Bedrock (12 page)

“I’m in love with you, Addison.”

Addie froze. “Please don’t say that. You hardly know me.”

“I know enough.”

Addie stood, dusting herself off and reached for his hand. “Come
in the water with me.”

William stood and threw Addie over his shoulder. “So you think
I’m too serious, huh?”

“Put me down.” Addie screamed as William waded further out into
the water. Once the water reached his knees, William let Addie down. She
surprised him by hugging his neck as she hung on, squeezing his waist with her
thighs.

“You’re certainly not helping matters any, you know.” William
said noting the way their bodies fit perfectly together. “Oh, by the way, I
accepted an invitation for a last-minute business lunch tomorrow, right before
we leave. I want you to come with me.”

Addie’s eyes squinted, and she bit her lip. “That’s probably not
such a good idea.”

“Says who?” Addie leaned forward, kissing his neck, tasting the
salt on his skin. Noticing the way the muscles in his chest flexed against her
tongue, she moved lower. “If I didn’t know better, Mrs. Greyer, I’d say you
were trying to distract me.”

“Never.” Addie whispered against his skin, biting just a little.

“I think, maybe, I’m in over my head.” William murmured.

“Not yet.” Addie replied right before he made love to her there
in the water, both of them fully aware that members of his security team were
likely looking on. When they were finished, they stayed that way, tangled and floating
together, riding the waves for a long while. Neither of them wanted to come
back to shore. Back to reality.

Patrick Greyer hated China from day one. Despised it.
Why he’d even agreed to move there he had no idea. It was a mistake. He should
be back in Texas where he belonged with his family and the woman he loved. The
woman he
really
loved.

It was Michele, his boss and the woman he’d been seeing for two
years, who had convinced him to take the promotion. Blackmailed him, really.
Patrick wanted the promotion; he’d worked hard for it, but ultimately it was
Michele who was the deciding factor in his decision.

Their affair had started off innocently enough: a look here, a
little flirting there. But since they’d spent so much time together, working
long hours and traveling often, it quickly progressed. Michele was older than he
was, in her mid-forties and, as it turned out, much more savvy. She steered
Patrick’s career, which helped him climb the ladder quicker than anyone
expected, least of all himself. What had started out as an innocent affair
quickly became something more. The situation snowballed so fast that, before long,
he couldn’t find his way out of it. While Michele wasn’t as attractive as his
wife and the sex only mediocre, Patrick found that he’d come to love her in his
own way. She made it easy for him. Or was it difficult? He couldn’t figure out
which. Patrick was attracted, perhaps even addicted, to her power. But it was a
love-hate relationship at best. She made Patrick dependent on her, his career
dependent on her. And that was dangerous.

He hated lying to his wife. But he’d become good at it. There
were a few times he thought that maybe she’d suspected, but she never called
him on it, even though there were times when he hoped that she would. Not that
he made it easy. Over the last two years, Patrick had become an expert liar. He
was paranoid and moody, while Addie’s attention was mostly focused on the
children. He had purposely allowed more of the family responsibilities to fall
on her shoulders, if nothing else to keep her occupied and out of his business.

But just because he was seeing Michele didn’t mean he didn’t love
his wife. He loved her beyond measure. He just couldn’t stop what he was doing.
Michele was a persuasive woman. He knew this because the few times he had tried
to end things between them she knew exactly which threats to make to put an end
to his requests. She had him by the balls, and they both knew it. Patrick
understood Michele wanted him to leave his wife. But Greyer men didn’t just up
and leave their families. Keeping a mistress was one thing, but a man who
walked out on his family was another. In the end, Michele did what he figured
any smart woman would do and got him as far away from his family as possible.
She concocted the expansion to China and put together a team in that placed her
and Patrick in starring roles, threatening to tell his wife if he stayed. He
had hoped that Addie would’ve put up a bigger fight and given him an ultimatum.
If she had, Patrick swore that he might even tell her the truth, knowing full
well that it would cost him his career. The problem was that the truth would
likely cause him to lose his family, too. Losing both was more than he could
bear. Patrick was trapped. But the worst part about it was that even he himself
couldn’t be sure whether he loved it or hated it. His feelings seemed to change
by the day.

And today, he hated the position he was in. He hated his job. He
hated China. He hated Michele. His wife was in Italy on business, and there was
nothing he could do to stop her from going. Ever since she’d taken that damned
job, he’d felt a shift. He felt things changing between them. Maybe it was just
his own guilt talking, but he swore it was the beginning of the end.

Scott Hammons woke up on the beautiful Isle of Capri in
a better mood than he’d been in a long, long time. The birds were chirping and
the sun was shining. It was one of those days he just knew was going to be
absolutely perfect. The day had finally come. He was over the moon.

Once and for all, Scott was going to put it all behind him, finally
get the revenge he deserved. That bastard William Hartman had taken everything
from him. But it was his turn now. The time had come for him to pay. He’d
swindled his life right out from under him. He’d taken his business, tearing it
to shreds, buying it off piece by piece until there was nothing left. Scott’s
grandfather and great-grandfather had spent their entire lives building that
business. And now it was gone. Sold to someone who didn’t give a shit about the
blood, sweat, and tears it had taken to build it. William Hartman was pure evil,
sent by Lucifer himself, and he was going to pay.

Hartman had taken everything from him: his business, his
livelihood, and even his family. He caused Scott to become what he was: an old
drunkard consumed by hate. That fucker would pay because everyone knew what the
Bible said:
“If a man shall deliver unto his neighbor money or stuff to
keep, and it be stolen out of the man’s house; if the thief be found, let him
pay double.”
Hartman had stolen from him, and now he needed to know what it
was like to suffer. And boy would he ever suffer. That bastard had to die. It
was the only way because the Bible said,
“Thou shall not steal.”
And Hartman
had stolen from him. He’d taken everything there was to take. He’d broken God’s
law. Now, he needed to repent. He needed to give his life the way Scott had.
The only option left was for him to die. That son of a bitch needed to
experience a slow and painful death, just the way he had as he watched as
everything was slowly taken from him: His wife and children. The family
business. He knew that people talked about him, said he squandered it away with
his drinking. Lies! All lies! Probably started by that liar Hartman himself
just so he could take and take and take. But the Bible said:
“Lying lips are
an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.”
Hartman
was a liar and Scott would fix that. He was here to do the Lord’s work. That
bastard was evil and must die; there was no way around it.

Scott knew he was a smart man, no matter what others said about
him. He knew what had to be done. He’d always taken care of business, despite
what Hartman and the evildoers said. This time was no different. Once he signed
away the last of his business, once he had signed away what remained of his
life, he decided to do what any gracious man of God would do and invite that
prick to lunch on his yacht to celebrate.

Scott would show him. First, he was going to slip a little
something into his drink, make him a little drowsy, and then he’d make him pay.
God’s will would be done. And since God himself had spoken to Scott and told
him exactly what needed to be done to make that bastard pay, he was well
prepared. God had said to tie him up. God told Scott to cut out Hartman’s tongue
before he killed him because Hartman was a liar. The Bible said:
“Keep your
tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.”
Next, God had
instructed Scott to cut off his greedy little fingers because the Bible said:
“A
greedy man brings trouble to his family, but he who hates bribes will live.”

Scott couldn’t wait to watch that son of a bitch beg for his
life. Scott would please God, and God would smile down upon him, happy with his
work. And in turn for his obedience, God would give him his life back. When you
did God’s work, you were in His favor.

What Scott didn’t plan for was having that pretty little bitch
accompany Hartman to lunch. He was infuriated. Now, he’d have to kill her too.
The only problem was Hartman also had in tow three more members of his security
team than Scott had planned for.
Damn it! This wasn’t in the plan. Why
hadn’t God warned him about this?
Scott slapped himself over and over.
Stupid.
Stupid. Stupid. You are such a fuck up! Think. Think. Think.

Scott downed three glasses of gin and suddenly felt better. He
went on with the lunch, abandoning God’s will for now, but as upset as Scott
was, he was grateful. He knew the Bible said:
“We do not want you to become
lazy, but to imitate those who, through faith and patience, inherit what has
been promised.”
It turned out that
God
gave him an incredible gift that day. For years, he had been plotting and
planning his revenge against William Hartman. But since Hartman was the devil incarnate,
there were few things he loved—few things other than destroying people’s lives.
God sent him a sign that day on the boat. Scott finally found something that Hartman
loved just as much as Scott loved his family and his business—the family and
the business that William had taken from him. Hartman was in love with this
girl. Yes, it had indeed turned out to be a perfect day, the day that Scott
Hammons met Addison Greyer. He hit the jackpot. He finally understood what God
wanted. God wanted him to wait, to lurk in the shadows. And when the time was
right, He wanted Scott to take away the one thing that William Hartman loved.
Scott Hammons knew he was a smart man because when God spoke he listened.

William sipped his champagne from the deck intrigued by
the way Addison interacted with Scott Hammons. He watched as she seemed to
crack him, breaking him out of his shell. She was a natural. Scott Hammons was
more talkative and friendlier than William had ever seen him.

William had reservations about bringing Addie. He beefed-up
security and consulted with his team before making the decision. There was
something about Scott that put him off. William didn’t trust him. For starters,
he was an odd character, although the three liters of gin he was known to
consume daily likely contributed to that. Scott Hammons was known as reclusive
and strange in the business world, and William had always felt a little bit
sorry for him—not sorry enough to walk away from a good business deal though.
Business was business.