“The money…” Her pretty brow furrowed with anxiety, and her big blue eyes appeared glassy as the tears streamed down her face. “I want you to know that I didn’t steal it for myself. I’m not the shallow money-grabbing bitch you think I am.”
“Go on.” His gut reaction had been right all along. Kendall just didn’t possess the selfish killer instinct necessary to steal a million bucks from under his nose with the sole intention of keeping it all for herself.
“I–I—”
“You stole the money for another reason, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
He lovingly wrapped his arms around her waist, letting her know that he wasn’t angry with her.
“I–I stole it because I had to.”
“Had to? Why?”
“To save the life of my best friend.”
“Ah, I see.” The pieces of the puzzle were starting to fit together. “And would this friend of yours be called Ashley by any chance?”
“Yes. We’ve been inseparable since kindergarten. She’d do anything for me, and I’d do anything for her, too. I love her.” She coughed self-consciously. “Only as a friend obviously.”
“Kendall, stealing a million bucks from your boss is just plain wrong, but stealing it in the belief, however misguided, that it’s the only way left open to you is another matter completely. Whoever this Ashley lady is, she’s one lucky girl to have a friend like you, because believe me, after what you’ve sacrificed for her, you’re a friend in a million.”
Using the back of her hand, she wiped away the tears. “Thanks, Mac, that makes me feel so much better.”
The anger he’d felt toward Kendall, when he’d first thought she’d stolen his money for her own personal gain, disappeared in a puff of smoke. He now realized she was a strong, courageous woman—a woman who would do anything to save the life of someone she cared deeply for. How many people in this selfish me first world would go the extra mile, taking the risks that Kendall had? Not many. In fact, in his opinion the number was vanishingly small.
As she sat on his lap, he felt her body tremble, vibrating against his own, but despite these obvious anxiety signals, he figured she was desperate to be rid of the unpleasant secret she’d been hiding since she’d stolen his money. Kendall needed the monkey off her back. It weighed her down, sapping the life force from her. “Okay, baby, we’re getting to the truth now. Just a little further to go. How is this Karl involved? I’m guessing he’s the bad guy in all of this.”
He felt her flinch. “Bad guy? That’s an understatement if ever there was one. Karl Graves is pure evil.”
“That bad, huh? Evil enough to blackmail you?”
“Yes.” He watched her nervously tear an unruly snag from her fingernail with her teeth. “Karl was Ashley’s boyfriend, if you could call the animal that. He beat her so bad and so often that she ended up in hospital more times than I can remember. I begged her to finish with him, but the hold he had over her was too strong. Her fear of the aggressive controlling bastard was total and overwhelming. Anyway, to cut a long story short, after one particularly abusive episode, during which he savagely broke Ashley’s forearm in two places, I contacted the police and had him arrested. It was then that Ashley finally realized that enough was enough, and she suddenly came to her senses. We later testified against him in court, and I was so proud of the courage she showed that day. The judge was clearly shocked by the physical and emotional abuse that she’d suffered over the years at the hands of Karl Graves, and she sent him to prison for twelve years.”
“Good. Sounds like the piece of crap deserved everything he got.”
“No, not good, Mac. Bad.” Her chin dropped, and she shook her head. “He was released early, and within days he’d found Ashley again, despite her moving out of state to get away from him.”
“Oh, shit, honey.” Mac saw where this was leading.
Clearly emotional, Kendall bravely composed herself before continuing, “The sicko blamed us both for the time he spent behind bars. Can you believe that? I suppose it just goes to show how detached from the real world he’d become. Anyway, the first thing he did when he found Ashley again was beat her black and blue just like in the old days. He then forced her to give him my telephone number, and also forced her to tell him that I had a new career as chief financial controller for Buchanan Enterprises. The sick animal is a nutjob all right. There’s no doubt about that, but he’s intelligent, too, and when he realized I had total control over millions of dollars, his deranged brain decided it was payback time.”
“Ah, Kendall.” He gently kissed her forehead. “The final piece of the jigsaw puzzle has just slotted into place. So he had complete control of Ashley again, and I’ve no doubt he threatened to hurt or even kill her if you didn’t play ball by stealing a million bucks from the company accounts.”
Kendall threw back her head and exhaled for a long time, the relief showing on her pretty face clear to see. “Exactly, Mac, and he’s crazy enough to carry out his threats, too.”
“Yeah, after what you’ve told me, I’ve gotta agree with you, honey.”
“He demanded I keep my mouth shut for seven days, or he’d kill Ashley. Told me he needed time to get a new passport and get out of the country for good. I believed him, too, because he’s crazy.
“I’m sorry, Mac. I know I should have confided in you at the beginning, but I was just too frightened to tell the truth. Not so much for myself you understand, but for Ashley.” She worriedly checked her watch again. “I was supposed to receive a call from him eight hours ago, saying he’d released her unharmed.”
“And he hasn’t called, huh? That figures.” Mac knew everything now, after hearing her side of the story, he realized how courageous she’d been. He wasn’t angry with her anymore, and he didn’t give a fuck about the million bucks. It meant nothing to him. Without the slightest doubt in his mind, Mac now knew he was deeply in love with the beautiful woman who sat frightened and vulnerable on his lap.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer still. “Believe me, honey, I know just how frightened you must have been. Any girl would have been scared to death with the dilemma you faced.” He paused for a moment, trying not to make her more upset than she already was. “But, I can’t help feeling disappointed that you didn’t trust me enough to let me in on the secret. We’ve shared a lot together since this all started. If you had trusted me, I’d have been right there for you.”
She patted his hand. “I’m sure of it, Mac, and that’s comforting to know, but it’s also the reason why I couldn’t tell you.”
“Huh, that sounds like a woman’s logic if ever I heard it. Go on.”
“You’re a full-on guy, and therefore too macho for your own good. Testosterone pumps from every part of your body, and I just know you’d have made it your mission in life to personally track him down and make him pay for what he’d done.”
“Yeah, that sounds about right. And what’s wrong with that approach? Extermination is the only way to deal with vermin like this Graves guy.”
“On the face of it, yes, but you don’t know Karl Graves like I do. He’s just not human, Mac. The animal is devoid of any humanity and compassion, and should he suddenly be faced with an angry and intimidating adversary like you, then he wouldn’t think twice about killing Ashley just for the hell of it. He’s crazy, and evil with it, so don’t expect him to play by same rules as normal people.”
The way Kendall put her argument across made him realize she really hadn’t had a viable alternative open to her, and he now felt guilty as hell for using this beautiful, courageous woman as his sex slave.
Mac sighed deeply before continuing, “The way I see it is this. You kept your word, saying nothing for seven days, because you believed your silence was the only way to get your friend back alive and well.”
She checked her watch again. “Seven days, eight hours, and twenty-three minutes to be precise. I suppose I was hoping there was a reason he hadn’t called me.” He watched the tears well up in those expressive blue eyes again as realization dawned. “But now I know he’s not going to, and that Ashley must be lying dead somewhere. Oh, God, Mac, what have I done?”
The tears streamed down her face again, and however much he wiped and kissed them away, they were instantly replaced.
“How did it all go so wrong? I thought I was doing the right thing, but…if–if Ashley is dead, then it’s all my fault.”
He felt for Kendall, he really did. She looked so broken and defeated. Her stoic bravery filled him with admiration, but he saw she was at the end of her tether. Mac rested his chin on top of her head and wrapped his arms around her even tighter, cocooning her, trying to give her the strength she needed to carry on. “Shhh, honey, don’t cry. You don’t know Ashley’s dead for sure. She could still be alive.”