Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight

New Years Eve

Jack

D olly has been pacing, muttering to herself, and checking their music score over and over today and I’m about to snap. She’s anxious, which is making me feel the same.

We had a really good Christmas holiday, and I spoiled the fuck out of both of them. Christmas Eve sex will also live on in infamy, since I spanked Bee for the first time, while telling her she couldn’t come, while Dolly tortured her with toys and her tongue. It was exactly what we all needed.

Now, we’re back to normal, and all I want is for today to be over, so we can shelve it as done.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I say, “Dolly, go get ready, love. We’re leaving soon. You’re going to be amazing. I promise you’ve all practiced until you can perform it in your sleep.”

Bee glances up from where she’s reading, snickering. “I think she has been!”

Dolly ignores us all, mumbling to herself as she walks to the bathroom to shower. Blowing out a breath, I answer my phone to find that it’s Lorrie.

“Hey, Lorrie. Talk to me,” I say, leaning against the wall in the kitchen.

“ Hey boss, I have some news,” she says. “ The bugs in Gareth’s house came back with something. There’s a lag since it goes through Greg first, but Gareth destroyed his office over Christmas. He hasn’t said a peep about the missing money until now.”

“You think it’s because the Boxley’s asked him about the money and he couldn’t tell them where it was?” I ask. Gareth was probably trying to figure out a way to fix it before they found out.

“Is it just audio, or is there also video so I can watch the fucker suffer?”

“Ha, there’s both. I’ll send it to your laptop. Did you see that Dee’s recital was in the morning paper? They didn’t use her name, but the school was mentioned,” Lorrie says worriedly. “ We’ve pulled in a lot of people to secure the mansion, but there’s a wooded area that’s going to be difficult to patrol, because it’s all open forest.”

I’ve never wanted to kill my friend more than right now. I know there are some things he can’t get around with his investors, but goddamn, if he gets my girlfriend killed, I’m going to lose my mind.

“Fuck,” I mutter, stalking to my bedroom to get my laptop. I can feel Bee’s worried gaze on me and I raise my hand toward her to let her know I’m working on it. I know she trusts me to figure it out, but there are so many variables that need to happen for that to be true.

Sitting on the bed, I open the laptop, feeling my heart beating hard. This is what we expected, but there’s a spike of adrenaline rush regardless.

“I’m at my laptop, Lorrie,” I murmur, waiting for the file. Nodding as it pops up, I watch it with her still on the line.

“Fuck,” Gareth growls, picking up the phone. He paces as he mutters under his breath before calling someone. “The money is gone, Adamson, and your cousins want to know where it is. No, I didn’t fucking take it!”

He listens for a while, shaking his head and cursing. “I won’t go anywhere, they fucking took my money too. Every cent in the accounts have been drained. No, I don’t know who did it,” he growls. “I’m going to work on getting some more. I have a plan, okay?”

Gareth hangs up, draining the glass of whiskey before he launches it into the raging fire he has going in the fireplace in his office.

“Quite the temper,” I murmur, watching the video again. “Think he’s talking to Archie Adamson?”

I noticed that Arina’s father paid Dolly way too much attention during the open house, and it would make sense if he’s been working with Gareth.

“ I don’t know another Adamson that’s a player in this,” Lorrie says. “ It would make sense for it to be. I wonder what money he’s going to get to be able to return the Boxley's their money.”

“Would he steal from the hospital?” I ask, frowning. “That’s the only other place I can imagine that he may have access to money.”

“It would be really ballsy, but he’s such a terrible person I wouldn’t put it past him,” she mutters. “I’ll see what I can dig up. Try not to worry too much about tonight. We have everything as locked down as possible.”

Nodding, I thank her and hang up, moving to change as well. Bee trails into the room, already dressed in a midnight-blue and green dress, with cutouts along the sides and a high slit.

Her red hair is in a side fishtail braid, the ends allowed to curl wildly. Her makeup is natural, and she looks stunning.

“I’m going to be on edge this entire event,” I confess, pulling on a cream-colored shirt. My movements are sharp as I button it up, my midnight-blue pants already on.

“Please stick close to me or your guard. Thomas is attending tonight to help protect what’s most important to me. There are too many things that could go wrong.”

“It won’t,” Bee says firmly. “Let’s see if we can leave early. As soon as Dahlia’s done performing, we’ll split. As much as it would be nice for us to stay the entire time and support the other students, most of them treat her like shit.”

“You’re so fierce,” I tease her, though I agree with her. My cufflinks are the next thing to go on after I tie my tie, and now I’m checking the reflection of myself in the mirror, as I put on my suit jacket.

“Eh, you’re just as bad,” she reminds me, pulling the shoulders of my jacket taut and tugging on the back. Now, the lines all sit correctly and my black loafers are the last thing I need.

I don’t know where the night will lead, if I need to run, I want to be able to.

“I know I am,” I say with a grin. “Will you please wear your knife for me? It’ll give me peace of mind.”

“Wear it where?” she asks, giving me a little spin as I sit on the edge of the bed to put my shoes on. The flash of thigh she gives me makes me want to sink my teeth into the soft skin and give her a hickey.

Taking a deep breath, I stand once I’m ready. “If I really wanted to be an ass, I’d say to wear it where everyone can see it, but we should probably set a good example,” I grumble. “Put it in your purse just in case.”

Smirking, she drops it into her navy-blue clutch, and flounces out to check on Dolly. Rolling my eyes, I follow her, only to find our girl walking out of the bedroom. She's wearing a navy-blue off the shoulder dress that appears to be very modest, despite the high leg slit, only to plunge down her back.

My jaw drops as I watch her hips sway underneath the dress, her heels making her legs appear as if they go on forever. Dolly is wearing the earrings that Bee bought her, and looks stunning.

“Wow,” I whisper, swallowing thickly. Dolly’s hair is down, her dark brown curls mildly toned down, her makeup playing up her gray eyes due to wearing her contacts. “You are making that dress work tonight, baby. Fuck, I’m going to want to kill everyone this evening between you and Bee.”

Dolly grins, looking between us. “We match,” she notices. “Is this on purpose?”

“Jack can’t physically mark us as his, so this is the way he makes his claim,” Bee says, smirking. “I think it’s adorable, and I have to say we look amazing.”

“We’ll walk in together, make sure everyone sees us, and then I’ll be happy,” I tell them smugly. “Okay, I won’t be happy until we’re done and out of that place. I’m twitchy now.”

“Did I pass on my nerves?” Dolly asks as I shake my head and walk back to my room to pocket my knife. Anything else is probably overkill when all the guards will be armed tonight.

Walking back out, I make sure they have everything they need before ushering them into the living room, to grab Dolly’s guitar and case. We all put on our winter gear, the snow showing no signs of stopping.

“Not at all, I had a call just now with Lorrie. Gareth not only has seen the missing money, but the gang is asking for access to it,” I explain, leaving the apartment with them. Ciara and Thomas will be following us to the mansion tonight.

“If you can help it, I need both of you to stay away from Arina and her father. I don’t trust either of them not to be helping Gareth.”

Dolly and Bee make disgusted faces as I lock up the apartment and we head to the elevator.

“I get really sketchy vibes from both of them,” Dolly murmurs. “Arina and Ivan both are very hostile. I kind of understand that it’s jealousy when it comes to Ivan, but he wasn’t as bad until we got grouped together.”

Stepping into the elevator, I use my card to identify myself before hitting the button for the underground garage.

“Your ability to hear music and piece things together is something he can’t do,” I murmur, remembering something she told me after one of their practices. “I think this group exercise is throwing it in his face, and fucking with his idea that he’s the best. It’s not your fault, but he is not music’s greatest gift.”

“Not in the least,” Dolly sighs. I stiffen as the elevator doors open, on edge as I step out to look around before I hurry to the car. The girls follow, not quite running, and I’m thankful that our parking spots are so close to the elevators.

I decided to take Bee’s SUV, because while I love my truck, I need the trunk space for Dolly’s instrument. Once situated, I pull out of the parking space, texting Ciara that we’re leaving.

As I turn onto the street, her car flashes its headlights at me, sliding in behind me. Relaxing slightly, I’m able to chat with Bee and Dolly as we drive.

It’s going to be a long fucking night.

Bronwyn

The mansion is lit up with lights along the driveway, and while there aren’t any holiday decorations, it’s lit up with recessed lighting, so it can clearly be seen from the street. Apparently, the man who owns the home is one of Sullivan’s investors, and was insistent that the recital happen here.

While beautiful, I’m not really impressed with it, because I grew up in a place just like this. I had fun with Dahlia during the block party because the energy was upbeat, the decorations were festive, and the people were nice.

Walking into the house, we hand over our coats to the staff members that are helping people in, and then give our names to a man who is checking everyone in.

“The main ballroom is where Justin will lead you,” he says. “There is food and light beverages there, and we’ll be starting shortly.”

Yes, in exactly thirty-seven minutes. I’m counting down. Jack’s energy is transferring to me, though he’s all smiles now.

I don’t understand how Dahlia and he are able to wear such well constructed masks, though I can see that Jack’s is due to being used to being in the public eye.

Walking together into the ballroom, Jack hands Dahlia’s instrument to a student that is helping to collect them.

“If there is even a scratch on this or it’s messed with in any way, I will find you,” Jack growls, making my lips twitch. “Understood?”

“What? I mean, yes, Sir,” the kid says, eyes wide. “I would never do that!”

“He’s protective, Anthony,” Dahlia soothes. “Thanks for putting away my guitar.”

Nodding quickly, he walks off quickly, and Dahlia and I snicker.

“Poor kid,” I murmur, nodding when I see Sullivan talking with people.

We walk around, though none of us eat because we’re all too nervous. Finally, Sullivan makes his way over to us, blowing out a breath.

“I hate this kind of stuff,” he mutters, fiddling with his tie. I’ve noticed that he typically wears pretty casual clothing whenever I’ve seen him, and I expect the same is true for work. Either way, Sullivan looks really uncomfortable.

“Is everyone good? Are you ready Dee?”

“I’m ready,” Dahlia says with a nod. Keeping track of so many alter egos is just life now, so it doesn’t bother me to flip back and forth as necessary. There’s no way I’ll fuck up and say the wrong name anymore.

“I wouldn’t happen to be first, would I?”

Wincing, Sullivan shakes his head, and my stomach sinks. “You’re actually last. Is that a problem?” he asks. “We wanted to make sure we ended on a high note, and I heard your last practice and you sounded amazing.”

“We were trying to leave early,” Jack sighs. “I don’t know why, but I have a really bad feeling about all of this.”

“Why? This place is insanely well staffed, and there’s guards everywhere,” Sullivan says. “I really think it’ll be okay.”

“Yeah, I know. I can’t seem to be able to shake this feeling,” Jack mutters. Dolly gazes at him, and I remember the last time he said he had a gut instinct that he ignored. We’re stuck now, there’s no way out of here though, unless we want to blow off the recital.

Ciara and Thomas follow us pretty closely, and then it’s time for us to sit for the beginning of the show. I have to admit that some of the groups are insanely talented, while others don’t seem to mesh well together.

It feels interminably long, and I wince as I feel my bladder start to complain.

Leaning in, I whisper, “I’m going to use the restroom. I’m going to pee myself if I don’t go now.”

Jack’s lips twitch, even as his blue-green eyes are stormy with worry.

“I can manage to get to the bathroom,” I whisper.

“Take Thomas,” Dahlia whispers back.

Finally Jack nods. “If you’re not back in under ten minutes, I’m going to break into the bathroom,” he grunts.

Smirking, I nod, getting up and shuffling out of the aisle. Looking around, I don’t see Ciara or Thomas.

Where are they?

I waited so long, I’m about to start crossing my legs and whimpering. I really thought I could wait until intermission, but they’re an hour and a half into performances without a break. Sighing, I leave the ballroom to search for a bathroom, my heels clicking on the marble floor.

“Can I help you?” a staff member at the house asks and I nod.

“I’m looking for the restroom, please,” I say, and she nods with a smile.

“Go right down the hallway and take a right. It’s the second door. There are closer restrooms, but they’re currently occupied,” she explains.

God, I should tell her I can wait, except I really don’t think I can. Thanking her, I start walking down the hallway, hissing as my bladder fucking cramps.

“Shit,” I mutter. I hold my clutch tightly in my hand, wishing desperately that it was a crossbody, so I could have easier access to my knife. It’s like my security blanket after the attack.

As I walk around the corner, I break into a not quite run, yanking the door open.

“Thank fuck,” I sigh, seeing its unoccupied. Carefully making sure I’m alone, I shut the door, dropping the clutch within easy reaching distance and do my business.

There’s nothing quite like the knowledge that I almost didn’t make it. Thankfully, I did, and my eyes flutter in relief.

Knowing I’m working on borrowed time before Jack decides to come find me, I quickly flush and fix my dress before washing my hands. My heart is racing a bit, because I had to pee so badly, and I solemnly promise myself I’ll never do that again.

Picking up my purse after drying my hands, I unlock the door and peek out to see if there’s anyone out there.

“Funny you think anyone will hear you scream from here, daughter of mine,” a voice growls, yanking me into his arms.

Gasping in a breath, I scream, but Gareth squeezes my throat, stealing my voice. Stomping on his foot, elbowing him in the stomach, I do everything I’ve been taught to do to attempt to fight him off, but he’s so much stronger than me as he wraps his arm around mine, trapping me.

“Such a useless cunt,” he mutters, starting to carry me away. My fingers are curled in the strap of my clutch, and I let it go, despite knowing I have a weapon in there.

If Jack has a way of knowing where I was, he’ll be able to find me easier. I would never leave my belongings like that by choice. I continue to struggle as Gareth grumbles under his breath, sounding absolutely insane.

“You are the key, Bronwyn,” he says. “You’ve been gone for far too long, but I need your signature, and then you can go home with your sweet mother.”

My mother has been dead since I was young, I don’t know what he’s talking about, and I am beginning to see spots in my vision now. I use my shoes as the weapons they are, kicking him hard.

Unfortunately, the dress is really tight along one of my legs, so it fucks with my mobility.

“Hurry, you stupid lout,” hisses a man, and Gareth, the man I used to call my father, turns to walk over to him. He’s wearing a suit, but I can see the tattoos peeking out, and one of them is a skull that I still sometimes have nightmares over.

The Boxley gang.

Struggling harder, I annoy the man who is hurrying Gareth along, and he back hands me in his impatience. I try not to allow the darkness that’s pulling me down, as Gareth walks through the door the man is holding open. It’s dark in here too, and somehow that pulls me further into unconsciousness.