Page 97 of Bed of Thorns

I found Carl standing in his office, Markus lounging on one of the leather chairs. After closing the door, I moved toward Carl’s desk, placing three of the four jump drives my father had provided onto the surface.

Neither man said anything for a full two minutes. Then Carl turned around, barely glancing at the gift I’d presented.

“You fulfilled your duty to the group,” he said quietly, shifting his gaze toward Markus.

“I told you we could count on him. It’s time we celebrated,” Markus said, half laughing as he rose to his feet. “I purchased a special bottle of champagne. We knew you’d come through for us.”

I studied the two men as they shared a glance together, confident I’d provided what they’d asked for. My father’s suicide had no doubt reached their office. They were under the belief that I’d come here out of my loyalty to them.

“Gentlemen. This isn’t about a celebration. This is about doing the right thing.” I stated the words with no inflection, finally pointing toward the jump drives. “You will find almost everything you were hoping to obtain from my father.” I smiled as I waited for their reaction.

“Almost?” Carl asked, his upper lip curling.

“Yes. Almost.” I moved between the two men, shoving my hands into my pockets and taking my time to give each one of them a hard look. “I have one jump drive left. As far as the information contained in the files, that’s something that I’ll leave to your imagination. It might have additional, more destructive information or it might contain nothing but rhetoric. Only I know that.”

Markus’ eyes narrowed, the stark black color of them meant to be menacing. I found the entire situation amusing. “What are your intentions, son?”

“Son? I’m not your son, Markus. I had a father. Come to find out, he adored my mother. Enough that he allowed himself to slide into your corrupt organization, offering his soul in exchange for a miraculous cure, which you allowed him to believe was possible. Then you betrayed him, ending her life because she was no longer useful. It’s amazing what money can do, especially when coercing people to also do the right thing. The FBI will find your method of disposing of unwanted hindrances interesting.”

Carl’s face turned bright red, his entire demeanor changing. “You have nothing on us.”

“Are you so certain of that?” I allowed the question to linger, keeping a smile on my face. “As you might imagine, I have no intention of working with you or your group any longer. And if you think for even one second that you are going to threaten either myself or my family ever again, I assure you that the information I decided to abstain from providing here today will be sent by my attorney to several law enforcement agencies. Oh, and I have other safety measures in place to ensure that you can’t buy or threaten my attorney, so I wouldn’t make that attempt if I were you. That alone will force my hand in other areas.”

I walked toward the door, whistling one of my favorite tunes.

“You don’t have what it takes to bring us down, Edmond. That much I can assure you of.”

“Well, Markus, you might be surprised. Do you really want to take that chance? Call my gift one of good faith. I suggest you keep that in the back of your mind.”

I headed out of Carl’s office, taking my time walking down the hall. I’d already ensured that they wouldn’t dare make a move against me. Within hours, the FBI would be inside their offices, tearing apart their world, the press highlighting every arrest made.

Maybe then I could feel the freedom I’d been desperately seeking.

Maybe…

* * *

Mercedes

Nine months later

Love.

Love was special and often blind, but it was the most powerful emotion on Earth. I felt complete, at peace.

And so did the man I loved.

“He is a very special man,” my mother said as she flanked my side, staring out the window toward the beach.

I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her in close. I was grateful she’d agreed to move close to us, abandoning her life in Maine. Fernando had provided her with a tidy nest egg, allowing her to do anything she wanted. Her desire was to spend the rest of her life around family. Florida had been the right choice, allowing us certain freedoms with a laid-back lifestyle. “He’s more than just special. He’s my hero.”

The small financial advisory firm he’d started working with allowed him to work from home three days a week, which in turn had meant he’d been in my hair for the eight months we’d been here, but I wouldn’t have wanted anything different. His name had been cleared, allowing him to live exactly as he’d always wanted. Every day was a new experience, a beautiful reminder of just how amazing family could be.

“I’m glad you’re here,” I said, giving her a squeeze. She’d purchased a house only a few blocks away, allowing me to keep my eye on her. While she was still healing, all of us reeling from the scrutiny his firm and my mother had been placed under since the FBI had become involved, she’d finally started to smile more often, enjoying the kind of life I’d always wanted her have.

“I am too.”

“Do you miss him?” I asked, although I almost never brought Fernando into a conversation.

---