Page 57 of Broken Surrender
The hairs on the back of my neck rose, my skin itching. Did he know about the home invasion?
“Who are you?” I asked.
“My name is Floyd Vaughn.” He handed me a business card:COO of Shin & Co Inc.“I work with your husband. Or should I say, ‘worked’.”
I bit my bottom lip, my eyes flickering back and forth across his. I stared down at the ground.
“I don’t understand,” I said.
“It’s not a business trip, is it, Mrs. Dalton?” He widened his stance. “I’ve worked with Dalton for years now, and I trust that I would have known about any sort of trip he was taking.”
“You’re the COO,” I said. “You workedforhim.”
He smiled, baring his teeth. “Very astute of you. But I do have a few questions for you.” I wanted to lash out, to say that he didn’t have any right to ask me a single thing. But the words didn’t come out. “How long have you been seeing Mr. Callen?”
My chest palpitated. “Excuse me?”
“Your neighbor, Desmond Callen. How long have you been having an affair with him?”
Sweat beaded on my forehead and I crossed my arms. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied.
“You see, we’ve known about your affair for a while now, but I kept it from Dalton until I had proof.” How was that possible? The affair hadn’t started untilafterJohn was gone. Was he making it up? “It’s funny how things work out. I have proof that his wife isn’t faithful, a video of Callen sneaking in and out of the house, then and suddenly, Dalton disappears.” He cocked his head to the side. “And what makes matters worse, you’re sleeping with a man who recently opened negotiations to buy Shin & Co Inc.”
I leaned forward. “Did you say ‘buy it’?”
“Yes, Mrs. Dalton.” His smug smile stretched across his lips. “The best facades can deceive the smartest of us, even people like me. You know, I knew Callen once.” He glanced at his shiny shoes, then glowered at me. “He used to be an upstanding gentleman. But trust me, Desmond Callen isn’t the man you think he is.” I shuddered, and Vaughn stepped forward. “But I can help you, Mrs. Dalton. If Callen has you trapped, all you have to do is ask, and I’ll help you get rid of him.”
The guard behind him tapped on his earpiece and said something in a low voice. Vaughn glimpsed back at him, then nodded to me. “And besides, we know about Corinne,” Vaughn said.
A surge of adrenaline ran through me. “What?”
“Based on those papers that Callen signed, she’s technically the property of Shin & Co Inc.”
Property of a company? That couldn’t be legal. Vaughn was out of his mind. “Corinne is dead,” I said firmly.
“So youdoknow Corinne, then.” He tilted his head. “We know what you and Callen did to Mr. Dalton. What happens when Callen convinces you to take care of his sister too?”
I shook my head frantically. I wanted to scream thatIwould never let that happen, but I couldn’t say that without admitting she was alive.
Shin & Co IncownedCorinne? Of course Desmond would keep her locked inside of the basement.
My phone rang, interrupting us, and as I silenced it.Desmondblinked on the screen.
Vaughn stepped back. “You have my card, Mrs. Dalton,” he said, giving a slight bow of his head. “I’d be happy to help you. Shin & Co Inc always protects our families.”
I shut the door, locking it. A guard moved forward, posting himself at the door, and I ran up the stairs. My phone rang again, and this time, I picked up immediately.
“What did he say?” Desmond asked.
“Do you even care about me?” I asked. “No ‘Did he try to hurt you? I’m so worried about you, Lena.’” I groaned, letting my frustration show. “You only care about yourself.”
A few seconds passed. Heat gathered under my skin. He adjusted his grip on the phone. “I’ll ask one more time, Lena. What did he say?”
Everything inside of me tensed. He would ask me one more time, and then what?
What would he do to me?
Would he take care of me too?
