Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

I ’m lying in bed naked with Bentley wrapped in my arms. Who would have thought post-sex cuddling could feel so damn good?

“Clive Corp is suing me for misconduct of funds,” I tell her.

Bentley sits up. “What?”

“The Clive Corporation… It just got passed down to the grandson and he’s suing me, claiming I’ve embezzled funds from their company.”

“They can’t be serious. That’s ludicrous,” Bentley exclaims before climbing off the bed.

“What are you doing?” I watch on as she starts picking up the articles of clothing I stripped from her body a few hours ago.

“I’m going to go and give Billy a piece of my damn mind—that’s what,” she huffs in response.

I hop out of bed and take hold of her arms. “No, you’re not. We have this handled, Bentley. It’s going to be fine. The case won’t stick. Xavier is running lead on it, and he already has a hearing booked with Judge Hunter,” I tell her. “Also… Billy ?”

“That dweeby piece of shit who took over Clive Corp.”

“I know who he is, but how do you know who he is?” I ask her.

“I grew up with him. We went to school together.” She shrugs. “He’s always been a slimy bastard.”

“That he has.” I pull her down on top of me. “Come back to bed. It’s going to be fine.”

“So that’s what you’ve all been doing in the conference room?” she asks.

“Yeah.”

“Thanks for telling me.”

“I don’t want to hide things from you, Bentley.”

“Good, then don’t,” she says, snuggling back into her rightful spot in my arms.

“Go to sleep. We have a big day tomorrow.”

“Even if we don’t win, I appreciate how hard you’ve worked on this,” she says, referring to the Gallah vs Kemp case that starts in the morning.

“We’re ready, Mr Gallah. This is going to be an open-and-shut case,” I tell him. The man is looking paler by the minute.

“I know. It’s just… what if it’s not?”

“I don’t lose, and I have… personal interest invested in this claim,” I say as my eyes meet Bentley’s. As much as I wanted her to be my second chair, I couldn’t have her up here. The case hits far too close to home for her. I needed someone who wouldn’t get emotions mixed up with fact.

That’s why Xavier is sitting in second chair and Bentley is sitting in the first row behind us. We weren’t able to find any evidence that pointed towards her dad being murdered or anything suggesting that Mark Kemp had organised a hit. When I look to my right and see the slimy bastard, though, I have no doubt that he did it. This isn’t a criminal hearing. It’s a civil suit, one company suing the other. And if this is the only way I can ruin Mark Kemp, then so be it. If we win this claim, Kemp will basically be bankrupt. His reputation will be up shit creek and he won’t be able to repeat this to any other unsuspecting business owners. It’s not putting him behind bars, where the fucker belongs, but it’s something.

“ALL RISE! The District Court of Melbourne is now in session. The Honourable Judge Grant is presiding.”

“I don’t get it. That was almost too easy,” Bentley says as we exit the courthouse. The evidence I submitted to the court was pretty straightforward. I don’t know why anyone doubted me really. Within two hours, the judge ruled in our favour, and Luke Gallah was awarded five million in damages.

“This isn’t the end.”

I turn around when the threatening tone sounds behind me. “I’m pretty sure it is, actually,” I tell Kemp. I don’t usually engage with the opposing side. But this guy really gets under my skin.

“It’s not over. I will ruin you. All of you. You think your daddy just couldn’t take it and killed himself. Idiots, you really have no idea who you’re fucking with.”

“You’re wrong. I don’t think my father killed himself. I know you had a hand in it. I also know you hired someone to make it look that way,” Bentley says, stepping up beside me.

Mark Kemp sneers at her. “I did, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it. You don’t have a shred of proof, sweetheart. Just like when you all start dropping like fucking flies. No one will suspect a thing. I’ll make sure of it.” He storms off.

I wrap an arm around Bentley. She’s shaking. “You’re okay. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“We need to go to the police,” she whispers.

“Let’s go back to the office. We can call someone to come meet us there,” I tell her.

“No, we need to go now.” She pulls a recording device from her bag. “I turned this on when we left. I just had this feeling… something told me he wouldn’t be able to help himself…”

“You recorded that whole conversation?” I ask, and she nods. “You’re a fucking genius, Bentley Johnson.” I lean down and kiss her. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

“I’ll take that.” Xavier plucks the recording device out of Bentley’s hands. “You two take an early mark.”

“Wait, no, I want to come,” she argues.

Xavier looks from Bentley to me. I nod my head. If she wants to be there to hand this over, then I’m not going to stop her. “Okay, fine, but afterwards, you two are going to take off for the weekend.”

“Why?” Bentley asks.

“Humour me. I have a little cabin on the Gold Coast. It’s beachfront. You’ll love it. I’ll have the jet ready to take you straight there,” Xavier says.

“Thanks, we’ll take it,” I answer before Bentley can refuse the offer.

Bentley is quiet the whole way to the police station. Once we’re there, I take hold of her hand. It’s shaking. “I know this is a lot, Bentley, but you’re not alone. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere,” I tell her.

“I know. Thank you. It’s just… he didn’t give up. He didn’t choose to leave us behind,” she says, her voice cracking at the end.

“No, he didn’t.”

“I spent so many years being angry at him because I thought he made a conscious decision…”

“That’s not your fault,” I say and tug her into my arms.

“I know.”

We follow Xavier into the police station. This must be an odd change of position for him; he’s usually the one getting people off on criminal charges. Guilty or not. He’s never the one presenting evidence to have someone arrested.

Bentley’s hand is firmly gripped in mine. I know she must be going through a myriad of emotions right now. I’m hopeful that this might give her and her family some kind of peace, knowing that her father didn’t choose his fate.

“Xavier Christianson for Detective Anderson,” Xavier says to the front desk clerk. At the mention of his name, the clerk immediately picks up the phone, presumably calling through to the man in question.

“Does he always have that effect on people?” Bentley whispers.

“Most of the time,” I whisper back.

“Who is Detective Anderson?” she asks me.

“No idea.”

“Usually a pain in my fucking ass, but in this instance, he’s the best man for the job,” Xavier says, looking over his shoulder at us.

The side door opens with a loud buzzing sound. “Christianson, it’s not often that I’m paid an unexpected visit from the other side. What can I do for you?”

“I have a case I want you to look into. One with a defendant I’m not interested in representing.” Xavier’s lips tip up at one side.

“Well, call me intrigued. Come on through.” The detective holds the door open. We’re led into an office, where he sits behind the desk and gestures to a set of chairs. “Have a seat.”

“This won’t take that long. Mark Kemp was responsible for putting a hit on Oliver Johnson. He was caught on tape, admitting to the crimes before leaving the courtroom this afternoon.” Xavier places the recording device onto the desk and presses play.

After a moment, the detective hits the pause button and asks, “How did you come across this?”

“I had the device in my pocket when he approached us,” Xavier tells him. “I trust that you will do what you need to do with this information.”

“I’ve been looking for a way to bring that fucker down a peg or two. This will do it,” Anderson replies while leading us to the front of the station.

“Thank you.”

Bentley hasn’t said a word. I chose to let Xavier handle this, considering he seems to know the lead homicide detective. When we step outside the building, there’s already a town car parked and waiting.

“The jet’s ready. You two are all set for a weekend on the Gold Coast.” Xavier smiles and urges us to go.

“Why don’t you grab Alistair and come with?” I suggest.

“Let me check with Shardonnay. You go ahead. I’ll call you.”