Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
Brielle
After I left Caden’s office, I went to the shooting range to blow off some steam. Shooting always made me feel better. He said he didn’t want me to worry, but I couldn’t help it. There was something different about Daniel. I could see it in his eyes. I loaded my gun and began shooting at the target. Six rounds done, and I quickly reloaded my gun and began again. I brought the target closer and studied the bullet holes—all perfect shots.
When I was done, I picked Stella up from school and headed home, keeping my gun safely tucked in my purse. Now it would be with me everywhere I went. I wasn’t going to lie. I was scared for Stella.
Two weeks had passed since I saw Daniel, and I prayed that he’d given up and left town. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
I dropped Stella off at my mom’s apartment for the day while I went shopping with Sasha. Caden had called and wanted to go out to dinner, so I told him I’d meet him at the restaurant instead of going home since I was already close there. We planned to meet at six thirty, and I arrived at six thirty-five. I was surprised when I didn’t see him because he was never late. When the hostess seated me at our reserved table, I pulled out my phone and called him. After a few rings, it went to voicemail.
“Hey, babe. I’m at the restaurant. You must be stuck in traffic. Call me as soon as you get this.”
I waited another ten minutes, and there was still no word from him, so I texted him.
“Where are you? I’m starting to get worried.”
It was now seven o’clock, and he wasn’t here, nor did he respond to my messages. A bad feeling crept up inside me. Something wasn’t right, so I called his driver.
“Hey, it’s Brielle. Is Caden with you?”
“No. I dropped him off at home, and he said he would take a cab to the restaurant because I had a family emergency. He isn’t there?”
“No, and I can’t get ahold of him.”
“He’s probably stuck in traffic and on the phone with a client.”
“Maybe. I’m going to try again.”
I dialed his number, which rang until voicemail picked it up. My heart started racing, and I knew if I called Ben to come pick me up, it would take too long. I left the restaurant and hailed a cab. A sickness fell into the pit of my stomach as the driver pulled up to the curb of the building.
“Carson, have you seen Mr. Chamberlain this evening?” I asked.
“Yes. He walked into the building around five forty-five. Is everything okay?”
“We were supposed to meet for dinner, and I can’t seem to get ahold of him.”
“Well, I know the repairman is up there.”
“What repairman?” I nervously asked.
“For the alarm system. He said there was an issue with your system and needed to fix it. I called Mr. Chamberlain to let him know, and he said to send him up.”
“What did he look like?”
“Gee. Umm. He was about six feet tall and wearing a uniform and a hat. He had a scar above his eye. That I noticed right away.”
“Shit. I need you to do me a favor and call the police.”
“Why?”
“Because the man you described isn’t a repairman, and I think Mr. Chamberlain might be in danger.”
I took the elevator to the floor below the penthouse and used the stairs the rest of the way up. I approached the front door and pulled my gun and key from my purse. I was shaking with fear as I carefully slid the key into the lock and slowly unlocked the door, carefully pushing it open, I could hear Daniel’s voice. It was coming from the living room. Taking off my shoes, I set them down with my purse, grabbed my phone, and took the back way from the kitchen. Holding my phone, I pushed the voice memo button and started recording. I looked around the corner and saw Caden sitting on the couch, his head bleeding, hands tied together, and staring at Daniel, who was standing a few feet away and pointing a gun at him. My heart pounded out of my chest as I raised my gun and walked into the living room. Caden’s eyes widened, and Daniel turned around.
“What’s going on here, Daniel?” I asked as I slowly walked towards him.
“Well, well. Look whose home and thinks she’s a hero. It’s good to see you, Brielle. I was disappointed when I got here and found out you weren’t. Now be a good girl and put the gun down.”
“No way. What are you doing here?”
“Having a little chat with your boyfriend. The man who stole my daughter from me and who will pay me a great deal of money to skip town.”
“Is that why you came back? For money?”
“Damn right. I used Stella as an excuse because you always had a soft spot for me. I figured if I could convince you to let me meet her, I’d show you how much I regretted walking out on her, and then I’d have an in with you, and you’d have no choice but to help a troubled man out. But you had to play hardcore and refuse to let me meet her. So, technically, this is all your fault, Bri.”
“What kind of trouble are you in?”
“Long story short. I got involved with some bad people after I walked out on you. The Cartel, to be exact. Maybe I shouldn’t have stolen all those drugs from them. I owe them a lot of money, or they’re going to kill me.”
“They’re not the only ones,” I arched my brow at him.
“You’re still as cute as ever. I want one million dollars transferred to an offshore account immediately. Once it’s done, I’m out of the country. I’ll disappear, and I promise you that you’ll never see me again. I know your boyfriend is worth billions, so a measly million is nothing to him. Right?” He cocked his head at Caden.
Caden didn’t say a word. He just stared at him as Daniel continued to point his gun. I needed to think of how to escape this situation, and there was only one way.
“Put the gun down, and Caden will wire the money,” I spoke.
“You’re crazy, bitch. I ain’t putting this gun down. But I do suggest you lower yours. You got some balls handling a gun, but I don’t think you have the balls to shoot me. The way I remember it, you were always such a fragile little thing. But if you do, your pretty little boyfriend will get a bullet popped in his head.”
“You didn’t know me like you thought you did, asshole,” I spoke as I slowly circled him.
“Oh, I knew you, Brielle.”
“No, you didn’t.” I arched my brow. “You had no idea who I was when you met me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It doesn’t matter now. How do you expect him to wire the money when you have his hands tied?”
“Simple. You’re going to do it for him.” He smiled.
“And how do you suppose I do that when I’m pointing a gun at you?”
“You’re going to be a good girl and put it down. In a matter of minutes, this could all go away. Trust me.”
I let out a laugh. “You think I’m going to trust you? I trusted you to be there for me when I told you I was pregnant with your child, and you couldn’t do that. What makes you think I’d trust you now?”
“Well, if you want your boyfriend dead, I can arrange that.”
“You son of a bitch,” I spoke.
“Just to show you how serious I am, I’ll wound him for now,” he said as he cocked his gun.
Without even the slightest hesitation, I cocked my gun, aimed it at his leg, and pulled the trigger. He screamed as he dropped to the ground, and the gun hit the floor and went off.
“You bitch!” He grabbed his leg.
He went to reach for his gun, and I ran and kicked it out of the way. Suddenly, the elevator doors opened, and several police officers came running in with their guns. I set mine down on the table and ran over to Caden.
“Are you okay?” I brought my hand up, wiped the blood dripping from his head, and fiercely untied his hands.
“I’m fine, Brielle. My God, he could have killed you.”
We wrapped our arms around each other and held on tight.
“Ma’am, what happened here?” the officer asked.
“That man came into my home with a gun, threatened my family, and demanded we wire a million dollars to his offshore account. I have it all recorded on my phone. It’s over there on the table.”
The paramedics came in with a stretcher, and I walked over to Daniel and knelt beside him.
“You shot me!” he screamed. “Get away from me!”
“You’re lucky I didn’t kill you. I could have shot you right in the heart and wouldn’t have missed. But the more I thought about it, death would have been too easy for you. You’re going to wish I would have killed you because what you’re going to get in prison will be a hell of a lot worse, and I’m going to be there with a smile on my face, enjoying every minute of it.”
“Get this crazy bitch away from me!” he shouted.
“Ma’am, I need you to step over here,” the officer spoke as he held my phone in his hand.
He listened to the entire recording as I stood next to him, and another paramedic tended to Caden’s head wound.
“This is all the evidence we need. We’re also going to need to take your gun. You do have a CCW license, right?” His brow raised.
“Yes. I certainly do.”
“Good. This is a case of self-defense. One of our detectives will be in touch. We ask that you don’t leave town until he does.”
“We won’t, officer,” I spoke.
“Sir, you’re going to need stitches. We can take you to the hospital.”
“It’s fine. I’ll take a cab,” Caden said.