Chapter 39
Fleming Estate
Annette waited in the observatory.
Her hands were still shaking.
Inside, she trembled like a newly hatched bird who couldn’t see or stand, much less fly.
How had this happened?
She had set out to solicit Carson Tanner as an ally. She had been in charge. She had made the rules, set the pace.
Her eyes closed as she relived that moment when he’d made her reach a physical climax. No one had ever been able to do that. Not even once.
She had gone months, sometimes more than a year without sex, and even then her chosen victim had not given her an orgasm.
What made Carson Tanner so damned special?
Yes, she was between a rock and a hard place. Yes, she was admittedly feeling vulnerable. But those conditions had never induced such a physical bonding before.
She couldn’t possibly be in lust with him, much less love. She wasn’t capable of either emotion. The only other human she had ever loved was Paula. Her sister by choice. Annette supposed that she had loved her mother, but her betrayal had left the memory foggy.
The really frustrating part was that Carson left Annette feeling exactly like that little girl who’d awakened one morning to find her mother still hadn’t returned.
Was gone for good. Annette and Paula had walked home from the Walmart.
Annette remembered sitting by the window and watching for hours, hoping her mother would come back.
Paula had moaned and called out over and over again from the other room.
But Annette had ignored her. She had been certain if she watched long enough, eventually she would see her mother coming.
But she hadn’t.
No one came until three days later when a nosy neighbor had reported the children being left alone for an extended period.
Annette had tried to hide herself and Paula when those people had arrived. But Paula wouldn’t stop making sounds. Even when Annette put her hand over her mouth, she kept moaning and crying out.
Then the police had found Reggie’s decomposing body under the back porch.
Years later when Annette had finally escaped, she had promised herself she would never be afraid again.
Never.
She was afraid now.
The realization sent another tremor quaking through her.
Afraid for Paula. Afraid of the . . . unknown. Maybe afraid of Carson Tanner and what he could make her feel. Her body melted each time she thought of him. The sensations, the heat. All of it was new to her, all of it prompted by him. Only him.
Control had been essential to her life for more than a decade. Now it was gone. She was in a reactive state. She hated that place. Hated it. Hated it.
Fury burned away some of the more fragile emotions, and she was glad for it. She wanted to be angry. She wanted to feel anything but this weakness. This need.
The door opened and Otis appeared, looking regal as always.
Annette rearranged her expression into one he would expect. Courage, determination. “Good afternoon, Otis.”
When he came close enough, she kissed his cheek.
He stepped back, surveyed her closely. Uncertainty broke out on her skin as tiny beads of perspiration. He never missed anything. He would know something was wrong.
This was the first time in all the years they had been together that she had hidden anything from him. He didn’t know about the rings. And he couldn’t know what she had done for Carson Tanner.
Never, never, never.
“You look a little flustered,” he noted. “Things are not as they should be.” That wise gaze met hers.
She flashed a pathetic attempt at a smile. “Things are . . . complicated.”
“Yes.” He stroked his chin and seemed to reflect. “Things are very complicated.”
“Daniel is dead.”
“I hadn’t heard that.”
Who was he kidding? He heard everything.
Otis Fleming generally knew a man was dead even before the dead man recognized it.
Annette resisted the urge to knot her hands together.
“I need your help, Otis.” She hated the feeling of not being able to handle her own affairs.
But this was way beyond anything she could hope to turn around.
“I understand you’re concerned for Paula,” he announced. “I’ve been looking into centers of the same caliber as the one here. There is one in the Caymans that I would recommend.”
The chill that had been hovering around Annette settled deep into her bones. “That’s probably a prudent move.” The American authorities couldn’t touch her there. Both murders would be pinned on her. She didn’t need to be able to see the future to speculate. She knew.
His gaze locked on hers once more. “As dear as you are to me, Annette. The time has come for you to go.”
She’d known this was so, but she hadn’t wanted to face that reality. “Yes. I’m aware that I’m fighting a losing battle.”
“They have formed an alliance against you. They will do whatever it takes to bring you down in order to protect themselves. As we speak they are working to tie Zachary Holderfield’s murder to you. As well as Senator Drake’s.”
A frown worried her brow. “I’m aware of their proposed strategy.” All too aware.
Otis moved his head side to side in regret. “I’m guessing evidence was planted pointing to you. They’re far too cocky just now not to have at least one ace up their sleeves.”
She wanted to ask him if there was anything he could do to help, but she knew better. Otis Fleming had been like a father to her. Loved her, she felt certain. But he would not sacrifice his standing to save her.
That she understood with complete certainty.
She was on her own. Just as she had been most of her life.
“Well, I should make arrangements to go before it’s too late.” She blinked back the burn of tears. Dammit.
“That would be the judicious choice.”
She started to end the conversation there, but she had to ask, “Why have they done this? I’ve been keeping the powerful in Birmingham out of trouble for ten years. Doesn’t that count for anything?”
A rare smile touched the older man’s lips.
“You have indeed. I’m very proud of how far you’ve come.
I have no doubt you will build an even more esteemed clientele elsewhere.
However, power is a very dangerous thing.
It can be your best friend or your worst enemy.
You possess a great deal of power, Annette.
It has become toxic to those in your debt.
They will take you down, no matter how many of them must be sacrificed in the effort. ”
They. The elusive they that no one could ever know about.
Only Annette and Otis knew the names on her client list. Most didn’t even know about one another.
But a handful of the most powerful who had given and received personal recommendations to acquire her services had come together, formed that alliance Otis spoke of.
Wanted her gone. She could thank Dane Drake and his self-indulgence for that.
A moment of sentimentality struck her hard. “Will I ever see you again?” Her chest tightened. For nearly eleven years he had been her closest friend, her family.
“Perhaps.” Another of those rare smiles. “I’m an old man, Annette. I don’t travel as much as I used to. But not to worry, we’ll keep in touch.”
That was her cue. It was time for her to go. There was nothing else to discuss. Except . . .
“There’s one thing I have to do before I go.” She dredged up her courage. She would not leave until this was done.
Otis studied her at length. “This thing is something you would risk your own freedom for?”
As outlandish as it sounded. “Yes.”
Finding Dane Drake and proving what really happened to Carson’s family wouldn’t exactly help her at this point. But she had to do it for Carson. It was completely irrational. Yet she could not leave him in this position. He stood on the verge of losing everything . . . because of her.
“Ah.” Otis nodded. “I see. You’ve developed an attachment to this young man.”
“No.” Her first instinct was to deny the accusation, but deep down she knew Otis was right. He always was. “Perhaps.”
“Be warned,” Otis cautioned, “his glory days are over as well. He will not recover.”
That was exactly what she was afraid of.
“Before I can go.” She took a deep breath for courage. “I have to help him.”
Surprise twinkled in Otis’s eyes. “You wish to help him? Still? When I have warned you of the risk?”
She nodded. “I have to.”
When this whole thing had started it was about saving her ass, but now . . . it was about saving his.
Annette had no idea how that had happened, but it had. It wasn’t as if it wouldn’t benefit her to some degree. So the decision didn’t quite qualify her for martyrdom.
“I see.”
She hadn’t expected otherwise.
Otis could help her; whether or not he would, she couldn’t say. But she had to ask. “I need to find Dane Drake. It’s imperative. He’s the only one left who can help.”
Otis inclined his head and contemplated her request for a time that prompted more of that sweat to secrete from her pores.
“I’ll nudge my contacts,” Otis offered finally. “He could be dead considering his consorts.”
She prayed that was not the case.
“Or he could be in hiding considering his father’s murder.” He gave a wave of his hand as if the decision was made. “I’ll see what I can do. If I learn anything, I’ll let you know.”
“Thank you so much, Otis.” She looked into those familiar eyes. “I wish there was some way I could repay you for all you’ve done for me.”
“My dear.” He took her hand. “Watching you bloom has been repayment enough.”
Annette hugged him closely. “I’ll miss you.”
“As I will you,” he murmured.
Time to go. He would call if he learned anything useful.
As she reached the door, she hesitated, looking back at the man who had been more of a father to her than anyone else in her life, biological or otherwise.
“Will you be all right?” She had been so wrapped up in her own troubles she hadn’t taken a moment to consider how things would turn out for Otis when the dust had cleared.