Her Alpha Avengers [The Hot Millionaires #7] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (18 page)

Having reminded herself of her reasons for being here, she checked the place out. One large bedroom and bath, the room she was in, and a kitchen nook. Pearson plied his trade in style, thanks to the women he ripped off.

Her anger refuelled, Sabine settled herself into a swivelling recliner, long legs stretched in front of her and crossed elegantly at the ankles. The first thing Pearson saw when he walked through the door would be her legs.

Fin got home from a meeting that had dragged on longer than he’d intended. His meetings with Mimi usually did, but he didn’t have it in his heart to disappoint her. He was greeted enthusiastically by Mulligan.

“Where’s your mistress?” he asked, scratching the big guy’s ears.

“She’s lying down,” Otto said, poking his head round his office door. “She’s got a headache.”

“That doesn’t sound like her,” Fin said, concerned. “I’ll go and check on her.”

He tapped on her door but received no answer. Presumably she was asleep. He was about to walk away, but some sixth sense made him return and enter the room.

“Shit!” he said when he saw the bed was empty. “She’s not there,” he said, running back down the stairs. “Where the hell is she?”

Otto looked stunned. “I have no idea.”

Gabe came down from his studio, alerted by the noise. “What’s happening?”

“Sabine’s gone missing.”

Fin ran down to the garage, his worst fears realized.

“Her car’s gone,” he said. “I didn’t notice it wasn’t there when I got back. Come on.”

Both guys followed him down to the garage. They had an array of expensive cars to choose from, but Fin had grabbed the keys to their truck, and he threw them to Otto. They piled into it, and Otto gunned the engine.

“You think she’s gone to Bradenton?” Gabe asked.

“I’m sure of it,” Fin said, pulling his cell phone from his pocket and dialling their investigator. “Shit, he’s not picking up.” Fin left an urgent message for Amos to call him and hung up.

“Must be taking an hour for himself,” Otto said, hitting the highway.

“His timing sucks,” Gabe said, scowling. “Why would she go off on her own like that? She knew we had it covered.”

“You know what she’s like about waiting for things,” Fin said, grinding his teeth. “Hell, Pearson’s dangerous. If he knows she’s found him there’s no telling what he’ll do. Put your foot down, Otto.”

The truck surged forward whilst Fin thumped the seat in frustration. In spite of Sabine’s dumb move, he loved her fiery determination. Hell, he loved everything about her, which surprised him. Fin hadn’t thought he would ever be capable of loving again, not after Debbie’s death had ripped him apart. It had taken a crazy Brit with courage, principles, determination, and a soft heart to set him straight.

“She’s gotten to us all, hasn’t she?” Otto asked quietly.

“She’s
the
one as far as I’m concerned,” Fin said, only mildly surprised that commitment no longer scared the shit out of him.

“Yeah, me, too,” Gabe said. “Thanks to her, I told my brothers to go fuck themselves the other day. I never would have done it if it hadn’t been for Sabine making me understand that I didn’t owe them a living.”

“Glad to hear it, buddy,” Fin said, momentarily distracted from his concerns for Sabine. Amos called back just as they approached Bradenton. Fin quickly explained the situation.

“I’m outside the building again now. There is a green Jeep parked up there that I haven’t seen before.”

“That’ll be her.”

“You want me to see if I can find her?”

“Is Pearson home?”

“No, not yet. Hang on, he’s just pulled up.”

“We’ll be there in five,” Fin said curtly. “Wait for us.”

* * * *

Sabine had been in the condo for almost two hours, and it was now getting dark. She ought to be have been hyped up for this long-awaited confrontation. Instead she felt desolate at the thought of parting from the guys who’d done so much for her in every sense of the words.

The sound of the lock turning snapped her out of her self-induced misery, and her pulse rate increased. Pearson stepped into the room, closed the door behind him, and threw his jacket across a chair. With a long-suffering sigh, like the evening had been a real trial, he headed for the drinks cabinet, saw Sabine’s legs, and stopped dead in his tracks.

“What the fuck—”

“Hello, Robert.” Sabine uncoiled her body and slowly stood up. “Long time no see.”

Pearson recovered quickly. “How did you get in here?”

“Aren’t you pleased to see me, Robert? If that’s what your name actually is.” Sabine smiled acidly, enjoying his discomposure. “You look a bit pale.”

“What do you want?”

“My, my, what happened to all those fastidious manners that so wowed the ladies?”

His expression was calculating, like he couldn’t quite believe that Sabine would be stupid enough to come here alone. She suddenly wished that she hadn’t been. His malevolent attitude sent shivers down her spine, but she knew better than to let her fear show. She was here to make sense out of a senseless situation and then get the hell out of there, which is precisely what she would do.

“I think you should leave,” he said curtly.

“I’m sure you do.”

“You’re trespassing.”

Sabine cocked a brow. “So call the police.”

He expelled an exasperated sigh. “What will it take to get you out of here? You’ve been an irritation to me these past months.”

“What do I want? Oh, just the return of the money you stole from my mother, not to mention all the cash you’ve taken from other susceptible women.”

His laugh was ugly. “You just don’t know when to quit, do you?”

“Sorry that your goon didn’t get to kill me.”

Pearson shrugged. “The man was an idiot. Should have seen to it myself.”

“Ah, so you’re a murderer now as well as a con man and a thief.”

“Little girl, you don’t know what you’ve got yourself mixed up with.”

“Oh, I think I do. A greasy embezzler who thinks he’s God’s gift to vulnerable women.”

“Those women adored me, and I earned every damned penny that they gave me.” He blew air through his lips. “Flattering them, making them feel special, and pretending to be interested in their boring little lives. It gets harder by the day.”

“Except they didn’t know they’d been so generous.”

He glowered at her. “Now get out of here, or I’ll throw you out myself. I’ve done nothing you can prove, so leave me the hell alone.”

“Apart from taking a mortgage out on my mother’s house and pocketing the cash, which, as you know, the English police would very much like to talk to you about.”

“Just go,” he said wearily. “This is your last chance. And don’t think to set anyone on my trail. I’ll be gone from here long before you can do that. Pity,” he added, almost to himself. “This was a sweet one. Still, there are plenty more desperately needy women out there.”

“Why did you do it to Mum?” she asked. “She adored you.”

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t they all, dear, don’t they all.”

“You arrogant bastard!” Sabine felt ready to explode and had to quell the impulse to slap the smirk right off his face. Her anger only appeared to amuse him, and so she forced herself to calm down. “If you’d just milked her bank account I might have been able to let it go, but the house—”

He shrugged. “Everyone has to make a living. Your mother enjoyed my company. I made her happy and deserved something for my trouble.”

“That’s all it was to you, wasn’t it? You screwed with her emotions, told outrageous lies that she believed, and gained her trust so that you could fleece her.”

“Actually, I was quite fond of her,” he said, frowning like that wasn’t part of the plan. “I was considering marrying her, then she got ill, and well—” He shrugged. “It seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up.”

“You took away everything my father worked to achieve and left me broke,” Sabine said, furious when tears sprang to her eyes.

“Ah, so that’s what your irritating campaign to get back at me is really all about. Your mother died unaware of what I actually was. She was happy to have me in her life, and I believe I brought some comfort to her in her final hours.”
Damn it, he did, too.
“I could have left her long before then but stayed out of a sense of duty.”

His hypocrisy caused Sabine’s temper to flare, driving away her tears. “You might be able to charm the older generation, but don’t pretend to know what makes me tick.”

“I hate to disappoint you, my dear, but I don’t particularly care. You see, you’re mistaking me for someone who actually has a conscience.”

“Believe me, that’s the last mistake I’d ever make.”

He grabbed her upper arm in a firm grasp, his fingers sinking painfully into her flesh. “It’s been lovely catching up, Sabine,” he said, dragging her toward the door, “but it’s time for you to leave now.”

“Let go of me!” She kicked his shin.

“Ouch, you little bitch!” He slapped her face hard, the sound ringing round the quiet apartment like a gunshot. “I should have gone for you, not your mother,” he said almost regretfully. “I like a woman with a bit of spirit.”

Sabine continued to struggle. “In your dreams, buster.”

He forced her against the wall and pressed his body against hers, his breath peppering her face. She tried to lift her knee and bring it up to his groin, but he anticipated her.

“Don’t damage the goods, dear, I need them for my work.”

“You bastard!”

He ripped her top and gouged at her breasts. He was way too strong for her, and although she struggled like a wild beast, she couldn’t get away from him.

* * * *

The guys screeched to a halt outside the apartment building, where Amos waited for them.

“What’s happening?” Otto asked.

“No idea,” Amos said. “You asked me to wait.”

“Yeah, okay.” Fin pushed past him. “Let’s get in there. I don’t like this one little bit.”

“This is Wayne,” Amos told the guys as soon as they got into the lobby. “Wayne, has an English lady been round asking for Pearce?”

“Yeah, I let her into his apartment a while back.” He glanced at the four scowling men. “Did I do right?” he asked nervously.

The guys shared a glance, but no one bothered to answer Wayne. As one they headed for the stairs, too impatient to wait for the elevator.

“If he’s laid so much as a finger on her,” Otto said, leading the way, “I’ll rip his fucking head off.”

“You’ll have to wait in line,” Fin said mordantly.

They got to the door of 308 and heard raised voices. They tried the handle, but the door wasn’t unlocked. That would have been too much to hope for. Otto was about to put his shoulder to it, but Fin stopped him.

“Let’s do it together and try to break it down first time to keep the element of surprise.”

“I have a better idea,” Gabe said, pressing the bell.

The voices paused, but no one answered the door.

“Okay,” Gabe said, shrugging. “Do it your way.”

Fin and Otto both put their shoulders to the door, and the flimsy lock popped open. Fin stepped into the room, scowling malevolently. He was flanked by an equally menacing Otto, who, judging from his tightly clenched fists, wanted to cut to the chase and deck Pearson then and there. Gabe and Amos were right behind them. Sabine was now surrounded by an abundance of rippling muscles and glowering expressions all focused on Pearson, who released her from his death grip.

Sabine brought her knee up, catching Pearson in the groin. He howled and doubled over, clutching his family jewels. Fin was ready to commit murder, and Sabine’s name was top of his list for taking this risk alone. Even so, he managed a brief smile at her actions.

“Who the hell are you?” Pearson asked, recovering sufficiently to turn in a half circle to face each man in turn. The colour had drained from his face, and he no longer looked nearly so sure of himself.

“Your worst nightmare.” Fin gave Pearson’s chest a hard shove with the flat of his hand, and he fell into the nearest chair. “Sabine wanted to come alone. We should have figured that scum like you wouldn’t think twice about raising a hand to a woman.”

“Get off on hitting women, do you?” Gabe asked.

Otto’s glare deepened. “Jerk!”

“What do you want?” Pearson asked.

“Did he hurt you, babe?” Gabe examined Sabine’s arm where Pearson had grabbed it and scowled at the imprint left by his fingers on the side of her face. His expression became positively lethal when he looked at her torn top.

“No, I’m okay.”

“Can I hit him, Fin?” Gabe asked. “Please say yes.”

“Not yet. First of all, Mr. Pearson is going to get his cheque book out, figuratively speaking.”

“The hell I am!”

“You aren’t exactly in a position to negotiate.” Fin reached for his bag and extracted a laptop, which he fired up. “Go and find his computer, Otto.”