10. Jenny
Chapter 10
Jenny
I screamed when I saw Richard hit Ethan across the back of the head, knocking him out… I hope that’s all it was.
When I climbed out of Ethan’s truck, I slipped my cell phone into my back pocket but left my purse. I hope Ethan can track me with it and Richard doesn’t find it. I keep pulling my shirt down around my ass, so he won’t see its outline in my jeans pocket.
The entire drive down here to Miami, I kept trying to talk to Richard, to make him understand that what he’s doing is crazy, but he’s way past any rational thought. At one point, I even tried lying to him and telling him we can be together if he would just untie my hands. He may be an ass, but he’s not stupid. He saw right through that ruse.
“When we get inside, you keep your fucking slut mouth closed, you got me?” Richard asks with his gun barrel in my face. “I asked you a question,” he sneers.
“Yes. I got you,” I answer. “Where are we?” I ask as I look around at these multi-million-dollar homes with their perfectly manicured lawns, towering palm trees, and concrete fountains.
“Doesn’t matter. Just keep your mouth shut.” Richard points the gun at me as he climbs out of his car and walks around the front to my side. Yanking the door open, he grabs me by the arm and pulls me out of the car. “Let’s go.”
He pulls me alongside him as we approach the ten-foot-tall glass doors to the mansion. Using the butt of the gun, he bangs on the door a bunch of times until a woman in a maid’s uniform opens the door.
“Where’s Torres?” Richard demands and he pulls me into the house.
“He’s out by the pool,” she points to the other side of the great room. There are French doors that open up to a pool and then to the ocean just beyond.
The maid looks at me with my hands tied behind my back and I plead with her to help me, but she just gives me a sad smile, turns, and walks away as if I’m on my own.
Gee, thanks for the girl code, Chica.
Richard busts through the French doors and over to the patio table where a Hispanic man is sitting down under an umbrella, eating lunch. The view is spectacular and if I wasn’t tied up and being dragged around like a dog on a leash by my ex-husband, I might have taken an opportunity to appreciate it. But I am, so I can’t.
“Torres. I need you to get me out of the country. Preferably, the Maldives.” Richard demands of the guy eating lunch.
To his credit, this guy Torres, didn’t even look up when we came bursting through the French doors, but now, he’s glaring at Richard. “You come into my home, with a pretty little thing, and start demanding shit from me?” The question seems amicable, but there’s an underlying tone that says this guy is deadly.
"I've laundered all your money that I could and now they’re on to me. I can’t go back to Hibiscus Harbor. I’ve done everything you asked of me. You owe me this, Torres!” Richard starts to crowd Torres, but suddenly there are scary men standing around holding much bigger guns than Richard has, and they’re all pointed at us.
Richard looks around and smartly steps back a few steps. “Look, I’ve got the codes. You get us to the Maldives, and I’ll gladly hand them over. You’ll have all the money you want.”
So, this is all about money for Richard. What any of this has to do with me, I have no idea, but this explains why Richard is so desperate. His position at Hibiscus Federal Bank over the last ten years has given him a lot of unfettered access, and he’s been laundering money. Great. What the hell was I thinking when I married him? How did he hide this side of himself for so long?
Torres looks up at me and is about to ask me something when a low thumping sound starts getting louder and louder. Instead, he turns to Richard. “What have you done?”
As a fleet of helicopters descend, their dark, sleek forms cutting through the sky, the sound of their rotors intensifying, Richard tightens his grip on my arm as he pulls me closer to him, his face showing the intense fury he’s feeling. “What the fuck is this?” he shouts, his voice barely audible over the roar of the choppers.
His fingers dig into my skin, and I wince but stay silent, refusing to give him any satisfaction of knowing just how scared I am. I can feel my pulse thumping in my ears, adrenaline coursing through my veins as my eyes dart to Torres, who has risen from his seat, glaring at Richard.
All but one of the helicopters lands on the manicured lawn behind the pool and the last one just hovers overhead with a large gun aimed at us. I shield my eyes from the flying sand from the nearby beach, but when I look up, hope flickers in my chest as the doors of the lead helicopter slide open, and a familiar figure steps out. Ethan. A slew of other men, all dressed in black from head to toe, climb out of the other choppers. There must be at least twenty of them.
Relief floods through me, but it’s immediately tempered by the sight of Richard raising his gun, pointing it directly at him.
“No!” I scream, trying to wrestle free of Richard’s grip, but he yanks me hard, pulling me in front of him like a human shield, his repulsive breath hot and erratic against my neck, and I can feel the barrel of his gun digging into my side.
“Are you fucking kidding me with this shit?!” Torres yells to Richard. “You brought Cerberus to my doorstep?”
Richard looks between the guys on the lawn and Torres frantically. “I didn’t know!” Richard tries to defend himself.
I watch in slow motion as Torres pulls a gun from behind his back, aims, and fires. There’s a loud explosion in my ear and I’m covered in something wet, but I don’t care. The tight grip on my arm is suddenly loose and I start to run toward Ethan, screaming.
He grabs me and pushes me behind him as all eyes are on Torres. We watch as he lowers his gun to the ground by his feet and raises his hands in the air, giving a motion to his security team to do the same.
“I got no beef with Cerberus. Tell Fitzwallace it wasn’t me and I took care of the problem.” Torres yells to Ethan as he’s backing me up toward the lead helicopter.
“We’re all going to forget this ever happened, right?” Ethan calls out to Torres. Everyone’s gun is still pointed on Torres and his team.
“As long as you make sure Fitzwallace knows this wasn’t me. I want no issues with Cerberus.” Torres motions to Richard’s dead body. “We’ll handle this mess.”
Ethan nods, as I’m suddenly pulled backwards into the helicopter by someone. “I’ll personally tell him.” Ethan promises as he climbs in and the roar of the rotors gets louder as the doors slam shut and the chopper takes off.
One of the other guys flips out a knife and cuts my hands free and I immediately climb into Ethan’s lap, wrapping my arms around his neck.
“Shh. I’ve got you baby. It’s okay. It’s all over now,” he whispers into my ear as he holds me while I cry.
The flight is shorter than I expected and all too soon, we’ve landed at the airport and are climbing out of the helicopter. Ethan’s admiring all the tools and gadgets as he helps the other guys pack up their supplies. “You guys have some great toys to play with.”
“We offered you a job and you turned us down,” one of them says, laughing. “The job’s still yours if you want it.”
Ethan looks at me and then shakes his head. He pulls me into his chest, “Tell Fitzwallace thank you, but no thanks on the job offer. I have all I’ve ever wanted right here at home.”