Punk Rox Warrior (16 page)

same deputy, the one that was in here earlier, told us that.” James

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paused. “He told us that…Cameron escaped custody.”

“What?” Rainne screamed. Her body tightened with panic, it felt

like her chest was going to explode.

“The officer that was assigned to his room had left, for god knows

what reason, and sometime after he came back, the nurse entered the

room only to find Cameron was gone.”

“Oh, my God! I think I’m gonna be sick,” she interrupted, her

hand flat against her chest. Her stomach churned violently.

“Baby, it’s going to be okay. I promise we will find him.” James

took hold of her hand and kissed it gingerly. “I’m gonna need you to

tell me everything that happened when you were in Cameron’s

custody, and then we have some other issues to deal with.”

“There’s more?” Rainne was dumbfounded.
How much more

could there be?
“Holy shit storm, Batman!”

* * * *

As Rainne relayed all the details of her encounter with Cameron,

James was in awe of how intelligent she was. Not many people could

keep their cool in a situation like that. It’s probably the reason she

was talking to him at this moment and not lying in the morgue.

“The next thing we need to discuss is going to be more difficult,

but I need your help because I’ll be damned if I can figure it out.”

Placing the laptop on the bed and turning it on, he told her, “I need

you to watch this. It’s the video from your warehouse. It was taken

after we discovered you were gone.” James played the video and sat

down in the chair.

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Chapter 15

As Rainne watched the video, she was confused, but when the

final scene played out with Phillip planting a kiss on her mother, it all became crystal clear. “The company…Phillip. How could I have been

so stupid? Why would she do this?” Rainne wasn’t sure if she had

thought the words or said them aloud. One look into James’s tortured

eyes and she knew that he had heard them as well. Her head snapped

up. “I need to make a call.” Immediately, a cell phone was placed in

her hands, and almost robotically, she dialed a number she couldn’t

believe she even remembered.

After a short pause, she spoke. “Mimi Braun, please.” Rainne

patiently listened to the “snoozak” that played while on hold.
Who

hates the human race enough to invent this shit?

“This is Mimi Braun. How can I help you?”

“Hi, Mimi. It’s Rainne.”

“Hey, stranger. How have you been, Rainne? I’ve missed you.”

“Mimi, I need your help. I can’t talk about it on the phone. Can

you meet me at Health Park Hospital, room 1857?”

“Well, sure, sweetie, anything you need. It will take me a few

hours to get there.”

“Please hurry, and don’t tell anyone where you are going. See you

soon.” Flipping the phone closed, she handed it back to James, who

placed it safely back in its holder. He locked eyes with Rainne,

waiting for an explanation.

Averting her eyes, she spoke softly. “Mimi was my father’s

lawyer. She still works for the law firm that handles all the company’s

legal issues.” Her eyes obverted downward to play absently with the

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corner of the sheet. “She is the last person from my father’s world that I trust.” She snapped her eyes up to look at him.

“Why is that?”

“Mimi stepped aside as head attorney after Daddy died. She

couldn’t in good faith stand by and watch as Carol turned the

company into something he would have hated. She works out of the

Tampa branch now.”

“What do you mean? Isn’t it the same company?”

“No.” She laughed a humorless chuckle. “The original company

had the same name, but it was the opposite of its present objective.

The original was dedicated to helping people and communities that

could not help themselves. They helped fund charitable causes,

intercity programs, and schools.”

“That doesn’t seem like something you would get rich doing.

Where did your father’s wealth come from?”

“Daddy was from old money. His family has been rich for

generations. I’m not quite sure of the how or the why. It depends on

who you ask.”

“It sounds like he was a good man. Is that why you do what you

do?”

She nodded her head slightly in acknowledgement, “He always

taught me that money is only worth what you do with it. After his

death,” she continued, “Carol wasted no time dismantling the

company and turning it into an investment company.” She sniffed in

anger. “Dedicated to making the rich richer.” She shook her head as if

she still couldn’t believe it.

“How could that happen? Didn’t your father have a board of

trustees to keep that from happening?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “She got the entire company, fifty-

one percent of the shares. Carol is ruthless. Her favorite rule is the

Golden Rule.”

“She who has the gold makes the rules?” James guessed.

“Exactly. She got rid of everyone who wasn’t on board her

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capitalist train and ran the rest of them over with it.”

“So what do you think Mimi can do?”

“She can get me answers. Phillip and Carol were talking about

shares and fraud on the tape.” She raised her eyebrows knowingly.

“And?” James prodded. The look on his face told her that he was

thoroughly confused now.

“Well, you did my financials before you met me, right?”

James nodded, and his eyes widened in acknowledgement.

“That’s right. I don’t own any shares in that company. They are

up to something.”

James eyes narrowed on her. “Are you okay? I mean, I almost had

a stroke looking at that video. You seem pretty cool about it.”

“I’m so not cool with that, but sadly enough it doesn’t surprise

me, and I’m more concerned with what they are planning rather than

the fact that they’re doing each other.” She shivered dramatically.

“Bleck! Just the thought turns my stomach, but I’ll deal with that

when the time comes. Right now I want answers.”

* * * *

A couple of hours later, the door to the room swung open, and in

walked a well-manicured older woman. Her round eyes sat behind a

large pair of circular glasses. She had very kind eyes and short, red

curls atop her head. She paused as she placed her briefcase down on a

chair and tilted her head to look down at Rainne. “What the hell

happened to you, girl?” she asked, pursing her lips.

“Hi, Mimi,” Rainne said, smiling.

Propping her hand on her hip, she said with mock a nger, “Where

have you been? You been wrapped up in a love knot or what?”

“Shut up,” Rainne said with a blush.

She moved in closer to the bed. “But really, what’s going on?

First I hear from the office grapevine that you got into a fight at the

shareholders’ banquet, and then I hear that you have a babysitter, and

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now this? What’s the scoop?” She was obviously concerned.

“Well, first things first.” Rainne motioned towards James and

said, “This is James Decker. He’s my bodyguard…and boyfriend.”

Rainne could feel the blush climb into her face at the last statement.

Stepping forward to shake James’s hand, she spoke. “Well,

whatever you need from me is yours, kiddo. You know that.

Anything.”

“James wired my warehouse and found some interesting video of

my mom and Phillip. We need you to look at it and help us figure out

what it means.”

“Of course I will, but I don’t know how I could help you. I’ve

been out of the loop as far as Carol is concerned for years.”

James started the video, and Rainne watched as Mimi’s face went

from confusion to disgust to anger.

“Well, if that don’t beat all,” she said with a tone of rage lacing

her voice. “Those two,” she hissed as her hands balled into fists.

“What’s going on, Mimi?” Rainne asked as she mentally steeled

herself for the worst.

“What kind of paperwork did Carol have you sign after your

father died?” Mimi asked as she pulled a chair close to Rainne’s bed

and leaned in seriously.

Rainne tried to think. “Um, it was stuff that had to do with his

estate and my inheritance. Why?”

“What did it say?” Mimi looked angry.

“I didn’t get a chance to read it. The lawyers said not to worry and

they were in a hurry.”

“They wouldn’t.” Mimi seemed to be shaking, her eyes wide with

disbelief. “I have to check some things out. Will you be here

tomorrow?”

“The doctor said I should be released in the morning. I’ll be at

home.”

“Okay, I’ll meet you at your house tomorrow afternoon. We never

had this meeting, and stay away from Carol.” She pointed her finger

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sternly.

Rainne’s brows rose. “Oh, not a problem.”

* * * *

Rainne always loved coming home from the hospital. Not the

being sick or the pain, but just the coming home to her quiet

apartment and resting. This time was a little different. She had never

come home to a house full of nervous men before. She had to admit

they were sweet, annoying, but sweet. She hadn’t had a moment’s

peace until James seemed to sense her discomfort and banished them

into the living room. Even then it only lasted a minute before the

doorbell rang.

“I brought food.” Rebecca’s bright face rounded the corner “Oh,

honey.” Her face turned concerned. “Look at what that piece of shit

did to my best bitch.” She sat on the edge of the bed.

“I’m fine.” Rainne tried to flash her most reassuring smile. “I did

most of the damage myself trying to run away.”

“Mama, I’m so happy you’re okay. I was so worried about you

when James called and told me you were in the hospital.” Rainne

could tell she was holding back her tears. “I thought I was gonna lose

you.” Reaching out, she squeezed Rainne’s hand.

“Thank you for the food. Trust me, if it’s not gone by now, it will

be soon.” She chuckled softly. “How’s everyone at work?” Rainne

never missed work unless she was sick, and she couldn’t believe how

much she actually missed it.

“Oh, everyone’s fine. The dragon lady’s been asking about you.

More like complaining how lazy you are for not being at work, but I

think she really misses you.”

“That woman will never admit she loves anything but her dogs.”

Rainne smiled too wide and cringed at the pain.

“Well, I have to motor. Walter’s waiting at the home for me. I’m

taking him shopping for a gift for his granddaughter this afternoon.”

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Leaning in, she gently hugged Rainne and waved as she left the room.

The door hadn’t had a chance to close when Mimi burst into the

apartment. Rounding the corner into Rainne’s bedroom, she looked

disheartened. “You won’t believe what I discovered.” Taking a seat

next to the bed, she opened the file box she had been toting. “The

papers they had you sign? They weren’t for your father’s estate. Carol

and her lawyers duped you, my love.” She gave her a stern look.

“What are you talking about?”

“The papers they had you sign were power of attorney forms. You

gave her control of your shares.”

“What?”
This is unreal.

She handed Rainne a stack of legal documents. “Here, see for

yourself.”

Flipping through them slowly, it occurred to Rainne that she’d

never seen more than half of these forms in her life. “Wait, Carol only

had me sign about ten papers.” She flipped through more quickly.

“There must be at least sixty sheets here.”

Mimi sighed heavily. “They forged your signature on the rest of

them, girly.” Looking at her mournfully, she continued. “I also found

the original will. Your father left it all to you. He wrote it a week after your eighteenth birthday.”

Rainne was thoroughly puzzled now. “Why wouldn’t he leave my

mom anything?”

“He did. He left her the five million she had agreed to in the

prenuptial agreement she signed. Why he married that woman…” Her

spoken thought trailed off. “But, at least he listened to me and

safeguarded your future.” Rolling her eyes, she added, “A lot of good

it did in the end. That snake.” She seethed. “She stole your father’s

company right out from under you.”

Rainne paled. “I can’t believe this. And what does Phillip have to

do with all this? Why involve him? Why would she mess with me like

that?”

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“Legally, your spouse would be entitled to your shares. He would

no doubt want them in the divorce. He’d have a good case since he’s

worked there for years.” Taking off her glasses, she pinched the

bridge of her nose. “Why your father married that woman I’ll never

know.” Putting her glasses back on roughly, she leaned in closer.

“Your mother is rolling in her grave.”

Rainne was stunned, frozen in place.
“Wh-what?”
She stuttered,

trying desperately to form thought into words.
Did I hear that