Kingdom come, p.31
Kingdom Come, page 31
Dante’s dark eyes narrowed. “Barron? No, he didn’t need it. I did. I went to Barron about the ransomware. It was me who messed up. I thought involving the Tillers was the solution, the one that could save not only Dellinger Hotels, but also satisfy my father with the bottom line.”
“There wasn’t a ransomware attack.”
“There was,” Dante argued. “It was brought to me. As soon as I saw the demand, I knew I’d screwed up.”
“You?”
“Cecilia wanted new safeguards implemented. Do you know what it’s like to have someone young and inexperienced come in and start demanding changes in policies you’ve had in place for years?”
“My business doesn’t work that way. Tell me about it.”
Dante took a deep breath and let it out. Somehow, I’d gone from killer to priest, and Dante was absolving himself with confessions.
“Cecilia convinced my father to start an alternative cybersecurity department. The thing was that my way worked, and in the process, helped some special friends who receive both kickbacks and data.”
“You gave away data? What data?”
“Basic information—names, credit card numbers, you know?”
I didn’t know.
He went on. “My way worked to get money to people in ways that appeared legal. Her new department jeopardized that. Then when we were hit with the ransomware, I knew it was me dragging my feet that left us vulnerable.”
I shook my head. I’d think about his sabotage of Cecilia’s plans later. “The ransomware was planted to look like an attack. Barron and Jethro have been working on this plan for over a year. It didn’t just happen in the last few weeks. They brought it to a head on purpose.”
“Why?” Dante asked.
“They both want decisive power. Maxwell Tiller, your father, and you are in their way. Hell, I’m not sure what role Cecilia plays more than as the confirmation of their agreement, a connection that will remain in place securing the Tillers to the Abernathys and vice versa.”
Dante’s eyes swirled with question and indecision. “I sent you to San Diego to get me proof. You told me yesterday that you didn’t have any.”
“I didn’t have it yesterday. I have it now.”
“Fuck,” he muttered. “What did you find?”
“Take me to Lorenzo.”
“No. He doesn’t know any of what happened. He doesn’t know about Cecilia or Jethro Tiller.”
“How?” I asked. “How were you able to keep that from him? Don’t you think he knows that one of his oldest allies is in the hospital?” When Dante didn’t answer, I added, “Did you know that? Did you know Maxwell Tiller is seriously ill? Don’t you think your father needs to know that he’s next?”
“My father has been preoccupied with business and traveling. I’d encouraged it.”
“He didn’t know about Cecilia’s abduction?”
“He was told that she went to California, that Jethro Tiller invited her. It was meant to prepare him for what was coming next.”
“You didn’t tell him that she was kidnapped and traumatized?”
Dante shook his head. “God, no. If he knew what was done...” He didn’t finish the sentence. “Show me what you have.”
“No, I’ll tell you enough to prove my case. Believe me, and take me to Lorenzo before it’s too late. Then I’ll show my cards.”
Dante nodded.
“Maxwell Tiller didn’t hire me to take the heat for Cecilia’s kidnapping as I suspected. I now think that the throwing me under the bus was an afterthought by Jethro, Barron, or maybe you. I interfered in the plan. What better way to get rid of my meddling than to throw shade my direction? One or all of you figured out who I’m connected to. You thought you could rid yourself of me by making my face public. I’d be taken out by past enemies and you could go on with your plan.”
“Who are your past enemies?”
“Not why I’m here.”
“Cecilia wasn’t supposed to be hurt,” Dante said. “I went along with the idea because in my mind, I’d blamed the ransomware attack on her. If she hadn’t made changes...” He shook his head. “I wanted my control back at Dellinger. Having her married would get her out of here.”
I stared in stunned silence. “You went along with torturing your niece.”
“No. It wasn’t like that. I didn’t realize. When those men took me upstairs to that room, I...” He ran his hand over his graying hair. “Those men were hired by Jethro. I demanded that they untie her.”
I took a step back. “You saw her? You were actually there, saw your niece, and didn’t save her?”
“I did save her. I told them to treat her better.”
“That wasn’t saving her.”
Dante went on, “I met with Oliver Reed, Jethro Tiller’s connection. I gave him the information to send us the money.”
“The attack didn’t happen. You didn’t need the money for that. I assume it was to cover up Barron’s mistakes.”
“That was why this happened, for the money,” Dante said.
“It was a game. A show of allegiance. Barron and Jethro proving to one another they were in this together. Maxwell Tiller got word. He hired me under the guise of bringing Cecilia to him. I think he wanted her for the same reason she was on the dark web. Whether he was going to present her to Jethro or maybe Rocco, I don’t know. Men like Maxwell also want control. Obtaining Cecilia gave him control of the pawn. A pawn can save the king or queen or be the distraction that kills them and then the game is over. Not knowing Maxwell’s motivation doesn’t make him the villain in this story.”
“We got the money.”
“You did. Jethro paid with funds that weren’t his to give. The deal was that he’d get paid back after marrying Cecilia.”
Dante slumped against the window. “It wasn’t Barron’s mistakes; they were mine. I felt responsible for the ransomware.”
“It didn’t happen,” I repeated.
“I was the one who needed more money, more than what was asked for in the attack. Barron knew what I’d done.”
“What did you do?”
“It was the reason I had set up that conglomerate that dispersed finances and data to special friends. Years ago, I borrowed some money. It wasn’t a lot at the time. Hell, I’ve paid it back twenty times over, but a note like that never goes away. I’d kept my mistake from rearing its ugly head with the way I did our security. Cecilia’s system changed that. I needed the funds to make a payment or my father would learn what I did. I was desperate. It felt like the world was caving in on me. The deal with Jethro saved me and Dellinger. After it was complete, Barron gave me the funds to pay.”
I nodded, understanding as pieces fell into place. “Barron had you over a barrel, so to speak.”
“It’s not like that. He helped me.”
“He lured you into this scheme by making you believe it was your only option.”
Dante’s expression changed. “I did think it was my only option, and he produced the funds.”
“It was a trade,” I said. I’d done a quick audit.
“What do you mean?”
“Dellingers weren’t the only ones who wanted something out of this. Jethro wants Cecilia’s trust fund. He paid, but he’ll get more by marrying her and getting access to her millions.”
“Barron won’t let him have it. Besides, in your scenario, what does Barron get?”
“Power. He and Jethro have a plan. Jethro takes over both families with Barron at his side working the books and making one large business—spread on each coast. Cecilia will be worth multimillions on her birthday, but when Lorenzo dies, her value will skyrocket.”
“Fuck, if it’s a trade, Barron has figured out a way to double-cross Jethro.”
Asshole couldn’t be trusted by anyone.
“How?” I asked.
“Barron wants a conservatorship,” Dante offered. “He said it was to ensure Cecilia agrees to the marriage. If I believe you, the conservatorship keeps him in control of her money. Jethro gets Cecilia, but not access to her money.”
I was making headway. I could see it in Dante’s eyes. “Take me to your father.”
“There have been too many secrets. I can’t tell him. I’ll take you if you leave me out of it.”
“His life is in danger. I know it. Barron Abernathy has bitten off more than he can chew. He needs every fucking domino to fall and increasing Cecilia’s inheritance by killing Lorenzo will satisfy Jethro when he learns about the conservatorship.”
“Leave my part out.”
I shook my head. “I can’t promise that. Lorenzo needs all the information to make his own decision.”
“And what do you have?”
“A fucking smoking gun. We all screwed up. I didn’t look at the information that I’d been given in the way I should have when Cecilia was taken. I’m responsible too. Maxwell gave me what I needed. My neglect at thoroughly looking through all he’d provided may cost him his life.”
Dante looked me in the eye. “What do you want out of this?”
“I have one request, but I’m only delivering that request to Lorenzo.”
Cecilia
It wasn’t Grandfather’s large plane that was waiting at the private airport but one of the corporate planes. Gaston pulled our car through the gates. My father was unusually rattled, and conversely, I was eerily calm. It wasn’t how I truly felt. Inside, my stomach was twisting, and my nerves were stretched. I had a dull ache in my temples, and yet I found myself without options. Maybe this was the way people felt on death row. I was out of appeals and walking to my execution.
Even though my father refused to answer my questions about Greyson, part of me felt his presence.
It was stupid.
Maybe a childish wish.
And yet I did.
It was my thoughts of him that helped me move forward. His praise and encouragement helped me put one foot in front of the other. If only my execution would be quick, a needle in my arm or a bullet in my head. Instead, I was sentenced to life with a man I didn’t know or care about, to present him with heirs, and to do as I was told.
Mother, Father, Darren, and I rode in the back of the limousine while Gaston drove and Parker rode in the passenger seat. My father’s attention throughout the drive was focused on Uncle Dante. From his ranting messages, it seemed that Father couldn’t locate him.
“Do you think he’s hurt?” Mother asked.
“He needs to answer his damn phone.”
The stairs on the plane lowered as we got out of the car. Parker and Darren escorted us up into the cabin. This plane was nice, not overly done as the large plane was. I made my way to the back cabin and found a soft leather seat. Closing my eyes, I had the strangest sensation. With each inhalation, I believed I smelled Greyson, a clean scent that was uniquely his.
“You’re losing it, Cecilia.”
I was.
I’d given that some thought too.
If I was unable to make decisions, how could I be made to marry?
Mother found her way to the seat beside me and laid her hand on my thigh. “I wish I had more time to plan a wedding.”
My eyes opened in disbelief. I was about to be married off to a man I barely knew and didn’t care for at all for a business deal, and my mother was sad that she was cheated out of planning a wedding.
“I suppose,” she went on, “since my wedding was rushed, I’d wanted more for yours.”
The muscles in my shoulders tightened. I wouldn’t make any headway by confronting her, but then again, it may be my last chance. I placed my hand over hers. “Did you?” When her brown eyes opened wider, I asked again, “Did you want more for me?”
“Yes.”
“Then why support this?”
“It is what it is, Cecilia. You had more time than I did. You went to college and spent time in the corporate world. I wanted that for you. Now it’s time to do what you were meant to do for this family, as I did. Yours isn’t the first arranged marriage and it won’t be the last.”
“We’re all here,” Father called to the pilot. “Get us off the ground.”
From my angle I saw the stairs rise. They were almost closed when they began to open again.
“What the hell?” Father bellowed. “I said to go.”
One of the flight attendants came from the front of the plane. “I’m sorry, Mr. Abernathy. It seems that our craft failed one of its preflight tests. I’m sure it’s nothing. As soon as we get the go-ahead from the mechanic, we’ll take off.”
My father stood and spoke to Gaston and Parker who climbed down the stairs to stand guard at the entry. I looked at Darren, wondering if he knew what was happening. From his expression, he seemed as perplexed as the rest of us.
Father paced as Mother and I stayed seated.
“Barron, relax.”
With each pass, his complexion was redder than the last.
Was it wrong to wish a medical emergency on the man taking me to my fated future?
With my eyes closed and my head leaning against the seat, I heard the melody of my mother’s ringtone. She brushed past me as she took the call. The next thing I knew, she was tapping me on the shoulder and encouraging me farther aft, away from my father’s pacing.
Mom spoke quietly, “Dr. Keltner is on the phone. I called her office and explained that we were leaving town. She wants to speak to you.”
Hesitantly, I took the phone, shocked I was given this chance to speak. Maybe I could tell the doctor the truth and ask her to send help. The realization came in seeing my father. Greyson had been right. No one can help me. Not law enforcement. No one.
I lifted the phone to my ear. “Hello, Dr. Keltner, this is Cecilia Abernathy.”
“How have you been feeling?”
“Fine. Is there a problem?”
“Tell me about food. Have you been eating?”
Her questions seemed mundane for a call that couldn’t wait.
A commotion began outside the plane.
“Please hold a moment, Doctor.” I hurried forward, looking out the window.
Two cars were here, outside the plane.
My father was yelling from the stairway.
Dante appeared, stepping from one of the cars. He was on the tarmac and telling Father to come down.
I held my breath as the other car doors opened, and more bodyguards emerged.
Gaston and Parker could shoot, but they wouldn’t. They recognized the men as much as I did. They were Grandfather’s detail. It was as the back doors opened that I dropped Mother’s phone and reached for the seat for support.
“What is it?” Mom asked as if she’d been oblivious to the uproar. She bent down to look out the window. “Oh, it’s your grandfather,” she said with relief. “I’m so glad he could make the flight. I left him a message.” She squinted, seeing through the small window better. “Who is that man with him?”
Tears threatened and my throat constricted as I took that man in, standing there with Dante and Grandfather. I didn’t understand what was happening and why my father was furious. I was too struck by the sight of Greyson. His blond hair blew slightly in the breeze. His button-up shirt was similar to the one I had hidden. His sleeves were rolled up to his forearms and the shirt stretched over his wide shoulders and broad chest. Blue jeans covered his long legs.
Whatever was happening down on the tarmac was intense.
Father was near the bottom step.
I couldn’t hear him, but I saw my grandfather’s lips move in rebuttal. I saw Grandfather’s intense glare. I couldn’t figure out why it was directed at Father or why Greyson was here.
Gaston took a step forward as two of Grandfather’s guards approached my father.
Again, my grandfather spoke as his men led my father away to a third car.
It felt as if I were in a dream, unsure what was real and what wasn’t.
“I don’t understand,” Mom said.
For once, I agreed.
As Greyson turned toward the plane, I noticed the discoloration around his eye. However, it wasn’t his black eye that I focused upon. It was his blue orbs searching. Finding my strength, I pushed past my mother, Darren, and a flight attendant.
“Miss Abernathy,” Darren called, trying to catch me.
I wouldn’t stop as I stepped out of the plane onto the stairs.
Greyson hesitated, looking at my grandfather. That gave me a head start. We met near the bottom of the steps as I threw myself against him, and his strong arms wrapped around me. For the first time in over two weeks, I felt alive.
In Greyson’s embrace, I was breathing, laughing, smiling, and kissing. I didn’t care that we had an audience. Greyson was a magnet and I was pulled to him, flush against his hard planes.
“Cecilia,” Mom called from the top of the plane’s stairs.
“Liz,” Grandfather said. “Come down. Your trip is canceled. We have a few things to sort out.”
Grandfather then shook the hands of two of his men. “Report back. I want to know everything. Whatever Maxwell needs, I give you authorization to make sure it happens.”
“Yes, Mr. Dellinger.”
The two men in suits walked up the stairs to the plane’s cabin where we’d been.
I turned to Greyson and placed my palms on his cheeks. “I can’t believe you’re here. How are you here? What’s happening?”
Grandfather ran his hand in a circle on my back. “We need to talk, Cici.”
My gaze went back and forth between Greyson and my grandfather. “Grandfa...”
Grandfather nodded. “Dante and Mr. Ingalls brought some things to light.”
“Dante?” I said, questioning his role.
Greyson reached for my hand and brought my knuckles to his lips. “Come, Cici. A new deal has been made, but it’s not complete.”
“A deal? About me?” I turned to Grandfather. “You can’t do that. I know you did with Mom, but it’s not right. I’m the one who gets to make my decisions. I should be.”
