Chapter 44

Chapter Forty-Four

K endall clung to the belief that Brent was innocent of Russ’s scheme. He loved her. It was all some horrible mistake.

When she went to his apartment after being visited by Officer Williams, she didn’t tell Brent what had happened or that she’d vomited and sobbed after. She felt guilty, as if she’d cheated on Brent, but she’d done the only thing she could in the moment.

A week passed before Russ was informed that the evidence against him had been lost and the prosecutor wasn’t comfortable moving forward with charges based on JT Talon’s testimony alone.

Kendall spent five days at Tanya’s, too shell-shocked to enjoy the holiday they were supposed to be celebrating. She’d shared with her sister some of what had occurred, but the cop and the drugs and the forced blow job remained locked deep inside.

No one could know, or they’d hate her as much as she hated herself.

Russ invited her and Brent and a few other Talon & Drake employees over to celebrate the charges being dropped on New Year’s Eve. Alex had barely talked to Kendall after she returned from her sister’s, but she knew Alex was going to Senator Talon’s New Year’s Eve party at the family estate in Maryland and would be gone overnight.

She could finally have noisy sex with Brent in her own apartment, except she’d lost all interest in sex. Then there was the fact that Alex believed she and Brent had broken up.

He wasn’t allowed in their apartment.

But it was Kendall’s apartment too. Hell, hers was the only name on the lease because it was her connection that got them cheap rent. Still, she couldn’t blame Alex.

“There was enough drug in that drink to kill her.”

She dressed for Russ’s party, glad Alex hadn’t bothered to ask what her New Year’s Eve plans were. On one level, she figured Alex knew she hadn’t broken up with Brent, but she didn’t want to push the issue.

Russ was full of bravado as the clock wound down to midnight. He planned to sue Talon & Drake to get his job back. He expected Ed Drake to support him.

Why he would want to work for a man who so clearly hated him made no sense to her, but one of the other employees in attendance—the biologist who’d been at the job fair—had responded to her whispered question.

“Drake runs the Bethesda office. Talon lives in New York. He’s here about once a month, but that’s all. And Russ was climbing fast once Drake handed him the Lewiston project. He was doing a good job—ahead of schedule, under budget. Talon & Drake is in the running to lead the redesign of the neighborhood in Southwest DC surrounding the baseball stadium that’s going in near the Anacostia waterfront. With at least a year before construction on the stadium is set to begin, Spaulding was in a prime spot to lead the team if Talon & Drake wins the project. Lewiston will be near completion just as the neighborhood refurbishment would be ramping up.”

The biologist frowned. “Basically, Spaulding was on a meteoric path to success thanks to Drake’s mentorship. But now he’s job hunting. And Talon doesn’t even have to bother with giving bad references. Russ’s mugshot was shared all over industry emails. Someone hacked his LinkedIn and made it his profile picture. Hell, I bet even college kids were sharing it on MySpace and TheFacebook.”

Kendall hadn’t thought to check her MySpace and she wasn’t signed up for LinkedIn or TheFacebook.

Why would someone with so much to lose bring a date rape drug to a company party?

It didn’t make sense, which made it even more likely that JT Talon had set him up.

Alex’s new boyfriend was the monster here. Not Russ Spaulding. Not Brent.

The cop… His role in the setup didn’t make sense, though. Was it possible Alex was involved? Not before the party, obviously, but afterward? She’d spent the night with JT, then came home and claimed Russ had assaulted her and invited the cops to search Kendall’s room.

The cop could have found the drugs in the nightstand during his search, then came back when she was alone, knowing she’d do what she had to.

Any woman who kept GHB in her nightstand would be an easy target for a crooked cop. And he might even assume she’d get off on it. Although in the moment, he’d known she hated it. Hated him. It was all she could do not to vomit all over him.

Officer Williams had kept up his end of the bargain, though. The evidence disappeared.

Her brain was spinning. She excused herself and stepped outside onto Russ’s balcony. A chill wind snapped at her as she faced the Potomac River. Russ had a large condo on the Virginia side of the river. He was clearly quite wealthy, thanks to his executive salary.

“It boggles the mind, doesn’t it?”

She startled. She hadn’t realized she wasn’t alone. She turned to see Calvin Moss standing in the darkest corner.

“Excuse me?”

“That Russ would risk all this.” He swept out a hand to encompass the view, balcony, and condo behind them.

Could this man read her mind? Or was he just asking the same questions she was? How much did he know?

“I’m surprised you’re here. Brent said most executives are too chicken to stand by Russ.”

He gave her a pointed look. “If JT Talon finds out I’m here, I’ll know who shared that detail. He’s dating your roommate, after all. The woman Russ attempted to drug. What I’m wondering is why you’re here.”

She wished she could answer that. She shrugged. “Alex didn’t get me an invite to the senator’s party.”

Moss laughed. “We’re in the same boat, then.” He cleared his throat. “Actually, I’m here because Drake asked me to come. We’re keeping tabs on Russ. Making sure he doesn’t do anything foolish as Drake tries to get him reinstated.”

“It won’t work.” Kendall didn’t know JT, but she knew Alex, and as long as Alex and JT were together, there was no way Russ was getting his job back.

“I agree. It makes one wonder why Drake doesn’t distance himself too. What, do you think, does Russ have on him?”

She took a step back. “I’m afraid you’re talking above my pay grade. I don’t know Drake or Talon or even you . I’m a lowly graduate student who was hoping for an internship.”

“Well, that’s out as long as you’ve hooked your wagon to Forbes. JT will forever see him as Spaulding’s crony.”

“Is that why you’re telling me this? To warn me?”

He shrugged. “You can do better than Forbes, and as the roommate of JT’s girlfriend—for whom he’s ridiculously ass over teakettle—you could definitely trade up.”

What the hell? Was this man suggesting she use her roommate to spy? Was this industrial espionage? Was he trying to tell her he could get her an internship? Did he want a mole or a blow job—or both?

“It has been unpleasant chatting with you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s almost midnight, and I have a boyfriend to kiss.”

A fter the sad party wrapped, Kendall insisted they return to her apartment. She would start the year with her boyfriend in her bed. What Alex didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.

They hadn’t had sex since Officer Williams’s assault—or was it blackmail?

Both, really.

She wanted to get the taste of the man out of her mouth, replace the nightmare of him in her mind.

Brent had a lot to drink, though—it was a good thing Kendall had been their designated driver—and he lost steam before she really got going. That was okay. They had backup. Brent had given her a vibrator for Christmas. This would be a perfect occasion for its inaugural run.

He kissed her as he fumbled with the nightstand drawer in the dark. Then she heard him knocking everything around as he searched for the toy. He made a surprised noise and turned on the light.

She blinked against the sudden brightness as Brent said, “Well damn. I forgot all about this.”

Her vision cleared and she saw he held the small vial he’d given her on the night of the holiday party.

Was this false evidence, planted by Brent to exonerate him, or had the cop been the one with fake claims?