Chapter 34 Diem
Diem
We arrived at the lakeside cottage shortly after twelve thirty. Since there was no car in the driveway, I suspected we’d beat Aaron—assuming he was coming this way at all. For all we knew, he was headed for the marina.
I hadn’t heard from Tallus, and it took everything in me to refrain from texting. He hated it when I worried excessively or volunteered that he wasn’t capable of doing certain tasks.
He said I didn’t trust him.
It was less about trust and more about concern for his well-being, but I didn’t know how to translate that into words he would understand without sounding like an overprotective ass who thought he couldn’t handle himself.
I parked down the road, not wanting Aaron to drive up and see a vehicle waiting. If we could catch him off guard, we would gain the upper hand. Not that I knew what I was doing. This was what happened when I let Tallus dictate the rules. Wasn’t this my case? When had I lost control?
Better question. Had I ever been in control since meeting Tallus? No. The answer was definitely no. The man had rewritten the plot of my life, and I’d been going with the flow ever since.
Darcy and I got out and headed toward the attractive bungalow cottage.
It must have been fifteen or twenty years old, but it had the presence of a new build.
It sat on a decent plot of land, a distance from the road, with a winding driveway that led to a simple carport.
It had a modern-day cottage vibe. Ample windows set into a natural stone and wood-framed facade.
Cozy and charming. Its lakeside location and the surrounding landscape would appeal to vacationers who wanted a sense of nature without technically leaving the city.
“No one’s here,” Darcy said, glancing around. “What do we do? Are we breaking in? Stealing those files?”
Ideally, but I didn’t want trouble.
“No,” I said aloud, studying the property.
Had I not called the cops, had Lukyan not had one foot out of the country, I might have.
If the banker boxes contained what I suspected they contained, I could deliver them anonymously to the police station and walk away.
They would go after Lukyan and likely nail down his entire entourage before worrying about who had delivered the evidence.
They might figure it came from a mole. Someone on the inside.
Instead, with Aaron potentially on the way, I planned to lean into my strengths. Intimidation and psychological threat. The bastard had gotten fresh with my boyfriend after all.
“Let’s wait around back. Surprise him. If that prick shows up, I want him out of his vehicle before he sees us, so he can’t run.”
“What if he goes to the marina?”
“He won’t.”
“He might.”
“Tallus said Aaron sounded the alarm, which I assume means he saw him call Luke. Luke’s more concerned about hiding evidence and disappearing until things calm down.”
“I don’t get it. Why didn’t he burn everything? Why keep evidence that incriminates him?”
I’d wondered the same thing. “You’re a smart kid, Darcy.”
He stood taller. “I am?”
“Here’s the thing with guys like Luke. When they’ve got a good thing going, it’s hard to let it go.
He’s made millions running this scam. His instinct is to lie low and restart the business once things calm down.
I have a feeling he’s rethinking that decision now.
He probably wishes he had destroyed those files. ”
“Do you think he told Aaron to burn them when he gets here?”
“Wouldn’t surprise me.”
Behind the cottage, the property stretched for fifty yards or more.
A handful of established trees, a stone path, and an ornamental pond with benches, birdbaths, and carefully landscaped gardens greeted us.
A portico over the back door. Latticework up the side of the house.
Winter-dead vines clung to the wall. In the spring and summer, I imagined the lush yard would be dotted with brilliantly colored flowers.
Perfumed air. Aaron probably had a gardener.
A housekeeper. A laundry service. To think this was a vacation home.
Did he use it, rent it, or did it sit vacant half the time?
What a fucking waste.
I peered through a few uncovered windows to get a sense of the cottage’s interior.
It had a French, country feel. A rustic layout with wood accents, a fireplace, and built-in shelves.
Plush furniture. Intricately designed stone floors.
Rugs and books and darkly shaded lamps that would give a warm ambience.
For whatever reason, I thought of the cabin Tallus’s dad had mentioned. I thought of fishing on a serene lake far from the city.
I thought of a man who called me son and another who didn’t.
Then I shoved those thoughts away because I hadn’t called Heath back and wasn’t sure I would.
We waited.
Again, I resisted sending Tallus a text, although I reached for my phone no less than a dozen times.
The street saw little traffic, so every time I heard a vehicle approach, I stilled and listened, holding a palm to Darcy for silence.
Each car passed without slowing.
Time dragged.
At five after one, someone pulled in the driveway.
“He’s here,” Darcy hissed.
I shushed him and indicated we should move closer to the house to be out of sight.
I would have preferred to have left Darcy at home with Echo, but that would have led to an argument.
An argument would have taken too much time and left me frazzled.
Besides, I wanted Darcy close so I could keep an eye on him.
I had visions of him being arrested when I wasn’t looking, and I had no intention of letting that happen.
The police would have to go through me. The kid was a bystander, used for someone else’s gain.
A car door slammed.
I waited, giving Aaron enough time to move toward the front door. As I was about to round the corner and confront him, Darcy touched my arm. “Wait.”
“What?”
“Let him get the boxes. If he comes out with them, then he can’t deny they exist. If you confront him now, he’s just going to lie.”
“And if he decides to use the fireplace?”
“I can see the fireplace from here. If he looks like he’s going to do that, we can intervene.”
“Not we. Me. You’re staying out of it.”
The kid had a point, though, and I nodded, holding a finger to my lips as I peeked around the side of the house to see what was happening. Aaron was only then getting out of the car, a phone pressed to his ear, which might have been the only reason he didn’t see me.
Whoever he’d called—Lukyan likely—didn’t seem to be answering.
As Aaron turned his back, aiming for the front door, I slipped along the side of the cottage, following. The call must have tripped to voicemail. Aaron paused on the front stoop as he recorded a message.
I stayed out of sight, only then realizing that Darcy was breathing down my neck.
“Get back,” I hissed.
He didn’t move, eyes bulging as Aaron spoke.
“Why the fuck aren’t you answering? I’m here.
I don’t know what you want me to do with them.
I’ll take them to my mother’s for now. She’s working, and I have a key.
She still has all my shit stored in the basement, so I’ll bury it among the pile of boxes until things blow over. She won’t notice. Call me.”
The instant Aaron hung up, he let himself inside.
What was happening at the marina? I couldn’t stand not knowing and again reached for my phone, the urge to text Tallus insatiable.
Aaron would be a few minutes.
“Watch the back,” I said to Darcy, needing him out of sight. “If he goes near that fireplace, yell.”
Darcy sulked but did as he was told.
Unable to resist any longer, I placed a call to Tallus, one eye on the front door.
His voicemail kicked on after five rings, but unlike Aaron, I refused to leave a message. I called him again with visions of him and Lukyan in confrontation.
Four rings, and I anticipated it rolling over to voicemail again when he answered. Or rather, someone answered. I wasn’t sure the voice was human.
“Ghnahllah?”
My spine stiffened. “Tallus?”
A rough noise of confirmation prickled the hairs along my nape.
“Tallus, what’s wrong?”
“I… ow… fuck… broke… ghnlasses.”
“What? I don’t understand. Why do you sound funny? What’s happening? Where’s Luke?”
A clambering of noise came through the line. Muffled voices. Shouts. Tallus said something indecipherable, his speech severely compromised.
Another shout. Angry. Commanding.
A clatter like the phone had fallen.
The call disconnected.
Panic surged through my blood. I stalled, torn between racing to the marina—Tallus was clearly in trouble—and snagging Aaron and what proof might be in those coveted boxes.
My muscles tensed. I prepared to spring forward, run to the Jeep, and burn rubber when Darcy raced from the backyard, colliding with my back and sending me stumbling forward a step.
“What are you—”
“He’s coming. I saw him, I saw him, I saw him!”
“Stay back.”
“No, I—”
“Now. Behind the house. Go.”
Aaron exited the cottage, propping the front door with a box as Darcy stormed off, radiating petulance.
Aaron returned inside and reemerged with two more boxes stacked one on top of the other. When he aimed for the driveway, I scrambled toward the yard in time to stay out of sight.
At the car, Aaron set the boxes on the ground and used a fob to pop the trunk. He didn’t place them inside and instead returned to the house. He came out with two more boxes and added them to the pile.
Glancing along the street in both directions, he paced to the end of the driveway and placed another call.
I didn’t know how many boxes he had to collect, but I wasn’t interested in waiting any longer. The proof was in the open. He couldn’t deny its existence, so while Aaron’s back was turned, I motioned for Darcy to stay while I crossed to Aaron’s vehicle.