Built for Power (13 page)

“Logan! I thought you left.”

“I think I better take you home. We have a lot of talking to do. And if we wait too long, your mom will show up and want to take you back to her house. Besides, some of what I want to tell you doesn’t involve words.”

“Oh my,” Bree and the nurse gasped at the same time.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Logan picked up the paper from Bree’s front stoop and carried it inside. It was the only thing Bree had asked for since he brought her home. And now he could see why. There was a picture of her and a Senator Westin dancing on the front page. They were smiling at each other as if they were old friends.

“Is this what you couldn’t wait to see?” Logan asked as he handed it to her.

“Oh, that’s perfect.” Bree smiled up at him.

“I know that twinkle in your eye. What did you do?”

“I went after the bigger fish. I don’t think it’s Trevor who is behind this. I think it’s Jeff. It’s just a gut instinct. After I took some of his crew, he visited me and sort of threatened me. And then last night, I was involved in the car accident and given one week to step down from the corporate build. It has to be Jeff. I just can’t prove it.”

“And so you . . . I don’t know. Why are you pictured with some old senator?”

“Because Jeff is the big fish in the Atlanta pond. I needed a bigger fish. Senator Westin is the biggest fish in Georgia. He also happens to be Mallory’s father. I wanted to show Jeff that I had contacts, too—big ones. He doesn’t have to know that’s the first time I really talked to Senator Westin or that we only talked about Mallory. It should still send a message.”

Logan shook his head. “So you’re putting yourself in even more danger? When he sees this, he’s going to go ballistic.”

“I know. Isn’t it great?”

“How?”

“People mess up more when they’re emotional. Ever try to finish plans when you’re angry, upset, or sad? It takes twice as long because you usually mess up a couple of times.”

Sadly, Logan knew what she meant. But how it translated into catching Jeff, he had no idea. “Just tell me what you need me to do.”

Bree blushed and Logan had to remind himself that she was injured. Right now his erection had a mind of its own.

“I need a date for the wedding.”

Logan smiled and took her hand in his. “I’d love to. Speaking of weddings . . .”

Bree’s phone beeped and she glanced at it quickly. “Oh! Marcus’s prosthetic arrived. I know I’m supposed to be resting, but I need to go see how he is. He was really depressed when I saw him last time. He had no color and was very sad until I got him to tell me stories about this physical therapist I think he likes.”

“If you eat your meal and feel well enough, I’ll take you. But then we need to talk.”

* * *

“Marcus!” Bree grimaced as she tried to hurry into his room. “How is it?”

Marcus smiled up to her. “It fits perfectly. Of course it’s a little uncomfortable since the surgical site is still healing, but I just finished the first round of physical therapy with it and it went pretty well.”

“That’s fantastic.” Bree gave her old site manager a hug but hissed as he squeezed her shoulder. “You remember Logan Ward, right?”

“Barely. I know he brought you after the accident. It’s nice to see you when I’m not out of it on painkillers. Al tells me it was you who found me and helped save me.”

Logan shook his hand. “That’s right. I’m glad you’re doing better.”

“Thanks. I wasn’t for a while. But because of Bree and her mother, I have hope again. I want to know what’s going on. What happened to you, Bree?”

“Jeff got a little mad I hired some . . . okay, a lot, of his crew. He sent a thug to crash into me as a warning. I’m okay, though,” Bree smiled. How she was feeling should be the last thing Marcus needed to worry about.

“He did what?” Marcus asked with his voice raised. “How do you know it was him?”

“I don’t have any evidence, but it’s a strong coincidence that after he stormed into my office and told me he’d get even that this happened. Plus the guy who hit me told me I had to step down by the end of the week. It has to be Jeff. He told me he was already talking with the owners. I just wish I had the evidence to put him away for what he did to you and me.” Bree took a deep breath. “But, let’s not talk about Jeff. I want to hear more about how you are doing.”

Marcus fidgeted with the sheet on his bed. “I don’t like this, Bree. This shouldn’t be happening.”

“Marcus. It’s okay. I’ll handle it. Really, I don’t want you to worry. I want you to focus on you.”

Marcus shook his head. “No. It’s not right. You’re a good person. A kind person.”

Bree sat down next to him and took his hand in hers. “Marcus, please don’t get upset. I promise I’ll get justice for you and me both. Now, please, tell me what your doctor said. I bet he’s proud of your hard work."

Marcus took a deep breath and looked at Bree’s hand holding his. “Okay. I’ll let it go for now. The doctor thinks I can go home this week. A physical therapist will come to my house for another month to help me adjust and work on strengthening my leg.”

“That’s fantastic.” Bree smiled at Marcus and then at Logan. She didn’t know how, but she was going to fulfill that promise to Marcus and she wouldn’t stop until Jeff was in prison.

* * *

Logan was growing more frustrated by the minute. He’d wanted to have Bree to himself for a while. He wanted to tell her why he was here this week. He wanted to tell her he loved her. And he really wanted to find out if they could make a relationship work. Instead, as soon as they arrived home, her whole family was waiting for her.

“You’re right. We can’t let Jeff get away with this,” Elle told the group.

“But how can you talk about justice when we don’t even know Jeff did it?” Allegra asked. “I know he’s an ass, but that doesn’t make him guilty. Trevor beats his wife and other women. It wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for him to order you to be hurt. He clearly has no problem hurting women.”

“What a great business you’re in, sis,” Reid said dryly.

“Like your business is any less shady. Nothing bad ever happens when dealing with celebrities or casinos,” Bree shot back.

“Children,” Margaret held up her hands. “We’re getting off point.”

“I took five of Trevor’s top workers and he did nothing. Jeff, on the other hand, stormed my office,” Bree told them.

Drake shrugged. “You took a lot more than five. Plus, that doesn’t mean anything. If you stole my workers I wouldn’t storm into your office either. But I would go after you. It’s a pretty dirty tactic, Bree.”

Bree snapped her mouth shut at the subtle rebuke. She knew it was underhanded. She knew it was wrong, but she’d done it anyway. Righteous indignation had let her ignore that fact. But hearing it from Drake, her future brother-in-law and someone she trusted and respected, made her feel just plain bad.

Logan gently touched her arm. When she looked up, Logan’s face was full of concern. “What’s the matter, Bree?” he whispered as the others continued debating.

“I can’t believe it. I wasn’t standing up to them. I became them. I stooped to their level thinking I was doing the right thing for Marcus and me."

“Yes, you did. The real question is what are you going to about it?”

“I don’t know if I can fix it.”

“I think you can. Trevor Marion is a bad man. He doesn’t deserve to breathe for what he does to women. Stop playing his game and play yours. Turn him in and ask the police to take him into custody quietly. Then, if a move is made, that’s more evidence that Jeff is behind this.”

“I think that’s an excellent idea and point, Logan,” Margaret said coming up to them. “We love you no matter what you decide to do, Bree. We’re your family and we’ll support you. The choice of how you want to handle this is yours.”

Bree looked at her family all nodding their heads in approval and knew they’d stand by her. Her sister was getting ready for her marriage and she’d put it all on hold if Bree needed her. This was love. This was family. Mallory was right. This path was a hard one to go down and she was through with it. She was ready to handle things her way.

Bree pulled out her cell phone and dialed. “Damien, it’s Bree Simpson. Who is the state trooper you play basketball with? I have some evidence he might want to see.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Logan took off his sports coat and slid it over Bree’s shoulders. She stood quietly shaking with nerves in the shadows near the lone trooper vehicle in the upscale neighborhood outside of Atlanta. Damien had given Bree the best news he could have given her when she called. The FBI was now investigating members of the local police force for corruption. Bree had agreed to meet with Agent Delmont tomorrow morning. But tonight Logan kept one arm around her as they watched Trooper Floyd knock on Trevor Marion’s door.

Bree had insisted on going. She promised to stay out of sight, but she had wanted to see for herself that the man was arrested.

A young girl with lopsided pigtails opened the door as she cried for all she was worth. The shouts that came from behind the little girl reached Logan’s ears. Trooper Floyd tossed them a quick look and pointed to the girl before rushing into the house with his gun drawn and calling for backup.

“Stay here,” Logan ordered Bree as he darted up the mansion’s well manicured lawn. The child, no more than six, stood at the threshold of the door with a pink teddy bear clutched to her chest.

“Hi there, sweetie,” Logan stopped in front of her and knelt down. The little girl with big blue eyes looked up him, and he felt his heart break at the sight of a fresh red mark across her face.

“He’s hurting my mommy,” she cried.

Logan fought back tears as he held out his hand. “The nice policeman is here to stop him from hurting anyone ever again. Can you take my hand, and I’ll introduce you to my friend Bree. She just loves teddy bears and would like nothing more than to hear all about yours.”

The girl sniffed and looked at Bree. “Smoochy likes nice ladies.” She put her small thin hand in his and he smiled at Bree.

“My name is Logan, what’s yours?”

“Anna Beth Marion,” she answered as tears streamed down her round cheeks.

Logan led her down the steps and across the lawn to where Bree stood, trying very hard to pretend a woman’s screams weren’t filling the night air.

“Why, hello there. What a cute teddy bear you have.” Bree smiled as she knelt down next to Logan behind the safety of the cruiser.

“Thank you,” Anna Beth said with a sniff as the sound of a gunshot echoed through the night.

Anna Beth jumped and threw her arms around Logan’s neck. Tears soaked his shirt as she clung to him in the sudden silence that followed. His eyes locked with Bree’s as he wrapped Anna Beth in his arms. “You’re safe, sweetheart,” he murmured into her pigtails.

Looking over her little shoulder, Logan kept her head pressed against his chest as a figure emerged from the doorway. Bree stepped in front of them and he was sure she’d fight Trevor to the death to protect this little girl. Logan leaned around her and saw a second figure emerge.

Trooper Floyd wrapped his arm around the woman and helped her down the stairs and into the cruiser. He hurried to the trunk and pulled out a blanket. Logan saw Bree’s body start to shake as she blocked the view of the bloody and battered woman from Anna Beth.

Trooper Floyd talked quietly to the woman and wrapped a blanket around her torn nightgown. The woman stared straight ahead, hardly blinking. Slowly, she turned her head and stared at her house.

“You’re safe now, Nikki.”

“You’re never safe from the devil,” Nikki muttered as she kept her eye on the door.

“You are now. You have my word,” Trooper Floyd promised.

“I don’t believe you. I want to see the body. I want to put another bullet right between his eyes.”

Nikki was growing frantic and Trooper Floyd was doing everything he could to keep her calm without touching her. Bree stepped closer. She felt her teeth chattering. All of this was her fault. She’d done this to this family. If she’d turned Trevor in when she got the evidence, then he couldn’t have hurt his wife and daughter tonight.

“You cops are all the same! You’ve been here before. You’ve seen the abuse and done nothing! You just tell me I’m overreacting. That nothing can be done. My reports get
misplaced
and I’m called
crazy.
And then you threaten to charge me with kidnapping if I take my daughter away from this house.” Nikki was breathing deeply and screaming now. Her face was white under the bruises as she looked around frantically. “You’ve taken her! Where is she? Anna Beth!”

Bree hurried to the car door. “Nikki, Anna Beth is safe. We've been watching her.”

“No! Don’t take her!” Nikki grabbed the front of the jacket Bree was wearing and wept.

“I’m not going to take her. My friend Logan has her and is trying to keep her safe from seeing all of this. I’m not with the police. I’m the one who brought the police. I’m Bree Simpson.”

Nikki’s eyes widened and she grew agitated once again. “You have to get out of here. He’ll kill you!”

Bree reached around and took her hands in hers. “He’ll never hurt anyone again.”

Headlights filled the sleepy street as the coroner and more troopers arrived. Anna Beth had been photographed and then Logan tucked her in to sleep in the back of his rental car with a movie playing on his tablet to hide some of the noise.

Nikki had collapsed in relief after seeing Trevor’s dead body. She grabbed Floyd’s hand and cried from the bottom of her soul. Not tears of sadness, tears of hope.

As Bree finished answering questions, two detectives tried to push past Trooper Floyd to arrest Nikki. Bree rushed forward to support Nikki and did nothing to hide her suspicions.

Nikki shrunk back and gripped Bree’s hand. “He’s one of them,” she whispered.

“I know all about Gruber. Tell me, did your husband order the corporate center to be blown up and Detective Gruber to call it accidental?”

“I don’t know. It’s certainly something he was capable of,” Nikki whispered as Gruber approached.

“Detective Gruber. Why am I not surprised to see you here?” Bree asked as she watched Gruber’s face contort in anger.

“Get away from the suspect, Miss Simpson. Or maybe you two colluded and I’ll need to arrest you, too.”

Bree squeezed Nikki’s hand in support as Trooper Floyd tried to push Gruber away from them. A man in a dark suit got out of an unmarked car and sauntered over. He was lithe and reminded Bree of a panther. His skin was dark as night. His muscles bunched under the expertly cut suit. But it was the narrowed eyes that made Bree think he’d pounce so quickly you’d never see it coming.

“It appears I made it just in time. I’ll take over, thank you.”

Gruber turned on the new arrival. “You? Who the hell do you think you are? I’m the detective around here, not you.”

The man smiled, but it was a deadly smile. “Agent Delmont of the FBI. I take it you are Detective Gruber? What a happy coincidence I was able to witness you trying to arrest a victim and a bystander. It’ll make my paperwork that much shorter.”

“What are you blabbing about?” Gruber had gone over the edge. He poked his finger into Agent Delmont’s chest and brought his face inches from Delmont’s.

In a blink, Gruber screamed out as Delmont grabbed his wrist, twisted it behind his back, and slammed him into the car. “Detective Gruber, you’re under arrest for assaulting a federal agent, taking bribes, criminal racketeering, and fraud.”

Gruber tried to fight the handcuffs but Delmont just slammed him into the car again. Bree heard Nikki snicker. It had to be a relief to her. Tonight, two of the people who terrorized her were being brought to justice.

“Miss Simpson, ma’am, I’ll be in touch to get statements.” Delmont gave them a smile that transformed his face to one of caring and concern.

“Thank you,” Nikki said as Trooper Floyd flagged over the EMTs to check her out.

Bree went over to where Logan stood by the sleeping Anna Beth and sagged into his embrace. “I did this. This is all my fault.”

Logan stroked a hand over her hair and held her tight. “You saved her. You turned him in. You found a trooper who would arrest him and brought him here. You saved her life tonight.”

“I should have turned over the evidence as soon as I got it. I was so consumed with the power struggle that I forgot true power is used to protect people who are unable to protect themselves. I failed, Logan.”

“You might have had a setback, but it takes a big person to admit she was wrong and do what is right. You did that, Bree. There is no winning in a situation like this. It’s so much bigger than that.” Logan looked into his back seat at Anna Beth curled up with her pink teddy bear and frowned. “Or so much smaller than us. The main thing is that this little girl and her mother are safe. And now, I hope, you will be, too.”

“I hope so. Nikki said she didn’t know if Trevor ordered the explosion, but said he was capable of it. And Gruber was certainly on his payroll.”

“Hopefully, you both have found resolution tonight. Look, Nikki is all cleaned up. I bet she’d like to see Anna Beth.”

Bree looked up and saw Nikki coming out of the house in jeans and a T-shirt and carrying two bags. Her face was bruised and there were some butterfly stitches holding the deeper cuts together. She looked around and smiled as she saw Bree and Logan.

Logan opened the back door and slid his arms under Anna Beth. Slowly, as not to wake her, he pulled her out of the car. “I think you’re looking for this little angel.”

Nikki’s face filled with pride as a single tear fell from her face. “Thank you for taking care of her. Tonight I had told Trevor we were leaving him. I should have known better. I shouldn’t have stayed at all. I should have just left the first time it happened. I had been telling myself that he loved me. That he was sorry. But then he hit Anna Beth tonight . . .”

“It’s never an easy thing, Nikki. But you survived,” Logan said softly.

“That’s right. I have a daughter to raise. She needs to know it’s okay to stand up for herself. That even if everyone ignores the problems, she needs to address them head on. I’ll make up for where I failed. She’ll never be a victim again.”

Trooper Floyd pulled his cruiser up and got out. He picked up her bags and put them in the back of his car.

“Thank you, Trooper. I’ll sit in the back with Anna Beth.” Nikki then turned and threw her arms around Bree. “Thank you for doing what I wasn’t strong enough to do—finding someone who would listen. I owe you our lives. We’re going to our lake house for the rest of the summer while I sell this monstrosity of a house. Only good memories from here on out.”

Bree watched Nikki get in the car and Logan bent over to place Anna Beth next to her. He buckled her in and the child nuzzled up to her mother, her eyes never opening.

“I think it’s time for me to take you home, too.”

Bree climbed into the car and waited for Logan to get in. It was going to take her a long time to forgive herself for not doing the right thing immediately. Mallory had warned her. What hurt most of all was knowing she’d let her father down by giving in to her need for revenge. It had been a hard lesson to learn, but she knew what she needed to do now. She had to focus on those who were getting stuck in the crosshairs of this fight. Marcus, her workers, their families . . . they were the innocent victims of this power struggle.