Betrayed (4 page)

Chapter Six

W
hen Blake left
her desk, McKenzie didn’t know what to do. Byron had said he wanted to bring her in to discuss the Idaho files, but twenty minutes passed and he still wasn’t calling her in. She felt flustered and out of sorts, but she wasn’t the type to sit around and do nothing. She needed to pull herself together.

The last few days had been almost surreal. Yes, she knew that Byron’s demanding she work at his company was his way of trying to control her, trying to punish her. He didn’t actually believe his irrational allegations that she had ruined his brother’s life…or did he? Business was business, and she’d come in Monday morning, gotten her assignment from him, and then he hadn’t brought up anything personal — not once. He confused her, and she wasn’t easily confused.

A few times when they were working together she would look up to catch his piercing gaze focused on her, but she almost thought she was imagining it, because the second he noticed her looking, his face grew unreadable. Not a trace showed of what he was feeling or thinking — if he felt or thought anything at all, that was.

That was fine with her. She didn’t want to dance this particular dance from his perverse playbook. She just wanted to run her business, make a new start for herself, and let her past life go.

Byron wasn’t making that easy — not one little bit.

There was a darkness about Byron that called to her on some basic level, whether she wanted to hear the call or not. Inside, she was just as messed up as he was, and there wasn’t a chance that anything could ever work between the two of them. Even knowing this, though, she wondered what it would be like with him in the bedroom. Strange —sex was not something she would ever enjoy. But just being alone with the man sent jolts of electricity all through her body. And that kiss…

Oh, that kiss had melted her inside and out. McKenzie was sure he was a phenomenal lover — but all in self-interest. The woman never got the same pleasure from the dirty deed. But none of that mattered. Nothing mattered but survival. And no matter what people thought of her, she wasn’t a whore. Yes, she’d run a business where she sold women to the highest bidder, but she’d done so to protect them. And that story was none of Byron’s business.

And since Byron had not an ounce of empathy in his entire body, she was certain that he wouldn’t care to hear her story anyway. He’d deemed her evil before he’d even met her, and he was inflicting his own method of punishment on her. But here was the thing —even though she was exhausted working what looked to be sixty-hour weeks for him, and then putting in as many hours as possible at her own business, he was actually helping her, because in the end, when she could show that Knight Construction was a client of hers, she would have people pouring in through her own business’s doors.

When Byron still didn’t call her into his office, she decided she’d best get at least some work done — something that wouldn’t require her total concentration. Looking down at her paperwork, she sank into the numbers and forgot about her woes for at least a few minutes.

When her phone rang twenty minutes later, it gave McKenzie a start. Her plan of not sinking into work hadn’t gone over so well, because she wasn’t the type of person who could do half a job. She took pride in whatever she did, and she always gave it her all.

When a familiar number showed up on the screen, she smiled her first genuine smile of the day as she picked up. “Good morning, Zach.”

“Morning, beautiful. How’s it going in the real world?” he asked, his natural humor coming through, making her really miss her office.

“It is what it is,” she replied, sending the file she was working on to the corner of the computer screen. “How are things going at our company?”

“It would be a lot better if you were here, and you know that, but I think I’ve got a handle on things. Did you talk the boss into letting anyone come in for interviews?”

Did Zach sound hopeful?

She shuddered. “Please tell me there isn’t a disaster going on that you’re too afraid to tell me about.”

“If there were a disaster, McKenzie, I’d tell you, even if I didn’t like it. I’d probably send flowers, actually, with a note that said our business is going down in flames, but since that isn’t happening, you have nothing to worry about. Again, did the boss agree to interviews?”

“Yes, sort of,” she said, though she had more than just a feeling it was a waste of time.

“Great. When can I send in Jim? I can do it now, if you like.”

“Let me talk to Byron. But I don’t think we should send in Jim. Let’s bring in Mary. I think her personality would be a lot better fit here.”

“Are you sure?”

Mary was sixty-eight, and she was a master accountant, flawless in her work. She was also a no-nonsense kind of woman. If Byron didn’t like her, he wasn’t going to like anyone.

“Yes, I’m sure. I think they would get along just fine,” she said. “Hang on.” Before he could reply she placed him on hold, took a deep breath and walked into the lion’s den.

Knowing that Byron liked to exert his dominance, she waited until he looked up before she spoke. He was well aware she was in the room, but he could be a real jackass if she interrupted, and she wasn’t going to chance it. He made her wait for a full sixty seconds before he finally looked away from his computer screen. Maybe she should have told Zach she’d call him back instead of making him listen to elevator music for minutes on end, a good chunk of his life that he would never get back. Oh, well. It was too late now. If he got busy he’d hang up and she would call back.

“I’m sorry to get in the way of your busy schedule, Byron, but I have Zach on the line, and Mary — I’ve told you about her — is available to come in this afternoon if you can make the time.” McKenzie was brisk and impersonal, matching the way Byron spoke to her.

His eyes narrowed just the slightest bit, and then a small smile tilted his lips. “Bring her in now.” He then looked back down at his computer.

He was dismissing her as if she were trash. Every time he did that, she felt her fingers clench into fists. She hated that he felt he needed to be so rude. She’d worked before in a business where she’d needed to keep her guard up at all times, but she’d never treated people as callously as Byron Knight treated her.

She hurried back to her phone and told Zach to send Mary over ASAP. She then paced the hall as she waited for her to show up, her nerves screaming until the woman walked around the corner.

If Byron liked Mary, this game could stop and she’d be free to go away and attend to her own business. McKenzie wasn’t foolish enough to think he’d stop tormenting her that easily, but at least it could be done after business hours.

Though Mary had arrived quickly, Byron made her hang out in the sitting area for nearly an hour before bringing her into his office. McKenzie didn’t even attempt to get anything important done while she waited for the woman to walk back out. If she had been a nail-biter, she would have been down to stubs. That she knew for sure.

Only fifteen minutes into the interview, when Byron’s door opened and Mary stepped out looking less than pleased, McKenzie knew this wasn’t going to work. She could send in a hundred people, but Byron wasn’t going to hire any of them. He was only wasting all of their time right now.

Still, she had to ask. “What do you think, Mary?”

“I don’t understand how you can work for that man. He sat there stone-cold and asked me a few questions, then stared at his computer screen for a while before thanking me and sending me on my way. I have never been so insulted, in my life.” Mary had one hand on her hip, and she was clutching her briefcase with the other one.

“He might just be having a bad day. You’re exceptional at what you do, Mary. Once he’s had time to think about it, I’m sure he’ll realize that you are exactly what’s required for this job.”

McKenzie was hoping and praying that she wouldn’t lose such a valued employee over this. Mary could have retired five years ago, but she worked because she loved to do it. She was a widow and said it was much nicer to be out with other people than to sit at home alone hoping for a visit from the grandkids.

“I don’t know that I would accept at this point,” she said. “I enjoy coming in to work. And the past two months at
your
business have been satisfying. I have a feeling, however, that I wouldn’t enjoy coming in here at all, even if it were only for a few weeks.”

And with that, Mary turned and walked out.

Crap! Going to the bathroom first to refresh her lip gloss and take some deep breaths, McKenzie then made her way back to Byron’s office, pausing outside his door before stepping inside.

This time she didn’t wait for him to acknowledge her presence. “That was sure a quick interview,” she said with too much false cheer in her voice.

“She wouldn’t be a good fit.”

Gritting her teeth, McKenzie counted to ten before saying “Why?” The bastard kept using the phrase
a good fit
.

“I can read people, and though she has an excellent curriculum vitae, she wouldn’t be a good fit for Knight Construction.”

“Is anyone going to be a good fit?” she finally asked.

He gave her a hint of a smirk, and he looked into her eyes, freezing her where she stood across from him. “Not right now they won’t, McKenzie. You’re stuck here for a while.”

A shudder passed through her. She was never going to survive this. With no way to respond to his statement, she finally wrenched her gaze away from his mesmerizing eyes and left his office.

The day wasn’t even halfway over and she desperately needed a drink. Happy hour couldn’t come soon enough.

Chapter Seven

H
er eyes barely
open, McKenzie pulled into her driveway and sat in her car for a few minutes. She needed to paste a smile on her face and pretend she wasn’t burning the candle at both ends. Long ago someone had told her that if you smiled past the pain, you would eventually give a real smile, so it was her goal to turn her lips up no matter how upset she was. She also needed to remember that there was a reason she was doing all of this.

She was barely able to pull herself from the car, and she felt a rumble in her stomach as she dragged herself up the short path to her front door. She fumbled around on her keychain until she found the right key, then slipped it into the lock and turned it. But before she was able to open the door, a voice spoke that sent chills down her spine.

“You’re looking mighty fine, McKenzie.”

That voice! For years that voice had given her nightmares, had haunted her in ways that she feared would never go away. She had hoped she’d heard that voice for the last time, had changed cities, had done all she could to avoid it — the voice belonging to the man who had ripped away her innocence. Who had turned her into the woman she was today.

Anxiety instantly filled her, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of showing it. He was a part of her past that she had prayed that she’d never face again, but didn’t she know the past was never forgotten?

Turning, she found him with a lit cigarette dangling from his puffy lips, and her eyes widened. Though the voice was exactly the same as she remembered, the man was almost unrecognizable.

Time had not been good to him.

In the last ten years he had grown larger, and it was in a bloated, beached-whale kind of way. His eyes had also changed. They were dull and lifeless — drugs and alcohol had obviously not been kind to him. Those eyes moved up and down her body, and though he was trying to appear relaxed as he leaned against the rail at the bottom of her porch, she could see the twitch in his fingers and other subtle hints that he was high on something but flirting with withdrawal.

“It’s been a long time, Nathan,” she said between clenched teeth. She was afraid that if she unclenched them, they would begin to chatter, and that would show the man weakness. Not acceptable. But what was he doing at her home, her refuge?

“It would have been much sooner, but I lost track of you after you ran away. I’ve searched a long time. You can imagine my surprise when I found out you were running a top-notch whorehouse,” he said, a gleam lighting up his eyes, but just barely. “I was disappointed that the doors were closed by the time I was able to get here. I would have loved to have tasted your offerings.”

She was sure he would have. But he couldn’t have afforded them, even in his “prime.” And never in a million years would she have inflicted that kind of man on her girls. “I’m surprised you didn’t know I ran it. After all, you were the one to show me the ways of the real world, weren’t you?” Her temper was escalating the more he looked at her, spoke to her.

“Now, now, McKenzie, I’m not feeling very welcomed right now. Why don’t you invite me in for a nice drink so we can reminisce about old times?”

How had she ever found him attractive? How had she ever fallen for his lies?

“I told you the last night we were together — if
together
is the right word — that I never wanted to see you again,” she reminded him. Yes, she was slightly afraid of him, and she had reason to be, but she wasn’t about to stand there and pretend she felt anything for him but disgust. Dealing with him had always been a lose-lose proposition, and that hadn’t changed.

“Ah, those are just words spoken in a lovers’ spat, baby doll,” he said, his lips twisting up in his sick attempt at a smile. The man never smiled, not really, not with any warmth. He had once been a predator of the most despicable kind, and she’d been unlucky enough to find out too late. But now she wasn’t sure he was capable of taking care of himself, let alone of going after more innocent young women.

“Please tell me why you’re here.” McKenzie’s exhaustion had returned, and it was overwhelming her. Not good. The last thing she wanted to happen was to pass out. She’d done that once in his presence, ten years ago, and the results had been unthinkably horrific.

“You stole from me, McKenzie. I want what’s owed to me.”

McKenzie’s mouth dropped open at his words. She couldn’t have possibly heard what she thought she’d just heard. Not a chance. She was silent for several moments as he squirmed on her bottom step and she gaped at him.

“Would you care to repeat that?” she said, her voice colder than ice.

He shifted again and broke eye contact, as if unable to face her wrath. He was pathetic, but she wasn’t foolish enough to underestimate a desperate man. While speaking with him, she had pulled out her pepper spray, gripping the small bottle in her hand, ready to use it if necessary.

“You ran away with the money from that night…” He trailed off at the outrageous gasp coming from her, but he had to add, “My share as well as yours.”

“I took nothing from you, Nathan,” she said tightly. “And if I were you, I wouldn’t dare bring up that night.” Cold fury — or was it hot? — was pouring through her.

Desperation must have begun to make him brave, because he straightened up at her words, and his eyes darted around, maybe searching for witnesses. She didn’t know. But if he took one step toward her, she did know that he would regret it.

“That’s where you’re wrong, sex kitten. I spent time and money on you, trained you, prepared you, and then got you a good first job. And the thanks I got from you was that you ran away in the middle of the night with my money. That, in my book, is theft.”

“I didn’t know I was being trained,” she reminded him. “I never asked for that.”

“Ah, but you see, don’t you, that you used what I taught you to create a very successful business.”

“I no longer run Relinquish Control,” she said.

“It doesn’t matter. From what I found out, you ran it for several years, and your…clients paid a lot of money for the whores you trained. I would think you’d want to give me a little bit of your take as a thank-you.”

“Are you kidding me?” she gasped. He might as well sprout two heads right now, because she considered nothing as unbelievable as what he’d just said.

He shrank back the tiniest bit at her show of outrage, but then he stood back up and glared at her. She had to be careful. A desperate man equaled a crazy one. Her fingers gripped the pepper spray a little tighter, her finger on the trigger.

“There’s no way you’ll ever get a single dime from me. Do you understand?” Rage was the only thing keeping her on her two feet right then.

“You do owe me, McKenzie, and you
will
pay it — one way or another.”

His eyes drifted up and down her body, making her stomach turn. Never, ever would this man touch her again, not while she was still breathing.

Nathan now made a big mistake — he took a step toward her. McKenzie didn’t budge an inch. She stretched out her arm and blasted him with the pepper spray. The man who had been responsible for the most nightmarish night of her life let forth an ear-piercing scream, and he stumbled back down her front steps and collapsed on the ground, grinding his hands into his eyes.

“You bitch!” he screamed over and over again as he writhed in agony. McKenzie wasn’t going to take another second of this. Reaching for her phone, she dialed the police and sat at the top of the steps, her eyes not moving from his twisting body.

After about fifteen minutes, he lay there in the fetal position, crying. She still didn’t trust the idea of taking her eyes off him. When the police showed up ten minutes later, she took her first deep breath.

The next forty-five minutes were some of the longest minutes of her life. She watched Nathan being cuffed and placed in the back of the squad car, and then she answered the officers’ questions before they finally drove away.

She didn’t know whether she’d seen the last of that…slimeball, but she would be a fool to underestimate him. He looked to be out of choices, and that made him dangerous. She wouldn’t stroll down any dark alleys anytime soon.

Once inside her house, she engaged the locks, and then she moved determinedly through the place, checking every window. When she had assured herself that everything was locked up tight, or seemed to be, she went to her bedroom and collapsed across the bed.

The tears finally fell, and she curled up into a ball on top of her blankets and cried out her frustration. She should have known it would never be over with a man like that. How had she ever been such a fool as to trust him?

Now there were two men in her life who wanted the impossible from her.