Page 50 of The Mastermind

“She must’ve been frantic today,” Grayson said, his voice calmer. “Was anyone there to help her before you arrived?”

“Two janitors who had been working in the upstairs office. They heard a commotion from the driveway and came down just in time to grab the fire extinguishers and douse the flames.”

I had a quick conversation with Paul and Ted before I accompanied Audri to the hospital. The two friends had been taking on extra work to save up for their retirement next month.

Grayson and I chatted for a few more minutes before he had to go. I reassured him he didn’t need to cut his conference short. I’d make sure Audri was taken care of and keep him posted.

My brain wandered as I sat on the cushioned armchair. Lawrence and Teresa thought playing with someone’s life was a joke, but they would soon find out who had the last laugh. They almost killed her today. The thought of her dead turned my bones cold. No, they hadintendedtokillher, but failed. What Lawrence and Teresa had done was calculatedand intentional, and it didn’t matter if they were on drugs or imbibed too much alcohol.

I made an important phone call. “I need a favor.”

“Whatever you need.”

Lots of men owed me favors and debts. I knew their weaknesses and had helped them at one point in time. As long as people stayed in their territory and didn’t wander over to mine, I had no qualms with them. People knew that about me.

Lawrence and Teresa had invaded my territory and hurt what was mine. Audri was family, and no one screwed with my family.

Right now, I needed a problem removed,eliminated. Normally, I didn’t give out warnings, but I had given one to Lawrence and Teresa . . . a damn gift. They should’ve taken me seriously.

Trying to loosen the tension, I rubbed the heels of my palms into my eyes. Questions floated to the forefront. Had Lawrence and Teresa been following Audri all week? All day? They had to have known her routine.

I had threatened to destroy Lawrence if he continued to harass Audri, and Teresa lost her job. Could those be viable reasons for this extreme retaliation? Audri wasn’t even the one who made the threat or fired Teresa.

Was I dealing with two psychopathsand didn’t even know it? Society should thank me for obliterating the two of them.

CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE

AUDRI

The next day,after the detective came to take my statement regarding the event, Remi took me to my apartment.

“I think you should stay with me in my suite.” Remi ushered me in and closed the door behind him.

“Why?”

“Because my suite is bigger, and I can monitor you.”

“Thanks, but I feel a lot better now. Just a little sore, but that’s from running a lot yesterday.” I didn’t want to interrupt his schedule. Besides, I wanted my own bed.

I stared at him, unsure what to think about this man who was so attentive. Had he always been like this?

I had woken up in the hospital and saw him sleeping on the couch against the cream-colored walls in the largest hospital room I’d ever seen. I didn’t even know they had these luxurious rooms with a flat-screen TV twice the size of mine at home. A kitchenette in the corner made the overall ambiance comfortable and cozy. The room wasn’t like the stark and sterile exam room with the white walls I was used to.

Nurse Linda told me that Remi had been anxious about my recovery and hadn’t left my side, except to step out to make phone calls. She’d thought he was my boyfriend.

“No, we’re just friends,” I had said.

“He’s the most attentive friend I’ve ever seen.” She winked at me.

I enjoyed seeing this side of Remi. It made him human, more relatable than someone closed off to the world. It showed he had a heart, that he had feelings . . .

Was he like this with his other female friends? Did he have other female friends? I realized I knew little about him other than what Grayson had told me, and from those conversations, I had learned that Remington preferred a variety of women.

Which should have been a warning for me.

“Where would you like me to put this bag?”

Remi’s question pulled me out of my dream state. He held up a bag with my dirty clothes from yesterday. He’d bought me a knit top and pants in my size for a change of clothing to wear home.

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