Page 122 of Crush

Before I could reply, the rear blacked-out window slid down and Kinlan motioned me over. I went like the lapdog he had turned me into.

“If you’re going to tell me you were never here, you can save it,” I huffed. Did the guy think I had a death wish? He removed his sunglasses, those shrewd eyes pinned to mine.

“Thatwasn’twhat I was going to say at all,” he said with a bland look.

“OK then,” I said, wondering what he wanted now.

“Make sure the paperwork for my new warehouses is on my desk first thing.”

The son of a bitch. So, he was going to hold me to my offer to give him the property for free, “And then we’re done?”

He nodded, “And then we’re done.”

“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth.

As the cars left the estate, I turned and walked towards Amber and Dexter. There was no blood or sign that Harker had ever been there. No gun or bat either. Just the two battered cars and scuff marks made in the gravel. I grabbed my sweater and wrapped it around Amber’s shoulders.

She was watching me with a sad little face and I could see she was still shaken. I lifted her into my arms bride style and walked towards the house with Dexter flanking us.

Amber explained how the staff were tied up in the kitchen.

Fuck, so the staff were involved.

And I knew at that point that it was time to getallour stories straight. Our future safety depended on that.

Twenty-Two

Amber

So many raw emotions were pumping through my head as Max carried me into the house.

We immediately went to the kitchen to free the staff.

As Teresa fixed up Dexter’s head wound, Marcel handed out bottled water. My throat was so dry, I could hardly talk.

Max left us briefly so he could fetch some stuff he’d left in his car and when he walked back into the kitchen he was messaging on his phone. He also held the bag with the ten thousand pounds in it which he handed over. I could then put it back in Daddy’s safe. Zander would have left the money in the car when Max crashed into us. We were lucky that the mafia hadn’t taken it considering Zander had told them about it.

So, the story was going to be that it was an attempted burglary.

Max then took charge, explaining what had happened, or the version we were all expected to stick to. There were to be no police involved and no one was to contact my father until Max had spoken to him.

Just before Max and I went upstairs to get cleaned up, he instructed Dexter to contact a local salvage company to remove the vehicles in the yard. After which, Marcel was instructed to drive Dexter to a local A and E.

Teresa was shaken up so much that I told her to go to her sisters for a few days. Luckily our other members of staff were not working that day.

New locks would also be required on the door but that suited our story.

As Max led me upstairs, I retrieved my bag from the floor in the lobby where Zander had thrown it. Luckily my phone was fine and all my stuff was still in it.

When we got to my bedroom, Max tugged me into his arms and held me close but I felt numb.

Zander was dead. Max had almost been killed, my staff had been terrified and Dexter had been injured. I didn’t give a shit that the limo was a write-off.

A man had been shot at my house.

And it was all my fault.

Guilt continued to swim around my stomach. That fuck up that I had made so many years ago by trusting the wrong man had come back to bite me; big time.

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