TAKING THE FALL - the Complete Series (25 page)

“
Carter, how could I keep your spot warm? I would need three of me.”

“
I’m not sure if the idea of three of you is hot as fuck or scary as hell,” he laughs.

I roll my eyes and point to the door. “Go, Carter, find out what’s happening… and don’t hurt him.”

“
No promises.”

“
Carter,” I warn.

He lifts his hands in defeat. “Fine, baby, but you remember this. I gave you this one.”

He opens the door, and I see Saint standing right outside. His hair is a mess, and I’m guessing that’s Jeanette’s doing. He gives me a half-smile before Carter closes the door fully.

I jump from the bed and run into the closet. I want Carter to have as little time with Justin as possible. The last time they were together it was a nightmare. Throwing on a pair of shorts and a tee, I slip on my flip flops before making my way downstairs.

When I get to the top of the stairs I can already see things aren’t going great. Carter has Justin pinned to the wall, and I can see Justin is turning blue. His left hand is leaking blood all over the floor, and he looks like he’s been through hell – a hell I dragged him into.

“
How the fuck did you find this place?” Carter bellows.

Running down the stairs I try to pry Carter off him but it’s no use. I can’t move him at all.

“
I asked how the fuck you found this place.”

“
He can’t answer you while you’re choking him, Carter! Goddamn it, let him go!”

“
I told you to keep your ass in bed, Cherry. What the fuck? Do you ever listen?”

I ignore his question and look over at Saint who is just playing with his phone, like nothing is going on. “Saint, a little help here?” I ask, bewildered.

He looks up and just shrugs.

“
Saint!” I say, louder this time. “Help me get him under control, even if it’s just to get some answers to his questions.”

Saint puts his phone back in his pocket and grabs Carter’s arm “C, man. Your woman’s right. The fucker can’t talk with you choking the life out of him. We need to know what he knows. Plus he’s getting blood all over the place.”

Carter releases him slowly

“
Let’s all sit down, guys,” I suggest, motioning to the couches.

“
Fine,” Carter mutters. “But only because I think Cherry has seen enough violence already.”

Picking me up, Carter carries me over to the couch and sits with me in his lap. He puts his nose in my hair, smells me, and I know he’s calming himself down. Relieved that everyone has cooled off, I pry myself from Carter’s lap.

“
Bathroom,” I tell him, and he reluctantly lets me go. I go to the bathroom that’s off the living area and search through a few drawers until I find what I’m looking for.

When I get back, Saint and Carter are staring at Justin, who looks like he might piss himself.

“
Knock it off, guys. It’s clear he’s been through enough today.”

I sit down next to Justin but then hear Carter growl. He makes a move to get up and grab me, but I give him a death glare. “Carter, calm down. He’s bleeding.”

Carter reluctantly sits back down.

“
Start talking,” he commands, and I start to unravel the wrapping around Justin’s hand. The blood has almost saturated the whole thing.

“
They cut my finger off.”

I can’t stop the gasp that comes out. “We have to get you to a hospital.”

“
No hospitals,” Justin says. “Just clean it up a little, will you?”

“
I’m so sorry, Justin, this is all my fault. I pulled you into this. It was my father who took you.”

“
I gathered that much. I’m just so glad you’re okay, Layla. I was so worried about you. I didn’t want you to come,” he says gently as he lifts his hand and strokes my cheek.

Carter growls again and I’m starting to think maybe he’s part canine. Justin drops his hand and looks back at Carter.

“
Talk,” he orders again.

“
Carter, quit it. Stop being such an ass. We did this to him.”

“
It’s fine, Layla. He’s just worried about you, and I don’t blame him. If you were mine again I’d be worried too, after meeting your father.”

“
She was never yours,” Carter says darkly, standing from his chair.

Ignoring him I go back to working on Justin’s hand.

“
I got away when all hell broke loose. I managed to get out and take one of the cars. When I saw you all come out I followed you. I have something I thought you guys might want.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a flash drive, tossing it on the coffee table.

“
What is it?” Saint asks as he picks it up and examines it.

“
I’m not sure, but from what I gathered, they need Layla to access some bank accounts for them and I think all the account numbers to the banks are on that drive. I snatched it from the computer when everyone took off.”

“
Why would they need me?”

Justin shrugs. “I think it’s because when your father went underground he put you on all his bank accounts as the solo account holder. They need to get the money.”

“
All right. Let’s say I believe you. Why didn’t you go to the cops?” Carter asks.

“
Because of Layla, that’s why.”

“
Me?”

“
Yes, you. I’m not sure what’s happening here but I didn’t want you in any danger. I told you I would help you if you needed anything.”

I feel the guilt eat at my stomach. I’ve pulled Justin into this mess. All he has ever done is be a friend to me, even when I broke up with him.

“
He’s staying,” I state. I make sure it doesn’t sound like a question.

I look over at Carter and we lock eyes.

“
Please?” I finally say, using the one word I know will work on him.

“
Fine,” he growls. “We’re going to check this flash drive real quick. You both stay put.”

Saint follows Carter out of the room and I can actually feel the tension leave with them.

“
I’m so sorry, Justin.”

“
It’s okay, Layla. I’m really just glad you’re okay.”

Giving him a sad smile, I go back to trying to clean up his hand. It looks like the bleeding has stopped but I want to make sure he doesn’t get an infection.

“
Can I get some water?” he asks.

“
Of course. Just give me a second.” I go into the kitchen to grab two bottles of water, and I bring them back to the living area. I hand Justin his, and I set mine down on the coffee table and then start wrapping Justin’s hand up.

“
How bad is the pain?” I query. It may have stopped bleeding, but it’s still so raw.

“
I could really use something.”

“
I think I saw some Tylenol in the bathroom. I’m not sure how much that’ll help.”

“
I’ll take anything at this point.”

Nodding my head I go back into the bathroom and search through the medicine cabinet. I find two different bottles of meds that might help so I grab them both. I’ll let him pick which he wants. I hand him the bottle and he takes a couple of pills from both, chasing them with his water.

“
I’m really sorry about Carter. He can be a little much, but I know it’s because he worries about me.”

“
You sure you’re safe with him, Layla? He seems just as scary as your father, if you ask me.”

“
I know how it seems, but Carter would never hurt me,” I say and take a drink from my water. “I’m just really glad you’re okay. I was so scared when my father said he had you. I have no idea how he even knows about you.”

“
He knows about me because,” Justin leans in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper, “he paid me to stay close to you.”

Fear shoots through my body. I try to jerk away from him, but my whole body feels sluggish.

“
You’re such an easy mark, Layla, but now I’m making my own rules. A finger wasn’t much of a sacrifice to get in here. I’m sick of being under your father’s thumb. You’re going to get me that money, and maybe I’ll let you live.”

I open my mouth to scream but nothing comes out. I feel myself slipping under.

“
It’s time to get out of here before your fucking bodyguards figure out the file I slipped them is fake.”

As he lifts me off the couch, I try to fight him, but my arms are too heavy. I can barely hold my eyes open.

“
Don’t you worry though, Layla, they won’t be following us. When we get out of here, your mom is going to give your dad the location of this warehouse.”

CARTER

“
Get that drive pulled up as quick as you can. I don’t trust that little shit.”

“
Chill, Carter. I think Layla could probably take him on her own. She’s a tough chick.”

I watch the cameras in our command room as Saint pulls up the info on the computer behind me. I can see Layla talking to Justin, and it makes my skin crawl. Something about him isn’t right. Not just the fact that he tried to touch what’s mine, but something about him has me on alert. I see Layla say something and stand up. I watch as she goes to the bathroom and looks through the medicine cabinet. I go to look at the camera in the living room, but Saint grabs my attention.

“
This is weird.”

“
What is it?” I ask, turning to see his computer screen.

“
It’s password encrypted but the file is blank. Let me dig a little more to be sure, but this seems like a waste of time for a blank jump.”

I turn around in time to see Layla walking back into the living area where Justin is still sitting. They talk a bit more, and she takes a drink of her water. I feel a sudden chill on the back of my neck and I can’t figure out why. Nothing strange is happening, they’re just sitting there talking.

“
It’s blank,” Saint says.

Why put an encryption on a blank jump drive? What would be the point of causing someone to search through it?

I turn around to gauge Saint’s feelings about this. “Maybe O’Leary was trying to create a dummy file in case someone found it,” I offer and try to figure out why someone would do that. “Someone would use this to slow a search down.”

As the thought hits me I turn back to the cameras in time to see Layla slump over. Justin leans over her to pick her up.

“
Fuck!
”
I shout and bolt out of the room with Saint on my heels. It takes half a second before I’ve got my gun drawn, and I race down the hallway to the living room. When I get to the big open area I hear the garage door opening. “He’s headed out!” I yell to Saint and run in that direction.