Chapter 20
Ifound Ian’s car parked in my driveway when I returned home early the next morning.
Maybe I should have been more alarmed, considering how our forbidden embrace had started this madness to begin with, but after suffering through an intense beating from Gage, I was numb as I struggled to make it to the doorway.
Gage had obliterated any positive feelings I’d harbored for him when he’d forced Ian and me into such a sick situation.
The last root of that connection withered away as he’d strung me up on my toes, whipping me for hours and showing no mercy until I’d uttered the name I’d vowed to never say.
The only thing saving me from jail was the fact that “Rick” was no longer my safe word, since according to our contract, I didn’t have one anymore.
But Gage had honored it anyway; he’d dropped the bloodied whip before unhooking me, and then he’d fallen to his knees as I collapsed to mine.
He hadn’t protested as I dressed and headed toward the stairs, and I’d left without a word.
“What’d he do to you?” Ian choked out. Redness rimmed his eyes. “I didn’t want to leave you—”
“You didn’t have a choice.” I moved past him to my door. “You shouldn’t be here. This is how it all started.”
“I know…Kayla, I had to see you.” His presence overpowered the small space of my front porch. “Did he hurt you?”
“Nothing he hasn’t done before.” Another half-truth.
Gage had never been so brutal. I probably wouldn’t sit for days.
My arms were like deadweight, and I couldn’t hide a wince as I lifted my key toward the lock.
Thank God my coat sleeves hid the red marks circling my wrists.
“I’m sorry I got you caught up in this.” I pushed the door open and held it between us.
“Please go. You’re better off forgetting about me. ”
How could he not want to after what had happened?
“Not a chance.” He shoved his way inside, kicking the door shut behind him as he pulled me into his arms. I cried out in pain, and he immediately let go, though his hands never left my shoulders as he studied me. “What did he do to you?” His voice rose with every word.
“He whipped me.”
“I’ll kill him.” He reached for my jacket. “How bad is it?”
“Don’t.” I shrank away from him.
“This is my fault—” he broke off, swallowing hard. “You told me to stay away and I didn’t listen.”
“No, it’s mine. I screamed your name…” My gaze fell to the floor, and the image of him with Katherine speared through me more painfully than the impact of Gage’s whip.
Ian grimaced. “I can’t stop thinking of you bent over the bed…” Avoiding my eyes, he sucked in a breath. “I’d give anything to get that out of my head.”
“I have a few memories I’d like to forget as well.
” Namely Katherine’s loud, obnoxious moans as she rode him.
Only the fact that he did it for me, for Eve, kept the hurt and anger from consuming me.
Though guilt was an emotion I’d live with forever.
How could I be angry with him when I was the reason he’d ended up with Katherine in the first place?
“He’s going to pay, Kayla. I’ll make sure of it.”
“You can’t go there right now. If not for him, Eve wouldn’t have gotten into the trial. He’s paid for everything…”
“And he’s about as saintly as Lucifer himself. Kayla, I hired a PI to follow Rick.”
I blinked. “Why’d you do that?”
“You unsettled me on Friday, and seeing your ex the next day was too coincidental. I know you, Kayla…you wouldn’t disappear on your daughter two weekends in a row without good reason.”
“What are you saying? What does Rick have to do with anything?”
“I’m saying he’s been in contact with your boss a lot during the past few weeks.”
My jaw dropped. “What? Why didn’t you tell me this last night?”
He sighed. “I didn’t know last night. The PI just called me an hour ago.”
Goosebumps broke out on my arms. Gage had never given me any indication he’d known my ex. “But how…why do they know each other?” I paced my living room as my mind tried to catch up. “This doesn’t make any sense.”
“The only connection the PI found was a woman named Jody Palmer.”
“She’s a friend of mine from work—” I halted. Jody, who’d gotten me the job…who’d also known Rick.
Who had also admitted to sleeping with Gage.
“The guy I hired is still digging, but he’s pretty sure Rick’s been blackmailing your boss.”
“Why does he think this?”
“He found records. Apparently there’s been several large deposits in Rick’s account that match Channing’s financial statements.
” Ian sank onto my couch and rubbed his hands down his face.
“He thinks your boss has been embezzling from his clients for years. Hopefully by the end of the day, we’ll have enough evidence to take to the police.
You should be able to make a deal with them. ”
I shook my head. “No. If I turn him in, he’ll stop paying for Eve’s treatment.”
“We’ll come up with the money for it on our own.”
“He did more than pay for it. He got her in that trial in less than twelve hours.” I hugged myself as the force of Gage’s rage washed over me. “He’s furious…he won’t hesitate to undo whatever it was he did to get her in.”
“Don’t tell me you’re gonna go back to him!” Ian sprung up from the couch. “I can’t stand the thought of you anywhere near that monster.”
“I’m not going back to him.” I met his eyes and an idea formed—a way out that wouldn’t hurt my daughter’s progress. “But he no longer holds all the cards. I think it’s time Gage Channing got a taste of his own medicine.”