“I believe you’re right.” Checking my private email, I see the message from Diego, there’s nothing in the email but a link. I click the link and can hear Kane breathing heavily. Going back to the security cameras, I see him in the elevator going down. “You want the link?”
Dante nods. “Hell yeah, I do. I checked last night, it’s a two-hour drive to the university. I’d put a hundred on him making it there in an hour and half.”
“I won’t bet against it. It’s all highway there.”
Hannah shoots me a text, Alicia is on her way up. I tell Dante. He sighs. “Why again am I at work so early?”
Shrugging, “Client said they’d call at eight and you didn’t want to admit normally you’d still be in bed.”
“Sounds good to me.” With a nod he leaves.
I minimize the email from Diego, then try and concentrate on another email from a client. Almost five minutes later I hear Kane yelling. “Pick up, you fucking brat. Now! Right fucking now!”
Another email comes through from Diego, it’s the link to hear Kelsey’s cell phone conversations. I click the link to bring it up but it won’t activate until Kelsey answers her phone. It isn’t easy to focus on work when every five minutes for the next half hour, Kane yells at Kelsey to pick up.
My eyes flick to my watch when I hear a woman’s voice. I click on the box to maximize the window with Kelsey’s link and close out of the one with Kane’s.
“What? What is the matter with you? I was in class. I couldn’t answer.”
“You stupid, stupid fucking moron. What the hell made you think you could pull off blackmailing someone?” Her gasp is loud. “Yeah, I know. You dumbass. You went after someone connected to Cesare fucking Sabatini.
“What have I told you over and over again? If you’re greedy you get sloppy, you fuck up. You couldn’t just be happy with fifty thousand dollars. Jesus, you told me some dumbass bought you the new car for the privilege of fucking you when it was all bullshit. Sabatini knows you intend to blackmail Bethany again. You get me all the damn recordings you have right fucking now. I’m on my way.”
“Cesare Sabatini? How does she know Sabatini, she never mentioned Sabatini.”
“It doesn’t matter how she knows him, all that matters is she does. The bastard has my balls over a barrel. You fuck this up and I go down, and you won’t have two fucking cents when it’s all over.”
Kelsey starts crying now, her voice frantic. “I don’t have any recordings. I just had one and something happened to it. I don’t know why but it won’t play anymore, it’s all white noise.”
Relief fills me. Not so for Kane. “Are you fucking kidding me?!” He screeches. “No, no fucking way. You only had one recording?”
“One seemed like enough. I had to delete the recording on my phone in front of Bethany. Before I met with her I uploaded the voice file to my computer. Because I directly uploaded it, there is no way to backtrack to get it. I tried but no one can recover it from my phone.”
“Goddamnit, you fucking idiot. How could you be so fucking stupid?”
“I’m sorry, Daddy. I’m so sorry.” She’s sobbing.
“You better not be lying. I swear to god.”
“I’m not, Daddy. I’m really not. I swear. You can take my laptop and my phone. I don’t have another recording.”
I text Diego to proceed as planned. To have Diego’s guy handle it. There’s a man sitting on Kelsey’s apartment. Once Kane got to Kelsey’s place, the man would let Kelsey and Kane know we had the confirmation we wanted. Since Kane had fulfilled his end of the deal, I would honor mine.
The matter settled, I’m able to once again focus on work.
***
Alicia
I don’t bother knocking on Cesare’s door as I come in with lunch. Today it’s big Cobb salads for the both of us. Cesare pulls me into his lap the minute I set down the salads. “What’s got you in such a good mood? Are we going to make love in here finally?”
His laughter brushes up my belly, and happiness bubbles up inside me at the sound. “Not today, you wanton wet dream. Today I can tell you that the whole Kelsey Kane issue is laid to rest. There are no other recordings. She is also now suitably terrified of ever fucking with Bethany again.”
Relief fills me until I wonder if I’ll burst with it. I fling my arms around his neck, squeezing with all my might. Cesare laughs as he hugs me tight around my middle. “Thank you. Thank you so much. I want to be annoyed at you for leaving me out of it, only I know it’s just one more way you’re trying to protect me.”
He sighs as he pulls away, his big warm hands cupping my face. “You are so perfect for me. Thank you for understanding me. I would not have been able to bear you stressed out, worried about something that in the end was practically guaranteed. I don’t lose. You would have said you believed it, but deep down you wouldn’t have been able to not worry just a little when the outcome was important to you.”
Swallowing the words is painful, only I don’t dare say them now, not after he just pulled Bethany’s ass out of the fire. He would think I only said it because I was grateful. So I do the only thing I can: I kiss him with my whole heart.