44. Forty-Four

Chase

“Good,” I say with relief.

“You’re not? Then who is?”

Ellen and Dave both ask at one time.

Val gives a proud smile, “I recommended to the board that it be a shared responsibility. Two Co-CEOs. While most companies only have one CEO, some are having great success with Co-CEO positions. I think a good balance of work and family is important.”

“That’s a great idea. So, who will be Co-CEO with you?” Asks Ellen.

“Who do you think they’ll pick?” Dave asks Val.

“I don’t know who the board will select. Even though I have a controlling interest, I feel the board should make most of these types of decisions. However—“

Val stops and looks at Ellen, “I made a recommendation. I recommended Ellen Stone and Beth Smith from gaming for joint leadership.”

Ellen looks stunned, and then her eyes begin to light up at the thought, “Thanks, Val. I love the idea of joint leadership. Beth knows the gaming side very well. We’ve worked on other projects together. She and I get along great.”

“I know; that’s one of the reasons I made the recommendation. But, Ellen, I only made a recommendation. It will be up to you and Beth to show the board what you’re capable of.”

I’m so glad Val isn’t interested in being CEO or Co-CEO of Carlucci’s.

“Val, can you leave with me now?” I ask in a low voice.

“I’d like to, but I need to let the team know, then–”

“Val, as future Co-CEO, I can let our team know,” Ellen states firmly. “Also, I’ll need to put together an official announcement regarding Victor’s arrest. One immediately for the company and for the Press by the end of the day. I’ll get Serena White, our attorney, involved.”

“Thank you, Ellen,” Val and I both say, but Ellen is already walking away with Dave issuing orders about what needs to be done. It looks like the company will be in good hands.

“So, you’re free?”

“I’m all yours.”

I smile smugly at her words.

We leave the boardroom, and I notice the buzz of voices. People are obviously discussing what happened. They probably saw the police escorting Victor Carlucci out of the building, and now they are curious and want all the sordid details. Everyone loves a scandal.

I grab Val’s hand, “I think we need to take the stairs.”

She agrees and follows me to the stairwell. We avoid the lobby and take a back hallway out to the parking garage.

I take Val into my arms again and give her a brief hard kiss, then I squeeze her hand, “Let’s get out of here while we can. See you at the house.”

I follow her car home; I swear it feels like we hit every traffic light along the way. I can’t wait to talk to her, among other things.

Right before we reach the duplex, I get a call. I look down, and it’s Hawkins. Dammit! I answer the phone, “What’s up, Hawkins?”

“Chase, I’m onsite over at a warehouse near Jacksonville Beach. One of the security guards downtown called in a report. He’s having some trouble and I can’t get anybody at this short notice. He’s a new guy, and I think it’s probably nothing, but if somebody requests backup...”

“Yeah, you did the right thing by calling me. I’m close let me run down there. Text me the address.”

“Will do, Thanks, Chase.”

I pull up behind Val’s car and get out of the truck, “Val, Dammit, I’m sorry, but I just got a call I need to head downtown. A new security guard called in and needs some backup. Hopefully, it won’t take long. I’m sorry, but I have to go.”

“Of course, Chase. I understand.” She follows me into the house. I go to the back room, put on my vest, and unlock my gun safe to get my spare gun. When I turn around, Val is frowning.

“Chase, that looks like one of the faulty vests.”

I look down, “Shit it is, but I don’t have time to drop by the office. Besides Hawkins and I think it’s a false alarm, the guard on duty is a new recruit.”

I see her bit her lip, “Chase—“

“I’ll be fine. I promise,” when I get to the door, I turn back to her. Val gives me a chaste kiss, but her dark bedroom eyes hold a promise, “I’ll be waiting.”

“And then we’ll talk,” I jump in my truck and head downtown. I think of Val and her condition. She’s having our baby. I feel the weight of that responsibility and turn the truck in the direction I want to go.

When I finally get to the downtown high-rise. I park and then warily approach the building. When I get to the door, I ring the intercom.

“Dale, it’s Chase Knight.”

“I’ll be right there.”

I watch as Dale approaches the door. He’s young but very responsible. He’s got brown hair and eyes. During training, he was a quick learner and he’s very by the book. Dale looks behind me and then unlocks the door and holds it open for me.

“Thanks for coming, Chase.”

“No problem. What’s going on?”

“Well, during training, you and Charlie said to call in if something doesn’t feel right. And that’s exactly how I feel. This is supposed to be a routine job. Just walk the perimeters and make sure everything is fine. This building is supposed to be vacant, but I keep hearing noises. Yet, when I try to figure out where the noises are coming from. Nothing. The sounds stop, but I swear as soon as I walk away, the noise starts up again.”

“Okay, are the noises coming from the same place each time?”

“Yeah, down the back hallway.”

“Okay, let’s check it out. You wearing your vest?”

“Yes, sir. I know the rules.”

“Good. Lead the way.”

As we approach the hallway, we hear a loud clang, then voices. Dale and I both look at each other.

“That doesn’t sound like the place is vacant.”

“Maybe it’s just kids, let’s take a look.”

We both pull out our guns and proceed cautiously down the hall. We’re side by side. As we get near a corner of the hallway, we slow as it’s a blind spot. I nod at Dale, and then I put my back against the wall. He does the same.

I slowly look around the corner. At first, I don’t see anything. I’m about to move forward when a shot rings out. I instantly flatten against the wall. I nod toward a door on the other side of the hallway. Dale moves to the door, but it’s locked. He pulls out a set of keys and locates the key, but he can’t get the door to open. We’re running out of time. I motion for him that we need to move. The footsteps are getting closer, and it sounds like multiple sets of footsteps. I would guess there are at least two people, maybe three.

We hear someone yell as they spot us, and then shots ring out as we run. We can’t make it to the main room, but there’s a cabinet around the next bend, and we crouch behind it.

I look over at Dale and see he’s got blood on his leg.

“Were you hit?”

“Yes, but it was just a graze. I’m okay.”

“Is there an emergency alarm?” I ask Dale quietly.

“Yeah, it’s in the main room near the entrance, mounted on the wall.”

“Can you walk?”

“I can walk, but I doubt I can run.”

I look around, and behind the cabinet is a door, “If I can get that door open, we can lock you in that room. As soon as the door is locked, call the police. But if I can trigger that alarm, we’d get a faster response from the cops, and it should get these guys off our backs.”

Dale nods. Another shot ricochets off the wall behind us. Can you keep them distracted while I open that door?”

Yes, sir.“ Dale hands me the keys. I turn toward the door, and once I hear Dale fire off a shot, I reach up and get the door unlocked. Then I push the door open. I crawl back to Dale and watch as he slides over to the door, trying to keep his weight off his injured leg.

Once the door closes and I hear the click of a lock, I decide it’s now or never.

I check that the coast is clear and inch my way to the end of the hall, hoping the cabinet is hiding my progress from their view.

Then, I’m finally at the entrance to the main lobby. I see the alarm and head toward it in a fast run. I’m almost there.

As I reach out, I hear a shot ring out. I feel it hit me in the arm. It stings like a son-of-a-bitch, but it’s just a graze. Then, a series of other shots ring out, and the world starts to go dark.

My last thought is I never got to tell Val that I love her and I know about the baby.