Gone Too Far (15 page)

“Are you trying to hide from me?” Michael asked as he sat next to her. He could see the serenity she had on her face disappear as soon as she opened her eyes.

“You're the one who left,” Kimberly said.

After they'd had sex the other day, neither of them had said anything. It was as if they pretended it didn't happen. Michael asked her if she wanted to come to the hospital with him and she refused, saying she would go with Daniel once he got home from school. And that was that. He left.

“I asked you to come….” Michael sighed. He wasn't going to argue with her. “I didn't want to leave. I felt like we should have said something or talked about it.”

“It's okay.” She turned to him and forced a smile.

Despite all that happened between them, she knew just from looking at his tender gaze that there would always be a soft spot in her heart for him. She would always love him, and there was no point in denying it.

Michael felt confused by the way she was looking at him. After being married for almost eight years, he had come to know every look, expression, and movement, but that was changing. In these last eight months, she had completely separated from him and was becoming a woman he couldn't so readily understand. He hated it.

“I know what that was—us making love. We share something so pure in those boys and the joy and pain…. I'm not making any assumptions, Kimberly.”

The truth was, he had left because he was afraid Kimberly would tell him what had happened meant nothing.

Kimberly's eyes widened, as she was somewhat stunned by such a humble statement from the usually cocky, dismissive man. It reminded her of the old Michael, the one who loved her and talked to her with respect for her intelligence and with sensitivity to her feelings.

Kimberly got off her knees and joined him on the bench.

“I j-just…,” Michael stuttered nervously. This was new. “I just thought you'd want to know that. Maybe acknowledging that would make it okay for you to talk to me again—that is, if you have anything you'd want to say.”

A light turned on in Kimberly's mind, bringing all her senses to life. How could this have been set up easier? She had to do this. She had made a promise, and Evan's life was depending on her following through on it. This was her sign. God was giving her a chance to prove herself true, and Michael had just opened the door.

“Michael.” She said his name before swallowing hard. “I need to tell you something, and I hope you can understand and forgive me, but I need to let this go. All of it.”

The suggestion that he'd need to forgive her told Michael that this was not going to be good, but he wasn't going to get angry, at least not yet. “Is this about Evan?”

She shook her head. “It's about your father and Chase Beauty.”

Michael's entire body tensed at those words. One thing was clear: This definitely wasn't going to be good.

Kimberly told him how she had been curious to find out more about Elisha, his mistress, and about the broker of a purchasing deal for Chase Beauty. Elisha had given her reason to believe that she was more than just another mistress, and Kimberly wanted to see if that was true. She broke into Elisha's bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel and found out much more than she expected.

Michael was shocked into silence as she told him that Elisha was using him and was a tool of Steven's estranged brother, Keenan. Michael didn't want to believe this, because it sounded insane. He and Carter had vetted Elisha and dug into her background extensively.

Kimberly explained how she found out that Keenan was holding off on revealing an investigation into the publishing company they wanted to buy so that Chase Beauty would purchase it and thus become responsible for the millions in fines and countless civil lawsuits certain to come from violations that had happened over the previous ten years.

“Michael?” Kimberly asked after his silence lasted a little too long. He was looking ahead, almost blankly. “Are you okay?”

Michael slowly turned his head to her, feeling like a brick had landed in his stomach. “How can you be sure of this?”

“I have proof.” She told him about the documents she had stolen from Elisha's hotel room and how she had hired a private investigator. “I still have it. I can show it to you.”

“So what you're saying is”—Michael tried to wrap his head around this—“I could have completely destroyed Chase Beauty with that deal. Carter didn't like her and Dad had doubts, but he trusted me. This was the way I was going to get…”

“Back into his good graces after what I'd done,” she said, finishing what he seemed unable to say.

“Why didn't you let her?” Michael asked. “You hated me and you know that would have been the end of me, the end of everything.”

“I'm not sure why I confronted her at the ball. I wasn't really thinking about saving you. I was thinking about saving myself. I didn't know she would crack so easily.”

It was that scene—the one of his wife and mistress fighting at the Museum Ball, the Los Angeles social event of the year—flashed on gossip columns and Web sites all over that made Steven decide to kill the deal against Michael's protests.

“Why are you telling me this?” Michael asked.

“I made a promise,” she answered. “To God. I'm getting rid of all my anger and coming clean so he'll save Evan.”

“But you weren't trying to get revenge. My uncle was.” Michael was trying to keep up with his mind, which was racing a million miles a minute. “Can he really hate my father that much? To go through such an elaborate plan that we couldn't even see?”

“He blames Steven for everything in his life that is wrong,” Kimberly said. “He thinks Chase Beauty, even Janet, should have been his. He hates Steven for cutting him off almost thirty years ago. It seems like in that time, he had tried to reach out to Steven for money or something else, and Steven turned him away like he didn't even know him.”

“My father can be brutal when he thinks someone is his enemy,” Michael said. “He is unforgiving to a fault and…”

Michael stopped in his tracks as he realized with astonishment what Kimberly was saying to him. “How do you know this? Did Elisha tell you?”

Kimberly took a deep breath. “Keenan told me. That's why I need to tell you, because I was helping him.”

“What?” Michael slid away from her on the bench. “How?”

Kimberly told him about how she approached Keenan and offered to help him bring down Chase Beauty, because she wanted revenge against Janet and Steven for trying to buy her children from her for $20 million. She was supposed to try and find out anything she could that Keenan could use against Chase Beauty and Steven.

“How could you?” Michael asked. “What have you given him?”

Kimberly watched with desperation as Michael stood up, every muscle in his body tensing. “Wait, Michael, you have to understand how angry I was. It was all those years of being disrespected and mistreated.”

He leaned over her, looking down with a violent anger. “What have you given him?”

“Nothing! I told him that I didn't want to do it anymore. I never really did. I was just so angry at the time….”

“It's been six months,” Michael said. “You've told him nothing?”

“What could I tell him?” she asked. “I have no access to anyone in your family anymore. All I care about is Evan and Daniel. I'm telling you because I need the truth to come out. I'm trying to be honest.”

“How could you?” he asked again, feeling the knot in his stomach getting tighter and tighter with every second. “You got your freedom and you still wanted to hurt me. And you tell me this now, when my son is in a coma?”

“
Your
son?” Kimberly asked. “It's that kind of talk that turned me against you. You used our children to control me and to threaten me.”

“That's the past,” he said. “This is now and at the worst time you say this.”

“I have to say it now,” she said. “I have to clear my conscience so that Evan can get better.”

“You sound like a crazy person,” Michael said. “The only reason you didn't give him anything is because you didn't have it. Otherwise you would have, right?”

Kimberly lowered her head, unable to answer.

Michael shook his head. “You better hope to God that he doesn't have anything, because if he hurts Chase Beauty, you'll pay for it.”

She wanted to call after him as he turned and walked away but noticed she was already getting too much attention from the other people who had come into the chapel. This wasn't the place for it.

Kimberly was scared now. She had wanted to believe she had done the right thing by letting Michael know and letting go of everything, but now she wasn't so sure. She had her freedom and her children, but she was no fool. If the Chase family wanted to go after her, they could destroy her. They could destroy her and take her babies from her. They had the power, the money, the influence, and the cruelty at heart to do it.

She was risking what she had for her son, but she had to convince herself to believe in the power of God over her fear in the power of Chase. It would be enough. It had to be.

 

Carter was miserable as he sat at his desk in the corner office of Chase Law. He couldn't concentrate on anything but Avery and what he had done. It was over, and while his head told him it was the right choice, his heart was filled with regret. He couldn't stop seeing the pain on her face. He loved Avery and wanted her badly, even more now, if that was possible. He was stuck with the reality of it being over, really over, and it only made him realize how much the last six months had been a joke. He had thought that if he could hurt Avery, he would feel better, but he never did. The second she was back in his arms, he had no choice but to face his real feelings. And, as usual, it brought him pain because he knew he couldn't have her.

No, this wasn't going to work anymore. The only way he was going to get over Avery was to get her out of his life, and with Connor in the picture, there was only one way to do that.

“Carter!” Haley jaunted into his office, shutting the door behind her. “You are unguarded. Anyone could get in here.”

“And it appears anyone has,” he responded, grateful for the distraction. His baby sis always delivered much-needed entertainment. “You even got past the metal detectors.”

“I'm full of all kinds of tricks.” Haley sauntered over to the side of his desk and leaned against it. “So how are you? Sulking and angry as usual?”

“You here because you need a lawyer?” he asked. “Or maybe your gay husband needs a lawyer.”

“Why do you keep calling him that?” Haley offered a stern-faced expression. “He's not gay.”

“Yes, he is,” Carter answered. “I'm good at seeing this stuff.”

“We have sex all the time.” That wasn't true, but even though Haley knew her brother was only teasing her, this persistent theme was getting on her nerves.

“Too much information,” Carter said. “And don't…” He gave up as Haley hopped onto the desk.

“I need a legal favor,” she said, leaning forward.

“I charge five hundred an hour.”

“I'm here to make a deal,” she said. “It's a very good deal.”

Carter leaned back in his chair, entwining his hands in front of him. “Anything to avoid spending money.”

“My husband—”

“Your gay husband?”

“Stop!” Haley slammed her hand on the desk and pushed away some papers to add a little flair to her tantrum. “Just listen, you jerk. Peter is getting restless and I need some assurances.”

“He'll pay you the money,” Carter said. “He doesn't want the Chase family coming after him.”

“Well, how could you?” she asked. “I love to throw our last name around to shake some boots, too, but his family is richer than ours, and if he goes back to Sydney, it will be his turf. I have nothing on paper to guarantee that thirty million dollars.”

“You have your knowledge of the scam,” Carter said. “Which you could reveal and hurt his chances of getting anything.”

“I need more,” she added. “Preferably on paper.”

“That he won't sign.”

“That's you're job,” she said. “That's why they pay you obscene amounts of money. You make people agree to things they don't want to.”

“You make me sound like a thug,” Carter said.

“Lawyer, thug, take your pick,” Haley said.

“That can be very complicated,” he said. “And I am not interested in playing a role in your scam. I have a law license to protect. Ever heard of the word
ethics
?”

“No,” Haley answered flatly. “And if you can find your way around that, I can tell you a secret that Andy wouldn't want you, Avery, or anyone else knowing; you could use it to your advantage.”

Carter's brows centered in a frown. “Who the fuck is Andy?”

Haley gasped. “Duh…Avery's husband.”

“His name is Anthony.”

“No.” Haley shook her head. “It's Andy.”

“I think I know what his name is,” Carter said. “It's…”

“I'm pretty sure it's Andy.”

Carter paused for a second, realizing this futility. “Okay.”

“Do we have a deal?” Haley held her hand out.

“I will make sure you get your money,” Carter said. “What's the secret about Andy?”

Haley leaned back, folding her arms in front of her chest with a haughty, very satisfied grin. “He can walk.”

Carter sighed impatiently. “Get out of my office.”

Haley was shocked. “What? I thought you'd want to know that. Don't you hate him?”

“Stop playing around.” Carter wasn't angry at her but more at himself for getting excited about an opportunity to do more damage to a man who was pretty much dead inside already.