Chapter Thirty-One
Liam
The time on my watch reads 11:53 p.m. as I shut off the car in the parking lot of the old, abandoned cannery. I get out and walk across the cracked pavement with weeds springing up everywhere – some of them as tall as my hip – as the forest slowly, yet surely, begins to reclaim the land. I look around and idly wonder what in the hell Damon intends to put out here.
There's a side door standing open and I see light inside.
“This is obviously, the place,” I mutter to myself.
Adjusting the ball cap on my head, I wince at the decorative pin that digs into my scalp. Tucking my hands into my pocket, I fight off the waves of nervousness and step through the door. If it were just me, I wouldn't be half as worried as I am. But, given that Paige's life is on the line, I'm scared. If I fuck this up, she's going to pay the ultimate price. I can’t risk that.
“Come in, Liam.”
I step around a stack of crates to find Damon and Brittany standing there. Behind them is a large man who looks like a complete idiot – I take him to be Travis Waltham.
“Phone,” Damon says. “Take it out of your pocket and set it on the table.”
Klieg lights had been set up, casting a small circle of bright light on the people standing there, while the rest of the warehouse remains lost in thick, inky shadow. In the center of that circle of light is Paige. She's zip-tied to a chair and there is a gag in her mouth. Her eyes widen when she sees me, and I see an expression that's a mixture of relief and fear flit across her face.
“I'm here,” I say, stepping into the circle of light, setting my phone on the table. “Now, let her go.”
Waltham walks over and checks it – obviously to make sure I'm not recording. He nods at Damon and steps back, taking his place next to Brittany. She looks at me and pulls the large man down into a kiss, grabbing at his crotch as she does so. She steps back a moment later and looks at me, a predatory smile on her face.
“Was that supposed to make me jealous or something?” I ask. “It doesn't, in case you wondered. You can go ahead and fuck him right here for all I care. Doesn't bother me. I'm not into skanks.”
“Fuck you, Liam,” she snaps.
I turn my attention to Damon. “Let Paige go,” I say. “Now.”
“Patience, patience,” Damon says and turns to Brittany. “Jesus. Was he always this rude and demanding with you?”
“He was worse,” she says.
“Yeah, all I did was try to give you a good life by catering to your every goddamn insane whim,” I say, derision dripping from my voice. “It must have been so terrible for you.”
She shrugs. “It wasn't a picnic, that's for sure. You don't enjoy the money and lifestyle you have, Liam. All those lessons your daddy taught you about being humble and frugal? Total bullshit and you took them to heart a bit too much for my liking.”
“Fuck you, Brittany,” I snap. “Don't you dare mention my father.”
“Oh, did I hit a sensitive subject?” she asks, feigning surprise. “Oh, that's right, you're still not over mommy and daddy's death, even all these years later.”
She and Travis laugh together like it was the funniest thing they've ever heard. I know they're trying to get a rise out of me. Trying to get under my skin. I can't let them. I need to stay focused. I need to stay sharp.
“Whatever,” I say and turn to Damon. “What the fuck do you want?”
“The same thing I've always wanted,” he says. “Port Safira. I tried to ask you nicely not to shit in my sandbox. And yet, here you are, doing just that. Mayor Goodrich and I have a great thing going on. He funnels me non-competition contracts for a small fee. It's a beautiful system that's working for us and you just had to come in here and fuck it all up.”
“Fine,” I say. “I'll back off. Just let Paige go, and Port Safira is all yours, man.”
“Yeah, it's too late for that.”
“Then, what in the fuck am I doing here?” I ask. “What do you want?”
“The price has gone up, Liam,” Damon says, his tone cool. “You've pissed me off and now you're going to have to pay an asshole tax to save your dear, sweet Paige's life.”
“Done,” I say. “Name your price.”
“Your ass,” he says. “I want everything you own. Everything.”
“Except for that house on the hill,” Brittany chimes in. “I actually like it and want to keep it. Maybe as a summer home or something. Either way, it's mine.”
Paige struggles against her bonds, trying to scream through her gag, but it only comes out as muffled mumbling. I give her a look and a shake of the head, trying to tell her that everything is going to be okay. Not that I know it actually will be, but I don’t want her freaking out.
“Fine,” I say. “I'll rescind the divorce order and sign everything over to Brittany. Happy?”
“No, not yet,” Damon says.
“What the fuck else is there?”
“I need to make sure that I'm never going to have to deal with you again,” he says. “You're going to have to die tonight, Liam.”
I feel a jolt of fear tear through me, but I hold it down inside. I'm not going to show that to them. They don't deserve it. I look at Paige again and see tears rolling down her cheeks. She's shaking her head, trying to tell me not to do it. Not to trade my life for hers.
“So, what?” I ask. “One of you is going to kill me?”
“No, a random homicide brings up too many questions,” Damon says. “And we want to avoid that, if at all possible.”
“You are going to kill yourself,” Brittany chirps. “And personally, I can't wait to see it.”
“That was one of the conditions for her assistance,” Damon says dryly. “She wanted to be here to watch you die. Clearly, you've pissed this woman off in ways I've never seen before. Kudos to you on that, Liam.”
“Go fuck yourself,” I say.
“Always the charmer,” Damon says. “Now, this is how it's going to work. I'm going to have you sign some documents that gives Brittany full control of your share of ADE, as well as sole ownership of all your assets. And after that, you're going to hang yourself.”
I follow his eyes and see something I hadn’t noticed before – a noose loosely hanging over a steel beam. It's low enough that I'll be able to hang myself with it.
“And if I do this,” I say, “you will let Paige go?”
“You have my word,” he says.
“Which is worth about as much as a pile of dog shit.”
He shrugs. “It's all you have.”
“Fine,” I say. “I'll do it.”
Paige struggles and squirms, trying to shout at me from behind her gag. She's looking at me and shaking her head furiously. I give her a small smile and then lean down, planting a soft kiss on the top of her head. Her muffled wailing echoes around the warehouse.
“Over here, Liam,” Damon calls.
I let out a long breath and turn, walking over to where Damon is standing by the small table where I'd set my phone earlier. He has some papers spread out in front of him and hands me a pen.
“I took the liberty of having my attorneys draft up the appropriate paperwork,” he says smoothly. “You'll find that everything is in order.”
I take the pen and look down at the paperwork in front of me. He really had been thorough. I sigh and shake my head.
“Oh, wait,” Brittany cries. “You forgot the best part. You're leaving a suicide note. Travis, show him.”
With a big smile on his stupid face, Travis pulls a piece of paper out of his pocket. He unfolds it and walks it over to me. I take the paper and look down at it. It's a suicide note, of course, but it's very heavy on the praise of Brittany as well as the apologies to her for everything I've ever done. For all the pain and misery, I caused her. For being such a rank disappointment as a man and as a husband. And for a million other things that I'm not even going to bother reading.
“That's quite the suicide note,” I say.
“I know, right?” Brittany beams.
I sigh and shake my head. Idiots. All of them are idiots. They hatch this grand scheme to not only steal my company but kill me in the process – and not one of them thought to check me for a wire.
“Come on,” Damon says. “Sign the paperwork, time's wasting.”
“Yeah, I'm not going to be signing anything tonight.”
A look of dark anger crosses his face as he stares at me. “Oh, I think you will,” Damon says. “If you don't, your sweetheart here is going to have a rather large hole in her pretty little head.”
Waltham takes a gun out of his waistband and points it at Paige. Her eyes grow wide and her muffled cries become panicked. I sigh and shake my head. It's time to put an end to this farce.
“Do you have everything you need?” I ask.
Damon looks at me like I've lost my mind. He must think that I’m talking to myself, but I decide to enlighten him and press my finger to my ear – more specifically, to the radio transmitter in my ear. Everything that has been said and done in this warehouse tonight has been recorded.
Realizing what's happened – what I've done – Damon's eyes grow wide. A vicious snarl crosses his lips, and he looks like he wants to tear me apart, limb from limb. He won't, of course. He's a pussy that will never take me head on. He takes a couple of steps back, looking around wildly, knowing the only noose that's tightening is going to be the one around his neck. He's ready to flee, he just doesn't know where to.
“Boss?” Waltham asks.
The big man is distracted for a moment and not looking at Paige, so I seize the opportunity. Moving quickly forward, I lash out with my foot, knocking his gun hand away and taking the barrel away from Paige. At the same time, I drive my fist down and plunge the pen I'm holding into Waltham's neck. A geyser of blood shoots out of the wound and the big man clutches at the pen, his eyes wide, his face racked with pain.
An unearthly shriek erupts from Brittany's mouth as she rushes to Waltham, dropping to her knees beside him, frantically trying to halt the flow of blood.
The sound of police sirens fills the air and all of a sudden, the room around us is bathed in red and blue strobing lights. There are men in uniform – some in SWAT gear – rushing all around us. The abandoned warehouse is suddenly a hive of activity, with the cops shouting commands at Brittany, Damon, and the wounded Waltham.
I rush to Paige and pull a pocket knife out. I quickly cut through the zip ties that are binding her. And when she's free, I stand her up and pull her into a tight embrace, crushing her body to mine. Her entire body is trembling and she’s sobbing into my shoulder. I just hold her to me, stroking her hair, telling her that she's safe. That everything is going to be okay.
Adam walks in with a wide smile on his face. He gets to me and I shake his hand.
“Paige, this is Adam,” I say. “Adam, this is Paige.”
“Good to meet you,” he says.
Paige, seemingly unable to speak, just nods and gives him a weak smile. Adam gives her a look of understanding. Given what she's been through tonight, she's probably in shock.
“The cops are going to need your statements,” Adam says. “They might be able to wait until tomorrow though.”
I nod. “They get everybody?”
Adam nods again. “Yeah, they scooped Damon up when he was trying to slip out the back door,” he says. “Brittany is in the back of a car already and the big man is being loaded into an ambulance. I hear he's going to be fine. He's definitely going to prison, but he'll be fine.”
I take the hat off my head and look at the small decorative pin. It's a camera, of course. The same kind he'd been using when I met him at the outdoor mall. I'm also wearing an audio recording device.
“I'm so glad that you have the best toys.”
“The toys are what make my job fun,” he says. “Batman's got nothing on me.”
“Thank you for everything tonight,” I say. “You are literally a lifesaver.”
He shrugs. “All I did was hook you up with some gadgets,” he says. “You're the one who walked into the lion's den.”
Truthfully, Adam did more than that. After I called him earlier, I'd sent the helicopter to pick him up. He'd wired me up and talked me through the process. Told me what I needed to get them to admit to doing on tape. It's completely unassailable as evidence in court and it's going to put them all away for a very long time. He also coordinated with the local authorities on tonight's response. He had them all in place and ready to roll in when I gave the word.
And surprisingly enough, everything worked out without a hitch. Nobody got hurt – except for the big idiot, but he deserved that.
When I look over at Paige though, I see that the big idiot wasn’t the only one who was hurt. She's standing there with a dazed look on her face. She's white as a ghost and can't seem to stop the tears from rolling down her face. She's absolutely traumatized.
I take off the hat and hand it to Adam, as well as the audio transmitter under my shirt. He takes them both and drops them into a plastic bag.
“I think I should go ahead and get her home,” I say. “Do you think you can square it with the cops? We'll come in for statements tomorrow.”
He nods. “That shouldn't be a problem,” he says.
“Thank you, Adam,” I say. “For everything.”
He laughs. “Hey, no worries,” he says. “Just know, I'll be sending you a bill.”
“Whatever it is, double it,” I say.
I slide my hand around Paige's shoulders and turn her away, leading her toward the door and to my car beyond. Adam's voice stops me. I turn around to face him again.
“You two,” he says, giving me a meaningful look, “you look good together.”
I give him a smile and a nod, turning and leading Paige out into the darkness of the night outside the warehouse. She's a wreck and I have a feeling that it's going to be a long night. But, I'm going to be there for her every step of the way.
Every single step.