Page 30 of Burned
I took a seat at my desk and fired up my computer. As I waited for it to come to life, I dialed Hugh’s number. It was three in the morning, but Hugh knew me well enough to have his light on 24/7. He should, especially since I paid him more than a seasoned attorney earned in a year.
“I hope this is more important than the beauty I have laying beside me,” he said annoyingly.
He was a player, there was no doubt. After three failed marriages, I couldn’t blame him. “Sorry to interrupt, but yes, this is important.” I began. “I need your help to figure out how I can keep Jed Turner from ruining all the work I did on the solar battery.”
“What the hell did you do this time, River?”
~23~
Axe
I couldn’t believe that Davian convinced me to go back to Atlanta. The last thing I wanted was to leave Kenzi behind with that asshole. Her love for River Stevenson was bullshit. No way could she love a man like him.
Sitting across from Davian on his private plane, I couldn’t help but think about what his deal was with Stevenson. He never went into detail about their history, other than it wasn’t good. Taking a chance that he would spill, I blurted, “What is the deal with you and Stevenson? I’d like to know about the asshole Kenzi is involved with?”
Davian looked up from his phone while downing his double shot of Scotch. “I really prefer not to go there.”
“Davian, don’t you think I deserve an explanation? Kenzi is in love with this fucker.”
I must have neglected to tell him about Kenzi’s feelings toward this man, because an unknowing expression spread across his face. “Since when?”
“I don’t know. All I know is that he has some kind of hold on her and she believes him more than me.”
“River was always good at twisting the truth. I guess somethings never change.” Davian replied sarcastically.
“What do you mean? I asked inquisitively, searching for answers.
Scratching the top of his head, Davian turned his head toward the small plane window. At first, I thought he was going to avoid my question, but then he said, “Fifteen years ago, River lost his wife to an unfortunate accident. Her name was Joselyn. She was employed at The Regency as my general manager, way before Samantha came into the picture.” Davian hesitated, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before he continued. “Joselyn came across some information, and I was afraid she was going to share it with her husband. I couldn’t let that happen.”
“So, what happened?” I asked, all ears, eager to know about their relationship.
“I had an important business meeting in Chicago for the construction of a new hotel. I asked Joselyn to join me since I wanted her to head it. She still had ties in Chicago and at the time River was still there running Triage. After the meeting she became distant. I soon found out why. When I logged onto my laptop the file on Triage was opened. I tried to confront her about it but she denied knowing anything. She informed me that she needed to run some errands, but I knew where she was headed. She was going to Triage to see River. I had to stop her. When she got into her car, I followed her. She must have sensed I was following her. She became nervous. Before I could back off of, she barely missed colliding with another car. In her effort to miss the car, she overcorrected.”
Davian stopped and looked once again out the small window. Putting his emotions in check, he continued. “Her car veered to the right and ended up hitting the railing on the bridge crossing the Chicago River. I saw her car fly off the bridge. It was like watching a movie in slow motions. When I finally realized what happened, I pulled my car to the side of the road and jumped off the bridge into the river. I didn’t care that it was over 100 feet. I caused this. She was young and didn’t deserve to die.”
Davian unbuckled his seatbelt and headed toward the liquor cabinet beneath the 55” flat screen TV. I kept my sights on him with more questions. “So, I take it she died, and Stevenson blames you for it.”
Returning to his seat with more Scotch than before, he took a seat. “She did. I tried everything I could to save her. She was trapped inside and even though I got the door open, I couldn’t release her seatbelt. She was gasping for air and so was I. I had to surface.” Downing half his drink, his jaw clenched, displaying the tension in his face. “To this day, Stevenson believes I ran her off the bridge to keep her quiet. The information she found was on him and how he obtained Triage. It was then I decided to bury what I knew with Joselyn. In a way, although sad, Stevenson got what he deserved.”
“It wasn’t your fault, Davian. You did what you could to save her. Stevenson is an ass if he blames you for his wife’s death.” I said, reassuring him he wasn’t the ass and Stevenson was.
“There is something else you need to know. And you better not repeat this to Reyna or Kenzi.” Concern that I would leak what he was about to confess was painted across his tormented face.
“Just tell me, Davian. Your secret is safe with me.”
“Kenzi getting the job with Saxton, Marsh, and Peters wasn’t by chance.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I was the one who contacted Burt Marsh in order to get Kenzi hired there. I was confident that you would follow her because of your love for her. I was going to offer you a job leading my Chicago operations. Atlanta isn’t the only city I want to control.”
“You were the reason she left.” I was pissed beyond belief. Moving to Chicago was not important to me. “I can’t believe you would do that. Because of you, I may never get her back.”
I moved to the back of the plane to get as far away from Davian as possible. I wanted to punch him in the face. He was my boss, but to keep my shit together, I had to put distance between us. Once we landed, though, punching him might be a different story.
My anger dissipated the longer I had time by myself. I broke down the offer Davian made piece by piece and realized it could be a great opportunity for me to get Kenzi back. For one, I would be closer to her, and for another, I could monitor River Stevenson’s every move.Why couldn’t Kenzi see what I could, for fuck’s sake?Somehow, I had to prove to her that Stevenson wasn’t a saint. I needed to find out everything I could about him—more than what Davian told me. Everyone had skeletons in their closet, and Stevenson was no different. What did Davian have on Triage?
Licking my wounds, I pushed from my seat and walked back to where Davian was still seated. I took a seat across from him. “I’m sorry I got so mad. I think I was shocked more than anything.” He made eye contact as I continued. “I need to know everything about River Stevenson and Triage. If Kenzi knew what kind of man she was with, maybe her affection for him would change. She needs to know what a monster he really is.”
