Eruption (The Hunted Series Book 3) (25 page)

My phone buzzed again.

"Step away from his office. Here's my account number
again. You're running out of time." The account number was written at the
bottom of the text.

I turned around. How is she watching me? I could feel tears
begin to well in my eyes. I couldn't risk it. James could lose everything. 20
million dollars wasn't that much to him. And maybe we could get it back later.
She didn't say I couldn't tell him afterwards. I didn't have time to think
right now. I was running out of time.

I ran toward the elevator and called Ian.

He picked up on the second ring. "Hey, Penny. I'm
waiting outside to take you to Kleinfeld's."

I stepped onto the elevator and pressed the button to close
the doors. "No. Ian I need you to drive me to the bank."

"Okay, which bank?"

Shit.
I knew James had set me up with my own account
when we moved to New York despite my protests. I had never accessed it before.
Every now and then I used the credit card he gave me to buy expensive dresses
for functions I went to with him. But I had no idea how much was in the
account. Hopefully it would be enough.
What bank was it?
"Just the
normal one."

"United Bank? The one that James uses?"

"Yes." I tried to hide my sigh of relief.
"Yup, the normal one."

Ian laughed. "You got it."

I hung up the phone when he came into view. He was parked
right outside the office building and the door was already open for me.
"How long will it take to get there?"

"It's just down the street."

"Thank God."

He gave me a funny look, but closed the door.

As soon as the car was moving, I felt even more nervous. Was
I doing the right thing? James wouldn't want those photos all over the
internet. I didn't have a choice. We pulled up outside of a building that said
United Bank. "Thanks, Ian," I said and got out the second the car
stopped. I ran up the steps and into the bank. It was insanely fancy inside. It
looked more like a hotel than a bank. There was no line, so I walked directly
up to the teller. "Hi, I need to transfer some money."

She stared at me for a second. "Yes, Miss..."

"Taylor. Penny Taylor. I have an account here, but I
don't know the account number off the top of my head."
Or at all.
I
hope this is the right bank.
I had a couple thousand dollars in my own bank
account. That wasn't going to appease Isabella.

"Okay, hold on one second. Penny Taylor..." She
stared at her computer screen as she spoke. "And you're looking to
transfer money?"

"Yes, just to a different account."

"How much are you looking to transfer?"

"20 million." I had lowered my voice slightly. She
was going to think I was crazy.

The woman's fingers stopped and she looked up at me.
"Let me just get a manager for you to sit down with. Excuse me."

"I'm in a bit of a hurry."

"Okay, Miss Taylor. Just let me go get him." She
disappeared through a door.

I pulled out my phone. I only had twelve minutes. It felt
like I was having a heart attack. I put my hand on my chest.

"The manager will be right out," the teller said as
she came back up to the counter. "If you don't mind taking a seat."
She gestured toward a group of plush chairs. This was taking too long. I sat
down and tapped my foot nervously. A few minutes later a man emerged from the back.

"Hello, Miss Taylor. You must be James' fiancée."
He put his hand out toward me. "I'm Ed and I'll be helping you out
today."

I immediately stood up and shook his hand. "Yes, hi,
it's nice to meet you. I'm kind of in a rush. I need to get this done before
the wedding."

"Of course. Right this way." He took me to his
office and sat down behind his desk. "So, James added you to several of
his bank accounts when he updated his will a couple of years ago, in addition
to the one that is just under your name."

"Mhm." I sat down across from him. I had no idea
that James had done that. He trusted me with his money. And I was here giving
it away to Isabella. My stomach seemed to flip over. Was I doing the right
thing?

"And you understand that all of your joint assets are
not liquid. You don't have 20 million dollars sitting in the bank. A lot of
your money is currently tied up in investments. Properties, stocks..."

"Yes, of course." I hadn't even thought about that.
No one had 20 million dollars just sitting in the bank. That wasn't financially
responsible. "Is there any way to liquidate some of those assets?"

Ed scratched the back of his neck. He was starting to look
uncomfortable. "Are you sure you want to do that?"

No.
"Yes."

"James' portfolio is very diverse, but if you're looking
for liquid assets immediately, the best way is probably through stocks. I'd
advise you to call James' broker to get his take on what stocks are best to
sell at the moment. How about you come back tomorrow? The stock market closes
in several minutes as well as this bank and..."

"Could you just do it for me? Just take your best guess
on which to sell?"

"Miss Taylor, I'm not a financial advisor. I'm just the
manager of the bank. And I don't have access to your stocks."

My phone buzzed and I looked down at the text that had just
come through:

"James' broker's name is Bill O'Neill. I'm sure you have
been added to that account as well. You have ten minutes, Penny."

My hands started shaking again. I looked over my shoulder.
How did she know everything I was doing?

"Miss Taylor, if you'd like to call James to
discuss..."

"No, that's okay. Do you have Bill O'Neill's phone
number so I can call him real quick?"

"Of course." Ed stared at his computer for a second
and then typed a number into his desk phone and handed it to me.

"Hey, Ed!" Bill O'Neill said when he picked up the
phone. "Did you catch the game..."

"Hi, Bill. This is actually Penny Taylor, James Hunter's
fiancée."

"Oh, hi, Miss Taylor. I've heard so much about you. Did
you catch the Mets game last night?"

"No. Actually, I'm kind of in a rush, Bill. I need to
liquidate some of my stocks."

Bill cleared his throat. "Let me get James on the other
line."

"No! I mean, he wanted me to handle it." I dropped
my voice slightly. "I need to transfer 20 million dollars for an
investment opportunity that he doesn't want to miss out on."

"Great, great. What company is James investing in
now?"

Um...
"Uber." It was the first thing that
popped into my head.

"I thought he already invested in that?"

"Well, just, more, you know. When he sees a good
investment he likes to go hard."
Go hard?
I was so bad at lying. I
could feel Ed staring at me. I had told him I needed to do this before the
wedding. Investing in Uber had nothing to do with that. My stories were already
losing substance. "So, if I sell some stocks, will we be able to get
enough money in my bank account?"

"Sure. But the trading floor closes in just a few
minutes..."

"Then we better hurry this along."

Bill cleared his throat. "What were you interested in
selling?"

"Apple." Again, I just said the first thing that
popped into my head.

"Are you sure? It's on an up and..."

"I'm sure."

"I'd really feel more comfortable if I got James in on
this call. I know that he likes Apple and..."

"I'm marrying him on Saturday. If you don't assist me
with this, the first thing I'll do as his wife is convince him to get a new
stock broker."

"Right. Very well. Sorry, Miss Taylor." There was a
pause on his end. "What else would you like to sell? That was only two
million."

Two million in one stock? "How about GM?" I said. I
didn't know enough about stocks to be having this conversation.

"He doesn't have investments in GM."

Crap.
"Right, I forgot. How about Google
then?"

"Okay. That's another 10 million."

"Great. What are some of the highest yielding
stocks?"

"He's made a ton of money in oil."

Oil?
James was very environmentally conscious. Why did
he have oil stocks? "Sell all of those." Maybe he'd thank me later
for that one.

"I only need to sell a few of them to get you the money
you need. Do you have a preference?"

"No, just do it." I looked down at my phone. I only
had 3 minutes left. Ed was already packing up his briefcase for the day.
Shit!

"Okay, it'll take a few minutes for the funds to appear
in your account."

I wasn't sure if that would cut it, but there was nothing
else I could do. "Thank you for all your help, Bill. I'll make sure to let
James know how accommodating you were."

"Very well. And congratulation on your upcoming
nuptials."

"Thanks." I hung up the phone before I said
anything else stupid. "Ed, can we set up the transfer now?"

He looked down at his watch. "The bank closes in a few
minutes and it usually takes some time for the funds to appear..."

"Bill said it would just be a few minutes. I have the
account number I need the money in right here." I pulled out my phone.

Ed looked even more uncomfortable than he had a minute ago as
he sat down. "That's not the account number for Uber."

I laughed nervously. "No, it's not. I just needed Bill
to sell the stocks for me. He was more likely to do it if he thought we were
investing in something else profitable."

"I see." Ed tapped a few keys on his computer.
"So, who's account is this?" He wasn't making eye contact with me.

"A last minute wedding venue expense."

"For 20 million dollars?"

"You know James. He's extravagant. Has the money
transferred yet?"

"It'll be another minute. Just let me fill in the
information for the transfer."

I looked down at my phone again.
One minute.

"Here we are," Ed said. "Would you like me to
print out a copy of your transaction or send an email copy to you?"

"A print out please." I didn't want him to
accidentally send a copy to James. I needed to tell him about this without him
finding out first. I knew how bad it looked.

A printer hummed to life in the corner. Ed stood up and
grabbed the small slip that had printed out. "20 million to the account
number you had listed." He handed me the slip of paper.

Hopefully we had gotten it done just in time. "Thank you
so much, Ed." I stood up and grabbed the sheet of paper. My mother and
Melissa were probably wondering where I was. But something made me stop before
I walked out of the office. James added me to all his accounts and to his will
a few years ago. But he had never told me. Why hadn't he told me? I turned
around. "Who else is in the will?"

"Excuse me?" Ed had shut off his computer and
snapped his briefcase closed.

"In James' will. Who else is a beneficiary?"

"Just you, Miss Taylor."

Just me?
I swallowed hard. He couldn't leave me with
all his money. "But if something happened to both of us..."

"There is a contingency where all the money goes to a
dozen or so charities in case of an untimely death to both parties. And the
businesses would be left to his brother and sister."

I didn't know what to say. James had left all his money to me
even before we got married. He was even leaving me responsible for running his
businesses. He trusted me. More than anyone else in the world. What had I just
done?

Thursday

I stared at my reflection in the mirror as the woman clipped
another veil into my hair.

"Penny..." my mom said. "Sweetie, you look so
beautiful."

I immediately burst into tears.
Oh God.
I had made a
mistake. I needed to talk to James. My dress felt tight and uncomfortable. I
didn't want any of this. I never wanted a fancy wedding. James had told me he
didn't either. He said he had already done all that. He wanted to get married
in Vegas. But I had said no. I had told him I wanted my family and friends to
be there. Why were we doing this? Why was I making him do something he didn't
want to do? I didn't need any of this.

Melissa grabbed a tissue and handed it to me. "Penny,
that one's perfect. The diamonds match the straps on the dress. It's absolutely
gorgeous."

I nodded. They thought I was crying because I liked the veil.
I blotted my eyes. "Let's get this one," I said and pulled it out of
my hair.

My hands wouldn't stop shaking. I pushed the veil into the
sales associates' hands so that no one would notice. Isabella still hadn't
contacted me. I didn't know whether or not she had gotten the money in time.
The pictures could be all over the internet already.

"Can you help me get out of this?" I asked the
woman who was helping me.

She nodded and we went back into the changing room. As soon
as I was back in my normal clothes, I grabbed my cell phone. Still nothing.

"Do you girls want to go get some dinner?" my mom
asked. "My treat."

"I can't, Mom. I told James I'd have dinner with just
him tonight."

"Of course." My mom gave me a smile. "Melissa,
do you and Tyler want to join Peter and me for dinner?"

"We'd love to, Mrs. Taylor."

The sales associate handed me my dress in a bag. "You're
all set."

"Thank you," I said and took the dress from her.

"Penny, your hands are shaking." My mom stood up and
took the dress from me. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm just nervous."

"Sweetie." My mom embraced me with a huge hug.
"I was nervous before my wedding too. But you have nothing to worry about.
You and James have such a strong connection. And you've already been through so
much together. The two of you can face anything. Everyone can see the love that
you share. I'm so happy for you." She squeezed me once more and then
released me from her embrace.

"You two were made for each other," Melissa said
with a smile. "There is no other way to describe what you guys have."

"How are you and Tyler doing?"

Melissa's smile got even bigger. "So good. And I think I
owe you a thank you for that. He told me that he talked to you about it."

"I'm so happy that it all worked out."

Melissa threw her arms around me. "I'm so sorry about
everything, Penny. I don't know why..."

"It's okay." She had already apologized a dozen
times.

"I just...I love you so much and I'm so happy for you.
I'm sorry if my attitude ruined anything leading up to your wedding."

"It didn't." At least, it didn't matter now. I was
just happy that we were friends again. She was back just in time to be my maid
of honor.

She unwrapped her arms from around me and squeezed my
shoulders. "And you're going to be the most beautiful bride. Why are you
crying again?"

"I'm sorry." I laughed and quickly wiped my tears
away before they could stream down my cheeks. "I don't know what's wrong
with me." But I did. I had this awful feeling in my stomach that this
wedding wasn't going to happen. I had just stolen money from James. My
reasoning didn't matter. I had probably just lost his trust. Isabella was a
better villain than I had given her credit for this morning. She had played
this whole thing just right.

"You're just nervous," my mom said. "Try to
get some sleep tonight. You'll just be excited tomorrow when the celebrations
start. And I can't wait to meet James' parents at the rehearsal dinner."

I hadn't told my parents about the disaster at the engagement
party. I wasn't sure why. They would probably never meet James' parents. But I
didn't want them to think that reflected poorly on James. He'd be better at
explaining it to them than I would. I still had so many unanswered questions
about his childhood.

Melissa was staring at me with a funny look on her face.

When my mom turned away to grab her purse, I shook my head at
Melissa.

She just shrugged and pretended to zip her mouth shut.

"Thank you," I mouthed silently.

We all made our way outside. It was still hot out. I gave my
mom and Melissa both a hug goodbye. "Have fun at dinner."

"Thanks again, Penny. I really owe you one,"
Melissa said. "We'll see you tomorrow night."

"Mhm. Bye, Mom."

"Don't be nervous, Penny. James is one of the good
ones."

I tried not to start crying again as I nodded my head. He
was. But I didn't feel like I was. "See you tomorrow!" I turned away
from them and walked toward the car where Ian was waiting.

Ian smiled at me. "Are you excited for the
wedding?" he asked as he took the dress out of my hands.

"Yes." My voice sounded small as I hurried into the
car. I just needed to get home and tell James. Everything would be fine. I'd
tell him about all the pictures Isabella had sent me, and the texts. Maybe he
could figure out how she seemed to know my every move. We could figure this out
together.

"What kind of dress did you get?" Ian asked as he
pulled away from the curb.

I laughed. "I don't really know the style. It's really
pretty though."

I could see Ian's smile in the rearview mirror. "I'm
sure you'll look beautiful."

"Thanks, Ian."

"Do you know when Jen is coming in?"

My phone buzzed and I pulled it out of my purse. There was a
new text:

"Thank you for your assistance, Penny. There is one more
thing, though. You can never tell James that you transferred the money to me.
Or that I was the one that asked you to do it. If I find out that you told him
I was involved in this in any way, the photos will be leaked. So keep my name
out of it. I'm officially out of your life. Good luck getting to know the man you're
marrying. You're going to need it."

I swallowed hard. I wasn't allowed to tell him? My chest
started hurting again. I pressed my hand against it and tried to take a deep
breath. What if James found out on his own? What was I supposed to say? I
couldn't lie to him. He'd be able to tell. Not that Ed and Bill didn't realize
I was lying. But James knew me better than anyone. He always knew if something
was bothering me.

"Penny?" Ian said.

"What?"

"Do you know when Jen is coming in?"

I tried to focus on what he was saying. "Um, she's
coming in tomorrow morning."

"Would you like me to pick her up from the airport and
take her to the hotel?"

"That would be great, Ian. Thanks."

I couldn't even get joy out of how excited he looked. Ian had
a crush on Jen for as long as I knew him. Maybe he'd finally tell her that he
liked her this weekend. Weddings were romantic.

Ian turned into the parking garage beneath our apartment
building. I grabbed my dress off the hook in the back seat.

"Thanks for the ride, Ian."

"Would you like me to carry that up for you?" he
asked.

"No, that's okay. Thanks." I got out of the car and
walked slowly toward the elevator.
Please don't know. Please don't know. Please
don't know.

I leaned against the side of the elevator and closed my eyes.
Even if he did know, I could just tell him I couldn't tell him what had really
happened. He had to believe me. He trusted me.

I unlocked the door and walked into our apartment. James
wasn't in the living room or in the kitchen. "James?" I called as I
walked upstairs and into our bedroom. There was no answer as I hung up the
dress. Maybe he was picking up dinner somewhere. I walked over to our bed and
grabbed the box full of notes and pictures that Isabella had sent me. I didn't
want to talk about any of this. It was time to let all of this go. I walked out
of our bedroom and back down the stairs, with the box under my arm. If I could
believe James hadn't cheated on me after seeing these pictures, then he could
believe me when I told him whatever ended up coming out of my mouth about his
missing 20 million dollars.

God.
I was so screwed. Maybe I could tell him I made
an investment. Or that the dress cost a lot of money.
Or just tell him the
truth.
But I couldn't risk it. Isabella was watching me somehow. She knew
what I was doing. I didn't know how, but she did. She had eyes and ears
everywhere.

"How did it go?"

I almost jumped when I heard James' voice. I put the box on
the kitchen counter and turned around, shielding it from his view. "Good.
I think you're going to like the dress."

James had a glass of scotch in his hand. He sat down on the
couch and took a sip. He looked tired. "You look beautiful in everything,
Penny." He said it without looking up at me.

I glanced down at the box and then back at him. I'd throw it
away in a minute. I walked over to the couch and sat down next to James.
"Are you okay?" He must already know. I could tell something was
bothering him. He never drank alone unless he was upset.

"I got a few interesting phone calls tonight."

"Yeah?"

He took another sip of scotch and set it down on the coffee
table. He wanted me to say something, but when I stayed silent, he said,
"My parents called."

"They did?" I couldn't help the excitement in my
voice.

"Apparently Isabella actually talked to them. They want
to come to the wedding. They want...well, I don't know what they want. Another
chance, I guess? They said they were sorry."

"James, that's great."

He shrugged. "I guess. Isabella really came
through." He shook his head. "She's changed. She's actually
changed."

No.
She hadn't changed at all. I bit my tongue. Maybe
she was being nice to him to his face but she had just stolen his money. I
needed to tell him. Were the photos leaking worse than him thinking I stole
money from him? My hands were shaking so badly that I had to tuck them under my
thighs so he wouldn't notice. "What did you tell your parents?"

"That I needed to talk to you first."

"James, I think they should come."

"I knew you'd say that. That's not what we need to talk
about. What were you doing tonight?"

"Getting my dress." My throat felt dry.

He looked back down at his half empty glass of scotch. It
didn't seem like it was his first glass. He seemed distant and spaced out.
"I got an email from my stock broker, Bill O'Neill, today. A memo for the
stocks I sold after work today. You can jump in any time, Penny."

Shit.
I had forgotten to tell Bill to not send any
emails. I bit my lip. I didn't know how much James knew. Offering any
information would just make it worse.

James downed the rest of his scotch. "So, I called him.
Apparently I'm investing in Uber? Again?" The more he talked the angrier
he looked.

I still stayed silent.

"So I called my bank to see what account the money had
been transferred to. But it was gone. Once the money came through, it was
transferred to an account that wasn't mine. Why aren't you saying
anything?" He looked so mad.

"You don't understand."

"I know I don't understand. That's why I'm trying to
talk to you. Why did you liquidate 20 million dollars worth of stocks?"

"I'm sorry. I can't tell you."
Please believe me.

He laughed. "Penny." He stood up. "When you
turned my parents down for money, I was so sure. I was so sure that what we had
was real. That you weren't after me for my money."

"I'm not. And the fact that you weren't sure about me
until I turned down your parents' money..." I tried to swallow my tears.
"How could you not be sure? When I gave up everything to be with you? When
I said yes to your proposal? James..."

"Then why the hell did you just steal 20 million dollars
from me?!"

"I didn't steal it. My name was on your accounts."

"Jesus, Penny. And when did you realize I added you to
all my accounts?"

"Today."

"Don't lie to me. You promised you wouldn't lie."

"Today, James. I didn't know until today."

He nodded. He seemed to believe me. Which was good, because
it was the truth. "How long have you been planning this?"

"I haven't been planning anything. James, I had to
transfer the money. I didn't have a choice. I was..."

"Stop lying! You promised you wouldn't lie to me,"
he repeated. He ran his hands through his hair. "Isabella tried to warn
me. She said that you didn't love me. She always said you were after my
money."

"Why would you believe her? Have the past two and a half
years meant nothing to you?"

He shook his head. "Because she was right. You just
wanted me for my money."

"I fell in love with you when you were my professor. You
could have been broke. I still would have loved you, James."

"You don't love me. Stop lying to me. What's the point
now? You got what you wanted. Just go."

"That's not true. I love you. All I want is to marry
you. I'm not going anywhere."

He pulled out something from his pocket and tossed it at me.
"You don't love me."

I unfolded the pictures. They were the ones of Tyler hugging
me and holding my hand in the diner. Isabella was a fucking liar.

"You still love him." He sounded more hurt by this
than the fact that he was missing 20 million dollars.

"I never loved Tyler. James, you know that. I love you.
I've only ever loved you." I stood up, but he took a step back from me.