Unchained Hearts (Baxter Family Saga) (15 page)

“What is that?” Cass asked, standing straighter.

“It’s a location device. It’s old, but it still works.”

“Brandon,” Jillian began, “we’re going to need immediate access, phone, car, all of it.”

“Of course,” he replied, looking at his father as he took out his phone and handed it to Roxy.

“Cass, here too,” she said.

Cass nodded, reluctant to believe what she implied, but unable to deny her after what he just saw. 

“In the meantime,” Jillian said to Brandon, “find some place to stay until we get in touch.”

“Here,” his father said, tossing something to him. “This is my second phone. Hardly anyone knows about it, so just use it until we have some news.”

Brandon hugged Kyle while they walked out of the office.

Brandon was more than angry. He felt betrayed, manipulated and more so than ever, he regretted the day he ever laid eyes on that red-headed bitch.

***

Carene Lewis checked her phone for her next appointment. She was Terra Pharmaceuticals’ top sales rep and there was no way she was going to lose a sale to her competition from some no name outfit. It had taken her the better part of two years to make the money she needed to get certain projects done. Being a pharmaceutical rep was not what she’d planned, but she knew how to make lemonade, as they say. 

After her appointment at Baptist, she was on her way to Jackson Memorial. It was a typical muggy south Florida day and she made sure to crank the A/C in her Lexus up extra cold. At this time of the morning, traffic was reasonable, but the lunch hour rush was coming soon. She made her way to the parking garage and found a spot. Digging in her handbag, she activated her other phone. Having two phones was more than handy because the last thing she wanted to do was mix business with other business, just in case. She pulled up the map and saw a stationary blip on the screen. It looked like it was sitting on Sawgrass Island.  

All this time and he still had no idea, she thought.

It had taken a pretty penny for her to make the changes she needed after that fiasco in Georgia. It was a stain on her family and her mother had disowned her because of it. It took her a while to get herself back on track and as she did, she made sure her love remembered her. She changed her identity, going by family names instead of her own, finished her classes at night at some local podunk college, where she found this opportunity. At first she had no idea what she was doing, but pretty soon, it was like shooting fish in a barrel. A lot of her prospects were men, who could be easily persuaded one way or another. Women were different, but once she figured that out, they too were putty. She earned her first bonuses within two months of starting, got to travel up and down the east coast, eating at the best restaurants on the company dime...it was great. She still didn’t plan on doing this forever, though. She just needed a way to hook a big fish. And there was no bigger fish than the head honcho’s son, her ex Randy Hall aka Brandon Baxter. When she saw him at a few company meetings, she couldn’t believe her luck. She had her hands on a Baxter scion; she knew he was special. She pursued her job with even more fervor, doing whatever necessary to snag those bonuses month after month. After all, she had a debt to repay. Brandon Baxter was the object of her desire and rage, thanks in part to that KC girl. Rumor had it that he was single again after breaking off his engagement to some chef. She might be in a position to forgive him, for the right price, but not just yet.

***

Kyle awakened and found the bed empty.

“Randy,” she called. 

“I’m out here.”

She grabbed her robe and went to the living room. For the past two days they had buried themselves in each other, reinforcing their love and making up for all those nights they weren’t together. Kyle couldn’t remember the last time she or her body had been so satisfied and loved. Brandon was her love and her feelings for him were so much stronger now than what they had been in college. They had been through so much and still found their way to each other. His touch, his kisses had made her forget about the last few years and she found herself grinning from ear to ear at the thought of him.

It had been two days since they’d spoken to Jillian and Roxy, and even though they were both on edge, they did their best not to let it interfere with their carnal utopia. The real world would do that soon enough, but right now Brandon just wanted to be in the arms of the love of his life and enjoy every minute of it.

“I had no idea you could cook,” she stated, finding him in the kitchen.

“Well, I picked up a few things from Dad over the years. He’s a fantastic cook. Plus, I figured, if you’re going to jump me every chance you get, I’m going to need to keep my strength up. “

“So you’re complaining?” she replied as she playfully threw a kitchen towel at him. He caught it, and used it to hook her closer to him.

“Never,” he said, kissing her languorously. With a quick sniff, he turned back to the stove. He plated the food and she smiled. “What?” he asked.

“My mother used to make this. She said my father loved it. It was one of the few times she talked about him.”

She tasted it and nodded her approval. “Almost as good as hers.”

They ate in silence for a while and Brandon was the first to speak. “So, now that you’re on leave from Mama Avery’s, what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to take some classes, do some travelling. The last few years have been non-stop work and I haven’t really taken a vacation in a long time.”

“Want some company?” He grabbed her hand and kissed it.

“Love some. I just need some down time to figure out what I want to do. It’s been so long since I asked myself that question.”

Just then, Brandon’s new phone rang. They both stopped eating as he answered it.

“It was Jillian. She needs us back at the house.” They both got dressed and headed out.

***

At the house, Maven directed them to the library where Jillian and Roxy were mulling over something. Cass came in later and greeted them both.

“Okay,” Jillian said, “we don’t have much time. We found some additional bugs in certain items like a photo portrait you had and a lamp. Your car was clean and so was your phone. The compound is completely clean so you’re safe here.”

Brandon sat heavily. He had that picture with him since he was eighteen. He had taken it himself and his father had it blown up and framed it as a surprise for his birthday. The lamp was one of the first pieces of furniture he’d bought for himself.

“These bugs have some range, like about three to five miles and they’re still active.”

Sensing Brandon’s impending protest, Roxy stepped in. “We need to use them to draw her out.”

“Like set a trap?” Kyle asked.

Jillian slowly shook her head. Cass knew what she was about to say and he didn’t like the idea of using his son to lure this woman, but he had no better idea to counter.

“Here’s the deal,” Jillian said. “We’ve figured out she has some professional ties to Baxter Chemicals. She could be anyone, so it’s not practical to go through employment records for a name she’s likely discarded. She’s fixated on Brandon. She wants him to suffer, but the fact that she’s been in contact for this long means she still has feelings for him. I want to trigger her out of hiding in a way that she will have no choice.”

“Basically,” Brandon intervened. “You need me as bait.” Cass had been right about his son, Jillian thought; he was sharp and blunt.

As much as Jillian hated that word, it was true. The question was how and when.

Brandon whispered something to Kyle, who was about to protest when he spoke.

“I may have an idea,” he said.

Cass listened, and despite his objections, he had to admit it might just work. Jillian and Roxy were also of the same mind. The problem was that it was tricky and possibly dangerous. Jillian’s experience with these types like Soraya Munroe was that while they were methodical, clinical, if faced with unexpected misfortune, they could become violent. Brandon and Kyle already knew that from experience.

Jillian looked at Cass, who sported a rare look of worry. She walked over to Cass and they huddled. She had to make sure they had a security team in place and just in case, she needed to include an EMT as well. Again Cass voiced his worry, but couldn’t come up with a better idea. Jillian couldn’t guarantee nothing would go wrong, like Cass asked, but she assured him that if it did, it would be handled quickly.

“All right,” she said, glancing at Brandon and Kyle. “You’re on.” She walked over to them and focused all her attention on Brandon. “You follow the script. Take no unnecessary chances. We clear?”

Brandon nodded. She might be small, but she was a little scary.

“Roxy and I will coordinate with Cass’ team. Both of you...” She pointed to Kyle and Brandon. “Be ready.”

***

The auditorium was rented and the announcements had been circulating for about a week now. The Vice President of Baxter Pharmaceuticals had a few special announcements for all of the employees along with bonus payments. It would be broadcast throughout their offices around the country. Brandon was a well-liked member of the senior management staff, even more so than the President. He commanded the attention of all employees, especially the women.

Kyle was backstage, helping Brandon rehearse his speech and going over the plan. “You ready?” she asked, straightening his tie. He held her in his arms and gave her a sound kiss. Some of the staff smiled at them.

“What do you think?” he asked.

She laughed. The truth was, he couldn’t wait to get her back home after all of this was over. He had made arrangements to sell his Biscayne condo, and they both agreed they would live in her place until they found one of their own. Brandon never knew he could be so happy.

“Ten minutes, everyone,” said the sound engineer.

***

Carene milled around, chatting with a few of her colleagues. It would be the first time in years she would be so close to the man she loved. Would he recognize her? She wondered, but it didn’t matter. After tonight, he would be hers. She patted her pocket and smiled.

As the ceremony began, she took her seat. The first part was a report on how the business had grown and was continuing to trend up, thanks to some promising new trials. They had found new markets to explore and were hiring more regional managers.

Brandon had scanned the crowd, but because of the lights, he couldn’t easily recognize anyone. Next, he gave out the bonus checks to the top managers and reps for each territory. Finally, it was time for the special announcement.

“Finally, I have a special announcement to make. A lot of things have happened and as a result, I’ve decided to take a six month leave.”

The audience sounded shocked and in denial. Brandon held up his hands to quiet everyone. Jillian and the team scanned the crowd and got ready for anything. “I’ll be back before you know it, but there’s another special announcement I wanted to share with you.” He indicated for Kyle to come out. She took a deep breath and walked out on stage. The crowd clapped.

Carene’s blood boiled. She thought he’d finally come to his senses and given her up. Dammit, she screamed internally. She sat back. He had the chance to redeem himself, to secure her forgiveness for his transgressions, but this, this was the last straw. Since he couldn’t keep his hands off of her, he would pay. She fished through her bag and found what she needed.

“This beautiful woman right here is Kyle Avery, CEO of Mama Avery’s and she’s agreed to marry me.”  The crowd erupted in cheers. They kissed and the audience was on their feet. Brandon looked at Kyle for a long while.

“Let’s do it,” he whispered to her.

“What?” she asked.

“Let’s make this real. Marry me, Kyle.”

The noise from the audience sounded far away and their claps seemed to happen in slow motion. She saw only him as she slowly nodded.

“Yes,” she said, giving him a kiss, and his heart leapt.

“Well, that’s all, everyone. It’s time to party,” he said and turned to Kyle. “You ready?”

“Let’s do this,” she said.

They stepped down hand-in-hand and mingled with the crowd. The security team kept a loose but hawkish eye on the couple.

Carene watched them come closer and got the syringe ready. This was not the plan, but the minute she saw KC walk across that stage, she knew she had to end it. But her impatience was too powerful. She slowly made her way to them, gently pushing through her colleagues. She uncovered the syringe as she got closer. She was almost face-to-face with Randy as she looked straight at him.

“I warned you,” a disembodied voice cried as Randy looked for the source of those words.

He blinked. “Soraya!” he shouted.

Looking at the woman before them, Kyle saw something hidden in her hand. As Soraya’s hand reached back, she saw it glint in the light and Kyle’s instincts kicked in. She reacted by stepping in front of him. They locked eyes. As the syringe hit Kyle in the lower back, her body pushed forward as her eyes registered the shock. It took him a moment, but as her body fell, he started screaming for help. Jillian’s team grabbed the woman who tried to fight her way out. 

“I told him,” she screamed. “I told him!”

Some of the employees put their hands over their mouths in shock and confusion as Soraya was apprehended and held down by security officers.

Kyle felt like her blood was on fire. She looked at Brandon and reached up weakly to touch his face.

“I love you,” she whispered shakily.

“I love you too,” he said, tears freely flowing as he held her head to him and rocked her.

“Please, baby, hang on. Please.”

She nodded slowly as her eyes closed. The paramedics came and took over, removing and bagging the syringe and setting up her IV as they rolled her into the truck with Brandon next to her.

***

At the hospital, Cass found Brandon leaning helplessly against the window, watching the medical staff mill around the woman he loved.

He called to his son, whose eyes were puffy and far away. He held him tightly, just like he did when he was a little boy. 

“They won’t let me be with her,” he said with a shaking voice. 

“They’re working on her, son,” Cass said, fighting back his own tears and fears.

Brandon looked at her again. “She’s so pale, Dad.” He turned to his father. “I can’t lose her. I just can’t. Not like this. Not again.”