The Stand Off (30 page)

“No. I’ve found nothing on Lux,”
Johann wasted no time answering.

Dean exhaled the breath he’d been
holding as he felt the relief wash over him. “Then who?”

“Reva Fallon,” Johann answered.

“Who is that?” Dean asked, not
recalling the name.

“His ex-fiancée; the one that you
fucked,” Johann reminded him.

“She hand-delivered the pictures
to
In.ur.biz
,” Vaughn added.

“I wasn’t expecting that,” Dean said as he shook his head in disbelief. She was
the last person he’d ever expect to help Michael Bender.

“Neither were we,” Johann agreed.

“Like I said, Claudio had his
staff on alert so when she delivered the photos, they detained her until
Claudio got there,” Vaughn said.

“Claudio called Vaughn on the
spot. Needless to say after a few minutes with those two, she spilt her guts,”
Johann stated with a grin.

“And then some. She claims that
Bender was blackmailing her,” Vaughn added.

“I don’t trust anything she says.
Don’t forget that she left Bender because she thought I wanted to settle down
with her,” Dean reminded them.

“She claims that’s not true. She
admitted that she was obsessed with you for a short time, but she told us that
was not why she left Bender. She said he was possessive, psychotic, and
physically abusive. She claims that she’d made the decision to leave him before
she even met you,” Vaughn stated.

“Maybe she’s telling the truth,”
Johann suggested.

“Did she mention Lux?” Dean
asked.

“No, I asked her if she’d seen or
heard of anyone else. She said there was no one else as far as she knew. She
said that she didn’t even know who Bender associated with anymore,” Vaughn
spoke.

“Vaughn,” Dean said.

“Yeah.”

“You owe me an apology.”

“I do… I’m sorry,” Vaughn
apologized with sincerity.

“Vaughn, one last thing, your ex
left you because you’re a cocky prick. If you want her back, stop being a fucking
prick!” Dean yelled at his brother before he hung up the phone.

Lux kept her body pressed tightly
against the house as she looked around for a way to escape the island.

“This would be so much easier
if I wasn’t on a secluded island,”
she thought.

Out of the corner of her left eye,
she saw the dock and quickly headed towards it. There were a few different
boats, but she decided to take the less intimidating one. She’d never driven a
boat before, but she figured it couldn’t be too hard. She jumped down into the
boat and examined the motor for a moment. After she managed to start it up, she
began to head towards the mainland. She had a few issues keeping the boat
straight and problems with the speed, but she fared. Once she crossed to the
other side, she parked the boat but did not get out. She wanted to try talking
to him before she took drastic measure, like abducting Clifton.

Dean had just put his phone back
in his pocket when he heard a boat engine start. He rushed through the house
and headed straight towards the front door. He shoved the door open and walked
out of the cabin just in time to see Lux speeding towards the mainland. He
grabbed is ringing phone from his pocket and answered it as he headed towards
the dock.

“You’re in so much trouble,
baby,” he vowed as he walked down the dock to his boat.

“This is the only way that I can
talk to you, and you will actually listen to me,” she said with desperation in
her voice.

“I’m coming to get you,” he said
as he stepped onto his boat.

“Okay, I’ll wait right here for
you but first I want to talk. If you make one false move before I finish, then
I
will
run. Don’t forget I have a head start.”

“It doesn’t matter, I
will
catch you.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier and
quicker to just listen to what I have to say?” she reasoned.

“Talk,” he replied.

“Dean, I swear that I didn’t know
Clifton’s real name. Pixie met him on a fluke and set up the meeting. He showed
me the photos of you and the governor’s wife, and I hired him on the spot. I
promise you that I had nothing to do with those pictures of your brother’s
fiancée. I know it looks bad, but you have to believe me, I was not involved,”
she tried to explain.

“It does look bad; I found them
in
your
dresser,” Dean retorted as he drove closer to her.

“That’s close enough,” she said
as Dean got a little too close to her comfort zone.

“Okay,” he said although he
continued to drive until his boat was inches from her boat.

“If you come any closer I
will
run,” she threatened as she stepped out of the boat.

“I’m turning it off.” His boat
stopped moving, but he left it running.

“Why don’t you back that boat up
a little while you’re at it?”

“No.”

“You’re too close.”

“I’m not going to try anything,
yet.”

“If you do, I swear I will run,”
she warned him.

“And I will catch you in under a
minute,” he warned her as he turned off the boat and walked to the side to see
her more clearly.

“That’s what you think,” she
grinned.

“What the fuck are you wearing?”
he barked as he looked down at her and hung up the phone. They were close
enough to hear each other.

“Your T-shirt.”

“Is that it?”

“Panties,” she shrugged.

“Come on, I’ll listen to
everything you have to say, but I want you on this boat.”

“No,” She took a step away from
her boat.

“Don’t you take another fucking
step!” he yelled as he stood perfectly still.

“I won’t move if you don’t.”

“You’re wearing a white t-shirt
with no bra while driving a boat in the water. Your shirt is wet, and I can see
your fucking nipples. Anyone out here could see you. I want you on this boat
now
!”
he roared.

“No one is even out here,” she
crossed her arms over her chest.

“You’re lucky that no one is, or
I swear I would whip your ass raw!” he threatened.

“Hey I was topless when you left
me in that bathroom, be thankful I took the time to grab a shirt,” she said
somewhat sarcastically.

“I would have beaten you on the
spot. I’m tempted to drag you on this boat and beat you now.”

“The sooner we clear the air, the
sooner I’ll be on your boat,” she reminded him.

“Then I suggest you get back on
your boat and finish talking before this turns into a racing match.”

She watched him carefully as she
stepped back on the small boat. She sat down on the bench and faced him.

“Okay, let’s talk,” she began,
but he quickly interrupted her.

“How long have you known him…
Clifton?” he demanded.

“I met him after I met you.”

“He told me that you’ve known
each other for a long time.”

“No, I met him after our first
meeting about the building. When I realized that you would not give up without
a fight, I hired a detective. Like I said, Pixie found him.”

“He said that you’ve known about
his plan from the beginning. He said that you were the one who intended to sell
those pictures to the highest bidder.”

“He really said that?”

“He did,” Dean nodded his head.

“I can’t believe he actually lied
like that.”

“Believe it.”

“And you actually believe him
over me?”

“He was the only one talking, and
everything he said proved true. He told me that the two of you were working
together,” he began before she cut him off.

“That’s not true!
He
worked for
me
,
we
did
not
work
together
! Ask my
sister!” she corrected him.

“He told me that I would find the
pictures in your dresser drawer, and I did.”

“How in the hell did he even know
they were there?” she asked herself aloud.

“He told me that you were the one
who sold those pictures.”

“I would never sell those
pictures!” she yelled in anger.

“You told me to my face that you
were going to release the pictures of me and the governor’s wife.”

“I didn’t even want to stoop low
enough to use those pictures as leverage, but I was so scared I was going to
lose the music hall. I didn’t know what else to do. I’m sorry, Dean, I really
am.”

“Why should I believe you?” he
asked, although he was beginning to.

“Because it’s the truth. I
wouldn’t lie to you. I couldn’t do that to you; not then and especially not
now.”

“What’s changed?”

“Now… if I had to pick between
you and the music hall, I would pick you. I would still fight you for what was
mine, but I would fight for you the hardest.”

“If what you say is true, then
why did you have those pictures hidden in your room?”

“I took them from Clifton; he had
dozens of different pictures. A few of them were obviously fake but most of
them looked realistic. He told me he got them from some black listed reporter.
I was mad and told him that I didn’t want my name or the music hall associated
with that. I told him that very lie could be the thing that destroyed my
chances of getting the music hall back.”

“It would have. If I’d found out
about those pictures earlier, I would have never given that building to you.”

“I know. I never wanted anyone to
find out about those pictures. I didn’t even want those pictures to see the
light of day. Clifton agreed; he swore up and down that he would destroy all of
the photos he had so they wouldn’t end up in the wrong hands. He also promised
to expose the bad reporter, but I didn’t fully believe him. That’s why I took
every single picture he had. Well I thought I’d taken them all but he obviously
had some hidden.”

“I’m sure he had the original
print.” He went to the edge of the boat and climbed down the ladder. This time
she didn’t attempt to run, instead she waited for him.

When he stood before her, she
looked up at him with a frown on her face, “Do you believe me now?”

“Get on the boat,” he said as he
grabbed her hand.

“Not until you tell me that you
believe me!” she refused to budge.

“I believe you; now go on,” he
insisted. He helped her onto the boat first and the minute both of his feet
were on deck, he grabbed her wrists and tied them in front of her.

“What are you doing?” she
objected before he put a scarf over her mouth. He sat her on the seat beside
the wheel and rushed back to the cabin.

Once he docked the boat, he threw
her over his shoulder, and carried her into his office. He cleared his desk
with the sweep of his arm and sat her on top of it. He untied the scarf from
her mouth and sat down in his chair to face her.

“You said that you believed me!”
she cried, obviously hurt.

“I do.”

“Then why did you tie me back
up?”

“Because now I want you to listen
to me. Clifton Branch’s real name is Michael Bender.”

“How do you know him?”

“Bender has been selling stories
about me to the press for years. He gave them anything he could get his hands
on. He’s harassed people I know for inside stories and has even fabricated a
few of his own tall tales over the years. I’d heard he’d been trying to dig
something up on me and my brother’s ex-fiancée since they broke up but I never
guessed he’d go this far.”

“I don’t understand; why would he
do that to you?”

“Because I fucked his fiancée,”
Dean said bluntly.

“You just can’t keep it in your
pants can you,” she scoffed as she shook her head.

“It was a long time ago. I met
her at the club; she offered, and I accepted. It was a one night stand that
turned into years’ worth of slander. She broke it off with Bender and told him
that she believed that the two of us had something special; unbeknownst to me.
I was upfront with her; I told her I didn’t do relationships. I thought she
understood; I believed that night would be the first and last time I saw her.
I’d never even thought about her again, until I met Michael Bender.”

“This is crazy. I had no idea he
was such a psychopathic liar. I really should have researched him a little
before I hired him. His website looked legit,” she shrugged.

“Anyone with a credit card can
make a business website.”

“I know; I was just so thankful
to have his help in regards to the music hall. I took him at face value and
never questioned his motives,” Lux admitted with a heavy heart. She shook her
head wondering how she could have been so blind. She was suddenly overwhelmed
with rage for Clifton and deep seeded remorse for Dean. “I’m so sorry.”