Salvage Her Heart (15 page)

ALEX

The moment I hung up the phone I knew, I knew exactly where that treacherous little bitch was hiding out. Oh Harry gave me the run down alright; he was the one who displayed the black and white photos of the man and
her
playing couples out in the woods where they thought they were safe from prying eyes. But he saw them, and he captured every single smile, every single kiss with his telephoto lens. Some shots were so close you could even see the fine hair on Evie’s face—and boy did she look so fucking happy.

Harry more than earned his fee. He was proud, too, displaying the pictures like a kid who has found the last candy cane when it’s time to take the Christmas tree down.

Of course, that wasn’t the end of it, was it? No, this bad news just keeps coming in spades. While I was away, it seems like all the ladies decided to skip town. Madeline, however, was a surprise. I did think she would have stuck around. I guess loyalty is going out of fashion.

Then there’s the matter of the missing money. I’m sure if Evie got her hands on it, she would have left the country, not just town. This means that Madeline is probably living it up in somewhere, completely confident that I’ll never find her. Luck was on my side when I decided to be generous and pay Harry a bonus. Yes, I do count the bricks of money every time I go into my safe. Why? Because I’m goddamn fucking anal, that’s why!

I purposely rang Evie at the crack of dawn, just to catch her by surprise. She whispered, hushed tones. She probably didn’t want to wake the guy who was in the bed with her. I wanted to reach through the phone and strangle her, but that second of maintaining my composure ensured she had no idea I was already home—waiting for her. I gave her twenty-four hours, just to make the flight time plausible, yet I’m wondering how quickly she’ll get her arse home.

My first drink turned into two, then three, then four. Twenty hours in and I’m beginning to question if she’s really coming back or if I’m going to have to hunt her down myself. The only thing that keeps me sitting in my seat is Evie’s parents. At least I know her well enough to believe that she’ll always come back for them. I’m sure if she knew of our contract her attitude would be a little different, but while she still thinks the sun shines out of daddy’s arse, I can guarantee that like a little lamb to the slaughter, she will come home.

Sitting and waiting for her in the dark, I start to question my own contract. While I’ve gained the company I so desperately wanted, I wonder at what price. I feel my control slipping and I’m powerless to stop it. I wonder what the consequence with Stavros would be if I changed my mind and rescinded on handing over Evie. I want to make her pay, for sure, but I want to be the one to control her, to punish her—I always have.

I wonder just how much money can buy. Will it buy my happiness?
Hers? She looks happy in the pictures. I hold the photos towards the little bit of moonlight that filters through the sheer curtains, the lights of the Story Bridge in the background. Each picture shows a part of them falling in love, and I have to admit it—I’m jealous. She’s never looked at me that way, not even on our wedding day.

I pour another finger of scotch into my glass and down it straight. It does nothing to comfort me or ease the anger that is snaking its way through my body. I want to make her pay for her deception of course, but more than that I want to punish her for loving someone other than me.

I know I can’t have it all. Deep down I know that me controlling her means more to me than her loving me. I guess love will have to be the sacrifice for me getting exactly what I want—control, power, money.

Just after midnight, I get the phone call I’ve been waiting for.

‘Talk to me, Harry.’

‘She’s on her way.’

‘How much time?’

‘The tracker I put on his car arrived back out the front of his joint eleven minutes ago. She was alone.’

‘Alone?’ This bit of information annoys the fuck out of me because I wanted all the loose ends tied up tonight. I wanted the man who stole my property brought to me. I wanted him to suffer as well. I guess that little mongrel is going to have to wait for his turn at being my punching bag.

‘Yes, Alex. She left the keys in the truck and then called a cab. It picked her up three minutes ago.’

‘Where are you now?’

‘I’m tailing the cab.’

‘Good. Wait in the lobby, but don’t let her even catch a glimpse of you, do you hear me?’

‘Yes
, boss.’

‘Get a coffee or something. This is going to take a while.’

‘You got it. Will we need a vehicle when you’re done?’

‘Yes, yes we will. She’s got a one way ticket to Chicago waiting for her.’
I click off the call and dial Stavros’s number.

‘Yes?’ The thick, rich accent fills my ears.

‘It’s me.’

‘I’m well aware of that. Tell me you have good news.’

‘She’s on her way home.’

‘Interesting.’

I can’t help but feel like I’ve already let him down. I second guess myself, wondering if I should have perhaps called him when she was already home and subdued. It’s too late for what-ifs, though. I need to concentrate and have him believe in me. He needs to have confidence in our dealings and know that he can rely on me. Our future partnership depends on that trust.

‘There’s nothing to worry about. I’ve already spoken to her and she’s none the wiser.’

‘Says you. Wasn’t it you who had no idea of her duplicity in the first place?’

I’m speechless. What can I really say to that when I’ve already confided in him about my cheating cunt of a wife? I’m going to make her pay alright. The same anger I felt while I was in Chicago bubbles back to boiling point and I’m sure I can feel steam erupt out of my ears like some cartoon character on television.

‘Stavros, there is no need to panic. All is well. I’ll call you the minute I have her ready to go.’

‘See that you do. My private jet is already waiting at the
International Airport. I suggest while you’re waiting for her to return you get her passport ready, along with some clothes and some kind of sedative to keep her unpredictable ways manageable on my flight.’

‘Don’t you think there will be too many questions asked at the airport?’

‘I’m not a novice, Alex. You can bypass the main terminal and proceed to security check-in for private aircraft in a different part of the terminal. Just follow the signs once in the departure lounge.’

‘Is that all?’

‘It certainly should be. You pull this off, Stratford, and you can take your pick of the women I’ll have waiting on board.’

A little thrill of excitement runs through me as Stavros ends the call. I’m sitting here in the dark, suddenly roused from my funk by the thought of a new girl to govern. Every scandalous, spicy thought I’ve ever had flashes through my mind. Calm comes ove
r me. I’m doing the right thing; letting Evie go is the right thing. Fuck, it almost seems like I’m trying to convince myself, despite the excitement I feel over getting a new woman.

My phone rings loudly in my lap, startling the shit out of me.

‘Yes,’ I hiss.

‘Two minutes.’ Harry ends the call without another word.

I leave the scotch and the photographs where they are on the coffee table. The lights are already off, so I move into the corner of the apartment—right behind where the front door will open. Adrenalin spikes my heart into a frantic pace, almost choking me from the blood pressure spike in my body. I take several deep breaths to try to control myself. Not long now and this will all be over.

Two minutes feels like two hours, but finally I hear the elevator sound as its doors open followed by the shuffle of feet towards our apartment door. She’s here, and man is she going to pay.

The key goes into the lock. It turns. She doesn’t turn on the lights; she just fumbles around in the dark, dropping her bag on the floor where she stands. I’m affronted by the smell of her. There is none of her usual scent about her. Everything from her shampoo down to the smell of sunscreen on her skin makes the imagery on the coffee table viable. She has been away with another man. I can smell him on her. His scent permeates her skin. She smells like… sex.

Forget anger, my heart holds fury.

I let her shut the door, the light from the landing fading away to the darkness that obscures me in my hiding spot. Just as I can sense her, something gives me away, too. She stills, breathing heavy and straining her senses to pick out what’s different in the apartment. What’s different is that I’m here and she’s suddenly very aware of that fact.

‘Alex.’ Resignation tinges her voice. She knows she’s in trouble.

‘Hello, dear, miss me?’

My hand reaches out
to grab the back of her neck, every little bit of wrath transferring from my body through to her. Her shoulders bunch in an attempt to shrug me off. There’s no use. I’m much more forceful than she’ll ever be.

I force her forward towards the coffee table, half-running with her, her body mine to control once more. She stumbles in the dark, yet I have a firm grip. When we reach the spot
where I have the photographs sprawled out, I kick her legs out from underneath her, making her fall like a sack of potatoes in an instant. Reflexively her hands reach out to stop her downwards momentum and smash against the table, bonding to the sticky photographic paper that holds the tell-all images of her affair.

Even in the dark she gasps, fully aware of the extent of the situation. In an act of pure rage I slam her head against the table, releasing her neck as I do.

‘What’s the matter, baby, you can’t see in the dark? Here, let me help you out there.’ I stride to the nearest light switch and flick it on. Evie’s eyes blink rapidly in my direction, trying to adjust quickly to the brightness of our downlights. Blood pours from her nose, dripping unceremoniously onto the pictures beneath her. Her eyes flick from picture to picture, her fate realised in that instant.

A single tear spills over and she hangs her head, the fight gone out of her.

‘What’s the matter, princess? Did you think you were special? That you deserve what he’s offering you? Don’t you realise you were nothing more than a business transaction to me? Fuck, you still are. I’ve got plans for you, baby, just wait and see.’

‘I know about the contract,’ she murmurs. That stops me in my tracks.

‘What did you say?’

‘The contract with my parents.
I know.’

‘Well
, aren’t you a smart little fox. It makes no difference now though, does it? You just made sure that mummy and daddy are going to end up on the bones of their arses. Not only that, but they’ll never see their darling daughter again. Not that it should make too much difference, dear, I mean really, they can’t have cared too much about you if they were so willing to let you go to the likes of me.’

Panic fills her. She stumbles to her feet, the realisation of what I’m saying sinking in. With fight not being an option, flight mode kicks in. She’s a lot quicker than I was expecting, making a dash for the front door. I lunge for her and the back of my forearm connects with her larynx, dropping her as she gasps for breath. My hands find the comfort of the flesh of her neck and I squeeze tightly. I have never felt so exhilarated or so alive. Holding her heart in my hands, I feel like God.

‘Who’s going to save you now, baby? Where’s your knight in shining armour when you need him?’ I growl, spit frothing at the side of my mouth as I yell at her. Her eyes bulge beneath the pressure of my fingers. Tears struggle to leak out the corners of her eyes. I’m not going to kill her. That would be too easy. I’m going to let Stavros have his fun and film it while he does.

‘Don’t worry, baby, I’ve got much more in store for you. It’s really going to be quite unpleasant,’ I hiss. ‘Lost for words, Evie?’ I mock her as she chokes beneath my grip. ‘Answer me you bitch, where the hell is your fucking knight in shining armour now?’ I yell with such ferocity my throat burns.

The front door bursts open.

‘I’m right here, arsehole.’

Twelve inches of black leather boot is the last thing I see before I black out.

GRAYSON

It’s dark, and still—too still. In the distance an owl hoots. It sounds like it’s pissed off it just missed a meal, but that’s not what bothers me. You know when you instinctively know something is wrong? I have that feeling now and I’m not even awake. Something just isn’t… right. Intuition kicks in and I impulsively reach out in the dark. I don’t find what I’m looking for.

Suddenly I’m wide awake and panicked.

‘Evie?’ No answer. ‘Evie?’

I scramble out of bed and trip over my boots in the dark. ‘Shit,’ I cuss, banging against the table. I take a second for my eyes to adjust before making my way to the bathroom and turn on the light. The bathroom is empty.
There is no Evie. I hurry to the front door and take a quick look outside. All is quiet. Even the owl has shut up from its earlier disgruntled hoots.

Retreating back into the room, I wonder just where she’s gone.
A walk? A swim? I decide to put some clothes on and take a torch down to the lake to look for her. I’m just stepping into the boots I tripped over earlier when I see it—a crumpled piece of paper on her pillow.

I snatch it up, hurriedly devouring its contents.

‘No, no, no, no!’ I bang my fist against the headboard in frustration. ‘Fuck, Evie, what have you gone and done?’

Without waiting another second, I give the cabin a quick search for my truck keys. They’re gone. Well I guess I’m up fucking shit creek without a paddle. ‘Damn!’ Without bothering to lock up, I slam the door to the cabin shut and head off at a sprint up the main path towards Callum’s cabin.

Despite the late hour, I bang like a madman on his door until he opens up. He flings it open while my fist is in mid-air, ready to keep on pounding.

‘Steady on, I’m here, I’m here. What’s up, man?’

‘I don’t have time to explain. Can I borrow your car? It’s really urgent.’

‘Sure,’ he says, yawning as he pads back inside to find the keys. He returns just seconds later with them swung around his finger. He hands them to me without hesitation.

‘Thanks, man. Will you be alright without it for a few days?’

‘Yeah, I’ll think we will survive. You want me to come with you?’

‘Best if you don’t. I get the feeling I’m going to need to do something illegal.’

‘Fuck, Grayson! Is this to do with Evie?’

‘Yep, she needs me, although she doesn’t know it yet.’

‘Give me two seconds; there is no way I’m letting you go alone.’

‘It’s really important I leave right now.’

‘I hear you. I promise, just two seconds to get my pants on and tell Kirima where I’m going.’

‘Okay, but I’m getting the engine started.’

‘Deal.’

I run for his car while he scurries back inside. It’s parked around the side of the cabin under a small carport. The engine kicks over first go and I’m relatively pleased that it’s a modern V6 that should have a bit of grunt behind it, which under the circumstances should be a good thing. There’s no telling how much of a head start Evie has on us.

Just as I’m pulling the car around the front, Callum is hurrying out the front door double time. In his hand is a revolver which he tucks into the back of his jeans. I screech to a halt and he hops into the passenger seat. I take off without a word, all my concentration on the road. While I’m driving I take out my mobile phone and repeatedly try to call her. Every time it goes straight to message bank. After half an hour, Callum breaks the silent tension between us.

‘So, are you going to tell me what’s going on? I mean, it’s not like I’m not with you all the way
—just curious, ya know.’

‘Evie has an abusive husband.’

‘You don’t say. So, she’s just got a guilty conscience and decided to go back to him?’

‘No. He’s been out of town. I wasn’t about to let her go back to him, but she can’t let go of the idea that she needs to save everyone. She’s too worried about the people she loves to leave the bastard.’

‘Why? Because she’s worried that he’ll kick our arse?’

‘Something
like that.’

‘Well, I don’t think you or I are the type to accept that kind of behaviour, are we?’

‘Nope.’

‘Well, let’s go rescue your princess.’

We drive on in silence, the endless stretch of highway north uncongested at this time of night. All sorts of things are running through my mind. Why did she feel so trapped by him that she felt she couldn’t leave? Was she afraid that I wouldn’t support her? Does she think I’m not man enough to be able to keep her safe?

It’s not natural for me to be in a state of anger but, right now, I’m working hard to keep myself in check. I’m having a hard time working out why any man would want to damage someone as beautiful as her. For anyone to treat another human being like that is unforgivable in my book. I get the feeling that if I get the chance to kick his arse, I’m damn well gonna do it.

When the highway runs out and we hit the Riverside Expressway into Brisbane city, I heave a sigh of relief. We’re almost there.
I’m coming, beautiful, I’m coming
.

There’s no way I’m going to waste time going back to my place. After all, I didn’t come back for my truck
—I came back for the girl. I’m going to go with my gut instinct and head straight to her apartment. All reason and rationality have gone out the window for me right now. I don’t care what time of the night it is, I don’t care if he’s there, and I don’t give a shit if I need to use force to convince him that there is no way in hell I am leaving without her. I’m normally a lover, not a fighter, but don’t think for one second that I would hesitate to do absolutely anything to stop him from laying a finger on her.

We take the last exit into the city and I follow the inner city streets towards her apartment. Right now I’m just thanking my lucky stars that I’ve already been to her place and know where to find her without waiting for her to return my calls. Half a block away my heart rate starts to pick up. I’m getting ready for a fight. There is no turning back now
—not that I’d want to, even for a second.

‘We’re just about there,’ I say quietly, as though if I speak too loud I might announce ourselves prematurely.

‘I’m ready, don’t you worry about that.’

‘Thanks, man, for all of this. I may forget to tell you later, but I want you to know I’m grateful.’

‘Shit, don’t go getting all mushy on me now. That’s what mates are for, right?’

‘Right, but I’m sure this is going above and beyond the realms of our friendship.’

‘Eh, forget about it.’

I do, because shit just got real. We’ve arrived and there is no denying that we are both entering a situation that could get us killed or, at the very least, a night in lock-up. I park Callum’s car in the only free on-street parking space, and then we hustle.

The main lobby requires key entry, which we don’t have, so I start randomly pressing people’s intercom buzzers desperate for just one of them to let us in. Most go ignored at this time of night, but we get lucky when someone presses the door release without any questions.

Callum and I head straight past the empty reception area and head for the bank of elevators in the back of the building. We get in and I press the button for Evie’s floor. Nervous apprehension starts to flood me and for the first time in my life I know that love doesn’t cover what I feel for her.

If I ever thought I’d be willing to give everything up to be with her just one time then, man, I was delusional. One time, one moment, one instant—it would never be enough. Maybe I have an addictive personality but, hell, there isn’t anything or anyone I’d rather be addicted to than her. I’m sure I’d be a great candidate for rehab, but I’m not sure they’ve got a cure for being unequivocally in love. All I know is there’s no going back. 

The elevator seems to be taking forever. Callum is hopping restlessly from one foot to the other, his way of burning off the excess energy that would consume him otherwise. Floor by floor we watch the outside world disappear below us as we climb to the top of the building in the glass elevator. What we weren’t expecting was company on her floor.

As we step out of the lift, a man turns in our direction. He’s just as surprised as we are by our sudden intrusion. It’s not Alex; I’ve seen him in the photograph inside their apartment when I first came with Evie. He looks like a sentry of some sort. Great. What happens next sends alarm bells ringing big time. His eyebrows raise, his expression reverting from surprise, to recognition, to smug satisfaction. He looks like he knows me, yet I can’t place his face.

‘Evening
, fellas, can I help you?’ While his eyes maintain contact with ours, his hands are getting too busy for my liking. He’s reaching inside his jacket, which I don’t like one bit. Callum and I quickly glance at each other.

‘Gun,’ Callum confirms. We don’t wait a second longer. It
feel like it’s in slow motion as we lunge for the guy with the busy hands. He looks dumbfounded as we close in on him. As Callum and I both tackle him to the ground I hear shouts coming from inside the apartment.
Evie
. She needs me.

The guy is struggling with his holster, desperately fighting us for the upper hand. He’s strong, but we’re no flyweights. He’s squirming for all he’s worth, knowing that two against one put him at odds straight away. When I see Callum has wrestled his hands away from the gun, I
struggle to sit up. The guy’s about to get shouty, so I knee him in the face with as much force as I can muster. His head snaps back and he’s out cold.

Callum’s breathing hard, the excitement too much for a country boy. Heck, even I’m struggling for composure, but one thing is keeping me motivated and focused
—Evie. I can’t hear her voice at all, which concerns me when all I can hear is the shouts of one very pissed off individual. I need to act now.

‘Callum, get his wrists and ankles bound with his shoelaces and shove him in the fire well,’ I say as I charge towards the apartment door. Locked, unlocked
—it makes no difference. There is nothing on this planet that will stop me from kicking that door in. I’m ready to pick a fight.