CHAPTER 12

DAVIS WAS ATTENDING HIS WEEKLY staff meeting when his administrative assistant interrupted. “Mr. Chatham? You have a very important phone call.”

He looked up irritated. “Is it Nicole?”

“No. But it’s a call you need to take.” Davis’s expression turned from irritation to curious. He stood. “Let’s finish this meeting at another time. If there are any pressing matters, schedule a one-on-one with me through Sara.” Davis left the meeting, walking side by side with Sara to his office. “Who’s on the phone?”

“Your lawyer, Mrs. Hinsdale-Manchetti.”

A feeling of dread crept over him. He rolled his head around his shoulders. When they arrived at his door, Davis thanked Sara and closed it behind him. He walked over to the phone and picked it up. “Davis.”

“Davis, it’s Braylee. I received a call from the Attorney General’s office today.”

He was matter-of-fact. “Good or bad news?”

“Your business and most of your personal accounts have been frozen.”

“What!? I thought you said because they couldn’t draw a direct connection between the dirty money and me, that they were leaving my accounts alone.”

“There was a caveat. I said . . . for now. However, they didn’t touch the Chatham Family Trust.”

“Does that mean the AG believes he’s found the link he’s been looking for?”

“It means nothing, other than they are trying to play hardball. They want information, and they think you may have it. If you don’t, I don’t think it will matter to them. Either way, it seems they plan to use you as an example of their efforts to destroy terrorist’s networks.”

He slammed his fist down on his desk. “Shit, Braylee! Goddammit!”

“Believe me; I understand your frustrations and my team is working on getting this decision reversed. You’ll need to exhibit patience unlike you’ve ever had to before and when that’s been used up . . . trust me. We are handling this. It may seem glacial, but we are going to make all of this go away. That brings me to the other reason for my call. This information is going to hit the media today. I’ve had several reporters call me about it.”

He yelled into the phone. “I trust you to keep me out of prison, but Braylee this could ruin my business!”

“Believe me when I say, we are way ahead of you on this. We knew there was a possibility that your assets could be frozen, and we have a plan to deal with the press. I had hoped we wouldn’t need to execute it, but that’s what contingencies are for.”

Frustrated, Davis ran his hand down his face. “What the hell is the plan? How much longer before all this nonsense is over? There’s only enough money in that family trust to keep everything going for a few months at best. I have payroll and family obligations.”

“We’re going to resolve this as soon as possible. And I won’t let this situation take you down. It’s good you decided to hire Masterson and Holloway. I’ve been in touch with them. The entire team needs to huddle up today. If possible, in the next couple of hours. Can we meet at your home?”

He was despondent. “Yeah.”

“Good. In the meantime, talk with your IT department. Disable outbound e-mails, company cell phones, and all outbound telephone calls except for emergency numbers for the next few hours.”

“Can we do that?”

“IT can do anything. If yours doesn’t have the expertise, call me back. I can get some people over there within the hour to make it happen. Also, make sure they track everything. We can’t control personal devices, but we don’t want anyone from inside your company leaking information, so say as little as possible.”

“I’ve got to get a hold of Nicole and talk to her. I think she had to go to work today. She has no idea what’s going on.”

“You haven’t done that yet?”

Davis threw his head back and closed his eyes. “No, not yet.”

There was an uncomfortable silence before Braylee spoke again. “Davis . . . I’m sorry to say, but you’ve run out of borrowed time to have that discussion.”

Nicole was surprised when she walked through her front doors to find Davis home to greet her. He was holding a laughing DJ on his shoulders. “What are you doing here?” She double checked her watch to make sure it wasn’t later than she thought.

“I live here.”

“Do you, Mr. Chatham?” She said it jokingly, but she wasn’t kidding. “Sometimes I forget this is where you reside.”

“No matter where I am, my heart is always with you.” The love in his eyes was undeniable.

“Aww . . . that’s so sweet.” She kissed him softly on the lips and a smiling DJ on the cheek. Nicole made a mental note. If Davis keeps this up, pull out the sexy two-piece underwear and get a little freaky. Lord knows we could use some relief.

“Nicole, there are a couple—”

“I’m sorry, before I forget, something weird happened to me a couple of days ago and again today.”

Davis was immediately on guard. “What?”

“I tried to use a couple of my credit cards, but they were declined. That’s never happened. The first time, I figured it was an accounting error. But it happened again today. I was on my way home and stopped off at the pharmacy to pick up my prescription. When I tried to use my debit card, it didn’t work. I ended up using cash both times.”

Irritated, Davis tightened his jaw. He rubbed the bottom of his chin.

Her concern rose when she noticed the crease. The one between his eyes that only made an appearance when Davis was extremely stressed. It was deep and more than a little visible. Something was wrong. She decided it probably wasn’t a good time to tell him about her lunch with Rome. “Why are you home so early? Is everything okay?”

Teena appeared out of nowhere and stood behind them. “Mr. Chatham? Did you still want me to take DJ outside to play for a while?”

He turned slightly. “Yes. Now would be a perfect time.” Davis sighed and handed DJ over to her. “Have fun buddy.” He ruffled his son’s curly hair as his little arms continued to stretch out for him. Davis tried to swallow the fear and stress down. “I’ll see you in a little while . . . I promise.” DJ didn’t want to leave or take his eyes off Davis, but Teena was able to coax him into going outside to play.

Once they were gone, Davis reached his hand out to Nicole. For a moment, she stared at it before placing her hand in his. “Davis, what’s going on?”

“We need to talk.”

“You’ve said that already. You are starting to scare me.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean too.” They walked hand in hand from the foyer into the living room. When Davis sat on the sofa, he pulled Nicole down with him onto his lap. He placed his forehead against hers, and blew out a long breath. They sat like that for a while neither of them saying anything. Nicole’s heart was beating fast, but she was doing her damnedest to be patient.

Finally, Davis spoke. “I don’t know how to tell you this.”

Nicole breathed in deeply. Her voice was soft. “Just say it.”

He nodded. “When you tried to use your credit cards, they didn’t work because our assets have been frozen.”

Nicole’s eyes widened, and she leaned back to stare into Davis’s face to see if he was joking. He wasn’t. “Why?”

“The US Attorney General’s office thinks that my company and I are involved in illegal arms dealing and trading.”

“Why in God’s name would they think that? You don’t’ sell weapons . . . do you?”

“No. But I sell intellectual technology that can be used in weaponry. This dates all the way back to five years ago when my personal assistant was working with the Liberation of Shebet.”

“We helped the government with that situation. I thought it was all over. After everything that happened why would they think we would be helping them?”

“Money. I’ve been working with the government—”

“Wait.” Davis’s words triggered something else. “I thought this was done and over with five years ago. You said you’ve been working with them. As in recently? For how long?”

Davis could no longer make eye contact with her. “As far as I knew, everything was resolved . . . until I got a call about seven months ago. Apparently, dirty money has still been moving in and out of offshore accounts that I didn’t even know I had. That’s why they froze our assets. I’ve been cooperating with the AG’s office all this time, but something has happened to make them either believe I’m involved, or my attorney thinks I might be being used as a pawn in an election year. The current administration wants to prove he’s keeping America safe. I can be hung out as an example of them taking down a terrorist’s network.”

Nicole pushed herself off Davis’s lap. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing. You’ve been dealing with this for the past seven months, and you never thought to mention it to me!?”

“I didn’t want to worry you and then there was the accident.”

“My accident was only six weeks ago!” She exploded. “You don’t get to decide what you should and shouldn’t tell me. You’ve known about this for almost a year!” She didn’t even try to suppress her anger although some of it was fueled by fear. “I’m your wife! I should have known about this. Maybe I could have helped in some way.”

“And do what Nicole? What were you going to do?”

She threw her hands up into the air. “You. Don’t. Get. It. Davis . . . I am not a pet! I don’t need to be taken care of. I am your wife! That should mean I get a say. You have to share everything with me. I’m your partner.”

He roared back. “I know who you are to me. You don’t have to keep spelling it out. I’m doing everything I can to keep you and the kids safe, and it’s never enough for you. Since we are spelling out what our roles mean, it’s my job as a husband to make sure you never want for anything, and you’re bitchin’ at me for it?”

“No. Don’t go there, Davis. Don’t pretend like everything you’ve done is for me. I couldn’t give a damn if we lived in an economy studio eating tuna fish and pork and beans for dinner every night. I don’t care about the money or the material things. I never have. Your expectations of our roles are asinine. You keeping me in the dark has nothing to do with protecting me and everything to do with your need to control the things around you.”

“That’s not true!”

“Yes, it is. I let you get away with it because I understand where your overprotective instincts are coming from.” She took a breath, and another thought occurred to her. “Why are you telling me now?”

Davis walked over to the bar. He poured himself a drink. Her eyes followed his every move. He felt her angry gaze burn into his body. Davis turned his glass up and downed it before answering. He needed the fiery liquid to calm him. His sigh could be heard from across the room. “This entire clusterfuck will probably hit the media in the next few hours. My attorney and the PR company I hired will be here any minute to discuss our strategy.”

Disappointed, Nicole shook her head. “So, you still didn’t tell me because you value me as your partner. You’re telling me because I need to be informed on how to play my part as the dutiful Stepford housewife.”

“Nicole! That’s not true, and you know it!”

She placed her hands on her hips. “Do I? How would I know that? What major decisions have you included me in since we’ve been together?”

“Are we really doing this right now? Do you understand I don’t know who is behind all of this? You and the kids could be in danger if someone wants revenge for me bringing down that cell five years ago. I could go to prison and lose everything that I’ve worked my ass off for the past thirteen years!”

Nicole turned away. She didn’t want Davis to see her cry. How was she supposed to argue with the laundry list of things he had just said? He was right. But he was also so wrong for not valuing her. This was a big problem and not one she was sure their marriage could survive, but how was she ever going to make him see that? The pain in her chest ached so badly it was as if she’d been physically assaulted. For now, she needed to put her own emotions to the side. This was a crisis and Davis didn’t need her piling on. She whispered, “Excuse me. I’ve got to go to the bathroom.” Nicole stormed out and went into the nearest bathroom down the hall. She ignored his calls as she went inside and closed the door.

Nicole’s heart was racing. She stood in front of the sink looking at her reflection, then turned on the cool water. She splashed some over her hot face and yanked a towel from off the wall to dry it.

She rolled her shoulders hoping to relieve some of the tension. How the hell am I supposed to help Davis get through this if he doesn’t value me or my opinions? What else is he keeping from me? Nicole’s nerves were shot. She needed to calm down. Then she remembered—the pills. They were not only good for pain, but they numbed a lot of shit. Just one or two would take the edge off. She had been holding on to her purse ever since she walked through the front door. Without a second thought, Nicole pulled them out, opened the bottle, and shook out two of them. Her hands were shaky, but she put them in her mouth and washed them down with a handful of water from the sink. Again, she stared at her reflection, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. When she opened them, Nicole felt as if she could face whatever else was coming.