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“Fucking hell,” I cursed. I did have to get some packing done before Jackson arrived.
I had left the front door unlocked, and I was glad now that I had because if I had no electricity, the keypad wouldn’t work. I slowly made my way into my bedroom and over to my dresser where I had left my phone. I slapped around on the wooden top, but I didn’t find it. Had it accidentally gotten knocked off?
I’d worry about it in a bit after I grabbed the flashlight from my kitchen. I opened one of the dresser drawers and pulled out a T-shirt and panties. Once I had them on, I made sure to keep my arms in front of me as I felt my way out of the room and back into my living room.
Immediately, something felt off. When lightning flashed again, I realized all of my heavy drapes were closed, and I didn’t remember doing that. I hardly ever closed them because I loved the view from my windows. The hairs on my arm stood up and I stopped.
“Is there someone here?” There was no sound or response. “J-Jackson,” I stammered, and before I could take another step, a flash of light from a lighter illuminated the corner where a shadowy figure was standing.
When I looked at the face behind the flame, I tried to scream but someone came up behind me and their gloved hand covered my nose and mouth. I tried to fight off my attacker, but it became too much, especially when someone stuck something sharp in my side.
I realized too late that it was a syringe, and as whatever inside of it entered my body, I cried against the leather at the burn. It wasn’t long before everything turned black, and I slipped into unconsciousness.
GABRIEL
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
Harper had only been gone a few hours and I was already missing her like crazy. If someone would’ve told me at the Super Bowl that I would be back with her and ending my bachelorhood status, I would’ve called them crazy. Hell, for either one of those things, but certainly not both.
It was very surreal to sit back and dwell on all that had happened. It was why I decided to look to the future instead. As I sat in my home office, I opened the top drawer and pulled out one of the two jewelry boxes. This particular one contained something very special to me, and as I looked down at my mother’s engagement ring given to her by my father over twenty years ago, I could already imagine sliding it onto one of Harper’s dainty fingers.
Yes, a wedding would be rushing things right now, but once the timing was right, I’d make her mine in every way possible, including marriage. I closed the box and slipped it back into the drawer, then pulled out the other one, frowning as I opened it.
The sound of my phone startled me and the box fell from my hand. I was able to save the cufflinks from falling to the carpet, quickly setting them onto the top of my desk.
The caller ID showed a south Florida number, and I knew it was the General Manager of Miami’s football team calling. I snatched my phone up and answered the call. One of my star linebacker clients was finally a free agent, and he’d decided not to resign with Dallas where he’d spent the first four years of his career.
With this being part of the league’s legal tampering period, I was already playing Miami and Seattle’s teams against one another as I tried to secure the largest contract for him that I could. He was counting on me to line up several options, and even indicated he might take a smidgen less to join a legitimate contender, but I didn’t like to hear my clients think like that. I was fully certain I could land him a record-breaking deal with a team set up for success.
I talked to the GM for about fifteen minutes and set out what my client had to have in order to even continue this conversation. The linebacker was an avid boater, and he already owned ocean-front property in Miami where he’d grown up, so this team had a few more perks than others would.
Still, it was all about the money, and I needed the team to show more of it. I kept things close to the belt, while also stressing the importance of them coming with their best and final offers soon. After, I hung up to let them think about the amount we were seeking, and whether or not they could dish it out.
Remembering what I’d been about to do as I’d received that call, I reached down to get the box, but noticed the cotton pad had fallen out. As I grabbed it, a flash of color caught my eye. When I picked up the small blue flash drive, I wondered what could possibly be on it. My laptop was already charged and powered on, so I slipped it into one of the USB ports and followed the instructions on screen to see what was on it.
“I received your message, Blake,” came a male voice over the recorded audio. I sat up straight, and continued to listen as there seemed to be a familiarity to it. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“You know good and damn well what I’m calling about, George. I want to know what you’ve done with Harper’s inheritance. A portion of the money was there, then it was gone, and since then, I’ve noticed deposits and withdrawals being made that just skirt the legal limits required to report to the IRS.”
“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. My sister and her husband were broke upon their deaths. Harper’s inheritance was merely enough to cover the added cost of raising her those final two years. You should know—”
“I know exactly how much money Chuck and Rosie left for her, and the amount you claimed is barely a few percent of it.” My father’s tone had morphed into the one I knew all too well. He was becoming annoyed, and he wasn’t even trying to hide his irritation.
“You know nothing,” came the response from Harper’s uncle.
Had she been right all this time?
I shook my head. Stealing his niece’s inheritance and lying about it didn’t make him a murderer. A thief, maybe, but not a cold-blooded killer. I continued to listen, though.
“I know a lot more than you think. I know you cashed the policy out and have stuck it in some foreign account where you think it’s untraceable. You’re wrong. In case you’ve forgotten what I do for a living, let me explain it to you.”
He went on to tell George that he had found the foreign account, and he’d also verified that none of the funds in it, which well exceeded the legal limits to evade filing, hadn’t been reported on the FBAR. From what I’d gathered, it was some sort of foreign bank account report. My father had gone on to detail real estate transactions and other sources of income which had also gone unreported. Words like money laundering were thrown around until George nearly exploded on the other end of the line.
“You’re bluffing, and I’d tell you to prove it, but—”
“I’m letting you know what I have, and because of my affection for Rosie, and knowing how much she and Chuck had wanted Harper to be taken care of, I’m willing to help you avoid jail time. You have to give Harper what’s rightfully hers. In fact, you have two weeks to do so, or when I meet with her again, I’ll tell her everything as you’re being arrested.”
“You insufferable bastard.” George seethed, the anger in his voice even causing me to sit up straight. “You won’t get away with threatening me. Watch your back, Blake. Your front and sides, too. I don’t take well to threats, and you’ll soon realize it. I will make sure of it.”
