am I supposed to do? I needed to find something to use as leverage. Does that make sense, Samantha? Do you know what leverage is?”

I paused. He was treating me like I was stupid, but the point was clear. “You want to use me as bait.”

He laughed again. “Close, Sam. I like to think of it more as an
insurance policy
.”

My fists clenched. “You mean blackmail.”

“That sounds so harsh, Sam.”

“But that is what you are talking about. And just so you know, he won’t bite. I know him.”

“I don’t know about that, Sam. Sure, he has flaws, but David’s always been able to recognize a good deal. And from what I understand, you might be the only thing helping him make up his mind. I’m just sorry it’s taken us so long to work things out. I mean, we could have saved you so much trouble if he had just cooperated from the beginning.”

“How’s your sister doing, Sam?” Greg cut in. “I’ve heard they take good care of retards in the hospital.”

“You fucking pricks.” I seethed. I struggled against the zip ties and tried to stand up.

“Uh, uh, Samantha. Sit still,” Brian cajoled.

Greg walked closer and spoke again. “You know Sam, it’s really a shame things couldn’t work out between us.” He traced the outline of my lips with his fingertip. I stiffened. “This all would have been so much easier for you.”

I was sick to my stomach, thinking of how I’d allowed myself to almost be seduced by such an asshole. But it was about to get much worse.

Gina cut in. “Hey Sam, did you ever wonder why you found Greg so attractive? So handsome, yet familiar…?” she trailed off.

I cringed as I thought again of the wire. Part of me hoped the agents were still somewhere, listening, trying to figure out how to find me. But then I prayed David wasn’t with them and that his meeting this afternoon was real. I didn’t want his last notion of me to be that I had been interested in another man. Greg had been just a fleeting thought. I tried to explain. “What are you talking about? Greg and I never…”

“But you thought about it. Didn’t you Sam?” Greg’s voice chided me gently.

“No. I nev—” I wasn’t about to admit anything to this man.

“Didn’t you, Sam?” Brian interrupted. “Like Gina said, wasn’t there something about him that felt familiar?”

“If you liked the new release, just think about how much you’d like the older vintage,” Greg intoned. And finally it clicked. The southern accent. It was the same as David’s. More pronounced, but still the same. I pictured his salt and pepper hair, his tanned skin.

“No.” I shook my head. This was
not
happening.

“I think she’s putting it together, boys.” Gina scoffed.

“But David said; his mother…”

Greg’s speech came loose and loud. “That bitch was a whore and a liar.”

I sat there, not believing what they were saying. “You’re David’s
father
?” I felt sick.

“Ha, I don’t know if I’d use that word. His mom and I were seeing each other when I got my ass sent to jail. The bitch said she’d visit. Said she’d wait for me, but surprise, surprise, I never heard from her again. Never even told me she was pregnant. Can you believe that? So imagine my surprise when I find out my kin has up and become a billionaire. Guess she told my son I was fucking dead. So I figure he about owes me something. I mean his momma tried to cheat me out of what’s mine, right?”

I fell silent. I wasn’t sure what to say. His tone was gruff, and his logic was so full of holes it was frightening, but I didn’t want to bow to his intimidation. “David’s not responsible for what happened to you. He was just a kid. If you messed up your life and went to jail, that’s your own fault,” I said finally. And then everything was quiet for a moment.

I felt the barrel of a gun crack hard against the side of my head, the ringing then gave way to a series of quick pops; something shrieking as it passed my ear. A man cried out in pain.

A sharp voice bellowed out from across the room. “Down on the ground! Now!”

I tensed all over, bending my head down as far as I could.
Oh my God, was I shot?
I surveyed my limbs for the pain I would expect from a bullet wound. Nothing. Just a sharp ache on the side of my head. I still couldn’t see anything. I broke out in a cold sweat and could smell the burning, metallic residue of a gunshot. I listened. A ringing echoed in my ears then gave way to a gasping sound on the floor to my left. I still couldn’t see—what was going on?

A sound came from the far side of the room. It sounded like a door opening. Then there was commotion. Footsteps. Lots of them, moving quickly.

“Don’t move! Repeat, do not move!” I stayed frozen as the noise moved to almost on top of me. Then there was a sound of scuffling, more zip ties, and then silence. I braced myself.

34

David

I couldn’t breathe as I listened to what was happening over the radio. I looked over at the agents and lowered my voice. “Let me go in. I need to see her.” I was trying my best to stay calm, but I was out of patience.

“Hang on David, we need to make sure it’s secur—”

“Get out of my way!” I bellowed, pushing them out of the way and jumping out of the van.

35

“Clear!”

The blindfold was yanked off me, and I struggled to adjust to my surroundings. I was in a large warehouse, surrounded by five men, all in black with helmets and rifles at their sides. They were standing over three bodies on the floor. Gina and Brian were lying face down, their hands secured behind their backs. Greg was lying down too, a pool of blood collecting below his right shoulder. I gasped and started to shake, finally realizing the kind of danger I’d been in. One of the officers came up to me and started to undo my restraints as I watched the scene unfold around me.

“Thank you,” I said, shivering as I stood up. I had been sweating and the cold air of the warehouse was now chilling me to the bone. The officer handed me a blanket, and I wrapped it around me as I stared over at the three people on the ground. I took a second glance at Brian. He wasn’t cursing or yelling, but rather lying there silently. It was strange to see him in the flesh. He didn’t look nearly as sinister as he sounded. No, he looked exactly like his picture—no one you’d ever pick out of the crowd. Unremarkable. Boring.

The officer next to me started to say something but stopped, and made a quick gesture with his head, looking behind me. I turned around to follow his gaze. Agent Williams and Agent Callaghan were traversing the cavernous space toward me. There was someone else behind them. I got a peek at the silhouette; it was David. I started to get up and he rushed over to me. He pulled me in tightly, and I gave myself up to his embrace.

“David,” my voice cracked.

“Samantha. It’s okay. You’re safe, baby. I’ve got you. You’re safe. Everything is okay.”

36

We didn’t say much on the ride to the police station. I waited in the reception area while Gina and Brian were booked, sipping vending machine coffee while David held a pack of ice to my temple.

“Where did they take Greg?” I asked.

“Hospital.” David answered quietly. He hadn’t left my side since the incident, instead getting updates over his phone and from Thomas.

I pulled back and looked at David wide-eyed. I couldn’t believe that guy wasn’t locked up.

“Don’t worry, he’s still under arrest. They will keep an officer with him the whole time. They just need to treat his wound before they put him in jail.”

I nodded.

“Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?” he asked again, looking at the welt Greg’s gun had provided me.

“Yes. I’m fine. Really. More shook up than anything.”

“It’s okay, baby. It’s over. For real this time,” he whispered, as I pulled into him.

“I’m still confused. Can you tell me what happened? What is going on?”

“Yes, of course. As soon as we see the detectives. They can update both of us.”

I was too tired to fight him. I closed my eyes and let myself sit there, silently, content to be protected in his arms.

After what seemed like an eternity, Agent Callaghan came out and asked us to join him in the back. We followed him down a long dingy hall, past a booking station to a small gray office lit with humming florescent lights. Everyone was crowded around a large 1950’s steel desk. Agent Callaghan was joined by Agent Williams, and Detective Lopez was dressed in a suit, police badge glinting on his waistband.

“Samantha. David. Please have a seat.” He gestured to two worn vinyl chairs. David and I sat down and I glanced over at him. He held my hand and started to stroke it slowly.

“We wanted to give you an update on the case. David insisted you be present as well.”

I nodded, too exhausted to speak. The adrenaline from the events had left me fried.

The detective turned to David. “I guess we should start at the beginning.”

I glanced over at David, who nodded, expressionless.

“Okay,” the detective began. “We know you are aware of the situation with Brian Seaver. He’s been working on dismantling KV’s infrastructure as well as attempting to block the KV acquisition.” He looked at me for an acknowledgement of understanding and I nodded. “And it seemed that as the deal moved forward, Brian was getting more and more desperate. He was taking the business dealings very personally.”

“Yeah. I know that part,” I said, trying to get them to the point. I really wanted to know was how I ended up in a warehouse with a gun pointed to my head when all I had agreed to was recording some conversations.

“When he realized that Mr. Keith wasn’t responding to cyber threats, he started to resort to more… unorthodox tactics. Unfortunately, that’s when you became a target, Ms. Sharp.”

I wasn’t surprised. “That I understand. But why me?”

David cut in. “Brian has never played fair, Samantha. He knew that I would always out maneuver him in the business arena. But you were the trump card. He knew I wouldn’t be able to ignore it if something happened to you.”

“The hit and run.”

“Yes, and the incident at the children’s center. Both of those were to scare me, Samantha, more than harm you. To convince me to leave him and his company alone.”

Agent Williams sat forward in her chair. “Once we got wind that they were targeting you, we knew we had to create a plan that made it look like they were going to get what they wanted. It was our best chance at getting everyone who was involved.”

I interrupted her. “About that. Can you please explain how Brian got Gina and Greg involved?”

The agents looked at each other and then back at me. The detective spoke, “Well, to begin with, her name is not Gina Moretti, Sam.”

My stomach dropped.

“Her name is Karen Ferro.”

37

David cut in, “Samantha, Karen and I used to go to school together. We were in the same circle of friends at Cal. And Karen, the woman you know as Gina, she and Brian were college sweethearts. And still are, apparently.”

“So wait, Gina, I mean Karen—is dating Brian?” I said, again, trying to understand what they were saying.

“Married actually.”

“I thought she was divorced?”

“All part of the charade. Karen and Brian have been married for four years, according to our records.”

A high-pitched buzz started to fill my ears, and I felt the blood drain from my face. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My new boss, this woman I had spent so much time with? The job I had put all my chips on, it was all a lie?