Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
A RAVE
Jett
Istep in front of Lennon but don’t take my eyes off of the man who joined our party like an uninvited nightmare. “Your father?”
I feel Lennon stand behind me and press her front to my back. Her hold on my biceps is a death grip as she peeks around me. Her tone is one of shock. “You’re alive.”
The man before us stands about five inches shorter than me, has a thick head of gray hair, and eyes as dark as Lennon’s. It’s clear this was planned, because he’s dressed for the five-star restaurant, but we’re not the only ones surprised by his presence.
Devon might seem calm to anyone else when he arrives at the table, but I see a sharpness in his gaze aimed at Lennon’s father. “Does anyone have any questions about the menu?”
Andrei is the only one who doesn’t get up. “Well, look what we have here. Running into one of my oldest and dearest friends across the country. You should join us.”
Lennon’s father holds his arms out low like this isn’t completely planned and turns to Devon. “I’d love to. Fetch my drink from my table, would you? I’m going to join my friends for a lovely meal.”
Devon’s response is curt. “Of course. I’ll be right back.”
Lennon’s father turns to me and holds out his hand. “Name is Reed Shaw. Who in the hell are you?”
I don’t take his hand and reach around me to pull Lennon’s front to my side and hold her tight. “Now that I know who you are, maybe you can tell me why you’re here?”
Lennon’s heart is racing. There’s no pregame rally that could have prepared her for this. “I thought you were dead.”
Reed pulls out the empty chair, takes his seat, and addresses Andrei. “Did you tell my daughter I was dead? If so, we’ll have words about that later.”
“I did no such thing. You’re too busy to be dead, right?”
“That I am,” Reed drawls and looks up as Devon places a half-empty lowball in front of him.
“I’ll get you a menu, sir,” Devon says.
Reed waves Devon off. “No need. My daughter is an employee at this fine establishment. Bring me the biggest steak you’ve got. If I’m not eating on the house, I’d better damn well get a discount. And bring me another rum and Coke.”
I release Lennon and tug her chair closer to me after she sits. She’s still in shock. Devon leaves without taking any one else’s order. My guess is he doesn’t give a shit what Reed Shaw wants. If I had my guess, he’s meeting with the group to see what in the hell is happening.
I’m more aware of the concealed weapon tucked into my suit jacket than ever. Lennon and I are sitting at a table with her father who sold her off to pay a gambling debt and the man who held her hostage.
Lennon looks like she’s sitting in the presence of a ghost. Her tone is raspy and weak. “All this time, I thought you were dead.”
Andrei leans forward and rests his forearms casually on the table. “Reed works for me and has since you came to live on my yacht.”
Lennon lowers her voice. “I hardly came to live on your yacht, and we all know it.”
Andrei is cautious and chooses his words carefully. “I told you tonight wasn’t going to go the way you thought it would. Silly girl, you tried to make a play and look where it got you. I’m the one in charge.”
The feeling at the table has shifted. We’re not in some fake-ass conversation trying to get Andrei to trip up and admit he’s guilty of human trafficking. The air around us has turned electric—in the worst way possible.
I glance around the room before I direct my glare across the table.
If Bella and her team of agents don’t have a handle on this soon, I don’t know what we’re going to do.
“Let’s get something straight. This will be the last time you ever see Lennon.
She has something you want, so now is the time to negotiate.
I don’t know what you’re trying to pull by bringing the worst dad of the year recipient as your plus-one to dinner, but we know she has what you want.
Start talking or we’re out of here and you’ll be banned from the property of The Manor at Winslet. ”
Reed looks around. “Where is my fucking drink? Michelin rated, my ass.”
Lennon has barely moved in her seat, let alone taken her stare off her father. “I hate you.”
Reed glares at her. “It’s not like you weren’t well cared for. You were living the good life compared to what we had at home. It was a job. Don’t be dramatic.”
Lennon gapes. “A job? Are you kidding me? You tricked me into stepping onto that boat and left me. You have no idea what could’ve happened to me.”
Reed leans forward and lowers his tone to a hiss. “You were fine. Hell, you were safe. There are much worse scenarios, Lennon. I would know.”
“I knew this was going to happen.” Andrei strums his fingertips on the tablecloth like he’s bored.
“Let’s move on. I have proof of what you did before you decided to leave the yacht.
That includes Vlad and breaking into my safe.
That’s the thanks I get for giving you a job and allowing you to live with free room and board. ”
Lennon ignores Andrei, her focus never leaves her father. “You sold me to pay your gambling debt and left me on that damn boat for years. You ruined my life, Dad!”
Andrei isn’t the only one losing his temper. Reed’s frown intensifies and his fake persona melts away. “I got you a job with a trusted friend. You think I want to be here dealing with this again? I fucking don’t—”
The crystal and our drinks rattle and slosh when Andrei slams his hand on the table and turns his attention to Lennon. “Enough. You have something of mine. I want it back. If you hand it over, I can give you something that you want. Trust me, pet, I think you’re going to want this.”
If I didn’t have to turn my back on Lennon, I’d clear this damn table and wrap my hands around his neck until he couldn’t utter another word for the rest of his life. “Watch it, Petrov. Don’t test me. You have no idea the lengths I’ll go to keep Lennon safe.”
“So romantic,” Petrov deadpans before turning to Lennon and dropping a bomb. “I know where Audrey is.”
Lennon sucks in a breath of air. “My mother?”
Fuck.
Lennon turns to Reed. “You said she left us. Left me. You refused to look for her. Have you known where she is all this time and didn’t tell me?”
Reed studies his daughter. “There were many things you couldn’t handle knowing. That includes everything about Audrey.”
I look between Andrei and Reed. I’d put money on the fact that Reed has no horse in this race and he’s being forced to be here. Andrei thinks this is his slam dunk to get his jewels.
And Lennon has completely lost her cool.
I’m not sure who would blame her after what these two asshats are subjecting her to.
She drags a hand through her perfectly styled hair and fists it on top of her head.
“This is insane. You ruined my life, I finally got away, and now you’re back with this shit about my mother?
! Why do I want anything to do with her if she walked out on me when I was young? ”
I stroke her bare shoulder with my thumb and look at Reed. “How long have you been in contact with Lennon’s mother?”
“In contact is a stretch. I know where the bitch is. And don’t misread my words. She’s just that—a bitch.”
“I’m in contact with her,” Andrei elaborates.
“Why? Why do you have anything to do with my mother? Unless...” Lennon lets that thought trail off as her expression falls. She turns to her father. “What did you do?”
Reed fidgets in his chair. “You heard Andrei. If you want information about your mother, hand over the goods you stole. It’s the only way for you to walk away from this free and clear.”
Lennon is about to argue, but I shake my head. “No one’s handing over anything without proof. After everything you’ve done to her, do you really think she trusts you when it comes to anything, let alone where her mother is?”
Reed glances at Andrei who gives him the smallest nod. Reed reaches into his breast pocket and pulls out his cell. He taps the screen multiple times before sliding the cell across the table in front of us.
“What’s this?” I demand.
“Call it encouragement,” Reed drawls and relaxes back into his seat like he knows he’s about to cash in on the biggest pot he’s ever seen.
“Maybe even motivation. However you want to spin it, this is why Lennon is going to hand over the gemstones and never look back. A murder occurred in a U.S. port. This shit didn’t happen in the Caribbean or Central America or the Bermuda Triangle for fuck’s sake.
It happened in Florida. You think you’re free, Lennon, but you’re anything but.
This will hang over your head and nip at your heels for the rest of your life. ”
The color drains from Lennon’s face when she sees what’s on the screen.
It’s a paused video. I’d know that body anywhere.
I’ve become intimately familiar with it in the last few days.
And now I know what it’s like to challenge my body, new kidney and all.
Because my blood surges through my organs in a rush. And it’s all from rage.
I grab the cell to get a better look as Lennon whimpers beside me. It’s pain and distress.
My thumb hovers over the image of her. She’s mid-run, looking back over her shoulder with her hair flying behind her.
She’s barely dressed, only wearing a string bikini top and a pair of shorts so small, they barely cover her ass.
She’s skinnier, and that’s saying something since there’s not much to her now.
But not just skinny.
Skin and bones.
She’s also beaten to a bloody fucking pulp.
When I look up at the woman who looks like a different person than the one on the screen, silent tears stream down her face. My arm wrapped around her shoulders constricts.
“Go ahead,” Andrei demands. I look up and his stare on me is toxic. “You think you hold all the cards, but you don’t. If you’re willing to bet all on her, you might as well know what you’re dealing with.”