Betrayed (A CORE Sector Novel Book 1) Read online

  "It also helps you avoid the issue with Gabe Lawler."

  "Let's not talk about that, okay?"

  "Fine," Jon put his hands up in surrender, "You know, it's time you move on with your life. This lady could help you do it."

  Frank sighed, "I'll never, not miss Evelyn. I know it's been twenty years, but her memory is still as fresh as it was then." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "There is room for another woman now. I'd like it to be Charlotte, but I don't know what's going on with her or who's after her."

  "Yeah, I know buddy. We'll get to the bottom of this, someway or another. I'm with you all the way. If this case and that woman mean that much to you, I'm in. Besides, I still owe you."

  "You don't owe me. I was doing my job."

  "No, you purposely took that bullet for me and you damn well know it. I owe you."

  Jon was right. Frank did take that bullet on purpose, his partner meant that much to him and he'd do it again in a heartbeat; anytime, anywhere. And now, he'd do the same for Charlotte. He smiled as he remembered Charlotte asleep in the car the night before. It was the first time she'd had a peaceful look on her face since the festival. In forty-eight hours their lives had changed drastically. He felt sorry for Charlotte, this was the second time her life had been disrupted over this. But he was taking her home to get to the bottom of this. No one should have to live in this turmoil, especially a woman as sweet and beautiful as her.

  The computer beeped causing them to both look up. Jon had a perplexed look on his face.

  "What's up?" Frank asked.

  "Well it seems that Charlotte is dead."

  "What?"

  "It's all here. Her age, everything. There's even a picture of her."

  Frank got up and looked at the screen, "How can this be, Jon? And what the hell does it mean?"

  It means flying into the UK will be tricky. Her passport would throw up a red flag for sure."

  "You still have connections?"

  Jon sighed. He knew what his friend was asking, a secret trip to the UK that didn't go through regular customs or channels. "Yeah, I'll see what I can do. No promises."

  18

  GAVIN PACED around the living room. It was the first time he'd had to take stock of the phone call from Charlotte that morning. After a nerve-racking day in court he just wanted a quiet evening to think things out. Charlotte had gotten involved with a police officer. She'd kept that bit from him a few days earlier when she told him about her coffee date. He smacked the palm of his hand against his head. Everything was falling apart. He didn't know how much more he could take.

  Alva wheeled into the room, a solemn look on her face. Gavin stopped pacing and looked at her. "I thought you'd gone to bed." He said wryly.

  "But you didn't come to check on me, did you?"

  "No. I'm sorry. I have things on my mind."

  She wheeled to the drink table and poured herself a glass of wine. "Do you want to tell me about it?" She purred the words out as she turned to face him.

  "It's just work related. Nothing you want to hear about."

  Her face contoured into a grim look. "I was on the extension this morning when that phone call came in. I know what you're hiding, Gavin."

  He looked at her, noticing the hardness of her jaw line and the way her lips pinched together. He braced himself for the onslaught of questions and the rage she would go through.

  "Why is that woman still alive?" Alva asked. Thick contempt stung Gavin's ears as he twisted sweaty palms together, trying to avoid eye contact. He knew it would anger her more, but he couldn't face her. Not only had he disobeyed her, but he'd been lying to her for nine months. He told her it was Charlotte in the car, told her the money would come through soon. She asked about it a hundred times. A hundred times he'd brought up some legal jargon to satisfy her. Now, the truth was out. He didn't have the guts to kill Charlotte and had hidden her away in another country. His sister was vile. He loved her once, had done everything in his power to please her. She was a woman who couldn't be pleased. No matter what he did, she always found some reason to scold him. He was growing tired and weary of this game with her. He was growing tired of their relationship and wanted to see other women, real women, but Alva would never allow that. He rarely ever looked at another woman. He knew she'd know if he had. She was sick and twisted. Most of his life he didn't think a thing about it. It was normal and natural, but now he was starting to question what was ever normal in his life.

  He thought back to the first time he realized something wasn't right. He was in high school and while he kept their secrets, he did speak to other guys at school. None of them had relationships with their sister, or at least they didn't speak of it. No, they were allowed to have dates with other girls, with girls their own age. He'd been made fun of for years because he never asked girls out. They all assumed he was gay and eventually stopped hanging out with him. They feared him. He liked that fear, to be honest. It gave him a taste of power. He carried that into the court room with every case he took on. Sitting here with Alva was a different story. He feared her. Feared what she would do to him if she ever found his secrets, all of his secrets. It was bad enough facing her wrath now that she knew he'd lied. If she ever found out other secrets, he shivered thinking about it. He slowly raised his eyes to look at her, the look of discontent in her eyes. His hands shook even more as their eyes met. In that moment, he knew he'd have to kill her if he ever wanted his own life. He was in a prison with her, a warped and distorted prison that she controlled. She always had.

  "Do not lie to me young man." She seethed the words out like she was his mother. "Don't you forget who's raised you and loved you." She sat up straight in her wheelchair. She'd be so easy to kill as an invalid now. "Remember Daddy?" She asked with contempt in her voice. He shook his head. He didn't remember too much of their father, but he let her think he did. "He was an ungrateful bastard and you know what happened to him."

  Gavin searched his mind, what had happened to his father? He couldn't remember. He knew the memory was there, buried somewhere under all the hell he kept inside, but he couldn't find it. "Forgiveness isn't in my nature, dear Gavin. I don't want you to meet the same fate as Daddy."

  In that moment he knew. She'd been the one to kill him. His death was ruled as a heart attack, but he knew Alva was the reason for it. He knew he could just as easily suffer the same heart attack if he didn't tread lightly.

  He licked his lips, careful to choose his words, "She didn't have to die. We will still get her money and the rest of the world thinks she's dead. So what does it matter?"

  She threw her wine glass, catching him on the side of the head with it before it shattered to the floor. "She's a loose end and we don't need any loose ends," She spoke through gritted teeth. "You will take care of this. Soon, or you'll regret it."

  He shook his head and wiped the trickle of blood that had started to run down his face.

  "Now, get this mess cleaned up and then run my bath water. I'm tired of this game with you, Gavin." She turned and wheeled herself into the other room.

  Gavin got up and began to pick up the pieces of glass. He looked at his own blood on a broken shard. He didn't like blood. He'd have to think of a way to kill her that didn't require too much violence or any bloodshed.

  He finished cleaning up the mess and walked down the hall to start her bath. Life was much easier before the accident last year. It was supposed to kill her. Instead it left her in a wheelchair and even more of a burden, a thorn in his side. He put the stopper in the tub drain and turned on the water. As it swirled he wondered if drowning her would be easy. Being unable to walk, it could appear as she couldn't get out of the tub. No one would question it. He could say he'd gone to start the laundry and take out the trash while she soaked in her nightly bath. When he returned, he found her dead. Perhaps she'd taken some medication before her bath. He thought long and hard while the tub filled. Could he do it? Did he have the guts to do it? The car crash was easy, he only had to
watch it roll. Unfortunately she had survived. He pulled her out before placing the other body in the car and setting it on fire so it would explode.

  All his life she had coddled and tormented him. Many times simultaneously. He didn't want to live in her demeaning shadow any more. He needed an escape, a permanent escape this time.

  19

  THE SUN WAS JUST BEGINNING to peek through the blinds in Jon's office when Charlotte woke up. Frank and Jon were nowhere to be seen, they must still be talking in the other office. She needed a bathroom, but didn't know where to find one. She noticed a small door in the corner, hopefully it wasn't a closet. She got up and padded across the floor to the corner of the room, she reached for the knob and slowly began to turn it. Good, it wasn't locked. She pulled the door open and to her relief it was a bathroom. She stepped inside and locked the door behind her.

  "Charlotte?" she heard from the room. The voice was frantic, she could tell it was Frank. She opened the door to the small bathroom and told him she was there. "What a relief. I was scared something had happened to you."

  "What could happen in a police station?"

  "Well, you could've walked off and tried to handle this on your own."

  "You're all I've got. Where else would I go or who would I turn to?" Frank smiled on the inside. It was good to feel needed. "Did you find out anything?"

  "Well, there seems to be some curious circumstances around your grandfather's death, but we can't figure how that relates to the journals. There is nothing out there about this group. They are either that slick or, I hate to say it, but Gavin may have the wrong group pinned for this."

  "What kind of circumstances do you mean? My grandfather was killed in a car accident."

  "I know, but the law over there isn't convinced it was an accident." Frank hesitated, not wanting to tell Charlotte the rest of the news.

  She looked at him. "There’s more isn’t there? What are you not telling me?"

  "I don't know how to say this, but until your death nine months ago, you were a suspect in his murder."

  "What?" Charlotte held her chest and collapsed into the loveseat. "They think I’m dead? How can that be?"

  "There was an accident nine months ago, the car rolled and caught on fire. The driver couldn’t be identified, but the passenger," Frank looked at his notes, "an Alva Daniels escaped with severe injuries."

  Charlotte turned pale, the life had been sucked out of her.

  "Alva is Gavin’s sister. Do you think he faked my death to protect me from those men? Why wouldn’t he tell me that? Charlotte was crying profusely and was nearing hysterics.

  "Calm down. We'll get to the bottom of this."

  "Dammit, why did I ever leave England? And why hasn't Gavin told me any of this? He's supposed to be the damn family lawyer."

  "Are you sure Gavin has been upfront with you and you can trust him?"

  "He's been the family lawyer for over twenty years." Charlotte sat up straight and took a deep breath. "Maybe he doesn't know or he's just trying to protect me. He's not officially my lawyer, he was grandfather's lawyer, but I've known him all my life."

  Frank walked over to wipe the tears out of her eyes. He wanted to embrace her but he was afraid. She was strong, but vulnerable at the same time and a guy just never knew how a woman like that would react to being consoled, especially by someone she didn't know very well. He looked down at her bright green eyes. He could get lost in those eyes, they were like emeralds and sparkled when the light hit them just right. He stood there taking in her beauty, he knew it was causing an uncomfortable moment for them both, but he couldn't help himself. They were both brought back to reality as the door to the office flung open, "Hey guys I've got some news." It was Jon. He noticed Frank sitting on the loveseat with Charlotte, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have just barged in like that."

  Frank stood up, "It's okay. What's the news?"

  "Well, it's good and bad actually. Which do you want first?"

  "Just tell us, Jon."

  "Well, I might have a way to get us to London, but we'll still have to find a way into England."

  "We?"

  "You don't think I'm letting you do this alone do you?"

  "We don't know what we're up against and there's no point in you leaving the job to traipse half way around the world."

  "Well, first of all it's just across the ocean, not half way around the world, and second of all I have vacation time and in the third . . ."

  "Okay. You've made your point."

  "Damn straight. Didn't you learn not to argue with me when we were partners?" Jon plopped down behind his desk. "We have to see about making the arrangements. In the meantime, you two are coming home with me and getting some proper rest. Best I can do for a hot meal is take-out Chinese."

  "Sounds great. We really appreciate all your help."

  "Don't thank me yet. I haven't gotten you to England. The flight to London will be tricky too."

  "How tricky? What do you mean?"

  "We'll talk about this once we get to my place. Here's a pass to the garage, meet me there in five minutes."

  "Why there?"

  "We need to get the stuff out of your car. You two will ride with me.

  Those guys have seen your car and could find it easily, so I'm having it impounded to help throw them off the trail and buy us some time."

  "Good thinking, but I seriously doubt they followed us all the way to the police station."

  "I think I’ve found the group we’re really looking for and I wouldn't put anything past them."

  20

  BRYCE SAT up half the night pondering the events that had transpired. He suspected someone in the group was up to something and involved, but he didn't have proof. He'd have to figure it out and find a way to expose whoever it was. Why would one of their own keep them from finding Charlotte McDougal? What did they have to gain from it? Was he missing something? Everyone knew the stakes. It was what they did, so why would a member purposely go against them?

  He thought back to a year earlier when he'd gotten the news that Harlon was dead. As shocking as it was, these things did happen. And then he got news that his granddaughter, Charlotte, had died in a car accident as well. They'd recently discovered she wasn't dead, but was, in fact living in the United States. That was more than a little odd, but not as odd as the news from the doctor. They kept as much as possible inside the organization, everything they needed from lawyers, accountants and doctors was all within the organization. There was never any need to see a professional on the outside of the group, unless it was serious medical needs requiring a specialist. Harlon had just had his yearly physical a week before he died of a heart attack.

  None of this made sense. Bryce walked over to the window of his penthouse. It usually calmed him to look out across the city lights, but tonight it left him with an eerie feeling. Something wasn't right, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

  He played the day's events over in his mind. Someone had made a move on Charlotte. It'd taken them months to locate her. Their guy had spent the last week watching her, waiting for the best time to approach her. And then all that work had been wasted. Marcus had said their man recognized the other guy. Someone had purposefully sent him in to botch the job. That was the only reasonable explanation. But how did it all fit together?

  At three in the morning he finally gave into sleep. He wasn't one to stop until he found an answer, but he knew this was a situation he'd need to discuss with his most trusted comrades, and he needed to at least appear like he'd had some rest. Dawn would come soon enough.

  21

  JON GOT up and poured himself a bourbon. "You can be a real smart ass, you know that?"

  "Well, I learned from the best." Frank retorted. Jon knew he was talking about him. He could be a smart ass and a hard ass when he needed to be. Frank could too, but he was trying to bury that side of himself.

  "So, you've been retired for over a year. How many books have you written?"

  "F
our."

  "You're taking this serious then?"

  "Yeah."

  "Don't guess you want to talk about why you retired, other than the books, I mean."

  Frank refreshed his drink and sat down across from Jon. "The job can make you hard and mean and I didn't want to end up like that. I don't want to spend what's left of my years chasing down a bunch of thugs who are gonna get off on some stipulation. I think the younger guys need to do that. I was a hard ass at one time and I didn't like myself."

  "You could've made lieutenant."

  "And be stuck behind a desk all day? No thanks, Jon."

  "Aren't you stuck behind a desk now?"

  Frank chuckled, "Well yeah, but I can have a bourbon when I want and get up and go for a walk when I want. In a way I'm still doing police work you know."

  Jon held his glass up for a toast, "I can't argue with that."

  "Have you read any of my books?"

  "Actually I have. I just haven't seen a new one since you retired and didn't know if you were writing or using it as an excuse."

  "It takes time to get one the publisher through. It'll be a few months before the next one hits the shelves." Frank paused before speaking again, "I guess we need to figure out this deal with Charlotte so I can get back to working on my next book."

  "And what about the lady herself?"

  Frank sat there in silence. He would like to let someone in his life, knew Charlotte could be the one, but it was such a damn long shot. Right now wasn't the time to pursue her on a personal basis. "I don't know," Frank finally said, "She's a great lady, but not so sure I'm ready to start over."

  "You gotta start over sometime, buddy."

  Frank sipped his bourbon, "True, but it's been ten years, Jon. Ten long damn years." He tossed back the rest of his drink before getting up for another, "Ah hell, maybe I'm too damn old to start over."

  "That's bullshit and you know it. You ain't dead, you son of a bitch."

  "Maybe so, but how would a long distance relationship work? She lives in another country, for god's sake."