I didn’t hear anything from the living room as I slipped into the open door I’d seen on my way to the bathroom. Moonlight bathed the room in dim light.
I rushed to the desk and flipped on the small desk lamp, listening for any trace of footsteps coming down the hallway.
Quietly, I opened all the desk drawers, looking for any sign of paperwork.
Dammit! Nothing!
I was ready to give up when I spotted a bookshelf next to the desk. My heart was pounding as I saw a large ledger that seemed out of place right next to some of the classics.
I pulled out the large, untitled book, and then opened it on the desk.
Bingo!
It was a book of transactions, illegal money being sent through various shell companies and offshore accounts to hide the income from his darker businesses. I didn’t think; I just started using the tiny cameo Marcus had given me to get records and names of the companies.
I moved as quickly as possible, snapping as much information as I could in a short period of time. The amounts and dates weren’t as important as capturing the names of the companies and the accounts.
I was amazed by the fact that Becker hadn’t even bothered to try to hide exactly where the money was coming from. It listed the human trafficking, prostitution, and drug deals right in the ledger.
Maybe he was too arrogant about covering his tracks. He’s obviously done it for years. Nobody has even dug deep enough to follow the money.
I was just replacing the large book when I heard footsteps.
“What in the fuck are you doing in here?” Becker said, his tone furious.
I moved my hand slowly. “I was just admiring your book collection. You have some great classics,” I lied, thinking quickly about how to cover myself.
Dammit! I’d almost made it out before he came after me.
“I told you not to go anywhere except the can,” he said in a surly tone.
I cringed as he moved to my side, the fury in his expression terrifying.
“What else were you doing? Bitch, are you spying on me?”
“Of course not,” I answered in an innocent tone. “I just like books.”
“So you just happened to stumble in here?”
“Yes.”
“Bullshit,” he exploded. “I hate liars, and you’re not telling me the truth.”
“I am. I swear I am,” I answered in a pleading tone. “Why else would I be here?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?” he demanded.
I startled as he grabbed a large hunk of my hair, yanked my head back, and I felt cold metal against my face. Out of the corner of my eye, I verified what I already knew. He was holding a gun to the side of my head.
“Tell me!” he bellowed. “What in the hell were you looking for?”
“Nothing. I just stopped in here because I could see the bookshelf.”
I swallowed hard, trying not to think about the weapon aimed at my head.
Keeping his grip on my hair and the gun close to his target, he pushed me in front of him. “Move,” he said in a menacing voice, pushing me to set my body in motion.
“Where?” I asked, trying not to let my fear take over.
“We’re going to take a fucking ride. I don’t trust you here.”
My heart was racing as I stumbled over my high heels in front of him, his grip on my hair feeling like he was tearing it from my scalp.
Marcus! Signal for Marcus.
There was no way I was getting away from Becker’s death grip. If I released the pepper spray, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t shoot me on the spot.
The only way to get help was to bring Marcus into the mess I’d just created. But I was terrified he’d get wounded or end up dead. There was no way for me to warn him that Greg had a gun.
I hesitated as Becker pushed me outside and toward his vehicle in the driveway, trying to think about how I could pull myself out of the situation without getting Marcus hurt.
As ordered, I climbed into the passenger seat from the driver’s side, his weapon trained on me the entire time.
“You’ll pay for your betrayal, bitch. Nobody snoops around me and lives to tell about it,” he bragged as he got into the driver’s seat.
“Greg, I wasn’t snooping. I was just looking at your office,” I said, trying to reason with a madman.
“I told you what to do, and you had to go digging around. I said to stay out of the other rooms. You brought this on yourself.”
Sweet Jesus! He was so paranoid that I wasn’t going to be able to reason with him.
He pushed the button to start the vehicle, and I started to contemplate whether or not I should push the panic button for Marcus’s backup.
By now, he’d probably seen us. The house was sheltered, but if he was on the street, he might already know what was happening. If he came into the situation knowing Becker had a weapon, he might be more careful.
My thoughts instantly dissipated as the lights in the car came back on, and Becker was temporarily diverted by a man standing next to the open driver’s side door. The gun that he had trained on me wavered for a moment, and it only took me seconds to figure out why.
“I’m taking this vehicle, asshole. Get out or I’ll blow your head off,” Marcus growled in a low, agitated tone.
Like Becker, Marcus had a gun, and it was leveled at Becker’s head.
Like I was watching in slow motion, the weapon moved from being aimed at me and started toward Marcus.
With a twist of a stone, I hit my mark with the pepper spray in my bracelet. A wounded howl escaped from Becker’s mouth as I grabbed for his gun.
Marcus moved faster than me, grabbing Becker’s shirt and hauling him out of the vehicle, and then slamming him to the ground as he intercepted Becker’s gun in the process.
He hopped into the driver’s seat and sped away, making sure he had the keys in the vehicle before he left Becker’s bellowing figure on the ground.
I fumbled for the control for the windows, opening the one on my side as fast as possible because of the discharged pepper spray.
I panted for breath, my heart galloping as I realized that I’d escaped with Marcus.
“What are you doing? Where are we going?” I asked in a panicked tone.
“Not far,” he answered in a clipped tone.
We stopped a few blocks away from Becker’s house. “Are we getting out?”
“Get into my sedan. Go!” he said in an urgent tone.
I stumbled out of the luxury sports car and to the vehicle I’d seen Marcus driving earlier in the day. I’d barely closed the door when he stepped on the gas and sped away from the abandoned vehicle.
I didn’t speak as Marcus drove. My body was still shaking, and I was still trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.
Marcus had appeared out of nowhere, and I’d definitely been looking for any sign of him when Becker had brought me outside. Everything had happened so fast. All I’d been able to process was the fact that Becker was trying to shoot Marcus. I’d acted completely on instinct when I’d released the pepper spray.
Finally, I said in a husky whisper, “You’re safe. We’re both safe.”
“I could have used some help before you used the chemicals,” Marcus said tightly. “If you were in trouble, why didn’t you signal for me?”
It was a reasonable question. I just wasn’t sure how to answer.