37. Chapter 37
Chapter 37
L una
Less than a month after my mother left the second time, she returned with my uncle in tow. They cornered me outside the law school as I walked out with Milo. Her red face and disheveled clothes made me take a step back.
“You fucking bitch! Do you know what you’ve done?” she screeched as Milo blocked her from getting to me.
“I’ll call the campus police and have you arrested if you don’t control yourself, lady,” Milo warned.
“Fuck you!” she yelled, pointing her finger at us.
“Evelyn, step back. This isn’t what we talked about,” Alistair muttered as he tugged on her arm.
“I won’t step back,” she hissed. “You’re his daughter, alright. You’re the only other person who knew about those accounts. How did you get his passwords? Did your criminal friends hack into my phone or his computer?”
My eyes went round, and I stared at them. “What are you talking about?”
Alistair studied me, and I could see the resemblance to my father. His styled, light brown hair, posture, and clothing screamed good breeding and a country club membership. His eyes also held that same cold, reptilian gaze. Unease slid through me.
“What happened to the money, Luna?” he asked quietly.
I shook my head, my eyes wide in disbelief. “I don’t know, and why are you here? Are you two… together?” My voice held a note of shock. I wondered briefly if I was overacting, but I would have been shocked if I hadn’t already known about them.
“I’m just helping her get away from him. You, of all people, know what he’s capable of.”
Turning to my mother, I gazed at her earnestly. “I sent you the list of his account numbers, but it’s over ten years old and I was eleven when I copied it. Are you sure he even has those accounts?”
“Yes,” she hissed, glaring at me with frustration. “And the passwords to those accounts were changed yesterday. Montgomery came after me this morning when he found out they’d been emptied and he couldn’t get in.” Her voice hitched, and I knew she’d finally been the one on the receiving end of his brutal temper. “If the housekeeper hadn’t been there, I don’t know what would have happened.” My stomach lurched because I had a good idea.
Milo pushed her back and pulled me away from them. “So you came to confront Luna, probably leading that bastard right to her, even if she doesn’t know what the hell is going on.” He shook his head in disgust. Neither of them looked guilty or ashamed.
My eyes slid to my mother. “That email account you gave me to send the bank account numbers to. Does Alistair have access to it? And the passwords. Could he have gotten those as well?” Then I turned to Alistair. “I don’t remember you very well, Uncle, but I do recall you being audited by the IRS, and your company paying some hefty penalties. I doubt you would have any problem cheating my parents out of their blood money.”
Evelyn stared at me and opened her mouth as if to deny my allegations, but I witnessed doubt and suspicion slowly seep in.
Alistair scoffed. “What are you insinuating?”
But when he turned to Evelyn, he saw the suspicion in her eyes. I stepped back as they silently stared at each other.
Milo took my arm. “Don’t contact Luna again or she’ll be filing a restraining order against you.” We turned and walked away, leaving them on the steps staring at each other.
On the drive home, I asked Milo to stop by the mortuary to check on Ezra and Sylvie. I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.
He shook his head. “You can call them, but it’s too dangerous.”
“What did you mean when you told Evelyn she led my father right to me?” I asked.
Milo glanced at me. “Just what I said. I bet your father doesn’t trust anyone, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s already aware your mother is having an affair.”
The feeling in my stomach grew. “Milo, knowing what you know about my father, if you were him, what would you do?”
He glanced at me. “If I were him, I’d follow her and try to get the money back.”
“How?”
“Torture, threats, coercion. Maybe find someone she’s attached to–although I doubt that woman loves anyone but herself–and threaten them.”
My blood went cold, and I dug my phone out of my backpack and speed-dialed Fenn.
“Hey, Lou? What’s up?”
“Where are you?”
“I’m eating lunch. Where are you?”
“Driving with Milo. My mother and Alistair Cross were waiting for me outside the law school. I think Montgomery followed her here, and I’m worried about Ezra and Sylvie.”
He hummed. “I’ll send someone to check on them, but anyone who tangles with Sylvie is asking to get their balls sucked out of their scrotum.” I could hear laughter in his voice.
“Fenn, this isn’t funny.”
Suddenly, Milo’s arm shot out in front of me. “Hang on,” he warned. I looked up in time to see the van in front of us suddenly stopped in the middle of a three-lane thoroughfare. Its back door flew open, revealing two men with guns.
“Fuck. This isn’t good.” Milo swerved sharply to the right, throwing me violently to the side. I heard two pings and realized the men were shooting at us. The SUV bumped up onto the curb, taking out a couple of landscape shrubs. Milo maneuvered around the van and swerved back onto the road.
He glanced in the rearview mirror and swore. Ducking, he pushed my head down. “Stay low!”
Shots thudded against the back end of the SUV, the sounds ringing through the cab. The back window shattered, and two round holes spidered across the front windshield.
Fenn yelled at me through my phone. “Luna, I heard gunshots. What the fuck is going on?”
“Someone’s shooting at us! A gray van stopped in the middle of the road, and they started shooting. I think a white Mercedes is with them.”
“Where the fuck are you?”
I looked around and punched the speaker button on my phone. “Milo got around them. We’re on Tropicana, just past Eastern. Oh shit, we’re coming to a red light!” I screamed as Milo ran the light and swerved sharply, barely missing two cars and a work truck carrying landscape supplies. The van behind us clipped the truck but didn’t slow down much, and the Mercedes wound through the stopped cars.
Fenn swore, and I could hear his car starting up. “Come to the mortuary. Take a hard right on Pecos, and drive to the empty lot in the back of the cemetery–we’ll probably be there before you. Call Sylvie and warn her you’re coming in hot and with a tail.”
He hung up without a goodbye, and I speed-dialed Sylvie.
She answered on the first ring. “Hey, bitch. Are you calling to do lunch? I just got done with a consult–”
I interrupted her. “We’re coming to the back cemetery parking lot with a tail. We’ll be there in about three minutes unless whoever is shooting at us gets lucky. Fenn said he’d be there before us.” I took a deep breath, trying to ram down the terror bubbling in my chest. “Sylvie, get Ezra and get out, I don’t want you two hurt. There’s a gray van with armed men behind us.”
“Someone is shooting at you? Fuck! Tell Milo to drive faster! We’ll be fine, just keep your head down and don’t let them get too far up on your side.” I briefly wondered how many car chases she’d been in. Glancing back behind Milo, I saw the van inching up beside us.
I pointed behind him and yelled, “Milo, they’re coming–” He yanked the wheel hard to the left, pushing the gray van over the short concrete curb into oncoming traffic. A box truck hit it head-on, the vehicles smashing into each other, and the sound punching through the air. A chain reaction of screeching breaks and fender benders piled up behind them. We kept going, and the white Mercedes changed lanes and continued following us.
“Sylvie, I need to go. Stay safe.” I stared, wide-eyed, as Milo barely made the right turn onto Pecos Road, our tires screeching loudly. The Mercedes overshot, but quickly whipped into the Burger King parking lot on the corner. We’d bought ourselves a little time, but not much.
“Milo, take the second right to get to the back parking lot. It’s vacant. Fenn said he and his men would beat us there.”
He swore, slowing down for a vintage baby blue Cadillac driving ten miles under the speed limit in front of us. He passed the car and got a loud honk.
“You need to call Roman and tell him what’s happening,” he muttered.
My heart thudded loudly in my chest, and my hands shook as I hit Roman’s number. How had things gone from a boring school day to this ? He didn’t answer, so I left a voice message.
“Hi honey, this is your favorite wife. We’ve had a busy Monday. Evelyn and Alistair ambushed us outside the law school, but that’s not all. Several men with guns in a van tried to shoot us off the road. We got rid of the van, but Montgomery Cross and another man are in a white–Milo, turn right here!” I interrupted myself. “Anyway. Fenn is meeting us at the back cemetery parking lot to intercept them. I… I love you. I wanted you to know that, you know, just in case. Okay, bye.”
Milo shook his head when I ended the call. “Is that the first time you told him you love him?”
My silence answered for me.
“I’m a sixty-year-old retired FBI agent with more romance and game than you.”
“Oh, shut it, and Roman doesn’t have a romantic bone in his body so we’re a good pair.” I noticed Fenn’s vehicle and pointed. “There! There’s Fenn in the gray minivan.” We pulled into the empty back parking lot. The space was only ever used for random storage and landscape equipment.
“Fennick Spade drives a minivan ?” Milo asked skeptically.
“Yes. He says it’s the best all-purpose vehicle he’s ever owned. It’s probably better not to ask what he means by all-purpose.”
We pulled up next to Fenn. “How far behind?” he asked.
“Maybe thirty seconds,” Milo answered.
“Park in the middle of the lot.” Then Fenn rolled up his window and backed his vehicle to the side of the entrance.
When the Mercedes approached the parking lot, the driver zeroed in on Milo and me sitting in the large SUV in the middle of the lot. As they drove through the entrance, Fennick gunned his minivan and plowed it into the white Mercedes’ passenger side where my father sat. The stunned surprise on his face almost made me laugh.
Before the driver could recover, Kilian stepped out and put two bullets in his skull, then turned his gun on my father. It happened so fast and with such precision that I knew they’d done this before.
Less than an hour later, Montgomery Cross–a prominent federal district court judge–sat in the same chair in Ezra’s office that my mother had occupied about a month ago. He’d been stripped down to his blue silk boxers and tied to the chair. Kilian had also given Montgomery and his driver’s phones to Declan to create a false trail. My father still had a haughty, aloof look on his face, like he thought he’d be walking away unharmed and just needed to bide his time.
Ezra sat at the edge of his desk, looking down at the man. “Hello, Monty. How’s your bid for a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judgeship going?”
Montgomery smiled coldly. He hated being called Monty. “Hello, Ezra. It’s going well. How’s your mortuary business and your sprawling, hooligan family?”
“We’re fine, and my family is better now that you won’t be sending any more nasty surprises our way. Do you happen to know who the men standing behind you are?”
Montgomery awkwardly twisted his head around to look at Roman and Drakos. He already knew Fenn and Kilian. Shrugging, he turned back around. “I believe one of these thugs is my estranged daughter’s new husband.”
I shook my head at him calling us estranged. Since he’d tried to kill me–twice–I thought of us as more like mortal enemies.
Ezra’s lip twitched. “That’s partially correct. Let me introduce you to Roman Fowler and Drakos Creed. They’re law partners in a rather… famous firm here in Las Vegas. The other partners couldn’t make this impromptu meeting, but they’ll be here later. I’ll let Roman and Drakos fully introduce themselves.”
Roman stepped beside my father and looked down at him. “Hello, Monty. I’m the thug who married your daughter. Do you know who else I am?”
Montgomery stared up at him disdainfully. “No. Should I?”
Putting his foot on the side of the chair, Roman slowly pushed it over and sent it crashing on its side. My father’s eyes went wide, and when the chair hit the floor, the side of his head cracked against the marble tile floor.
Roman squatted next to him. “I’m also one of your former guests at Bitter Creek Ranch Academy. You remember that hell hole, don’t you, Monty? The facility you and your partners touted as one of the most effective reform academies in the United States?”
Montgomery’s eyes went wide, and for the first time, I saw fear in his eyes.
“That’s right, you spineless, psychotic prick. My partners and I are all former inmates. And your old employees gave us several ideas about what to do with you before we let you die.”
Roman stood and looked down at the man. “Did you know it’s your brother who’s fucking your wife?”
Montgomery went still, then turned his head to look up at Roman. “You lie. Oh, I know she’s having an affair, but my brother would never do that.”
Drakos straightened off the wall and stepped forward. “We intercepted a phone call a while back.” He pulled out his phone and played the recording. We listened to my mother and Alistair discuss how to steal from Montgomery, and he blanched when he heard his brother call his wife darling. When the recording ended, my father looked shell-shocked for a moment. Then he started bargaining.
“I have money. I can transfer it to your accounts in mere hours.” No one answered him, and his voice rose. “I’m a federal district court judge, for Christ’s sake. Do you think they won’t come looking for me? There’ll be a manhunt like you’ve never seen.”
Roman smiled coldly. “We’re not worried. You’re going to send a suicide text to your wife, describing how you couldn’t go on when you found out she and your brother were having an affair behind your back, and they planned to run away together.”
Montgomery started panting and begging. “Let me go, and I swear I won’t tell anyone about this. I’ve got money in accounts all over the world. You’ll be rich beyond anything you could earn as an attorney or even a judge,” Montgomery pleaded in a shaky, scared voice. I stared down at him, and some of my bone-deep fear of him dissipated. He looked old and scared, laying there on the floor.
Roman stood back and casually kicked the man in the guts. “That’s for eleven-year-old Luna. You’re finally figuring out who has you, and what’s going to happen to you over the next few hours before you die broken and alone in your own blood and waste. Sylvie has a special casket picked out just for you. It’s soundproofed, and you’ll be buried alive out in the cemetery where you chased down your own daughter earlier today.”
Drakos clucked his tongue. “Cold, calculated revenge is a terrifying thing, isn’t it? That gives me an idea, let’s keep him in the body fridge here for an hour before we begin playing with him. I remember how hot and cold those fucking cells got at the Ranch.”
A wet stain slowly spread against my father’s boxers. Drakos sniffed disdainfully as he watched the man pee himself. “Those tables always turn at some point, you spineless fucker.”
“Don’t do this. I’ll give you anything you want.” He turned to me. “Luna, don’t let them do this. I’m your father, for fuck’s sake!”
My body jolted when he addressed me directly, but I fisted my hands and walked over to stoop by him. “Do you remember that day?” I asked quietly. He looked up at me blankly, not understanding my question. “The day I told you I knew what you were doing, and asked you to stop taking money for verdicts and favors. Do you remember what you did to me?”
He swallowed, finally understanding. “I was enraged… out of control. You were my child, acting so righteous and making threats . I didn’t mean for it to go that far.” Tears gathered in his eyes, but I knew they were for himself and not me.
I studied his face–and the fear there–but felt nothing for this evil, pathetic man. “I begged you to stop, to listen. I screamed and blacked out when you dragged me by my broken arm to your closet, and I pleaded for days to be let out.” My voice cracked, but I kept on. “Then I pleaded with God to let me die, to let the pain and the thirst take me because I was eleven fucking years old .”
His pleading expression gave way to fear and frustration. “Are you going to let them torture and kill your own father out of petty revenge? It will eat away at you.”
I stared at him. “You don’t know me. I won’t feel an ounce of regret about your death, and this isn’t about revenge. It’s about justice. I’m going home now, knowing they’ll do what needs to be done.” Roman would understand I couldn’t be a part of what came next. But I fully condoned it. Squeezing his hand, I walked out of the office.