Deadly Deception

Chapter 14



The moon hung high in the velvet sky, only occasionally covered by ill-omened clouds. A few droplets of rain raced down the windshield while distant lightning lit up the city. Silently, Anne prayed that she would make it in time to save Adam. In his own backward way, he had been protecting her. She had made a deal with the devil the moment Carter held her in his arms and soothed her worries with a lullaby of deception. The very thought of their intimate encounter made her shudder with repulsion.

The drive to Leeds Imports seemed endless; her heart raced with angst. The flashes of electricity sewed through the black clouds, illuminating the large brick building. The parking lot was empty; all was quiet. She pulled around to the back of the building where the barbed wire fence separated her from the tan metal door. Leaving Adam’s prized possession parked in the darkness, she walked along the side of the building where she had noticed a gap between the fencing and brick wall. She slinked through without difficulty and pulled on the door, but it was locked tight.

“Damn it,” Anne hissed through her teeth.

Approaching three two-story dock entrances, she saw that one was slightly opened. Lowering her body to peer through the thin slit, she could see nothing but darkness. Hoisting herself onto the damp concrete slab, Anne pushed her body through the tight opening, sucking in her stomach until her ribs grazed the bottom of the massive steel door.

The substantial warehouse intimidated her five-foot, five-inch stature. All that echoed through the solid walls was the reverberation of the rumbling thunder. Inhale, exhale, she reminded herself while she lightly walked through the open void. She was exposed in the vastness, which sent dread through her bones. Once again, she felt hunted. A set of metal crisscrossed stairs led her to a rickety mezzanine that eventually opened up to the offices of Rita, Steven, and, at one time, Carter. Anne placed her ear to Carter’s office door, desperately listening for any type of noise or a voice. Again a crash of thunder shook the wooden frame. With an unsteady hand, Anne turned the door handle and flung it open; the office was empty.

It was as if she stepped into a time machine; she had not crossed the threshold into this space since his vanishing act. Carter’s taste was very old world; his office was decorated with large wooden pieces intricately designed and fabrics that danced with burgundy and bronze in meticulous paisley patterns. His smell lingered; he had recently been here, and was possibly still watching her from a distance, biding his time until she was completely vulnerable.

In the corner of the office stood a cherry armoire. Anne tugged at the black pulls, but it was locked. With all her might, she yanked on the door, breaking the latch as she tried to steady her balance. Papers, photos, and letters shuffled together like a deck of cards in the wooden enclosure. Through the flashes of lightning that flickered through the pane of glass above her, she could see faces of his family, Sam and other people he had befriended along the way, even pictures of her and him on their numerous retreats to the Bahamas, Australia and Italy.

Anne brushed aside letters written in Chinese and English.

Mr.Leeds:

Upon our agreement regarding Mr. Sam Goodman, you will turn over 40% of the life insurance money that will be collected from his widow, Lien (Yang) Goodman. Once I receive my money and you have your 60%, Lien will be instructed to return to Hong Kong and continue her employment with me.

Mr. Cheng

“Oh my god!”

Carter had bought Lien in exchange for Sam’s life. Anne shuffled through pages of life insurance policies, bank account information, and email correspondence between Lien and Carter. He had promised her freedom when in fact he was planning to send her back to Mr. Cheng, a ruthless and treacherous sex trafficker out of Hong Kong. He was known for kidnapping women and selling them like meat on the side of the road.

Anne immediately thought of their daughter. What would happen to her? Would Mr. Cheng own her too? She had to turn all this over to Victoria. Her hands trembled, grasping the ghastly evidence against Carter. He was a monster. He betrayed a man that he called a brother for fifty million dollars. The moment Sam took Lien out of Hong Kong, his fate had been sealed. Sealed by Carter.

Anne’s erratic breath burned her throat. On the verge of hyperventilation, she watched the sheets of rain pounding the window. As a flash of lighting streaked across the heavens, a hand grasped Anne’s shoulder, clenching its dominant claws into her collarbone. The combination of her petrified scream and the growling rumble of thunder set off a deafening resonance throughout the building.

The undertones of the darkness and faint light revealed a disheveled Adam Whitney. Scruff weaved auburn and coffee over his face. His eyes were dark and firm. They burned into Anne’s. Without another word, she lunged into his chest. His comfort she once knew so well enveloped her. Silently he laid his cheek on top of her still-damp hair. The miniscule droplets stretched over his skin. Pulling back, Anne looked up at Adam for a heartening expression; all that she saw was anger and distress, while he softly brushed the bruises and scrapes that lined her face. Flinching at the bruise that had surfaced on her cheekbone after Carter and she tumbled around on the floor, she placed her hand over his.

“I know what you’ve done…and Carter,” she whispered, lowering her head. “But I also know you were trying to protect me.” Quiet tears trailed her face, salting her pale lips. Adam brushed them with his thumb.

“I’m not proud of what I’ve done in the past and who I’ve dealt with, but I will never regret falling in love with you. Carter will never take that from me.”

The stream of emotion continued down her face. A cry escaped her. She saw, lying at Adam’s feet, two large black duffel bags.

“What are you doing? This is a bad idea, Adam.”

“Giving Carter what he wants, and in exchange he lets us live.”

That’s all Anne was to Carter—a bargaining tool to reclaim his dirty money.

“And you trust him?”

Anne shook her head, turning her back from Adam. She was still holding the papers she had found.

“He contributed to the murder of his best friend, in cold blood. What makes you think he’s going to let us live?”

Anne shook the papers in the air, wondering when Adam had become so naïve.

“Sam didn’t have what Carter wanted. I do. I have all the evidence. I’ll destroy it, plus I have the money from a deal that went south a few years back.”

“Adam, he kidnapped me and he was going to kill me. What makes you think he’ll just let me walk away? Did you know he had me?”

His head hung low. Anne knew the answer. Her chest tightened and the pain flowed out of her like a river, again.

“I knew you would escape. Carter told me he had you and if I even thought about coming to you, he would kill you. Carter wants power, not you. He’s only doing this because he knew how to get to me. He’s not who you think he is. He’s not Carter Leeds, he’s…”

Something or someone stirred a few feet from outside the office, tracking them. Adam placed his index finger to his lips, hushing Anne before a scream could escape her throat. Quietly turning on his heels, Adam started to walk toward the noise. Anne extended her hand to stop him but she was unsuccessful. He neared the frame of the door while Anne watched him peer up and down the corridor, then step out to the right. As the blood raced through her veins at Mach speed, her nerves became numb, and her skin tingled with pinpricks of anxiety. The air lay silent; it was abruptly interrupted by the sounds of shuffling feet, followed by two ear-splitting gun shots. Trying to stir the words from her mouth, Anne shouted for Adam. Illuminated by a bolt of lightning, a sinister shadow appeared in the opening to the office.

“No!” Anne shrieked to the malevolent being that stood before her, hearing the click of the gun as Carter aimed at her chest. She closed her eyes and inhaled her last obtainable breath.