Chapter 29
The meeting with the Abdullah brothers was a successful step inacquiring the casino in Singapore. They wanted out of the business, we wanted in. The problem was, so did a lot of other investors who were willing to pay a lot more than what Fox and I were willing to pay.
When the meeting came to an end, I had Brian drive the brothers tothe other end of the Strip where Sherry was waiting to greet them at Onyx and show them around our newest casino.
“What do you think?” Fox said, reclining in the chair on the other sideof my desk.
I shrugged. “It’s an ideal location, and it’s already got a client base,but they’re asking for too much money,” I replied, taking my seat with the Vegas skyline behind me.
“Yeah, my thoughts too,” Fox replied glumly. “We need to fly outthere, see the place for ourselves before we make any final decisions.”
“Agreed,” I replied. I had initially requested that Fox and I flew toSingapore to meet the Abdullah brothers, but they insisted on having the first meeting in Vegas, claiming it was an opportunity to see Sin City for themselves.
“Do we know who else is throwing their hat into the ring?” Fox asked.I knew of a few companies who had expressed an interest but I was certain the competition was going to heat up, and more investors would come out of the woodwork before long.
Before I could answer, my phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket,frowning when I saw Aaron’s name flashing up.
“Carson.”
“Sir, it’s Aaron,” my newest driver said quickly, panic lacing his tonewhich immediately got my attention. “It’s your wife, she’s gone.”
My eyes flashed to Fox who’d noticed my body had tensed, and wasstaring at me with his brows furrowed in question.
“What do you mean she’s gone?” I snapped, my heart plummetinginto my gut.
“I took her to the shops but something happened, but I don’t knowwhat. On the way home she was really quiet and tearful,” he explained. My knuckles balled into a fist at his incompetence. I’d given him explicit instructions that he wasn’t to take Savannah anywhere without my permission. “When we got back, she ran into the house, and then about twenty minutes later, I saw her getting in the car, and she drove off before I could stop her.”
I was out of my seat, and storming from the office before he’d finishedspeaking, Fox hot on my tail.
“What happened at the shops?” I said, trying to rein my temper in so Icould get the full facts of what happened when really, all I wanted to do was smash my fists through a wall.
Or even better, Aaron’s face.
“I…I don’t really know. One minute she was okay, and then my phonerang, and I had to go outside ‘cos there was no signal, and when I came back, she looked like she’d seen a ghost,” Aaron whined.
My feet came to a grinding halt, and Fox almost crashed into me.
Savannah hadn’t seen a ghost.
She’d seen her ex.
Of that, I was certain.
I still hadn’t been able to find out where Liam was staying, he wasn’tusing his bank card to make any payments, so Brian’s contacts hadn’t been able to trace him. He’d withdrawn a couple of thousand dollars before he left San Francisco, and the remaining money he had in his account had remained untouched.
The mercenaries I’d hired to find the little fucker had been doingeverything they could to locate him, but with no phone, no bank transactions, and Liam not popping up anywhere on security footage, it was like trying to find a needle in a very large haystack.
Regardless, two weeks had passed since Savannah thought she sawhim at the silent auction, and he hadn’t once attempted to make contact with her.
I wondered if he’d fucked off back under the rock he crawled underwhen I banished him from the country, but as soon as Aaron said Savannah looked like she’d seen a ghost, everything in me screamed that Liam had made his move.
“Fuck,” I cursed. Moving my ass at rapid speed. I almost ran to theelevator and jabbed the button to call it.
“There’s more, Sir,” Aaron said, his voice shaking with nerves. Heought to be nervous too, when I caught up with him, he was going to be in a world of pain.
“What?” I hissed, stepping into the elevator.
“I…I went inside after Mrs. Carson ran out, and Jessica went to see ifsomething had happened in her studio. But Jessica found your office door open, and there was paperwork on the floor. A file with information about Mrs. Carson.”
My blood began boiling, ready to erupt out of me like a volcano.
“I’ll deal with you later,” I said to Aaron, hanging up, and ignoring hispathetic apology.
“What’s happened?” Fox said as the elevator came to a stop. Ihurried out, taking long strides through the underground car park to where Fox’s car, a black Dodge Challenger, was parked.
“Savannah found her file. And if I was a betting man, I’d beteverything I own that her fucking ex caught up with her,” I replied, waiting for Fox to unlock his car.
I didn’t need to ask him to drive me anywhere, or if I could take hiscar. I didn’t need to ask him to come with me. He was already getting in the driver’s seat, right by my side as always.
“Where is she?” he asked, not needing to ask what I meant about herfinding the file. He knew I’d kept all the information on her. Hell, he’d even helped me obtain some of it.
Tapping on my phone, I loaded up the tracking app, relieved to seethat the little dot indicating Savannah’s location was flashing about thirty miles outside of the city.
“Route 15 South.”
That was all I needed to say to Fox for him to wheelspin out of thegarage and hit the Strip, putting his foot down as soon as we were free of traffic.
Two hours of agonizing torture passed as Fox and I waited in theparking lot of the shithole motel Liam and Savannah were holed up in.
They were in room 402, and it was taking every bit of willpower to notstorm in and drag Savannah out of there, but before I could do that, I needed to be patient and wait for a few pieces to be moved into place first.
One way or another, before the day was over, I would have dealt withLiam Olsen once and for all.
When Brian finally called to say everything was ready, a thrill ofexcitement coursed through me.
“Shall we do this?” Fox said once I hung up on Brian. I grunted myresponse, my jaw clenching as I tried to control the anger brewing inside me.
Anger at Liam for being a stupid cunt. Anger at Savannah fordisobeying me. Anger at not being in full control of my emotions right at that minute.
The two of us got out of the car, walking brazenly over to room 402.Not giving a fuck if anyone was around to bear witness to what I was about to do, I raised my foot and kicked the door as hard as I could.
It swung open with ease, nearly coming off its hinges as it crashedagainst the wall, and from inside, Savannah’s startled scream rang out. I crossed the threshold, and the second she saw who it was, her face paled, and she scrambled across the bed to try and get away from me.
Like the idiot Liam was, he made to bolt, cursing loudly.
“Not so fast, dickhead,” Fox growled, blocking Liam’s path andstopping him from going anywhere.
“Well, isn’t this cozy,” I said, looking around the dump of a room.
If I hadn’t found out from the manager of the motel that Liam hadbeen staying here since the minute he arrived in Vegas, and paying cash for the room, it would have been obvious he’d been holed up here due to the state of it.
Dirty clothes were littered everywhere, empty beer cans lay discardedon the stained carpet, and if I wasn’t mistaken, remnants of white powder was scattered on the table.
The room stunk of staleness, body odor, and the distinctive smell ofcrack. It seemed Liam’s drug addiction had escalated from cocaine.
“Hello, sweetheart,” I said, glaring at Savannah who was cowering inthe corner. Her screams had fallen silent, and her eyes were wide with surprise.
“How…how did you find me?” she whispered, disbelief in her tone.
I smirked, silently thanking Brian for putting the tracker in her neck allthose weeks ago. “What did I say to you when you tried to run the first time?” I paused, raising a brow in question. When she didn’t reply, I reminded her of the vow I’d made to her. “I told you that you would never run from me again, and if you did, I would find you.” I stalked toward her, her eyes growing wider with every step I took. “I told you there wouldn’t be a place in this world you could hide from me.”
She opened her mouth before closing it again, and swallowing downwhatever reply she had.
Grabbing the chair next to a small table, I dragged it over so I couldsit in front of her. She wouldn’t be able to run anywhere with the wall behind her, and me in front of her. She was trapped and at my mercy.
“Have a seat, Liam,” I called over my shoulder. “I think we all need tohave a little talk, don’t you?”
Liam protested and tried to shrug out of Fox’s grip, but he was nomatch for Fox.
Once upon a time, Fox might have been a skinny fucker, but over theyears, he’d bulked up, and he worked hard to maintain his strong physique. There was no way Liam would be able to break free from Fox’s ironclad grip.
Fox shoved Liam onto the other bed, towering over him with asavage look on his face, one that said if Liam dared try to escape, Fox would break both his legs.
And Fox would have done exactly that if necessary.
“Why did you run, Savannah?” I asked, turning my attention to her andtilting my head to the side.
“I…I don’t know,” she said quietly, her eyes wide and full of fear.
“You don’t know?” I replied, raising a quizzical brow. “Let me ask youan easier question then. What bullshit did he spout to you to make you run to him?”
“I didn’t spout any bullshit!” Liam cried from behind me. “I told her thetruth!”
I twisted in my seat so I could face him. “I didn’t ask you,” I said,glowering at him. What Savannah ever saw in him was beyond me. He was a pathetic piece of shit. “Do me a favor, Fox. If he speaks again, shut him up.”
Fox grinned. “With pleasure.”
I turned back to Savannah who was gaping between me, Fox, andLiam. “I asked you a question, sweetheart. What did he tell you?”
Her eyes came back to meet mine, and she swallowed nervously.“He…he said he owed you money, so he took out the loans and cards in my name to pay you back,” she replied, her voice thick with emotion. “He said you were the reason he got addicted to drugs, and you were supplying him.”
I snorted as I leaned back in my chair, and crossed one leg over theother. From behind, I could feel Liam’s gaze burning into the back of my head.
“Interesting. And do you believe him? Do you believe I’m a drugdealer?”
She looked behind me to Liam, tears welling in her eyes. “No.”
“Sav, I was telling you the truth!” Liam bellowed. “He’s a liar! He wasbehind everything because he wanted you for himself! He stalked you for months!”
I didn’t need to turn around to know the thump that echoed aroundthe room was Fox punching Liam. Savannah gasped as Liam cried out in pain. I resisted looking to see what damage Fox had done, but I sincerely hoped he’d broken the fucker”s jaw.
“What else did he tell you?” I asked, ignoring the startled look on herface. She’d never seen Fox act violently, and now she looked at him as if she’d seen him in a new light.
Her eyes narrowed on me. “He said you were obsessed with me, andthat you orchestrated me losing my job and my home,” she sneered, anger flashing in her emerald orbs. Behind me, Liam’s cries died down.
Hmm. I wonder how he found that out.
“I’ve never denied my feelings for you, sweetheart,” I replied,shrugging.
“So you don’t deny his claims?” she hissed, moving a few inchescloser to me. “You don’t deny paying Harry to sack me, or getting my landlord to fake a letter saying my rent was increasing so I’d end up losing my home? And what about taking the last of my money from my account?”
“No, I don’t deny it. I wanted you, and I was going to do whatever Ineeded to do to get you. I took everything away from you so you had no choice but to come to rely on me,” I said proudly, not in the least bit guilty of all the strings I’d pulled for us to end up where we were now.
Her mouth dropped open as she stared at me in utter bewilderment.
“Did he tell you that I fiddled with the brakes on your car as well? I’lladmit, it was difficult timing it just right so you crashed into my car. And did he tell you I had cameras installed in your apartment so I could watch you? Or how I would break in to watch you sleep, and every time I did, I stole your panties? I’ve still got them, you know.”
I figured now was as good a time as any to tell her everything. Itwasn’t going to change anything, Savannah would be leaving here with me when this shit was dealt with, regardless of if she was pissed with me or not.
“You…what?” she whispered, her hand coming up to cover hermouth, and all the blood draining from her face.
I leaned forward in the chair making Savannah recoil fractionally. “I’mnot sorry for a single thing I did, sweetheart. You were drowning in a sea of debt and misery, and I took all that away so I could give you the world.”Her breath hitched, and as she opened her mouth to reply, I shook my head, silencing her. “You’ve heard the bullshit he had to say, now it’s my turn to speak,” I said firmly, letting her know in no uncertain terms that she was going to hear what I had to say, no matter what. “I’ve always promised to tell you the truth, Savannah, but I warn you, you might not like what you’re about to hear.”
She blinked several times but remained quiet. A few weeks ago, shewould have refused to listen, but my sweet Savannah had learned to obey me so well.
“Liam was in debt long before he met me. He told you he forged yoursignature on those documents so he could use the money to pay me off?” I paused, raising a questioning brow, and waited for her response. She nodded. “He was lying, and if you need to see the proof, I can show you copies of all the loan agreements with the dates on. He took out those loans simply because he was a greedy cunt. Did you ever meet any of his work colleagues?”
Savannah’s brows pulled into a frown before she shook her head, hereyes flicking over to where Liam was sitting, breathing heavily. I wondered if he was more worried about what I was going to reveal, or when he’d be getting his next fix of whatever drug he’d become addicted to.
“The marketing company he worked for had high expectations of theirstaff, expectations that Liam couldn’t meet as an intern.”
“Intern? He told me he’d been employed as a marketing assistant,”she said, interrupting me. I let it slide on this one occasion, I knew she would have questions.
“Another lie,” I replied, enjoying a moment of glee as her lips curledinto a sneer the next time her eyes flashed to Liam. “Liam was an unpaid intern, but he made out to all his colleagues that he was part of a wealthy family. He took out the loans and credit cards in your name after he maxed them all out in his own name, all so he could buy expensive suits, cars, anything that would make it look like he was one of them and richer than he was. When he realized he couldn’t get any more money, he started gambling to try and win some of it back.” I kept my voice calm when on the inside, I was anything but.
“Sadly for him, he lost a lot of money in my casino one night,” Ipaused, reaching out to stroke my knuckles down her cheek, glad that she didn’t flinch this time. “I never believed in fate before then, I always believed you make your own luck in this life. But that night, I happened to be at the casino checking in on the business. And it just so happened that Liam brought you to the casino with him.”
Recognition dawned behind her eyes. “The Aurora in Portland?” Inodded, confirming that it was indeed the hotel I first saw her at. “I thought I’d been there before. But that night was months before Liam disappeared.”
“It was. Two months to be exact. Two months for me to put my plansin place.”
“I…I don’t understand,” she whispered.
I took her hand, giving it a squeeze. “I was informed by a member ofstaff that Liam had lost a significant amount of money, and I mean a significant amount. It got my attention, and I intended to approach him and ask him to leave, but as soon as I saw him, something else got my attention. I should say someone got my attention.”
I paused to smile at her, remembering the moment I first laideyes on her. In that moment, I’d been convinced my heart was going to beat right out of my chest. The feeling that had coursed through me at seeing her was one I’d never felt before, but since that night, it had never gone away.
“You were standing with him, staring at the floor as he berated youover something.”
“I remember,” she said, her voice soft, and her eyes glazing over as ifshe was returning to that night. “I told him I thought we should go because he’d lost a few hundred dollars, but he was shouting at me, telling me he wasn’t going anywhere until he’d won his money back.”
“It was more than a few hundred dollars, sweetheart. I suspect heplayed it down to keep you from the truth. It took everything in me to not storm over to you right then and snatch you away from him, but I couldn’t move.” I squeezed her hand again, drawing her eyes back to mine. “The minute I saw you, Savannah, it was like I was seeing things clearly for the first time in my life. I can’t explain it, but the second I laid eyes on you, I felt this overwhelming need to make you mine. To possess you. To own you. I’d never wanted anyone the way I wanted you, but there was just one problem.”
“I was already in a relationship,” she replied after a few seconds oftense silence.
“Yeah. I only had to take one look at him to know he didn’t deserveyou. I decided to let him carry on playing him, watching you both for the rest of the night. By the time you left, he’d lost even more money, and I had already found out that you were both up to your eyes in debt. I had someone look deeper into the accounts so I could understand where my bargaining tools were, and it became obvious that Liam was swindling you, and you were completely clueless-”
“Sav, he’s talking shit!” Liam bellowed again, having recovered fromFox’s punch. I didn’t need to give Fox another order to shut him the hell up, my best friend was already scrapping with him.
“What happened next?” Savannah asked when Liam’s shouts ofprotests turned to garbled murmurs, silenced once again by Fox.
“The next day, I approached Liam, and offered him a loan of$250,000, but with the condition he had to have a guarantor to pay the money back if he couldn’t. I was testing my theory to see if Liam was swindling you. Of course, he snapped my hand off, and within an hour of me giving him the contract to read over and consider, he brought it back to me, signed by both him and you.”
Savannah’s eyes narrowed on me. “I didn’t sign it,” she snarled.
I held back my chuckle. “Of course you didn’t, sweetheart. And Liamplayed right into my hands. He gave me the signed contract, agreeing to the additional terms that he clearly hadn’t read.”
I’ll never forget the day he signed that contract without reading it over.For all he knew he could have just signed a contract agreeing to be fucked in the ass by every man in the US Army.
“What were the terms?”
“Simple really. He had to pay the money back within two months,that was all.”
“Two months? That’s a lot of money to pay back in a short space oftime,” she replied, her brows furrowed in thought.
“Yes, it was. And Liam would have known that if he had read thecontract instead of just signing it. He also would have seen the second stipulation that said for every day that passed, and he hadn’t repaid the money, he would incur interest at 30% on top of the amount owed.”
She gaped at me, her eyes wide, as she tried to calculate just howmuch money Liam would have had to pay back.
“What happened when the two months were up and he couldn’t pay itback?” she said after almost a minute of silence.
I twisted in my seat to look at Liam, smiling when I found him beingheld up by Fox, blood caking his nose, and Fox’s hand covering his mouth. “Do you want to tell her this part, or shall I?”
“Fuck you,” Liam spat when Fox moved his hand away.
“Truth hurts doesn’t it, Liam? Tell me, what did you think you’d achieveby telling Savannah your bullshit?”
He muttered a curse, but it was incoherent seeing as Fox hadreplaced his hand over his mouth. Standing from the chair, I crossed the small room to stand in front of the prick. “Did you think you would somehow weasel more money from me? Five million not enough to satisfy your greed?”
“Five million?” Savannah said, her voice going up an octave. I turnedback to her, finding confusion etched deep on her face.
“Yeah, sweetheart,” I said, turning to face her. “See when Liam didn’tdeliver the money at the end of his two-month agreed period, I had him brought to me. That was the day he went missing from your condo.”
She looked from me to him, her cheeks growing redder with anger asthe truth of Liam’s betrayal began to hit home.
“When he told me he couldn’t pay the money back, I reminded himthat the debt would fall to the guarantor. And you know what he said?” She shook her head, the angry red flush on her cheeks now making its way to her chest as she glared at Liam. “The man who claimed to love you since you were kids said it wasn’t his problem. He said that he didn’t care, and you would find a way to pay the debt off.”
Hurt flashed across her face, and when a lone tear slid down hercheek, I crossed back to her, ignoring the chair. Bending down in front of her, I swiped the tear away, sucking my thumb into my mouth and tasting her. I hated that she was hurting, but I fucking loved knowing that when the truth was revealed, Liam would be out of her heart and mind for good.
“He never deserved you, sweetheart. He took advantage of you when you were grieving for your mom. He doesn’t deserve these tears for what he did to you.”I swiped away another tear. Savannah’s eyes flashed over myshoulder to where Liam was standing, and they hardened with determination.
“What happened next?” she said through gritted teeth. A wave ofpride rushed through me. Even though she was hurting, she knew she was strong enough to hear the rest.
“I gave him a choice, just like I gave you a choice.”
Before I could continue, commotion rang out again from behindme. I twisted, watching in amusement as Liam tried to wriggle out of Fox’s grasp. He must have bit Fox’s hand because Fox cursed, and his hand slipped away from Liam’s mouth.
“Fuck you, Carson! You’re a lying scumbag who-” Liam screechedbefore Fox cut him off, managing to grip him again. He wrestled Liam onto the bed, holding him face down so his words were muffled by the bedcovers.
Savannah returned her gaze to me. “What were the choices?”
I cupped her chin between my fingers to make sure she was lookingat only me. “I told him he could walk away with a three-month grace period. That his guarantor wouldn’t need to pay, and I wouldn’t add any interest to the debt he owed me. But at the end of the three months, if he didn’t pay, there would be consequences. Or,” I paused, wanting to give Savannah a second to prepare for the blow I was about to deliver.
“Or?”
“Or, I would clear all of his debts, and I would give him five milliondollars. But if he took that option, you would be mine to do with as I pleased. I told him I would own you, that if I wanted to, I would beat you. I would rape you. I would share you with all of my friends if I saw fit.”
A barely audible gasp left her mouth as she stared at me with wide,disbelieving eyes.
“You…you didn’t mean it,” she stated confidently when she’dcomposed herself.
I smiled warmly at her, freeing her chin. “Of course I didn’t mean it,sweetheart. By that point, I was head over heels in love with you. The thought of anyone hurting you makes me murderous. I could never hurt you, and as I’ve told you before, I would never share you with anyone. But Liam didn’t know that. I was testing him, I wanted to know for sure that he didn’t deserve you before I split you up. The sad part was that he didn’t even hesitate to give me his answer.”
“He took the five million,” she said stoically.
I nodded my response, giving her a minute to digest everything she’djust learned. I knew she’d just been hit with a tsunami of feelings, and it was going to take her time to process everything.
This was the reason I hadn’t told her the truth before. If Liam hadstuck to his side of the deal and kept well away from her, she never would have needed to learn the truth. But then, that was what made Liam and I different. I would have done everything in my power to keep her from hurting, whereas Liam had no qualms in breaking her heart.
I turned my attention to Liam, wanting to deal with him once and forall. He was still pinned down by Fox, feebly trying to free himself from the man mountain.
“Stand him up,” I said, nodding to Fox.
Fox obliged, roughly yanking Liam to his feet, and spinning himaround to face me.
“Sav, he’s lying to you,” Liam said when Fox removed his hands. Butthere was no fire behind his words. He’d lost the war for Savannah’s heart.
“Liam, Liam, Liam,” I tutted, shaking my head as I stepped toward him.“You disappoint me. I gave you that money with the condition that you left the country and never spoke to Savannah again, and yet, here we are.”
“She deserves the truth-”
“And I’ve just told her the truth,” I replied, cutting him off before morelies could fall from his mouth.
“No! You know that isn’t the truth, Carson! You were the one to ruinus!”
“Stop lying, Liam,” Savannah said softly, getting off the bed to standby my side. “Just stop lying.”
“Sav, I love you, I would never do anything to hurt you, you knowthat,” he begged, his eyes pleading with her.
“Oh, really? What about all the women you cheated on me with? Isuppose Nash is lying about those too?”
I held back my smirk when Liam’s face paled. “I don’t…I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he stuttered pathetically.
She laughed, but there was no humor to it. “Another lie.” she shookher head before turning to face me, determination shining in her eyes.
“What do you plan on doing with him?”
The truth was, I’d intended to have Liam wiped from the face of thisplanet, but death would have been too easy. He deserved to suffer for the hurt he’d caused Savannah.
I narrowed my eyes on Liam, hoping he’d take the bait. “I want yougone from Savannah’s life for good. I know you’ve spent almost all the money I gave you, so I’ll make you another offer. I’ll give you another five million, but you have to swear that this will be the last we ever see of you.”
His eyes darted between Savannah and me several times before hespoke. “What’s the catch?”
“There is no catch. I just told you, I want you out of Savannah’s life,you’ve hurt her enough. Take the five million, but this time if either of us see your face again, I will make sure you die the most painful of deaths.”
He stilled momentarily as he thought it over. “Ten. I want ten millionand you’ll never see or hear from me again.”
Greedy cunt.
From next to me, Savannah cursed before doing something I hadn’tpredicted.
She pulled her arm back before putting all her weight into the punchshe’d just thrown at Liam’s face, taking even him by surprise. Luckily, Fox was holding him to stop him from hitting the deck, but his lip burst open as blood sprayed down his chin.
“Fuck you, Liam. You may be about to become a millionaire, but Ihope you are miserable until the day you die.” She stepped behind me, and from my periphery, I saw her start pacing the length of the room, muttering curses to herself.
More than ready to get my wife the fuck out of here, I took a stepcloser to Liam. “Let’s make it fifteen million, but you leave the second I hand the check over to you,” I said, knowing that if Liam took my offer, there was only one place he would be going.
Prison.
He was silent for a minute, and a small part of me wondered if hewould decline, but Liam never failed to disappoint.
“Deal,” he said. Over his shoulder, a devious grin spread on Fox’sface. He knew the trap Liam had just walked into.
I took out my phone before pulling up Brian’s contact details up, and while Iwaited for him to answer, I glanced at Savannah. She’d stopped pacing and was staring at Liam as if she was seeing him for the first time, but then I supposed she was. The man before her now was not the kid she’d fallen in love with. He would never be that kid again.
“Bring me my checkbook,” I said when Brian answered the phone.
A minute later, the door to the room was pushed open. Brian steppedin and handed me my checkbook before disappearing again. I quickly made out a check to Liam for the agreed sum, signing it, and handing it over to him.
Fox let go of Liam, and he snatched the check from my hand, staringdown at it in awe. He turned it over in his hand as if checking if it was real or not.
It wasn’t. But thanks to Brian’s contacts having links to a criminal who was excellent at forging documents, Liam would never know that it was a fake. The bank would though. When he went to cash the check, and they realized it was a bogus check, they’d call the police.
Liam was looking at a ten-year stretch for trying to defraud me out ofmoney, but I was determined to make that sentence longer. My legal team were already looking over all the documents he’d signed in Savannah’s name, it wouldn’t take them long to prove he’d faked her signature.
Liam Olsen wouldn’t be a problem for the foreseeable.
“Is that it? Can I go?” Liam said without the slightest hint of remorse.He couldn’t meet Savannah’s eyes though, the damn coward.
I nodded. “Fox, would you be so kind as to escort Liam to the nearestbank so he can cash his check, and then make sure he is on the first flight out of the country,” I said, holding back my grin at knowing Fox would be there to witness Liam’s arrest.
“It’d be my honor,” Fox said, nodding his head toward Savannahwho was staring blankly at Liam. “Come on, dickwad, let’s go.”
Fox yanked Liam’s arm and tugged him out of the room, leavingSavannah and me alone. It wasn’t long until the sound of Fox’s Challenger rumbled to life, followed by the sound of tires squealing.
When the noise of the engine died away, I took Savannah’s handand gently kissed her knuckles which were already beginning to bruise. “You okay?”
“You know what? Surprisingly, I am. I won’t lie, hearing all that hurt,and I’ll never forgive Liam for what he’s done, but I’m glad I know the truth.” She looked down at our clasped hands. “And in a way, I’m glad he did what he did because it led me to you.”
With my free hand, I stroked her soft cheeks before leaning in, andgiving her a quick kiss on the lips.
“Me too, sweetheart,” I replied, giving her another kiss. “Sadly for you,this isn’t over though.”
She pulled back, her brows furrowed. “What more bullshit could youpossibly drop on me, Nash?”
I smirked. “Your punishment, sweetheart. Your punishment forrunning.”