Hunting Truth (37 page)

I hadn’t got a clue so I leaned
a little more. I saw that he was standing in the corner of the
room, next to a table which had his gun on top of it. I could see
another partial arm and leg. They were completely motionless, even
as I heard Joel telling Lucas that his pathetic strategy, to make
Ava crumple and declare her undying love for him, was based on lies
and wouldn’t work. So I doubted that the arm and leg belonged to
him. Bravely—or foolishly—I shuffled my feet a tiny bit, taking my
crouched body a little further forward.

It was Carter! And he was
staring straight at me. I saw that his gun was on the floor at his
feet.

“Enough of this. Time to
sign over your empire, Luke.”

I heard faint footsteps and
for a moment I thought Joel was going to walk out of the room and
find me. Panic surged through my veins and I froze in fear. But
nobody came out. I got a grip and peered further into the room. A
daring act that I’d never have believed I was capable of. I saw a
guy wearing jeans and a deep-red hoodie standing with his back to
me about a meter away from Carter. He was rifling through a desk
drawer.

It’s Joel. He’s got his
back to me. And he’s distracted. That’s both of them with their
backs to me!

Before I could do anything,
I saw Carter nod and he launched himself at Joel. The other guy
picked up his gun off the table top and pointed it towards
them.

“
Stop, or I’ll fucking
shoot!”
Ava!

I was almost too scared to
watch. Then I saw that Carter had Joel bent over the table. I could
see that Joel’s head was pushed against the desk but Carter was
blocking my view of most of his body.

“You shoot, and I’ll
shoot,” Carter’s guy said. Looking at Ava but keeping the gun
pointed at Joel’s head.

“
But
I
can’t miss,” she
replied, with chilling finality. “Now put your gun down, there’s a
good boy. And this time, put it on the floor and kick it towards
me.”

I saw him hesitate but
then, looking defeated, he bent down and placed it on the
floor.

“Kick it,” she said. “Now
you, let Joel go.”

Carter’s man widened his eyes
at me and jerked his head slightly towards the center of the room.
He did it again.
What the fuck?

I saw that Carter was ignoring
Ava. So I peered even further into the room.
Oh my God!
Ava was standing so close to
me.
I could
see the gun pressed against Lucas’ head. He was standing to her
left. She wasn’t touching him. She just had the gun at his head. My
nerve failed and I almost pulled back, but I knew I had to do
something. I looked around me wildly as she repeated her demand to
Carter—this time with a warning. There was nothing around for me to
hit her with. Then I had a flash of inspiration and, to this day, I
don’t believe what I did next.

I stuffed my hand in my
pocket as I straightened up. I stepped into the room just as Carter
was pulling Joel up off the desk. Blood was pounding through my
veins, almost deafening me. I couldn’t hear what Ava shouted,
presumably to Carter, I only heard her muffled voice but I noticed
that the gun had moved away from Lucas’ head a few inches. I crept
up behind her, gave Lucas a shove and pressed the end of my
flashlight against the back of Ava’s head.

“Don’t move, bitch, or I’ll
blow your fucking head off,” I growled.

She began to turn around
but I heard a click and she froze.

“Freeze! Drop it. Now!” a
male voice shouted.

I thought he was shouting
at me. I froze, alright. Dropping the flashlight wasn’t an option.
I was immobilized completely. Then Ava moved forward, leaving me
standing there holding a flashlight in mid-air, looking like a
complete dickhead.

Then I saw that Carter’s
man had disarmed her. He pushed her onto the floor, his own gun
trained on her head. Carter still had Joel pressed against the
desk.

I dropped the flashlight
and started to shake uncontrollably. Then Lucas’ arms were around
me. I began to sob. I couldn’t help it. I was a shaking, sobbing
mess and Lucas just held me tightly. “It’s over, Issy, you brave
but foolishly headstrong woman. It’s all over now,” he
muttered.

Lucas eventually led me to
the couch. He sat and pulled me across his lap, folding his arms
back around my shaking frame. I felt numb; not even feeling any
pain in my shoulder as I moved.

I was aware that Joel and
Ava were led out of the room but nothing else. I guess I must’ve
cried myself to sleep once the adrenaline and shock had worn off. I
remember wondering where Scott was—and the rest of Carter’s men—but
I felt too drained to even ask Lucas. I think he must’ve felt the
same because he didn’t speak or move a muscle, except to stroke my
hair, comforting me.

*

I woke fearful and agitated
after having a nightmare reliving what had happened, but Lucas was
there, soothing and calming me in his arms. Carter’s guy came up to
us, looking very sheepish. He apologized profusely for not passing
on the information that could’ve ended things so much more simply
and safer. Lucas asked him what he meant. I just shook my head and
waved the guy away. I was too emotionally drained and couldn’t face
an inquisition from Lucas—or the risk of a thermonuclear reaction
when Lucas found out that I’d suspected Ava and had tried to tell
him. After all it was thanks, in part, to that guy that I’d found
the courage to tackle Ava.

It wasn’t until Lucas said
it was time to go home that we moved. Carter drove us back in the
Lexus SUV—I had no idea how that had got there. Lucas again placed
me on his lap and held me as I finally asked the questions I could
no longer contain.

I learned that Scott was
safe. He’d been locked in the cellar, which was some sort of
stronghold by all accounts, along with the rest of Carter’s team.
Ava had led the team to rescue Scott but had locked them all in
before making her way back to Joel. Lucas promised to apologize to
Scott, as he now knew that Scott was totally innocent. He kicked
himself for not suspecting Ava.

He froze suddenly and
turned to me, asking me whether I’d overheard him trying to talk
Ava around. I nodded and headed him off before he could worry that
I’d believed him when he’d said he still loved her. I told him I’d
realized what he was trying to do. I felt him relax completely. His
insecurities and issues would probably torment him for as long as
he lived, but I knew I loved him enough to accept him, flaws and
all—just as he’d have to do for me.

I asked what would happen
to Joel and Ava, but Lucas just shrugged and said it was probably
best that we didn’t know. My eyebrows took flight as I absorbed
what his words could possibly mean.

Then it was my turn to be
interrogated.
I told him everything about my suspicions about Ava. By
then, we’d both figured out that she’d found the footage of the two
of them at Odyssey, after she’d taken over as the manager, and had
passed it on to Joel along with information about its influential
members. Lucas was still angry that the former manager had been
secretly recording the goings on in the private rooms. He declared
that the club was a liability and said he was getting rid of it. I
had mixed feelings about that. I had both good and bad memories of
the place. Part of me wanted to spend more time in there with
Lucas, if it was possible to overcome the near disastrous events
caused by Joel and Ava. I sat up suddenly as I recalled how Denial
had almost lost their recording contract, thanks to an anonymous
female caller. That had to have been Ava too.
Bitch!

Lucas also reiterated his
promise that there’d be no more dodgy business activities. No
matter what his competitors did, he’d win contracts and obtain
planning consent by fair means only. I wondered how much of that
was because of me, because of the trouble it had caused or because
his mission of hunting down Joel and extracting revenge was
complete. I decided it didn’t matter.

He then shocked me by informing
me that he’d found out earlier that day, thanks to a joint
investigation by Daniel and Carter, that his glamorous, young
receptionist was also in Joel’s employ and had given Joel the
information he needed to be able to hack into Lucas’ secure server.
I recalled seeing the receptionist with a strange man and how
they’d tried to enter Lucas’ office but had quickly vanished when I
appeared. I’d forgotten to tell him about that but then it hadn’t
seemed important at the time. I decided there was nothing to be
gained from raising it after the event. Instead, I snuggled in
closer and told him that we should forget all about the past. That
only the future mattered now, not the past.

*

As soon as we arrived at the Orion Building,
we went straight to Lucas’ apartment. We both needed a shower but
were so exhausted that, when he led me to his bed, I didn’t argue.
I had to summon all my energy just to pull off my clothes and crawl
under the covers.

Lucas slid in next to me, switched off his
lamp, and lay back. I moved to rest my head on his chest, snuggling
up to him.

I was just drifting off to sleep when I heard
a tiny voice say, “Okay. I’ll give it a try . . . for you.”

I lifted my head in confusion. I noticed that
his bedside lamp was switched on but my sleepy eyes weren’t
focusing properly. “Give what a try?”

“Seeing a therapist. I do have issues, you’re
right, and I’m not risking losing you because of them.”

“Oh, Lucas,” I whispered as my eyes cleared
and I took in his worried expression. “You’re not going to lose me
because of that. And you can’t do it for me. You need to do it for
you.”

His hands cupped my face and his eyes of
deepest blue sought mine. There was sincerity and acceptance in
those eyes. “I’ll do it for both of us.” Then he kissed me. Softly
and reverently. It was as if our souls embraced as we kissed,
reuniting and cementing our relationship after all the emotional
crises we’d endured.

I walked back from the Orion Building to my
new home—no, our home—after a very rewarding afternoon with Jenson,
Lucas’ architect, going over plans for the refurbishment of Lucas’
latest property acquisition in the heart of Manhattan. As
mini-Dakota came into view, I stopped briefly to take in the
beautiful building looking majestic in the autumn sunshine; bathed
in a golden glow. It still stunned me every time I saw it. But that
was nothing compared with the thrill I felt whenever I put my key
in the lock and opened the gateway to our home.

A few minutes later having stopped for a
brief chat with the lovely James, who was now our new doorman, I
did just that, then entered the huge apartment. I paused to drop my
keys and purse on the console table in the hall. The light glinted
on the small yet ridiculously expensive diamond which was secured
to my finger by a slim white-gold band reminding me that my new
neighbor, who was also my wedding planner, was due over that
evening, if she could tear herself away from her new job—owner and
manager of Odyssey.

Angel was often late these days.
Man, she loved that club. I’d
been worried about her relationship with Chad when she’d asked
Lucas about taking it over, but he’d been so distracted, being
halfway through Denial’s tour, that he hadn’t batted an eyelid.
He’d also had the unfortunate task of keeping Travis out of
trouble. Much as he loved Jenny, it seems that refusing the
advances of brazen fans, throwing themselves at him every night had
perhaps proved too difficult for him. Chad had kept tight lipped
about exactly what Travis may or may not have been up to, probably
because he didn’t want to put Angel in a difficult position. She
and Jenny were now good friends.

Oh ye
ah, the boys were due back this weekend. Lucas had arranged
a massive party at his Queens bar to congratulate them on the
incredible success of their tour. It would be the only chance
they’d have to party . . . they were due in the recording studio
the following week. Thank God Lucas was no longer their agent.
Denial was in serious demand. Their fan base was huge!

I walked into our bedroom and found an outfit
laid out on the bed. My fiancé must have forgotten about Angel
coming over . . . he was obviously hoping for a repeat of the
evening before. I rubbed my ass absentmindedly as memories of last
night flooded my mind.

I shook my head, bringing my thoughts back to
the present. What was it with men and weddings? I was sure they
just buried their heads in the sand until all the work was done.
Well, except for the bachelor party . . . they seemed to manage
that just fine. Lucas must’ve invited half of the male population
of Manhattan. Mind you, his circle of friends was growing by the
day so maybe that wasn’t so surprising.

I picked up the flimsy, sexy outfit and
took it back to the closet.
Not tonight, Mr. Hunter
. I walked back to the bed and collected the
large, slender white-gold band. I picked it up and put it around my
neck, locking it into place easily after so much practice. I
glanced down at my engagement ring and thought of the matching
wedding band that we’d picked out together. They meant the world to
me . . . but not as much as the collar I wore around my
neck.