Not What She Seems (23 page)

Connor shook his head. “No, it’s my candy. Richard gave it to me.”

Fear clenched her heart, and her hands flew to her mouth. She whispered, “Richard?” Her eyes shot over to the door. It was unlocked.

She spun around, and Richard grabbed her, pressing her arms into her sides, and squeezing the breath out of her lungs. He hissed in her ear, “Don’t scream. You’ll scare the kid.”

He pulled her into the other room knocking a lamp over. She heard Connor say, “Are you all right, Mommy?”

Richard whispered, “Tell him you’re all right.”

She struggled against him.

His grip on her tightened, his fingers digging into her skin. “Tell him.”

“I’m okay honey,” she managed to croak.

“Good. Now I want to talk, and I want you to listen. Understand?” His hot breath stung her ear.

She nodded, trying desperately to think of something she could do. Maybe she could alert the police somehow. She stopped struggling, thinking she could manage to stall him if he thought she wasn’t going to fight him. Her eyes darted to the phone.

“I don’t want you to get hurt, Emily, but you continually force me to take drastic measures. I can’t take the risk that you might run off again, so things between us are going to change.” He pushed her away, holding her at arms length.

She stared down at the floor. “Things already have changed, Richard.”

“You’re not going to jail. You’re coming with me.” With these words he tugged on her arm, propelling her to the closet. “Put on your shoes and coat. Then get the kid ready.”

Emily numbly pulled on her boots. Connor ran up to Richard. “Do you have any more candy?”

“No.” Richard let her arm go so she could pull on her coat. “Actually, I do. But it’s in the car. Why don’t you put on your coat so we can go get more candy?”

Stomach acid burned Emily’s esophagus and she gagged and coughed.

“Okay.” Connor willingly pulled on his coat and slipped into his snow boots. “Are you going to get candy too, Mommy?”

She smiled at her son, tears blurring her vision. Words wouldn’t come, so she nodded to him. Richard grabbed her arm, pulling her close. “No funny business,” he muttered, “or the kid might get hurt.” He turned to Connor. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yes. Let’s go, Mommy!” He took her hand and tugged her toward the door.

Chapter Twenty Nine

Emily tensed as Richard’s grip tightened on her arm. She opened the door, allowing Connor to run out into the hallway. She needed to keep Connor a safe distance from Richard. The hall was empty, and she hesitated at the doorway. Richard pushed her out, and down the hall toward the elevator.

Emily prayed he wouldn’t insist on getting in between her and Connor. She didn’t care what happened to her, but she couldn’t take a chance on anything happening to her son. She remembered when Connor was an infant, how Richard would look at him with such contempt in his eyes. How had she not seen it then? Richard hated William, and Connor was William’s son. She should have known back then, that Richard was to blame.

As time went on, Richard stopped looking at him with such hatred. He stopped looking at him at all. His solution to dealing with William’s son was to pretend he didn’t exist.

Her arm began to throb. Richard pressed the elevator button. Connor seemed oblivious to the situation, having grown up around Richard and his dark moods. He jumped around the foyer making rocket noises.

The elevator doors opened. A young couple stepped out. She stared at them, willing them to see her face. They passed by without as much as a glance. Richard nudged her into the elevator.

“Can I push the button, Mommy?” Connor bounced on his toes looking at all the button choices. Richard ignored him, as usual.

“Yes, it’s this one here.” She pointed to the one with the L on it.

Her mind reeled.
This can’t happen again. I have to stop him somehow.
Thoughts swirled through her head, making her dizzy.

The elevator slowed when it came to the lobby, and Richard stiffened. Emily’s heart pounded against her ribcage. She felt like she was going to throw up.

The doors opened and Connor rushed out into the lobby. She stepped off the elevator, watching Connor run to the front doors. She planted her feet and screamed, “Stop it, you’re hurting me! Get away from me and my son!”

Everyone in the lobby turned to stare. Richard’s eyes widened. She didn’t have time to relish in his surprise.

“You can’t make me go with you!” She struggled to get away from his grip. “Let go of me!” She yanked her arm loose and staggered away from him, her breath coming in ragged gulps. Connor turned and started running back to her. Several hotel workers approached her, and the lady at the front desk picked up the phone.

Richard stood, frozen, his face stricken.

A young man in a hotel uniform put his hand on Richard’s shoulder. Richard spun around, his fist connecting with the man’s jaw. A sickening sound rang out and Emily heard someone gasp. The young man hit the floor, and Richard bolted out the door.

Connor grasped her legs and cried out.
“Mommy!”
She picked him up and cradled him close.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. It’s okay.” A swarm of people crowded around her.

Questions rang out. “Are you okay?”

“Who was that?”

“Did he hurt you?”

Police sirens sounded in the distance. She closed her eyes and held Connor tight, the sound of her heartbeat pounding in her ears.

******

Steven stalked into his office, his secretary at his heels.

“Your messages are on your desk, sir.” Annette handed him a large file folder stuffed with paper. “Mr. Jennings wants you to look over this before your meeting.”

“Thank you, Annette.” Steven set the file on his desk. “Please hold my calls.”

Annette fiddled with her wireless earpiece. She looked like the last thing she wanted to do was continue to tell people he couldn’t take their phone calls, but she nodded and left. He shut his office door and plopped down on his leather chair.

The stack of messages was overwhelming. He pushed them to the corner of the desk. Opening the Accelerated Communications file, he started scanning documents. Ten minutes later, Alex opened his door.

“Hey, Steven.
Are you ready for the meeting?”

He sighed. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Alex came into his office and shut the door. He stared at Steven. “You don’t look so good. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m just worried about Emily.”

Alex cocked an eyebrow and the corners of his mouth twitched. “What’s going on between you two anyway?”

“Nothing.”
Steven pushed a few papers around his desk.

“Oh, no.
You don’t get to say that. Not after spending this much time away from work. You never take time off, not for anything.” He folded his arms and narrowed his eyes, looking him up and down.

Steven gave up. “Nothing is going on between us. That’s the problem. She’s not interested. Half the time I think she’d rather scrub toilets than be around me.”

Alex laughed, then covered his mouth and coughed. “Hey, man, I’m sure it’s not that bad.
Why would she keep seeing you if she didn’t like you?”

Because she would be in jail if it weren’t for me.
Steven pursed his lips. He wasn’t about to say
that
to Alex. “I don’t know. I just get the feeling that being around me makes her uncomfortable.”

“Of course you make her uncomfortable. She’s a farm girl from the
Midwest
. You’re a rich guy from
New York
. I’m sure she feels inferior to your greatness.” He grinned, bowing low, sweeping his arm out.

Steven threw his Kleenex box at Alex’s head. “Shut up.” He laughed as the box bounced off Alex’s spiky red hair.

Alex put up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. I just think she might be intimidated by you, is all.”

“You’re not intimidated by me.”

Alex backed toward the door. “That’s because I know you used to sleep on Spiderman sheets.” He ducked as the box of paperclips from Steven’s desk flew past him.

******

Emily clutched Connor’s coat to her chest. Connor had long since wiggled out of it. He played by the large potted plants in the lobby. Several police officers milled about, speaking with the hotel staff. Michael stood beside her, his hand on her shoulder.

Through the glass doors she saw Vincent get out of his sedan and sprint toward the building. He pushed the doors open and glanced around before spotting her.

“Emily. Thank God you’re all right.” Vincent pulled her to her feet and took her in a warm embrace. With his strong arms around her, she felt the fear dissipate. She blinked, but couldn’t keep the tears from spilling down her cheeks. Once they started, she couldn’t stop them, and she sobbed into his shoulder. He held her tight until she stopped crying.

Vincent took a step back and searched her face. “Did he hurt you?”

“No.” She dabbed her nose with a tissue, glancing at Connor still playing by the plants.

Michael shifted his weight. “I’ll talk to the hotel staff, get them to increase security.”

“I think Emily should stay with me for a few days.” Vincent rubbed his moustache. “I have an excellent alarm system wired into the house, and I took the day off so she won’t have to be alone.”

Michael held his hand up. “No offense, Vincent, but I think the security here would provide Emily with…”

Irritation grew inside of her. “Why are you two talking like I’m not even here? Don’t I have a say in this?”

They turned to her, neither one of them saying anything for a few seconds. Vincent coughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I’m sorry,
Em
. Would you like to stay at my house until they catch Richard, or do you feel safer here?”

Emily squirmed. “I’d rather get out of this hotel. I don’t feel safe here.”

Vincent smiled. “It’s settled then. I’ll help you get your things, and you can stay at my place.”

******

The door to Steven’s office opened and Annette placed a fresh stack of messages on his desk and left. Steven glared at them, but didn’t move. He knew he should start returning calls, but stared at the Accelerated Communications file instead. The pages blurred together. He didn’t need to look them over. He already knew all the figures.

They were in financial trouble. Their choice was either sell the company, or file bankruptcy. He also knew
Douglas
had started that company from scratch. His baby, his hard work was on the line. Steven could offer him much more than money. His capital could turn the company into something great. This is what he needed to show
Douglas
, not the five million dollars he would offer him. He wasn’t going to absorb the company, or change the name. He was going to offer Accelerated Communications immortality.

He sighed, and picked up the stack. Flipping through, he froze, his blood went cold. It was a message from Michael.

There was an incident with Richard here at the hotel. Call me when you can.

He picked up the phone and dialed Michael’s cell number. On the third ring he picked up.

“Michael, what happened? Is Emily okay?” His hand shook as he tried to hear the voice on the line.

“Emily’s fine. Richard tried to take her and Connor. Emily got away from him in the lobby. He assaulted a hotel worker, and left.”

Steven’s heart raced. “Do they know where he is?”

“No. The police are searching, but haven’t found him yet.”

Steven swore under his breath. “Michael, hire a body guard for Emily. I don’t want her alone. I’ll fly back tomorrow morning.”

“She’s going to stay with Vincent.”

Steven clenched his teeth. “What?”

“Vincent took the day off so she wouldn’t have to be alone. They are packing her things right now.”

“Hire someone anyway. Don’t tell her if you think she won’t approve. I want someone watching her, no matter what.” He stood up and paced the floor.

“Okay. I’ll take care of it.”

He slammed the phone down. Alex opened the door and stuck his head in. “I’m afraid I have some bad news.” He took one look at Steven then cringed. “Sorry, looks like you’re already in one heck of a mood. I’ll talk to you later.” He disappeared and pulled the door shut.

Steven rushed to follow him into the hall. “Tell me now, Alex. What is it?”

His secretary looked up from her desk. Alex sucked in a large breath and exhaled. “
Douglas
called. He’s going to have to postpone the meeting until Monday.”