Deadly Deception (Deadly Series) (12 page)

Letting out a sigh, she unlocked and opened the door.

“Why are you knocking on this door?”

Anne
asked, closing and locking it behind her.

“I can’t very well stroll in to the waiting room, can I?”

Carter had a point. Without further delay, he placed his lips on hers and enveloped his arms around her waist. His lips were soft and moist. Anne’s mind began to cloud up but she tried to remain focused.

“I’ve missed you. You don’t know how badly I wanted to be at your side this morning.”

Anne touched her lips, moving away from him.

“Yes, well, it was extremely heartbreaking to see his family so devastated. I figured you were keeping your distance somewhere nearby.”

“I was. It pained me to not be there to fully pay my respects.”

The elephant in the room was beginning to grow, smothering them both.

“I know you saw Adam there with me, and that we had a discussion…if you want to call it that.”

Carter approached her, running his finger down her jaw line.

“Did he hurt you? Are you all right?”

She shifted her face away from his touch.

“No, no, he didn’t hurt me. He’s just concerned and you know why. You both can’t be playing on Team Good and in fact I suspect you are both playing on the Team Very Bad, which leaves me to wonder… Is this like picking the lesser of two evils?”

Carter lowered his gaze to the floor.

“Remember that first night we met. The hot summer night air can make you do crazy things and when I saw you across that room I knew I had to talk to you. Even then I wanted to give you the world, the sun, the stars, the universe and I knew I could never come close to that. Nor did you want any of that, my simple, sweet Anneliese. All you ever asked of me is to just love you…”

“It wasn’t enough, was it, Carter?” 

His lack of response screamed at her. She was losing him all over again. Her heart sank in the depths of her hallow body. Carter pushed her numb shell against his dank cotton shirt, burying his face in the crook of her neck, soaking in her scent. Her arms remained weighted at her sides.

“Let’s go away, Anneliese, let’s just…just disappear.”

His plea electrocuted her senses. She was done playing the victim. No more damsel in distress.

“No, I will not run and hide with you. Your guilty conscious is yours alone. You and I vanishing into the night is not the remedy to this problem. As much as I want us to be us again it can never be, don’t you see that? Carter and Anneliese died together that day. We have succumbed to such an entanglement of lies that there will never be a happy ending…not for us.”

Carter embraced her with such might the air from her lungs escaped her mouth with a hiss.

“
You will always be my Anneliese,”

Carter whispered in her ear
, kissing her cheek. Before she could blink, she was once again alone in her office, but his words lingered through the stale air. Anger rose from where her heart had plummeted.

Returning her attention to the computer screen, she clicked it back on, gazing in disbelief at what she was seeing.
Absolutely nothing. All records pertaining to Carter Leeds were gone, as if he had never existed; not even a birth record could be located. It was as if he had been sucked into the cyber abyss and never seen again.
How fitting
, she thought.

Her email chirped, breaking her novice sleuthing. At first she planned to ignore it but curiosity won in the end.

Anne,

I know you don’t want to see me but I need to tell you something before it’s too late. I deceived you and for that I’m sorry but I did it to protect you. I’m not sorry that I fell in love with you and I’m not sorry that I asked you to be my wife. I don’t know how this will end. Remember everything I’ve taught you; it has all led to this.

I’m not a religious man but I know this means something to you.

I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. Psalm 31:7

Forever Yours,

Adam

Anne could no longer find breath. Her lungs filled with heat. Curiosity killed the cat, right? She had spoken this verse to him right after they began dating. Adam could see her tormented soul, her sickness, and he pulled her from the darkness. He had saved her from herself. She spent hours searching for answers after her mother died and then after Carter disappeared. Anne couldn’t save them.

“Anne?”

“Jesus!” Anne grabbed her chest. Casey vaporized next to her.

“Sorry, you were so deep in thought you didn’t hear me knock. Looks like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I have—he was here.”

Casey’s cherry-red-painted mouth fell open.

“What? Did Shelly see him?”

“No, he snuck through the other door and then I got an email from Adam.”

Anne could see Casey’s bright eyes grazing over his bold words.

“
What the hell does that mean—it has all led to this?”

“Adam showed up at the funeral. He was being vague. It’s like this whole thing has been plotted out for the past three years.”

“Gearing up for war,” Casey whispered.

Anne’s brows pushed together as she let Casey’s words sink in. They made sense. It’s been building up all this time and now it will come to a head with her directly in the middle of it all.

“I know this is going to come out harshly, but didn’t you ever suspect anything when you were with Carter?”

Anne wasn’t offended by the question, and a valid question it was. How could she be in such a serious relationship for so long and have no inkling of his illicit activities? Were the memories there and just buried? Did the shock of losing him and their baby hide them deep in the confines of her brain?

“I know, Casey. I’ve asked myself the same question a hundred times since this all happened. How could I have been so blind and stupid? And even with Adam, ughhhh.”

Anne tossed her head back against the chair in sheer aggravation.

“I need to get some air.” She threw her hands up.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Casey asked.

“No thanks, I really need to be alone and try to sort it all out.”

Casey hugged her and placed a motherly kiss atop her head.

***

The Riverfront District in Minneapolis was Anne’s place of solace. The collage of glass and metal reflected grandly off the Mississippi.  Dreary rain clouds were starting to move out of the city, letting in peek-a-boo sunshine, which felt soothing against her skin. She inhaled the garden-fresh aroma.

Perched on a stiff wooden bench, she observed a man and woman with two small children. They grasped their father’s legs, begging for piggy-back rides. Anne couldn’t help but feel such a sadness for Sam’s little girl who would never share such memories with him. He would be absent from her first dance, her graduation. Who would walk her down the aisle on her wedding day? Anne knew that longing all too well and wouldn’t wish it upon anyone.

She could feel the fury and heat burn through her stomach and enter her blood stream, oscillating resentment and disgust.  All at once the wind ceased and the distant noise of traffic and conversation were silenced. This would be the calm before the storm. All she could hear were the stilettos pounding hard against the Stone Arch Bridge as she made her way to uncover the truth.

D’aubinge had a lighter feel to it in the afternoon hours. Anne sat at the bar where she had first met Carter. Realizing that she had been caught up in nostalgia, she found herself quietly smiling to the glass of merlot that sat in front of her. Anne shook it off and gazed around the polished brasserie. Sitting behind her in a small booth were two business women and next to them was a man typing feverishly on his laptop. Anne twisted herself back toward the bar to discover she now had company.

“Hello An
ne,” Rita said, sitting on the stool.

Her hair was back in a slick ponytail and decorated with a black oval jeweled hair accessory
and she was looking put together in her red linen dress suit and black silk camisole, Anne saw a glimpse of the Rita she had once known. The bartender approached them with a grin.

“Christian, I’ll have a scotch on the rocks and Anne will have another glass of
merlot.”

He nodded and went to prepare the drinks.

“Are you following me now?” Anne asked sarcastically, drinking the rest of the warm liquid.

“Anne, first let me apologize for my demeanor toward you the last time we spoke. I was having an off day and I took it out on you. Second, I am not following you, just simply making amends.”

Christian placed the drinks in front of them.

“Thank you.
I’ve got this, okay?”

Rita gave him a wink; he once again nodded and returned to the other end of the bar.

“Did you know?” Anne asked discreetly, knowing anyone could have been listening.

“I did.”

“Why am I not surprised,” Anne replied acidly.

“I swore I wouldn’t say anything. I had to protect him. Lord knows his father didn’t.” Rita gulped her scotch.

“Why weren’t you at Sam’s funeral this morning? He was Carter’s best friend and part of
your
family.”

“I was there. I sat in the back of the church.”

Anne rolled her eyes.

“You Leeds are sure good at lurking in the shadows.”

Rita shifted her body toward Anne, radiating displeasure.

“I know you are upset and you have right to be, but he did it to protect you. I am in no way condoning what he has done, but, Anne, he loves you so much and he is trying to get everything worked out with the appropriate people.”

“I am beyond upset, Rita. I am pissed off!” Anne quickly lowered her voice; feeling eyes around the bar watch their exchange.

I have been lied to for
God knows how many years.”

“Anne,” Rita began.

“I’m not finished. All of Carter’s records have been erased, but I’m sure you already knew that. What does Adam have to do with all this? Tell me now!”

“Adam was our attorney. He was to accompany Carter to Chicago to assist in the legal side of the investment. We had to make sure we weren’t getting screwed in the deal. Long story short, the deal went south with Carter and Adam in the middle of it. Adam took the easy way out.”

“No, I think Carter did.”

Rita stiffened, finishing her drink.

“Adam is nothing but a snitch but he held all the cards—there was nothing we could do. When he made his play for you, we knew he meant business and wanted Carter gone for good.”

“Jesus, do you realize how insane this is? How do you just sit there and let all this happen?”

Rita’s face flooded with crimson.

“I didn’t have a choice!”

“Bullshit!”

Anne slammed her hand d
own on the granite, then placed the wine glass to her lips and let the merlot flow into her mouth. Rita’s gaze moved past Anne and toward Christian who was still standing at the opposite end of the bar, cleaning glasses.

“
Does he work for the Montgomerys too?” she whispered, placing the glass down.

“Why Anne, you don’t look so well.”

Anne was feeling a rush of euphoria circulate through her veins, with every heartbeat thrusting the sensation more rapidly into her blood stream. Her mind thickened with haze, disabling all lucid thought.

“Here my dear, let’s go to the ladies room.”

Anne could faintly feel Rita’s chilled arms wrap around her waist and guide her toward the back of the bar.

“What…was…in my…”

The motions of her lips ceased; words could no longer be found.

Through the heavy surge of whatever drug they had placed in her drink, she could faintly hear multiple voices. Feeling her feet leave the ground, she was floating away into the shadows. Her breathing slowed and in one last exhale, Anne’s world faded into nothingness.

“Everything will be all right, my sweet Anneliese.” Carter’s words swept into her
consciousness like ocean waves. “Trust me, trust me…”

She could feel caresses glide across her cheek and then soft echoes. But quickly the nothingness pulled her back under.

Through her closed eyelids, she could see a peach glow; the rays of sun poured onto her still body. Anne moved her fingers along what seemed to be a leather surface, perhaps a chaise. It was dimpled with cold circular buttons. The room was concealed in silence. She could hear her own breathing, which had returned to a normal rhythm.

Coaxing her limbs to reposition themselves, she moved ever so slightly. Her muscles ached from the tension she subjected them to as the drugs had entered her nervous system. Her recollection of what had taken place earlier was hazy, as was her vision. Anne blinked several times to regain focus; her surroundings were unfamiliar.