Beginning with Forever (58 page)

“Shit
! Are you okay, Lil?” Richard panics.

“Yes, I’m alright. How’s Ame?
Can you handle her by yourself?” I reply with my shaky voice while ignoring the scrapes on my elbows that are starting to bite at my nerves.
There’s no time for pain, Lil!

“I’ve got her.
You just worry about getting as far away from the SUV as possible.” After he jumps out, I watch him courageously pull Ame’s body free as he plants his feet firmly on the slanted ground. Silently, I say a prayer for them, hoping they won’t slip down together. As soon as they’re both freed from the truck, he drags her body towards me. Ame is in and out of consciousness. Richard and I help Amelia crawl safely away from the sloping vehicle. Less than minutes later, the vines give out and the SUV flips several hundred feet below us, crashing violently into the ground. A huge, thunderous explosion follows, echoing up, filling our ears with more fear. We sat there staring tearfully at the horrific flames as it reflects off of our dark pupils, knowing that we could’ve been in the center of that. From where we’re sitting, it’s like a preview of hell, and we just barely escaped the depths of it. The heat simmering upward makes it all more real.

We hav
e to get out of here. The sun is crimson like the blood on Ame’s head as it sets and soon there’ll only be absolute darkness to blind us. Sitting here like live bait will not be a good option for us. I can’t imagine how many prowling, hungry predators are ready to pounce on our fresh bloody meat. Richard is applying pressure to Amelia’s head with his right hand to stop her bleeding. Our attentions are immediately focused on rustling sounds coming through the nearby bushes, more fear heads our way. It startles the remaining life out of us. Someone or something is advancing in our direction. Richard reaches for a rock to use as a weapon.

“Miss
Ly, are you okay?” Luke calls out, and I’ve never been happier to hear or see him.

“Who the hell is
he?” Richard angrily shouts while pointing his finger at Luke.

“He’s my bodyguard
,” I guiltily reply while avoiding his furious, blue eyes.

“Does this
have anything to do with him?” Richard looks at me with distrust, demanding an answer and then heatedly pitches the rock down the cliff.

“No, of course not
! I don’t know, Richard. Carson made me agree to have Luke follow me around while he’s away in Boston. That’s all I know.” I begin to cry again, feeling responsible for what just happened.

“Is everyone stabl
e? Are you all able to walk?” Luke assesses the situation like a soldier.

“Help
Lily up first, and then I’ll need a hand with Amelia,” Richard volunteers bravely.

“I’m fine, Richard.
Let’s all climb up together. It’s dark out here, and I don’t want us to lose each other.”

I’m amazed that
we’re able to climb up the steep, rugged terrain with Ame half-passed out. Thank god for Luke’s intimidating muscles and brute strength. He carries Ame’s weak body with ease while Richard helps me. My abdomen is tender from the constricting seatbelt. I try my best to hold back new fretful tears, secretly praying that Amelia and my baby will both be okay. Was this all my fault? Is Richard right? Does this have something to do with Carson’s problem?

We
finally make it to the top of the cliff and onto a gravel paved road. Luke leads us to his car where he and Richard carefully lay Amelia’s body into the backseat. Richard slides in and props Ame’s head on top of his lap. I sit in the front with Luke who appears abnormally unnerved by the accident. I look down at my hands and see that they’re still trembling. Luke pulls his phone out, and I know exactly who’ll be on the other end with specific instructions.

I
hate these damn flights. Three months will not come soon enough. Owen greets me at the tarmac with a worried expression. “Good afternoon, Mr. Bradley. I have my team waiting at BPC for us.” This isn’t a good indication for me. I can confidently assume that my two researchers are still missing.

“Do you have any leads yet?
Do we know who’s behind this?” I impatiently ask.

“Mr. Carter is working on linking the tracking tattoos on the missing
researchers from his computer. He thinks he’ll be able to find their location soon. But as of now, the signals aren’t strong enough for us to be completely sure.”

“This is
semi-good news.” I feel somewhat hopeful.

As much as I’
d love to call Lily to hear her sweet, reassuring voice, I have to deny myself of such an indulgence. There’s major damage control for me to contain at BPC. We head directly to the conference room at Steward Laboratory. I look around and think,
Am I in the correct room?
Owen has converted the entire premises into a crime and investigation lab. There are men and women monitoring laptops, speaking on their phones and going through surveillance videos. I spot Hayden in the far corner of the room, zoned out on his laptop. His fingers are striking the keyboard fiercely. He doesn’t even notice me standing beside him until I lightly tap his shoulder. “Good afternoon Mr. Carter,” I attempt to interrupt his complete concentration. He filters the familiar sound of my voice and peeks up at me.

“Mr. Bradley,
I should hopefully have an answer for you soon,” Hayden assures me. “The homing signals are weak, but I think I can maneuver around them unless they find the implants and destroy them first. Your researchers are probably hidden underground or in a reinforced panic room of some sort,” Hayden shares his speculation with me.

“
I appreciate all your help, Hayden. I can’t believe someone has the audacity to kidnap my researchers. These bastards didn’t do their homework. They don’t know who they’re fucking with. I didn’t get to the top by being nice all the time. Pharmacy is a cutthroat business,” I divulge to Hayden and regret that it might be more than I should share with him. “There are a lot of assholes out there doing it for the wrong reasons,” I conclude.

“
I’m really concerned with what’ll happen if the incomplete drug formula falls into the wrong hands. Thousands or millions of people could get hurt or even die over one person’s greed.” He shakes his head disapprovingly.

“I
know exactly what you mean. That is why I’ve lost years of my youth and life,” I agree with him.

“
Who’ll save the world when you become a father and husband?” he smirks.

“I have
a perfect successor in mind.” I signal my head and eyes subtly toward Owen’s direction. Hayden nods his head approvingly.

Owen
, Hayden and I eat a late lunch slash early dinner as we continue to sort through likely suspects. All of our researchers, minus me, were recently offered irresistible job opportunities at Montgomery Ortho-Med. They all declined of course. My employees are well paid and taken care of. There’s no incentive for anyone to leave. Hmm, this seems highly suspicious to me. If an orthopedic company is capable of offering a bone regeneration product that’s non-invasive and cost-effective, how many clients would they have knocking at their door—billions.

Glancing down at my watch, I’
m shocked to see that it’s already 7:30 p.m. I excuse myself from the group and rush back to my office. Evelyn hands me a printout of messages left by clients from highest priority on the top of the list to lowest on the bottom. I glance through it quickly as I walk into my office. Jean-Pierre called around 10:00 a.m. this morning. I was on my jet at that time, so I didn’t receive his call on my cell. Pulling my phone out, I see a voicemail from him.

“
Mr. Bradley, Miss Ly is in grave danger. She seemed upset after I told her about her pregnancy, so I wanted to give her some good news through voodoo magic. But instead of seeing white smoke, I saw blackness everywhere, and it frightened me. My voodoo practice is minimal, so I asked a powerful priest for help with a small strand of her hair. He told me that she and your baby will be falling to their death. I don’t know the specific details. He also asked me to warn you to keep her away from a black or red vehicle. The vodouist has attempted to appear in her dreams twice as a premonition to forewarn her. That’s all that I know.”

My
heart leaps out of my chest and down to the bottom floor of this building. Though I may be standing tall, my body is depleted of life. I haven’t fully digested Jean’s message yet. Staggering across the room, I somehow manage to get to my desk and into my chair. I place my phone down to replay Jean’s message via speaker. His voice is shaky and apprehensive. Is there any truth to this voodoo shit? I try to rationalize the situation, but nothing makes any sense to me. Jean’s voicemail is interrupted with an incoming call from Luke. My hands begin to tremble, fearing the worst.

“Bradley
,” I hesitantly answer.

“Mr. Bradley, I need you to remain cal
m. Miss Ly has been in an accident with her friends.” My palms buffer my falling head against the desk. I don’t want to hear what he has to say next. I don’t want him to confirm Jean’s prediction. It’ll suck the life out of me. “She’s not seriously injured. They climbed out of the truck before it flipped to the bottom and exploded.”

Oh
merciful God! She’s alive!
I thank the Lord. “Please let me speak to her,” I demand desperately. The only thing I need right now is to hear her palpable voice to confirm that she’s really alive.

“Cars
on….,” Her words are halted when she begins to cry uncontrollably. Every fiber in my body aches for her as I hear her weep.

“Baby, I’m
right here with you. Luke told me that you’re not seriously injured. How do you feel?” I fight back my own tears. I have to be strong for her, especially now.

“I’m fine
, but Amelia’s head is bleeding pretty badly. We’re heading to the hospital. Carson, it wasn’t my fault,” she sniffles. “A red sports car purposely crossed over to my lane and forced me off the road.” Fuck, this is an intentional hit. Why would someone target her? She doesn’t know anything about my drug formula. It doesn’t make any sense. But as soon as I find out who’s behind this, I’ll make sure they pay with blood. No one fucking touches my family and gets away with it!

“Lily, I need you to follow my specific
instructions without straying. Hand the phone to Luke and do as he tells you. I’ll see you in a few hours. I love you.”

“I love you
too,” she replies courageously.

“Luke, drop Mr. Stevens and Ms.
McFarland discreetly off at the hospital. Make sure no one can identify Miss Ly. Instruct them to tell the officials that she didn’t make it out of the truck. This is for her safety. I’m not sure why someone wants her dead, but I’m not giving them a second chance to succeed. Take a boat to St. Lucia and meet me at Pearl Mountain Resort. Check in by yourself and request for Jean-Pierre. He’ll know what to do from there. Take care of her for me because her safety lies in your hands.”

“I’ll bring Miss
Ly safely back to you. You have my word, sir,” Luke vows.

I end the call and give myself a minute to allow everything to
sink in. I can’t afford to make any hasty or emotional decisions that can adversely affect Lily’s life. I look over at her sweet picture and see a small elongated gift wrapped box underneath it. When did Lil get a chance to sneak this in? I open the box and see a black silk tie with red specks that reminds me of blood stains. This isn’t from Lily. I know exactly who this is from. A yellow post-it note with BPC logo falls onto my desk as I lift the tie out of the box to discard it.

A tie to end all other
ties!

I have
no time for Bianca’s bullshit. I toss everything into the trashcan and rush out of my office with heartache and tears.

L
uke asks Richard to step out of the vehicle for a word in private after disconnecting from Carson’s call. Richard agrees, and they whisper for several minutes in the distance, alternating their cautious eyes back and forth from their conversation to me. I crawl to the backseat to sit with Amelia. She appears coherent again. I rest her head on my lap and gingerly comb my fingers through her blood saturated red hair.

“Ame, how are you feeling, girl?”

“I think I’m going to have the biggest headache of my life tomorrow.” She smiles with obvious effort. Even with a head trauma, she still manages to be lovable.

“I g
ot my driver’s license online. I passed the virtual driving test. I can’t understand how driving for real is any different than clicking the arrow keys,” I joke in attempt to rouse another smile from her.

“So now you confess
,” she chuckles. “I know it’s not your fault. Don’t blame yourself for any of this.” I squeeze her hand for consoling me when I should be the one to console her.

The
two whispering men walk back to us. I give Richard his seat and reclaim mine in the front. Luke pulls his car onto the main road and resumes driving to the hospital. After ten minutes or so, I realize we’re not heading where I thought we should be. Luke drives the car up a bumpy gravel road to a hidden small villa. He parks the car and insists that I get out with him. I tell him I don’t want to, and he can’t make me. Luke and Richard pull my sobbing body away from Amelia as I’m holding onto a seatbelt. They reiterate that it’s for my own good to do as Carson has explicitly instructed. I don’t care about what Carson wants. I can’t leave her in this condition, especially when I feel responsible for what happened to her.