Secrets (7 page)

****

Chastity kicked off her shoes and sank onto
the sofa in the living room. Finally, it was over. Mr. Baxter’s DVD
was admitted into evidence, in which he spoke so eloquently of his
sister’s greed and his heartfelt desire that she not receive a dime
of his money. He then announced he’d sold the house she lived in to
an investor. She had two weeks to move. The person the house now
belonged to was in court with his copy of the deed. Mr. Baxter
suggested his sister move in with her husband and his mistress. The
reporters had a field day with that one. The leased car she drove
had been picked up that morning, and her monthly allotment was to
be terminated immediately. All the while she’d thought her husband
had supported her, but it’d been her brother. Maude Stone left the
courthouse homeless and in tears. Her son left slowly behind her.
The new will was validated.

Sven walked into the living room and sat
next to her. “I’m glad that’s over.”

“Yeah, for a minute she had me scared.”

“When? When they asked Ken if he had sex
with you?”

She leaned back and stared at him, frowning.
“Noooo. When she started bringing out all those liars, saying they
saw me doing all kinds of stuff. Especially smoking and drugs.
Jamison earned his pay today.”

“Um hmm.” He clicked on the TV. The kids
were down for the night and she wanted to unwind. Just as she stood
up to get something to drink, the news came on. Her eyes widened as
the screen filled with an image of Sven and Jamison flanking her as
they left the courthouse earlier that day, refusing to answer
questions. Sven visibly tensed as the camera stayed on her a moment
longer.

“What the hell? How’d that make the news?”
she said, walking toward the kitchen. “If anything, they should’ve
shown Maude’s backside as she ran out of court.” She returned with
a glass of lemonade for each of them. Sven sat with his hands
clasped on top of his thighs, head bowed. Recognizing his tense
posture, her heartbeat sped up. Something else had happened.

“What’s that matter?” She stared at his
bowed head until he looked at her.

Glassy-eyed, he parted his lips and closed
them again. His head hung low, chin touching his chest.

Clearing her throat to push back the fear
that threatened to choke her, she sat across from him in the
overstuffed chair. She bit back the scream in her gut. “Please tell
me what’s going on? What just happened?” she whispered, afraid to
say the words aloud.

“That was another trigger.”

“What? What trigger?” She scooted to the
edge of the chair, desperate to understand what was happening.
“This up and down shit has to stop. If somebody doesn’t tell me
something that makes sense, I’m packing my kids and getting out of
here.” She owed Mr. Baxter more than she could ever hope to repay,
but not at the expense of her sanity or her children.

“If this went public, if your picture went
on television at all, it’s a trigger and another set of packets
have been released with instructions. My part is to up security to
a code red. I have to personally clear everyone that comes near you
or the children.”

Water filled her eyes as he spoke. Mr.
Baxter had been a cautious man who’d never exaggerated. That meant
something bad was heading her way. “Why? What's he afraid of?”

He stood, the lines around his eyes more
pronounced, the man had aged in the past few minutes. “There’s a
packet for you in case this happened. I’ll go get it from my place
and bring it back.”

“Tomorrow will be fine. You’re tired.” Her
head hurt and she was tired.

“Neither of us is going to get any sleep
tonight. We might as well get this behind us.” He walked out into
the night, heading for his apartment over the garage.

Eyes closed, her head hit the back of the
sofa as she wondered what all this meant. “
Gypsy baby
.” She
jerked upright as the words floated across her mind before
vaporizing as the morning dew in the heat of the sun. Goosebumps
pricked her suddenly clammy skin. Shivering, she pulled the fleece
throw around her neck and stared around the quiet room. This house
had represented safety to her for years, now it would become her
prison if they couldn’t figure a way to stop whatever Mr. Baxter
had feared was after her.

Sven returned to the living room holding
three large envelopes. He handed her one. His brow rose at her
hesitation to take it. Cursing the dread that plagued her, she
plucked it from his hand and opened it. Inside she saw a DVD, a
smaller packet and several sheets of paper. Sven was reading one of
the pages from his packet. Her eyes landed on the third packet, she
reached for it.

He moved it out of her way. “That’s for
Kenton.”

Butterflies did somersaults in her belly as
she noticed the NTK insignia on the front. “What’s he got to do
with this?”

Sven’s brow rose. She licked her lips and
pulled out the papers from her own packet, deciding to leave Kenton
out of this for the moment. Eventually they’d need to talk, but not
now.

“I called to tell him about the packet and
he was already on the road headed this way. Said he’d be here in
ten minutes.” A car door slammed. “I guess it’s been that long.”
She gulped down the rest of her lemonade and pulled the fleece
closer around her waist.

“You gonna be okay?”

Tossing her head back, she glanced at the
window as if she could see through the wall. “Yeah, why not?” She
balled her fist beneath the cover to stop the small tremors running
through her body.

“Listen,” Sven drew her attention, ignoring
the light knocks on the front door. “Some serious stuff’s getting
ready to go down. I need your head clear; the time for bullshit is
over. Tonight we’re going to wade into some deep shit. Tell me the
truth, are you going to be okay dealing with him?”

She swallowed hard, the bullshit comment
stung a bit. “Yes. I have to be.”

He stood and walked to the front door.
Seconds later, the two men came into the room. She drew her foot
further beneath the cover. Sven picked up the third packet and
handed it to Kenton. He nodded to her, sat down, and started
reading. Beneath lowered lids, she watched him. His face reddened,
then a scowl appeared, followed by an incredulous look. She wished
she knew what was on his papers. Hers told her to listen and follow
instructions, three pages saying basically the same thing. Nothing
new there.

Kenton held up a disk in his left hand, his
neutral voice at odds with the glower on his face. “He left a DVD
for me to watch with both of you.”

“No telling what’s on that. Let’s go into
the office.” Sven stood and looked down at her. “You coming?”

She nodded. He walked down the hall.

Her head hurt. Court had been long and
stress-filled, and then there was the three-plus hour drive home.
Her bed with its soft warm cover and goose-down pillows called her
name. Unfortunately, she’d never be able to sleep without knowing
the underlying cause of Sven’s upgraded code red. Standing slowly,
she stretched. Arms overhead, her top rose, the cool air against
her exposed flesh felt divine. Tendrils of curly hair had escaped
the confines of the band she wore and flew around her head. The
blanket hit the floor. Bending, she picked it up and replaced it on
the sofa. A noise, perhaps an inhalation of breath, had her
spinning. Fear spiked before she saw Kenton standing in the hall
watching her. The white cast on his arm stood out against his dark
blue shirt in the dim hall. His eyes had darkened, reminding her of
a hawk sizing up his prey.

“We’re waiting for you.” His voice rumbled
before he turned and walked away. She placed her hand against her
pounding chest and followed him, breathing heavily. Sven sat in a
chair near the desk, holding the remote. He looked at her and then
Kenton before turning on the DVD player.

The dark paneled walls of this very office
were the first thing she noticed on the screen. Her breath caught
at the sight of Mr. Baxter. Lord, she’d missed him. Her eyes teared
up as he coughed before he spoke.

“Well, Chastity my dear, if you’re watching
this with Sven and Kenton, then the shit’s hit the fan…”

Chapter
7

“First off, let me make a few things clear
to everyone in the room.” David Baxter’s patented crisp voice
stirred latent memories. He’d always been a get-to-the-point
person. “Chastity, you’re not the child of my loins, but the
daughter of my heart. When I discovered you all those years ago on
the side of the road, I felt God had given me the child my lovely
Janine and I had wanted so desperately before she died. You weren’t
the only child in the car wreck; there was a small boy and another
girl. But you stole my heart with your determination to live, to
survive.” He chuckled and dabbed his eyes with his fingertips.

“A father at fifty-five.” He shook his head.
“I was scared shitless I’d mess up without Janine’s guidance. You
gave my life purpose, and I am so proud of the woman and mother
you’ve become. I’ve loved you as my own for years and there is
nothing more important to me than your safety and long life. So
don’t get any ideas of running off on your own young lady. Be
patient and listen. I think we can beat this thing if everybody
remains smart.”
Code: do what I tell them.

Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks.
Love
. That word choked her at every turn. It’d been used to
lure her into giving up her most precious gift, used by people who
had no idea what it meant, thrown at her like scraps of food to
entice her to become what they wanted. She’d been starved for it.
Now, the word flowed through lips she respected and trusted. She
loved her children and Mr. Baxter, but hadn’t ever uttered the word
to any of them. Experiences of hollow promises in conjunction with
the word and fear of losing those closest to her, kept a tight
leash on emotions. Instead, she’d tried to demonstrate her deep
commitment to him every day. No one could’ve asked for a better
parent, he’d saved her life and her sanity when she’d been broken
and abused. In the lock-box of her heart, her love for him beat
safe and secure. Words had always been inadequate to express their
relationship. Actions, in her mind, always won the love
lottery.

“Now, Kenton and Sven should be there with
you as well. If not, get them.” He paused and looked at some
papers. His first sentence sent shock waves through the room.
“Kenton, all three of Chastity’s kids are yours. If you’d take your
head out your ass and really look at them, you’ll see what I did
years ago. The Baxter traits run strong through them. And they most
definitely aren’t mine or your mother's. So, that leaves you.”

Her fist balled in her lap.
I’m going to
kill him for putting my business out there like this.
A loud
snapping sound cracked the air. Hesitantly, she looked at the
broken pen in Kenton’s hand.
Oh, shit.

“I had Sven adopt the children to keep them
safe from your mother or anyone else who’d try to use our blood
connection to rob or hurt my grandkids. Chastity’s life would be in
danger if your mother thought she’d get her hands on their
inheritance through you. Everything will be corrected once this
situation is resolved. No one else knows about the adoption other
than the attorney. The fewer people who know, the better, including
the children. You’re probably angry at my interference, but if I’d
heard a peep from you after you had your way with my daughter then
I’d give a damn. But you hit and ran, leaving her to deal with the
situation. Know this—“Steely eyes peered into the camera. “If she’d
told me who the father was, I’d a come gunning for your ass. But
since she held that information tight, I felt like things were
consensual between you two and you didn’t do a mind job on her. No
one will take anything from her ever again. You got that?”

The only sound in the room was Kenton’s
fast, heavy breathing. Her face and neck burned with shame. She
refused to look in his direction. If her imagination was halfway
correct, fire was flying from his nose and mouth. He'd never been
the type of person who worked well when forced. As soon as they got
a free moment she'd let him know she had no expectations of
him.

“There’s a reason for you to know all this
now. I hired Sven when I brought her to the ranch years ago and
shut it down. You should remember those days; you and I’d meet at
the house near Pittsburgh and spend time together there rather than
at the ranch. During that time she had the worst nightmares. I
couldn’t let anyone near her.”

Chastity’s eyes widened and snapped shut. In
the darkness behind her lids she shrank and stiffened in the chair.
No.
Please don’t tell them about that
, she silently
screamed. The words locked in her throat, choking her. Sweat popped
on her forehead as shadowy recollections swam in her mind like
sharks, circling, teasing her sanity. Gripping the seat, she
trembled in shame as wisps of her past wafted from beneath the
tight seal holding her sinister memories. Memories she’d tried to
kill to no avail. Like the mythical Phoenix they rose, shining the
light on a time in her life that was so filthy. She still didn’t
feel clean.

“I know this hurts, honey.” Mr. Baxter’s
words pierced the fog surrounding her. “But I’m not there anymore,
and they need to know who and what they’re up against.” She
swallowed hard as his words washed over her. He knew. After all
these years, he knew she still remembered the awful things from her
childhood. Relaxing the death grip on the chair slightly, she
opened her eyes and listened. Listened to what
he
saw, and
what
he
felt about what
he
saw. He’d never told her
before.

“When she was five or six, my little girl
was stolen from foster care and sold into slavery, child
pornography and prostitution. It’s bigger than either of you boys
knows. They took everything from her. When I brought her to the
ranch, she’d been beaten, was dehydrated with a high fever, and
dark deep bruises covered her body like someone had used her as a
chew toy. The doctor who treated her wasn’t sure she’d make it. But
she’s a fighter.” He smiled.