Resisting the Boss: Office Suspense Romance (Dirty Hot Resistance Series Book 4) Page 19

  Lucas smirks. “Yeah, basically, this guy is fucked now.”

  “Fucked!” a childish voice repeats in glee.

  Lucas’s horrified gaze turns in Sophie’s direction, who has managed to find her way out of the baby pen and is now standing in the doorway, beaming.

  “Oh, no!” Elise sounds horrified.

  Lucas jumps out of her reach to grab the unrepentant Sophie.

  The chaos that ensues is amusing and I use it as a cover to escape onto the balcony to see Kendall standing there, silently, her arms wrapped around herself.

  “Don’t say anything,” she murmurs, her voice thick.

  I go over to her and stand next to her.

  “You love her,” the words are torn from her.

  “Would I go this far for her if I didn’t?” I murmur.

  She sniffles. “No, you hate people.”

  Her sigh is soft and sad. “Where will you two go?”

  I feel her lean against me and my own heart tightens at the idea of saying goodbye to this woman who embraced me as family and has loved me so selflessly ever since. My voice is rough as I reply, “I don’t know. We’ll figure things out. Or I’ll talk to Caleb to give me a job in one of his overseas companies.” My faith in my ruthless brother-in-law is solid and I’m not worried.

  “Don’t stay away for too long,” Kendall mutters as she slides her arms around my waist. “I might start to miss your ugly face.”

  “You’re the ugly one,” I inform her, hugging her tightly, pretending not to feel my shirt grow wet from her tears.

  We remain like that for a few long minutes.

  The click of the door sounds from behind us and Caleb says in that smooth tone, “Halley is looking very overwhelmed right now.”

  I look over and see the silent message in his eyes and I sigh, reluctantly releasing my sister.

  As I leave, I see Caleb murmuring something to her before taking her face in his hands and pressing his lips to her forehead.

  Halley is talking to Elise and Lana, Tracy standing next to her.

  I can see the strain on the face of the woman I love, and I steal her away. “I think we’ve caused enough chaos here. Let’s go home.”

  The ride home is silent and I keep glancing at Halley, who’s uncharacteristically subdued throughout. Well, she has reason to be subdued. “Why didn’t you tell me about your discussion with Raymond?”

  She glances at me and sighs. “I needed time to think. My whole life was being ripped apart by the seams. I just needed some time to myself to sort things out.” Her words are stilted and she murmurs, “I hadn’t planned on saying anything at the gathering today but I just couldn’t keep it in. I ruined Kendall’s day, especially after she was so sweet to tell me to just bring my work over and do it there.”

  I don’t say anything and I can feel her eyes on me.

  “I feel like I’m being selfish, taking you away from your family.”

  This garners a response from me. “Love is often selfish. I’m making this decision to choose you because I know I’ll never meet another you. Besides, this isn’t permanent. Caleb will hunt this man down and we’ll help him once we’re out of his reach.” I give her a fierce smile. “Don’t underestimate my family, Halley.”

  We reach our building complex and I follow her to her apartment, carrying her laptop. Following her inside, I linger by the door. “Pick up what you need. You’re sleeping in my bed tonight.”

  My order startles her and she gazes at me for a long second before nodding.

  In a matter of minutes, I have her in my space and I bury my nose in her neck, taking in her scent as if it’s my lifeline.

  “Uncle Raymond will pick me up tomorrow morning around dawn.” Her fingers curl in my hair as if she’s reluctant to release me. “I have some things for Mia. She’ll drop by in the morning and take them from you. Also, can you transfer the data from the phone into your laptop? I’ll set up the program right now. It’ll run overnight, and once you’re able to see the files you, just have to drag them onto the desktop.”

  Even as she’s issuing these orders, I’m licking a trail down the column of her throat. “Halley.”

  “Hmm,” she groans.

  I open her top button to access her cleavage. “Shut up.” I sink into her.

  She mutters, “Dick.”

  But her soft cries soon fill the room as I fuck the disobedience and sassiness out of her. I use her body through the night and only let her fall asleep when she begs me to. By the time I wake up on Sunday morning, her side of the bed is cold.

  I drag myself out of bed and go to the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee. There’s a yellow sticky note taped to the coffee machine. I take it off and stare at the crudely drawn heart on it with the words ‘Miss you already’ and my lips curve. I walk over and stick the paper to the fridge.

  I don’t have any plan for the day, and with Halley not around, I feel listless. I pull on a shirt and a pair of sweats, then glance at the clock. Mia should be here in an hour to pick up the small bag Halley left for her.

  I wait idly by, and after some time, hear a beeping on my laptop. I wander over and see that the program has run its course. I open the file that contains all the data Halley wants to preserve.

  I pull one folder that says Camera to my desktop, and as it starts downloading, I hear the buzzer and I walk over to let Mia in.

  I’ve met her a few times and she’s a good-natured girl. But today when she walks in, there’s a hollowness to her eyes.

  I feel a bit concerned. “You all right there?”

  She looks at me, glumly. “No.”

  I stare at my coffee on the counter.

  Her eyes wander in that direction.

  Sighing, I offer, half-heartedly, “Would you like a cup?”

  Halley keeps saying I should be nice to her friends so I guess I should make the effort.

  “Sure,” Mia says, dully. “What have I got to lose?”

  My concern is now a little more real and I raise a brow. “Is something wrong?”

  She glares at me now. “No. What could possibly be wrong? It’s not like Cam proposed to me and then vanished a day later and started ignoring my texts. All I said was that I needed some time to think about it! How was that wrong?” She looks close to tears.

  I feel uncomfortable, awkwardly touching her shoulder, a featherlike whisper of a touch. “There, there.”

  Her scowl grows even more dangerous.

  I back away, this tiny female looks like she’ll explode at any minute. “I’ll get you that coffee.”

  She sits down at the dining table where my laptop is and stares at the phone, her mood bitter. “So, she’s still going ahead with this dumb gift idea? This is years and years of data.”

  I walk over with a mug. “As long as she’s happy. You…” My words trail off as I see a strange look pass on Mia’s face.

  She grows pale while staring at the screen. “What the fuck is this?”

  I turn my gaze towards the screen and see pictures open in different windows. one by one. I freeze at the content of them and the mug slips from my grasp as bile rises in my throat, and I grab my phone, dialing Caleb’s number.

  With my gaze on the screen, I tell him, grimly, “You need to see this.”

  Caleb’s face is harsh as he stares at the images on the screen, and I can hear Lucas in the background, on the phone with the authorities from Halley’s hometown. Oliver and Duke have been assigned another task, which my befuddled mind can’t grasp.

  Mia is being comforted by Kendall and Elise.

  “I can’t get in touch with Halley.” I put down my phone, my blood thundering in my ears. “It’s ringing but she’s not picking up.”

  The images of the woman on the screen are burned into my eyelids. I can now see that Halley has grown up to resemble her mother, greatly, right down to the cheeky smile.

  However, in the further pictures, Lily Cooper is no longer smiling, her eyes are haunted.


  The programmer is working furiously on the laptop, trying to deduce the date and time stamps and a possible location of when these pictures had been taken, and is looking more and more tense. He finally stops and picks up the harmless-looking device that is still linked to the laptop. “This was one of the most secure pieces of tech back then, man. It cost a couple grand. How did your man get a hold of it? It’s nearly impossible to crack one of these open or even get any further information on these pictures.”

  Caleb gives him a cool look. “And yet, Halley was able to do it. Keep at it. Mia.”

  Mia looks up at the authoritative tone aimed towards her, and although she looks near tears, she walks over, her steps steady.

  Caleb points towards the screen. “Do you know where these places are?”

  The pictures aren’t of the best quality and Mia stares at them, clearly trying not to flinch.

  The pictures range from creepy to horrifyingly detailed. I can’t wrap my head around the undeniable truth that is before me.

  Raymond Silverton had an unhealthy obsession with Halley’s mother. Most of the pictures have been taken from far away, and in the ones taken up close and personal, Lily’s eyes hold undisguised fear. In the latest pictures, she’s completely nude, her form battered, her hands tied.

  “Do you know where this is?” Caleb asks.

  Mia looks uneasy. “This could be anywhere.” Then her eyes widen. “No, wait, this is the underground shed in Raymond’s house. We were never allowed in there when we went over but we once sneaked in. It was bare and there was a bed there and some tools. Nothing weird.” She points towards the screen. “I remember seeing that stain on the wall. It looked red, so we always thought somebody had been killed in that house.”

  When I stare at her, horrified, she shakes her head, hastily. “It’s not really old blood. It’s just paint.” Her lips purse. “Miss Cooper doesn’t have the tattoo here.”

  “Tattoo?” Caleb asks.

  Mia nods. “Yeah. She got one when Halley turned eleven. We all thought it was pretty cool.” Her words are absentminded and then they turn sharp as she gazes at the naked form of her friend’s mother, her midsection blooming with bruises. “It was on her right wrist, like a bracelet. This picture is very old.”

  Fear is making my mouth dry and I look towards Caleb. “I should go now—”

  “You don’t know where they are, Jace,” Lucas advises. “She’s not at her old house and Raymond isn’t at his house as well. Their neighbors say that the house is sealed and nobody has entered.”

  I stiffen. “So, we have no way of knowing where he took her?”

  “Did he know that Halley has this phone?” Lucas asks, sharply.

  I shake my head. “No. She sneaked it out. It was a surprise for his birthday.”

  “There’s another folder!” The programmer, Isaac, exclaims.

  All eyes turn to him.

  He pulls it out onto the main screen and opens it.

  I notice the rain in the pictures and the darkness that indicates it’s evening or night.

  Mia gasps out, horrified, “Mrs. Cooper’s car. That’s her car!”

  I recognize the car from the picture I’d seen. A red-haired woman is leaning against the door, holding a young child in her arms, protectively, the woman’s face holding the sort of terror that you can only find in the deepest recesses of your mind. The next picture is of the same woman but Halley is no longer there.

  It’s a small dark room, Lily Cooper, chained to the wall like an animal. The look in her eye is broken and her state…

  Halley can never see this.

  I vow this to myself as the horrific nature of the pictures grows even worse.

  Lily was kept alive in captivity for days. There are marks of torture on her body and my heart trembles in pity for her and in fear for the woman I love at this man’s mercy.

  I could never have imagined Raymond of all the people. I’ve seen the way he loves Halley, the adoration in his eyes. And even as my heart weakly protests, the evidence is being slowly unveiled before me.

  But why?!

  Why would he do any of this?

  “Go back!” I say, sharply, as something flickers in my vision. I stare at the image before me and the grotesque nature of it makes even my strong stomach quiver.

  There is no doubt of it.

  Jet Stalinski has been dead for all these years.

  I recall Halley saying that he had used to come over to their house and that he sometimes brought her small gifts.

  Raymond killed him.

  He killed Lily.

  The next few pictures are more repetitive and then I see one that has my blood curdling. I recognize the two women in the picture. How can I not?

  ‘They died in a car accident,’ I hear Halley’s voice in my head. ‘An out-of-town trip. Nobody found their bodies for ten days.’

  And yet, Raymond captured the deaths on his small device.

  The picture I had of him in my head of a harmless, kind man is crumbling, to be replaced by that of a vicious, manipulative monster who murdered a woman he claimed to be his friend and stole her child. He lied to Halley about the deaths of his wife and child and that means he might have had a hand in their deaths.

  He murdered his own wife and child.

  The front door barges open and Oliver enters, scowling. “You weren’t answering your phone.”

  Duke is behind him and he nods at Caleb. “The chopper is ready. It’s on the roof.”

  Chopper?

  Oliver adds, “But before that, there is something you need to see.” He holds out a file. “Documents. Raymond is more cunning than I could have imagined.”

  Caleb opens the file and his eyes widen, fractionally. He stares at the paper before handing it to me.

  It takes me a few seconds to process what I’m seeing.

  Halley’s birth certificate.

  I swallow and put it down, my mouth dry with fear. “We need to go now.”

  Mia, who has been strangely silent, is staring at the pictures on the screen, and she grabs my wrist, her hold so tight that I feel that my blood flow will cease.

  She’s shaking like a leaf as she says, “The—that room. I know where Halley is.”

  16

  Halley

  My head is groggy and thick as my eyes open.

  Encountering darkness, I blink.

  What’s going on? Wasn’t I in the car with Uncle Raymond just now?

  My eyes adjust to the darkness and it’s then when I realize that my movement is hindered by something cold and heavy on my wrist.

  I try to pull and I hear the clanging of metal.

  Chains?

  The dullness fades from my mind, as I taste the bitterness of fear on my tongue.

  Why am I chained to what is clearly a wall?!

  My eyes adjust to the darkness as I see the large expanse of the room, and it takes me a few minutes to recognize where I am.

  The cellar of the old abandoned church was always considered haunted, and as children, we used to explore it in the hopes of finding the ghosts that everybody said haunted this place. The last time I was here was on Cam’s eleventh birthday, a week before my entire life shattered.

  “Uncle Raymond,” I whisper into the darkness. “Are you there?”

  There’s no response.

  I reach out with my leg and try to sweep it along the floor in the hopes that he’s here and just unconscious like I was. My leg touches something and I freeze in shock, and my voice trembles, “Uncle Raymond?”

  But once again, all I’m greeted by is heavy oppressing silence.

  Shivering, I curl into myself, significantly aware of how the metal is biting into my skin, trying to remember how I ended up here.

  But nothing comes to mind.

  We had stopped for gas and Uncle Raymond had gone inside to get some snacks. He’d brought me a soda. I’d felt sleepy after that and he’d promised to wake me up when we reached...

  What hap
pened to him?

  I open my mouth to scream but I don’t want to attract the attention of whoever brought me here. There is no way someone aside from this person would hear me.

  I look to my left and I see a strange figure. It’s in a horizontal position and looks like a person but it is too still.

  “Hello?” I whisper out, my voice cracking.

  There’s no movement.

  I’m scared and I try to stand up but the chains are short, my arms slightly raised. They are hanging next to my head, and as I shuffle, trying to think past the suffocating fear, I feel a pinch in my hair.

  The hair pin.

  I had put one in this morning to keep the hair out of my eyes.

  I know a little something about picking locks and I don’t know if the pin will work but it’s worth a try.

  I reach for it, turning my head towards my right hand, my fingers straining to grasp onto the pin. Just as I manage to curl them around the delicate piece of metal, I hear a muffled groan coming from the corner of the basement, “Uncle Raymond!”

  The person doesn’t reply but I can hear the small sounds being made.

  “It’s Halley,” I say, urgently. “Hit your foot on the floor if you’re—?”

  The door opens and I look up, squinting my eyes at the bright flashlight aimed at my eyes. The sound of a click and then the small hanging bulb on the ceiling flickers to life.

  I blink and see Uncle Raymond standing there and hope and relief fills me, “Oh, thank God, you’re all right! We need to get out of here. There’s someone…” I turn my head to the right and my words fade as I see two men tied and gagged in the corner. I recognize Detective David and my breakfast comes up to my throat.

  His skin has a deathly pallor and his eyes are blank and unseeing.

  He’s dead.

  The man next to him gives me a horrified look.

  My lips tremble as I ask, “Cam?”

  He tries to say something, but aside from unintelligible sounds, I can hear nothing.

  I look towards Uncle Raymond, who’s just standing there, and I cry out, “What are you doing? Help him!”