Page 48 of The Facilitator: Part 3
“I know. I didn’t mean to,” he said, and my stomach curled when he started to snivel.
“I know, darling. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing, but you need to get out of the country. I can get themoney and you can get away,” she said, she looked up at me and shrugged. “How is the baby?” she asked.
“Sleeping, I think. All it does is fucking cry,” Daniel replied.
At that, Alex gripped his hair with both hands and bit down hard on his lip, it bled and he had to walk away.
“Why don’t you take a few moments to think about it, huh? Call me back if you want my help,” Addison said. Alex shook his head, and I placed my hand on his arm.
She cut off the phone. “Let me tell you this, if my child is not there, if you’ve warned him in any way, I will fucking kill you,” Alex said, getting right into her face. She shook, she was terrified. I gently pulled his arm until he stepped back.
“If you have, Addison, it won’t be Alex you’ll need to worry about,” we heard. Gabriella stood on the driveway with Lauren. It was Lauren who had spoken.
“I swear I had nothing to do with this and I have not given him any hints or warnings,” she said.
It was when a nearly immaculate Vivienne joined her daughter and Lauren that Addison broke down. She was her aunt, and one who had forbade any contact. Addison missed family; I knew that.
“I didn’t know,” she said.
Still, she was a good enough actress to pile on thetears on command so I wasn’t falling for it until I knew for sure. Her phone rang and she wiped her hand over her eyes.
“Hello, Daniel,” she said, not giving a hint of her previous distress.
“I’m at your dad’s cabin,” he said. Only then did we believe Addison. He wouldn’t have given his location if he suspected her.
“Okay, how about I call Mackenzie and say I want to meet him? Maybe I can get to the bag without them knowing.”
“I doubt they’re just leaving all that money in the hallway,” he said, and I had to work hard not to look at the bag left in the hallway.
“Well, you know me, my darling, I can plan something. You need to give me about an hour to come up with a way to get the money. You know I can do it, don’t you?”
“Yes,” he replied.
“An hour and then I’ll call with details,” she said.
“Addison, if you’re fucking with me…” He left the sentence unsaid.
“Daniel, I’ve fucked with you in the past, with Mackenzie and Lauren. I’ve screwed my life up over and over. This is my last chance at some money as well. So no, Daniel, I’m not fucking with you,” she said, and Ithought that was said with all sincerity. She disconnected the call.
“Now what?” she said.
“Now you stay here,” Alex said. He pocketed her keys.
“Not in here, she isn’t,” Gabriella said.
“I’ll take care of Addison,” Vivienne said. She led her into the house. As she passed, Addison reached out to Gabriella, who took a step back.
“We’ll take her car as far as we can, then we’ll hike,” I said. “We need to head to my house first,” I said. Alex nodded.
“Stay indoors and lock up,” I said to Lauren. “Don’t open those doors to anyone,” I added.
“I’ll have Jack from the stables keep a watch over them,” Alex added and strode off. The old guy who looked after the horses was pretty confident with a rifle.
Once we were happy, I drove Addison’s car to my house. I left Alex in the car and headed straight to one of the bedrooms. I shifted a dresser until a small metal door was exposed. I punched in the number that released the door and pulled out a handgun and bullets. I also grabbed a shoulder holster and binoculars. I doubted Daniel was armed but I wasn’t taking any chances. He’d arrived at my house that day unarmed and drunk, but he had a child in his care, I had to assume he’d had some form ofweapon. In a fistfight, both Alex and I would wipe the floor with him. If he had a knife, or a gun, we needed to be prepared. I grabbed a large hunting knife as well.
I filled the clip and made sure the safety was on. That gun hadn’t been fired in a long time and hadn’t been cleaned in a while. I fucking hoped I didn’t need it, but if I did, I prayed it didn’t backfire or malfunction in any way.
When I returned to the car, I leaned over Alex and opened the glove compartment; I placed both the gun and the knife in there. I looked at Alex, he didn’t look shocked at all, he simply nodded.
