Chapter 11
H ow was she going to do this?
How could she escape him?
There was no way that she could raise a baby with him. What if he beat her so badly that he hurt the baby? Or killed her?
No. He wasn’t going to hurt this baby. Maybe she had trouble leaving him for herself. But her baby was relying on Indie to protect him or her. And she wasn’t going to fail.
Yes, he’d made threats against the guys and Maggie. But she wasn’t sure that he could really do anything to them.
Just focus on one thing at the time. How are you going to get out of here?
Did he have cameras in the apartment? If she left her phone here would he know if she left?
Indie walked through the apartment, trying to look casual as she scanned for cameras. She couldn’t see anything. Then she spotted the mail from earlier.
There might be a way to test if he could see her leave. She searched through the mail and sent thanks to the postie. There was a letter for Mr. Wembley .
Leaving her phone in the apartment, she walked out and along to his door, knocking on it.
After delivering the letter and listening to his grumbling for five minutes, she returned to Billy’s apartment.
To find her phone ringing. She rushed to it and saw Billy’s name.
“Hello? Billy?”
“Where were you?” he snarled.
“What? Oh, just now?” she replied, trying to keep the fear out of her voice. “I just went to deliver Mr. Wembley his mail. It was delivered to our place by mistake. Is there a problem? How did you know I left?”
“I have the door monitored,” he snarled. “Next time, tell me before you leave.”
“Sure. No problem.” She ended the call and an idea formulated in her head.
The only question was . . . did she have the ingredients to make chocolate chip biscuits?
An hour later, she was placing containers of biscuits into a huge tote bag. They were the only thing she could bake. Spencer had taught her years ago.
Stuffed in the bottom of her tote bag was her ID, some cash she’d managed to squirrel away, her pregnancy test, and her backpack.
She’d turned the place upside down trying to find her backpack. He’d taken it off her after her botched escape and hidden it. She’d been really worried that he’d thrown it out.
But he must have just shoved it into a cupboard and forgotten about it.
This was the tricky bit. She grabbed her phone and texted Billy .
Indie: Mr. W. seemed sad before. I’ve made him chocolate chip biscuits and I’m going to deliver them.
She headed toward the door, her heart racing. He texted back quickly.
Billy: I though you didn’t feel well?
Fuck.
Her hands shook again as she messaged him back.
Indie: When I spoke to the pharmacist, they thought it sounded like something I ate didn’t agree with me. I’m feeling good now so I guess they were right.
She sent a prayer that he believed her.
Billy: Take your phone. Go nowhere else. There and back.
Elation filled her as she left the apartment. Now, she just needed this next part to go smoothly.
The good news was that Mr. Wembley’s apartment faced the street.
He answered the door with a frown.
“Hey, Mr. Wembley, I’ve got some biscuits for you.”
She pulled out the tin as his frown lightened. “Chocolate chip?”
“Of course,” she said. “I was wondering if I could come in for a moment? I need a favor.” She had to be quick.
He waved her inside. “Come on, then.”
Ten minutes later, she walked out of the apartment building and into the Uber that Mr. Wembley ordered for her. She’d put the app on his phone a while ago. And he hadn’t questioned her when she’d told him that her phone wasn’t working.
She’d left some cash to cover the cost of the ride. Along with her phone, knowing he’d see it after she left and deliver it back to her apartment. Hopefully, he’d just put it through the mail slot in the door.
Fear kept her alert and jittery as they headed to the train station. Once Billy figured out that she’d gone, he’d know where she was. She just had to get there before he did.
Once more, she stood and stared at their building. But she didn’t linger. She still fully expected Billy to pop out of nowhere and grab her.
Was this the right decision? But what else could she do?
She was going to be a mum.
What did she know about taking care of a baby? She couldn’t even look after herself.
You have this.
You’re not alone.
They’ll help you.
She entered the building, checking behind her. She’d timed it so she’d get here at rush hour when there were plenty of people around. Hopefully the guys were here.
Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly.
Everything would be all right now. She’d made it here safely. Billy hadn’t followed her.
Indie rode the elevator up to their floor.
Joy bubbled inside her as she reached their door.
Safe.
I’m safe .
Relief made her giddy. The guys would have her back. Billy might come for them, but she had to trust that they could take care of themselves.
Of Maggie.
And of her.
They’d always stood by her.
The way she always did them.
She entered the door code. A red light flashed.
That was odd. Maybe they’d changed the code and hadn’t had a chance to tell her yet.
She shrugged and rang the bell. Then she waited. And waited.
Finally, the door opened and Slade stared at her. There was a strange look on his face.
Under other circumstances she might have taken note of that look. She might have wondered why he seemed so stiff and cold. But she was still riding the high of successfully leaving Billy.
But finally she noticed that Slade hadn’t moved. That he hadn’t said anything.
That was . . . odd.
“Are you all right?” she asked Slade.
“Migraine.”
Ahh, that explained it. Poor Slade he had suffered from migraines for years. They were usually brought on by stress or from not taking care of himself.
His girlfriend should really take better care of him. Some of her happiness fizzled away at the thought of the gorgeous brunette she’d seen him with at the club.
Keep smiling.
“Come in.” There was a formal note to his voice which was odd.
“Did you guys change the security code to get into the penthouse?” she asked. “It didn’t work for me.”
“We have,” Quaid said as he walked into the entrance. “We’ll be changing all of the codes. Why are you here, Indie?”
“Um, you invited me here. I know I’m a few weeks late, sorry I didn’t message. I have a reason for that. ”
Spencer joined them and he looked wrecked. As though he hadn’t slept in weeks. And he was wearing beige. Spencer never wore beige. He liked bright cheerful colors and he didn’t give a shit what people thought of him for what he wore.
What the hell?
“What’s going on? What’s wrong?” she asked.
“What’s wrong? As if you don’t know,” Slade said.
Just like that her happiness turned into a ball of despair and fear in her stomach.
“What do you mean? What do I know?” she asked quietly.
“You know that you betrayed us. That you used us,” Quaid told her in his too-cold voice.
It was hard to tell since Quaid never showed much emotion, but the way he was talking to her was different.
His tone was sub-arctic.
Slade was silent while Spencer just stared at her with devastated eyes.
What was going on here?
“I have never used or betrayed you,” she said quietly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The lies would be easier to believe if we didn’t have evidence,” Slade told her quietly.
“What are you talking about?” she demanded, panic starting to hit her.
What did they think she’d done?
“You stole some confidential information from us, Indie,” Quaid said. God, he hadn’t spoken to her like this in years. Not since she’d first met them.
He hadn’t trusted her then. It had taken months before he had started to thaw.
How had they ended up back there? What did he think she’d done?
And where was Rock? He would believe her, right? He wouldn’t let them accuse her of things that she hadn’t done.
“Don’t bother looking for Rock. Just because he doesn’t want to be a part of this doesn’t mean that he actually believes you,” Quaid told her.
“We should call the cops,” Slade said.
Spencer shot him a look.
“But we won’t if you leave now and never contact us again. Believe me, it’s more generous than I wanted to be,” Quaid told her. “We won’t reply to any messages, any calls. Understand? From this moment on, Indie, you are dead to us.”
The pain of it was like nothing she’d felt before. It was indescribable. Even worse than when Evie Johns punched her in the nose when she was seven for not sharing the scissors.
“You don’t . . . you don’t mean that! I don’t even know what you’re talking about. What did I do? And what proof could you have?”
“We caught you on camera coming here a few weeks ago,” Quaid told her in a monotone voice that she hated.
“We were undercut in a bid using plans eerily similar to ours. Someone stole our plans, the information about our bid, and gave it to Zodiac Construction so they could win the bid. All of that information was on a pen drive in Slade’s home office. ”
A few weeks ago? That’s when Billy followed her.
“Can I see the footage?” she asked in a raw voice. Surely they’d seen Billy with her?
They had to know that he’d forced his way into the penthouse.
But how had he gotten into the safe? Why had he stolen that information? What did it gain him?
“No,” Slade said in a short voice.
Was he serious?
“But . . . but . . . it wasn’t me. It was?—”
“Just . . . just leave Indie. The damage you’ve done, it can’t be repaired,” Spencer told her.
“You really won’t let me explain?” Her breathing was growing shallower.
Why wouldn’t they let her speak ?
Had Billy somehow doctored the camera feed? How could he do that?
None of this made a lot of sense. But one thing was clear. They weren’t even going to give her the benefit of the doubt. They wanted her gone.
Pain ripped through her insides, and she tried desperately not to show it. She’d thought they were her family. That they’d at least let her explain.
But maybe they’d never thought of her as family. Perhaps she’d always been on the outside, looking in, and she just hadn’t realized it.
“We know you gave Billy that information. When we confronted him, he basically threw you under the bus,” Slade said.
Oh God.
“When we messaged you for an explanation, you could have explained then,” Quaid told her. “Instead, you told us to stop messaging. So we knew then that you really were guilty. An innocent person would have tried to explain themselves.”
She’d never gotten any message. Which meant that Billy had been the one to reply.
They didn’t want to hear the truth. They’d already found her guilty.
“I really thought better of you guys. I thought . . . I thought you cared about me. That you’d at least hesitate before you . . . before you . . .”
Brutalized me.
She couldn’t say the words and risk losing it. She was only keeping herself together through sheer force of will.
Slade watched her impassively. He’d been taking lessons from Quaid who was a blank slate. Spencer, at least, glanced away.
“The words are pretty and the acting is good, but there’s no explaining away the evidence.
I wish I knew why you did it,” Quaid said.
“But at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter, does it?
The damage is done. We’ll recover from the damage to our business.
But our relationship is finished. There is no repairing that. ”
Ouch.
She swore she started to splinter apart inside. Tears welled as she stared at each of them. Words dried in her throat. She had so much to say to them.
But she’d never been good in these sorts of situations. Everything would come to her an hour later. When it would be too late.
She knew if she spoke now it would all be a garbled mess that would make no sense.
Leave, Indie.
Before you start to cry and completely humiliate yourself.
Turning, she headed to the door. The sobs welled up, but she swallowed them down.
Just make it outside.
You can do it.
You have this.
As she got outside a cold wind whipped up, making her shiver. It was only the beginning of autumn, but it was extra cold today.
Or maybe she was just cold from what had happened.
She managed to make it into the park before the emotions fully hit her. She slumped onto a park bench that was half-hidden behind a large tree.
And lost it.
The sobs rocked her body.
How had everything fallen apart?
It was all too much. She couldn’t cope.
Billy hurting her. Demeaning her. Beating her.
Learning she was pregnant.
Leaving him. Again.
Being thrown from the penthouse like she was nothing. Accused of something she hadn’t done.
And now . . . now what? She had nothing. A few hundred pounds and her backpack.
No job. No family. Not even a freaking cell phone.
Pull yourself together, Indie.
You’re not alone .
No. There was still one person she could rely on. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed a tissue from her handbag. She always carried some with her.
After cleaning herself up, she finally thought of what she should have said to them.
I suppose it’s good to finally see this side of you. I should have never trusted you if you’re willing to just throw me away without even letting me defend myself. Shows the type of men you are.
Yep. That’s what she should have said. And she didn’t even have a phone to text it to them.
Getting up, she stumbled slightly.
First order of business was to get a new phone. The cheapest one possible. Thank God, she’d thought to write down all of her important phone numbers in a notebook before leaving her phone at Mr. Wembley’s apartment.
She had to call Maggie.
As she headed out of the park, she saw him standing there and a little bit of hope filled her heart.
Rock would believe her, right?
He’d never think badly of her. But as she headed toward him, he shook his head. His gaze seemed to see everything.
And nothing.
There was a thick sense of disappointment in his face. Something she’d never seen from him before. He stepped toward her and silently held out an envelope. It was thick and kind of heavy.
She opened her mouth to explain. To tell him everything.
But before she could say a word, he was gone.
It took a while for her brain to reboot and with fingers that shook, she opened the envelope.
She wasn’t sure what she expected but the wad of cash in there wasn’t it.
It felt like . . . like he was paying her off. Telling her to stay away. As though he thought that this was what she wanted.
And she guessed that just showed her that they really did think she’d betrayed them for money.