Chapter Twenty-Three

 

Faith

 

We were almost to the hotel when both mine and Dominic’s phones started to ring. Marco’s name popped up on his and Reed’s on mine. I looked over at Dominic. “Am I the only one who thinks that’s not a coincidence?”

Dominic picked up his phone. “Guess we’ll see.” He clicked the button to answer. “Marco, what’s up?” My phone stopped ringing, but then Reed called right back and I silenced it. “Marco?” Dominic called into the phone. “I can’t hear you.” He tossed his phone into the center console. “The connection’s bad. I couldn’t hear shit.”

Reed called again and I sighed. “Something’s wrong. He wouldn’t call me like this if it wasn’t.” Taking a deep breath, I answered the call. “Hey, Reed.”

“Thank fucking God. Where are you?”

About that time, we pulled up past the hotel and there were cop cars and media vans all along the street. “What the hell is this?” Dominic grumbled.

“Reed, what’s going on?” I said, “We just drove past the front of the hotel.”

Dominic rode around to the side and down into the parking garage. He parked quickly and we hurried to the elevator. “Come to the lobby. The police are waiting for Dominic.”

My gut clenched. “Why? What for?”

He sighed. “Just get in here, Faith. I’ll explain everything.”

Dominic grabbed my hand as we entered the elevator. “What did he say?”

I looked up at him. “Only that the police are waiting for you. Is there something you’re not telling me?”

Dominic’s eyes blazed. “No. I don’t know what the fuck they want.” He punched the elevator wall so hard that it dented. “Dammit, I wish you could get to our floor from here.” We had no choice but to go to the lobby. He stopped the elevator and pulled out his key to override the system. The alarm blared all around us. “I’m taking you back down.”

I smacked his hand out of the way. “Oh, no you’re not. We’re in this together.”

Dominic stared at me, his chest rising and falling with his rapid breaths as the alarm still vibrated in our ears. “Whatever they’re here for, I don’t want the media exploiting you.”

I threw my arms up in the air. “Does it look like I care? I don’t run away when things get tough. Whatever’s going on, I’m here to face it with you.” The key was in the slot so I turned it and the alarm stopped. “Reed said he’d explain everything,” I said, pushing the button for the lobby.

Dominic huffed and squeezed my hand. “Why are you so goddamn stubborn?”

That brought a smile to my face. “You love it. I keep you on your toes.”

He snorted. “That’s for damn certain.”

When the elevator doors opened, I wasn’t expecting what happened next. As soon as the reporters recognized Dominic, the flashes just about blinded me. He held my hand tighter and pulled me out of the elevator. There were shouts of questions, but I couldn’t understand what they said. Once we were through the crowd, there were five police officers that stormed right up to us. The officer in the middle pulled out his handcuffs and the cameras went crazy.

“Dominic Corsino?” the officer called out.

Dominic walked right up to him with his head held high. “That’s me,” he replied, his voice strong and dangerous.

The officer held up his badge. “My name’s Brighton Jeffries, Chief of Police. I’m here to take you to the station.” He looked to be in his early forties with shaved brown hair and a scar above the left side of his lip.

Dominic huffed. “What for?”

Jeffries looked over at one of the other deputies and nodded for him to step forward. The deputy approached Dominic with a set of handcuffs in his hand, but I held onto Dominic’s arm. “Oh, my God, Dominic.”

Jeffries glanced down at then turned that dark glare of his back to Dominic. “For the murder of Philip Mackenzie.”

The second those words left his mouth I thought the floor had been swiped out from underneath me. Someone grabbed me from behind, but the shock was too much. Dominic turned to me and frantically tried to speak, only I couldn’t hear his words. All I could hear was the word murder. Dominic tried to reach for me, but the deputies hauled him off and the reporters followed them.

I tried to go after them, but something held me back, or better yet someone. “Let me go,” I growled, trying to push them off.

“Dammit, Faith, it’s me. We have to get out of here.”

Reed’s voice brought me back. He let me go and I turned to him, my eyes so blurry I could barely see. It felt like at any moment I’d burst. I didn’t know what to feel. Dominic didn’t kill Philip, but I knew who did. Reed wrapped his arm around my waist and hurried me over to the elevator. “Where are we going?” Even the words sounded foreign to me as they left my mouth. I was in shock.

Once we were in the elevator, Reed clasped my face in his strong hands. “Faith, look at me. There’s so much I have to tell you.”

“Dominic didn’t do it,” I cried. “It had to have been Cadoc.”

Reed nodded. “I know. The police know too. All of this was a setup. I just needed a realistic reaction from Dominic.” The breath caught in my lungs and I gasped. He looked into my eyes and nodded again. “I know it wasn’t Dominic. I’m taking you to the station before he loses his shit. You have to tell the police about your interactions with Cadoc. It’s going to help us bring that fucker down.”

The elevator door opened to the parking garage and he pulled me over to his car. I got in and I’d never felt so sick. “Dominic’s going to be pissed when he finds out the truth.”

Reed sighed. “It’ll be okay.”

I shook my head and looked away as he sped out of the parking garage. He was going to be angry too when he found out I tricked him. Everything moved in slow motion as the city lights passed by in a daze. Swallowing hard, I turned to Reed. There was a reason I couldn’t get in touch with Philip. He must’ve already been dead.

We made it to the police station and Reed shut off his car. He patted my hand gently. “You ready? Everyone’s waiting for us.”

“Where was he found and how did he die?” I asked, whispering the words. Reed tensed and it was answer enough, but I had to know.

He shook his head. “That’s not important.”

“Tell me,” I demanded. “I need to know what Cadoc’s capable of.”

Reed clasped my hand. When he killed people for the FBI, all he had to do was put a bullet through the person’s head. For him to look uncomfortable, it had to be bad. “Fuck, Faith, this isn’t easy for me, but it’s better to hear it from me.” He squeezed my hand and looked away. “He was found in yours and his empty condo.”

The breath whooshed out of my lungs as if I’d been sucker punched in the stomach. “That could easily have pointed to me,” I gasped.

Reed nodded. “And Dominic. That was Cadoc’s plan. There was a knife at the scene with Dominic’s fingerprints on it.”

Bile rose up my throat. If we didn’t have Reed and the FBI behind us, I didn’t want to imagine what would’ve happened to Dominic. We could seriously be in trouble for something we didn’t do.

“I guess he was stabbed?” I asked, swallowing hard.

“No,” Reed said, shaking his head. “His fingers had been broken and his tongue cut out. That doesn’t surprise me since the dumb bastard didn’t know how to keep his mouth shut. In the end, he bled out from his gunshot wounds.”

What a horrible way to die. It made me sick thinking about it. As much as I hated Philip, my heart ached for his family. No one deserved to die that way. What really terrified me was that we were dealing with a man who had no remorse or any regard for human life. He was a monster … and that monster wanted me.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” I said, wiping away my tears. “Yes, Philip had a big mouth, but in a situation of life or death he would’ve sold out his half of the practice in a heartbeat.” I had a feeling I was about to find out soon. Cadoc would no doubt be chomping at the bit to give me the news.

Reed nodded. “You’re right. And I’m sure he did, but the Cartwrights wouldn’t have cared. All they wanted was an easy target to have Dominic framed. With him out of the way, the city could be theirs.”

And I would be theirs for the taking. I was a strong woman, but I wasn’t a match for someone like Cadoc. He was what nightmares were made out of. Letting Reed’s hand go, I opened the car door and took a deep breath. “Let’s go. I’ll do anything to take Cadoc down.”

When we got inside the police station, there were desks lined up on both sides of the room. Everyone’s voices jumbled together as they spoke on the phones. The Chief of Police, Brighton Jeffries was talking to one of the other officers when he noticed us walk in. He hurried over and shook Reed’s hand and then turned to me. “I’m sorry about your ex-husband, Ms. Hilliard. That wasn’t the ideal way we wanted you to find out.”

Lips trembling, I shook his hand. “It had to be done.”

He sighed. “Chandler tells me you had an altercation with Cartwright. I’d love to get it all recorded.”

“Of course,” I offered. “You’re going to want to hear what I have to say.”

Reed glanced around the room. “Where’s Corsino?”

Jeffries nodded toward the hallway. “In one of our interrogation rooms. He’s waiting for both of you.”

We followed him down the hall and when he opened the door, Dominic was inside, pacing the floor. The second he saw me, I rushed over and jumped in his arms. “I’m so glad this isn’t real.”

He held me so tight I could barely breathe. “I was so fucking pissed when they took me away. As soon as I was in the squad car and away from the cameras, Jeffries told me the truth. I’m so sorry about everything.”

“It’s okay,” I cried. “I’m just ready for this to be over.”

“We knew Cadoc would be watching,” Jeffries called out as he shut the door. “Unfortunately, we don’t have any solid evidence to pin the murder on him. We’re currently searching for Mr. Mackenzie’s girlfriend, Allison Tate. She was last seen leaving a restaurant with Mr. Cartwright.”

Dominic quickly let me go and faced him and Reed. “Marco was trying to figure out who that was.”

Reed nodded. “It was her. I figured it out last night.”

It was as if everything had come together. That was how Cadoc knew everything about mine and Philip’s relationship and our business.

Jeffries smiled at us. “And with the three of you, it should help us nail Cartwright to the wall.”

Dominic shielded me with his arm. “Hell no. There’s no three of us. Faith is staying out of it.” Jeffries lifted his brows at me and Reed nudged me with his elbow. Dominic noticed the exchange and glared at us all. “What the hell am I missing?”

Jeffries motioned for us all to sit. “We need to come up with a game plan. From what I understand, Cadoc Cartwright has shown an interest in Ms. Hilliard. Her information could help us.”

Clutching Dominic’s arm, I pulled him toward the table. “Please sit down. He’s right.”

“I don’t understand,” he said, taking a seat. I motioned for Reed to take the place beside him so I could face them from across the table.

Jeffries stood against the wall and waved for me to talk. “Ms. Hilliard, if you would, please.”

The time had come. My stomach trembled with nerves and my hands shook. I clasped them underneath the table so Dominic and Reed couldn’t see. Reed smiled reassuringly at me because he thought he knew the full truth when actually he didn’t. I was about to piss them both off.

“Okay,” I said, focusing on the empty ash tray in the middle of the table. “There’s something I have to tell you both.” Then I looked up at Jeffries. “This happened Saturday night.” He sat down at the head of the table and pulled out a pen and a small notebook out of his back pocket. “For the past few weeks I’ve been staying at The Chateaux Hotel in the suite beside Dominic’s. Saturday night I was at his place along with Reed.” I decided to leave the whole illegal fighting matches out of my story. “Anyway, I spilled something on my shirt so I went back to my suite to change.”

Reed cleared his throat. “That’s when Cadoc Cartwright called her.”

“He not only called me,” I confessed nervously. I looked over at Dominic and his eyes blazed. “I ended up meeting him as well.”

Dominic slammed a fist down on the table. “Are you fucking kidding me? Don’t you know how dangerous that was?” Then he turned that murderous glare to Reed. “What the fuck, Chandler. How could you let her do that?”

The muscles in Reed’s jaw clenched as he stared daggers at me. “I didn’t know either. She was supposed to be in her room changing clothes.”

I held up my hands. “It was the only way to find out what he wanted.” Tears filled my eyes when I looked at them both. “I’m sorry I kept it from you both. I knew it’d make you angry. I thought I could handle everything on my own, but it turns out I can’t.”

“What did Cartwright want?” Jeffries asked.

Dominic and Reed glared at me, waiting for the answer as well. “He asked me if I’d work with him and his nephew if they were to buy out Philip’s half of my firm,” I answered. “When I said no, Cadoc told me I’d made a big mistake, that whatever happened next would be my fault. I tried calling Philip after that, but he never answered. That’s why I asked Reed to find him yesterday.” With a heavy sigh, I closed my eyes and the hot tears fell down my cheeks. It felt good to tell the truth, even if Dominic and Reed were angry with me. When I opened my eyes and looked over at Dominic, he had his head turned to the side with his arms crossed over his chest.

Jeffries wrote down a few more notes and set his pen down. “All right, I got that down. My guys are on the hunt for the girlfriend, but in the meantime, we need to figure out what to do next. Right now, Cadoc thinks Corsino is in jail. It’d be the perfect time for him to approach Faith.”

I felt like one of the three pigs, waiting for the wolf to blow down its house. I didn’t like being the bait. “No,” Dominic growled, his voice low and menacing. He looked over at me and then at Jeffries. “There’s another way.”

Whatever it was, I knew I wouldn’t like it.