Rulers of Deception (15 page)

“That’s ridiculous.” Madison growled, furious. “They wouldn’t dare publish that allegation without proof.”

“Exactly, which means it’s probably nothing to worry about,” Veronica conceded. “But I felt you should know just in case they do go public. You may want to have a statement prepared to counteract it.”

“Oh, I’ll have a statement all right,” Linc began, hands clenched into fists.

“So what happened to this woman?” Grant interrupted. “How can this be tied to Marshall?”

“Well, the anonymous tip claimed that Marshall was having an affair with Maureen for a year before her death. An affair very few people knew about. Supposedly, only days after breaking it off with her, Maureen was found shot to death in her home. The police ruled it a botched robbery and the case was closed…until now.”

Grant turned to his uncle, noticing the older man was having trouble breathing. “Is this true? Did you have an affair with her?”

Marshall tried to nod, but suddenly fell out of his chair and collapsed onto the floor. Grant bolted from his seat and rolled his uncle onto his back. “Linc, call an ambulance.”

Linc grabbed his cell phone and immediately dialed 911 as Madison joined Grant. Marshall was panting and clutching his left arm, wincing in pain.

“He’s having a heart attack.” Madison grabbed for her purse and the bottle of aspirin she kept there, popping a few pills onto her palm. She pulled a water bottle from the small fridge kept in the conference room and rushed back to Marshall’s side. “Here, take this.”

He did as he was told, panic causing his heart to gallop even faster as it struggled for blood and oxygen. As his vision blurred and the frightened faces of his niece and nephew faded into darkness, he could have sworn he smelled Maureen’s jasmine perfume.

Two hours later
the family surrounded Marshall’s bed at the hospital. The near brush with death exhausted him, but he managed to stay awake long enough to confirm he was feeling better.

Charlene sat beside him, clutching his hand in hers tightly. She glanced up at her children. “You three should know better than to put him in stressful situations.”

Irritation hardened Madison’s face. “And you should know better than to assume he wouldn’t want to be there.”

“Regardless, it’s time he retires for good.” Charlene turned back to him, running her free hand over his ashen face as he slept. “I won’t lose him to the goddamn business.”

Quinn and Lynette came into the room, panic in their eyes.

“Is he doing okay?” Quinn asked Grant, wrapping her arms around him.

He returned her embrace, grateful for her. “Yes, he’ll be fine.”

Lynette slipped her hand into Linc’s, her eyes on Marshall. “Thank God.”

Linc sighed. “Old man scared the living daylights out of us. I forget how old he’s getting.”

“God wasn’t ready to take him just yet. Let’s be thankful for that,” Quinn put in with a sad smile as her cell phone buzzed in her purse. She lifted it out and saw it was her mother. “Excuse me a second.” She rose on her toes to kiss Grant on the cheek before racing from the room. “Hi, Ma.”

“
You said in your message that you had news. You’re pregnant, aren’t you?
”

Quinn smacked her forehead and walked several feet away from Marshall’s room, not wanting to be overheard. “What’re you psychic or something?”

“
Dio mio! I knew it!
My little baby is going to be a mama. Oh, my heart.
”

“Don’t die on me, Ma. I just got through dealing with one scare today,” Quinn laughed in spite of everything. “You can’t tell anyone though, okay? I haven’t told Grant yet…”

“
Why not? Don’t keep secrets from your husband, Quinn. Especially not this.
”

“I know, I know.” Quinn crossed one arm over her waist, feeling hollow. “I’ll tell him soon. I just don’t know what he’ll say…”

“
He better be happy or I will come down there myself and give him a piece of my mind.
”

“I don’t think even you could sway him. He’s stubborn, Ma. You know that.” She shut her eyes and rested her head back against the wall. “When the time is right, I’ll tell him.”

“
Make it soon, baby, before you begin to show.
”

“I have some time yet.” Quinn sighed. “I really should go. Grant’s uncle is in the hospital. He’s fine, but Grant needs me.”

“
Okay. You remember what I said. No keeping secrets.
”

“Gotcha. Bye, Ma.” As she hung up the phone, Quinn noticed Lynette standing a few feet away. “Oh, hey.”

Lynette bit back an excited grin. “You’re pregnant?”

Quinn avoided her eyes and stuffed the phone back into her purse. “Maybe.”

“Oh my God.” Lynette bounced up and down before pulling Quinn in for a hug. “How exciting!”

“Yeah. It is.” Quinn tried to smile, though it was tainted with sadness. “Please keep the news to yourself though, okay?”

“You haven’t told Grant yet.” Lynette concluded, brows furrowing. “Why?”

“I don’t know. I guess I’m scared about what he’ll say.”

“Because you haven’t talked about having children?”

Quinn shook her head, fighting back tears at the thought. “I don’t think he wants them.”

“Well, there’s not much he can do about it now, is there?” Lynette charged, her accent thickening as her protective nature kicked in. “He put that baby into you, he’s damn well going to raise it.”

“What if he resents me for it?” Quinn managed, emotions running high. “What if this baby throws a wrench in all his plans, his schedules…”

“Look, you know him better than I do, but honey, I think you’re overreacting.” Lynette hugged her again, trying to be positive. “Grant’s going to be thrilled. You’ll see.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“We should let
him get some rest,” Linc decided, tearing his eyes away from his uncle. “C’mon, mom. I’ll drive you home.”

Charlene balked when Linc tried to pry her away from Marshall. “Don’t you dare move me. I’m staying right here.”

Linc sighed. “He’ll sleep better without you hanging onto him all night.”

“He needs me,” she declared. Her lower lip quivered but her blue eyes were brazen. “I won’t leave.”

“All right, fine.” Linc shook his head and turned to Grant, who shrugged.

“Call us if you need anything,” Grant said, leaning in to kiss his mother on the cheek. She nodded, fighting to remain strong.

Madison rose from a nearby chair and slipped her purse over her shoulder. “I need to speak to the nurse. I haven’t seen her for hours. Who the hell is taking care of him?”

“Mom scared them off,” Linc joked, holding the door open for his siblings to exit. He followed them out, shooting one last glance at his mother and sleeping uncle.

When he turned around, Greg was there, looking sheepish. “Hey, man. I heard about your uncle. I’m so sorry.”

Linc scowled and shoved his hands in his pockets. He nodded to his brother and sister. “You guys go on ahead. I’ll catch up.”

Grant led Madison away, meeting up with Lynette and Quinn down the hall. Linc turned to his best friend. “Let me guess. Veronica told you.”

Greg rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, yeah, she did.”

“Did she also tell you that it was her accusation that caused his heart attack?”

“She feels really bad about that, Linc. Seriously.” Greg shrugged, unsure what else to say.

“I’m sure she does,” Linc replied. He ran a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh. “Look, I’m sorry I flipped out on you about Veronica before. She explained the situation to me and it seemed to make sense.”

Greg perked up, a hopeful smile lifting his face. “So you’re not mad?”

“No. I’m not.” Linc reached out to pat his friend on the shoulder. “Just promise me you won’t divulge my dirty secrets, okay? As my best friend you definitely know too much.”

Greg laughed. “You mean I can’t tell her about Miami?”

“Oh, God no.” Linc shook his head, managing a smile. “If you do, you’re dead.”

“Noted.” Greg nodded. They hovered in awkward silence for a moment before he spoke again, his expression sober. “So Veronica said the rumor is your uncle might have killed some woman?”

“Rumor being the key word here,” Linc shot back, his anger over the accusation still festering. “I just can’t figure out where this anonymous tip could’ve come from.”

“Well, the more important question here is why hasn’t the tabloid published it? They don’t usually wait for validation on things like this. They just hit print and destroy lives for money.”

Linc frowned, realizing his friend had a point. “They didn’t wait for proof on any of the other claims they made about my family before. Why wait now?”

“Maybe Veronica’s contact was mistaken,” Greg suggested.

“If it was a mistake that nearly killed my uncle then heads are gonna roll.” Linc scowled down at the floor, running through the angles in his head. “No, I think they’re holding onto the information for some reason. Waiting for the right time to use it.”

“Veronica’s going to look into it for you, so don’t worry too much.”

Linc met his friend’s eyes. “Look into it how?”

“Don’t know.” Greg shrugged. “She has a lot of connections. If this does get out, she’ll figure out a way to lessen the blow.”

Harold Gossinger hung
up the phone, his aged heart racing a mile a minute. Anger contorted his features as his hands shook uncontrollably. For years he thought he’d escaped the nightmare. Now it seemed he never would.

So it was Marshall Vasser who’d taken his wife Maureen to bed all those years ago. Marshall Vasser, the eldest son of that bastard Cyrus and his bitch of a wife Stella, was the man behind the affair. He couldn’t believe his own ears.

How could he have missed it? Of all the men he’d zeroed in on somehow he had overlooked such an obvious candidate. Perhaps he’d simply assumed Maureen had better taste than to run around with a womanizing prick like Marshall.

Now he had no doubt. He’d just received word that Marshall had admitted to having an affair with her. An affair that had ended in her death.