The Undercover Playboy (Captured by Love Book 3) (17 page)

“Do you live with someone?” she asked.

“Not usually. But I won’t be here for much longer. I’m moving in with my boyfriend.”

“Oh, great,” she said with a smile, not knowing what else to say to that. “So... what time is Carter coming?”

Vera smirked. “Carter’s already here.”

“He is?” she asked in surprise.

“Carter!” Vera called from the bottom of the stairs. “We’re here!”

Carter came trotting down the steps.

“Carter!” Cassie smiled
in relief, walking to him.

“Sit down, Cassie,” Carter said, warding her off.

She looked at him in confusion.

“Yes, sit down, Cassie,” Vera said, grasping her arm and leading her to a chair in the lounge room.

“Carter?” she said in bewilderment.

“Tell her, Carter,” Vera said from behind her.

“Tell me what?”

Carter sat down on the chair opposite her, looking down on the floor for a long time
before he raised his head to look at her. “I’m sorry to say this, Cassie. But we’re over.”

She frowned in confusion. Had she heard him right? “What?”

“We’re over. I’m not seeing you anymore. I’m sorry.”

She stared at him in shock. He can’t be serious.

But... why was he looking at her as if he were?

Carter exhaled harshly. “I don’t really love you, Cassie,” he said, looking straight into her
eyes. “I was just using you to make Vera jealous because we were having a fight. It’s her I love.”

Her breath left her.

“I’m sorry that you have to hear it like this, Cassie,” Vera said, squeezing her shoulder. “We don’t want to hurt you, but you have to know.”

She gaped at Carter, willing him to laugh and say it was all a joke, that she was being pranked.

“I don’t think she believes you,”
Vera said, walking towards Carter. “Cassie, I hate to do this to you, but it’s necessary so you can have closure.”

Then Vera kissed Carter. And Carter kissed Vera back. Passionately.

“No...” she whispered, her eyes blurring as she felt her heart being shredded and pummelled mercilessly.

C
arter swallowed the bile that rose to his throat as Vera continued to kiss him. Oh, he was so tempted to bite the bitch’s tongue and make it bleed. But he had to restrain himself and try not to shove her off even though every cell in his body was screaming to do just that.

Vera ended the kiss and gave Cassie a smug smile. “Do you believe us now, Cassie?” she asked.

Cassie sobbed,
her head bowing. And Carter’s heart broke into even smaller pieces.

He fisted his hands, glowering at the witch who went back to stand behind Cassie’s chair. Vera pulled out her gun—one that was not police issue—and pointed it at Cassie’s head.

His breath hitched, rage welling up inside him. But he had to keep up this abhorrent act. He’d just discovered that Vera was the type of woman who wouldn’t
think twice about pulling the trigger on Cassie.

He glared at the detective he’d once trusted implicitly. How could he—and everyone else—not have picked up that Vera was working with Bronwyn, and had been tampering with evidence to cover up their crimes?

Oh, Vera and Bronwyn were extremely smart. When they’d discovered that Bronwyn had been found out, they’d been very quick to act.

So here
he was, breaking the heart of the woman he loved more than anything.

“There’s something else we need to tell you, Cassie,” Vera said.

He shook his head, his jaw tense.

“Tell her, Carter,” Vera said, waving the gun playfully at the back of Cassie’s head and pretending to pull the trigger.

Fucking bitch.

“Cassie, please stop crying and look at me?” he said.

Cassie did, her eyes bleak and accusing.

His heart compressed at her grief, almost stopping him from saying what he had to say. Almost, but not quite.

“Vera and I are having a baby,” he said, forcing each painful word out of his throat.

“You bastard,” Cassie muttered, getting up from her seat.

Yes, that’s it, sweetheart. Show Vera you believe all that shit I just said.

“Forgive me if I don’t congratulate you,” she said coldly before
turning on her heels and walking out the door.

Carter watched Cassie disappear out of his life forever, his heart squeezing so hard he couldn’t breathe.

He shut his eyes, emotions rising up. He doubted he’d ever get out of this alive. The bitches were determined to pin everything on him and they’d never let him live to tell the tale.

His mind cruelly replayed all he’d just said to Cassie. When
he was dead, her memory of him would be filled with revulsion.

Cassie, I love you!

“Aw, Carter. Are you about to cry?” Bronwyn taunted, coming out of her hiding place and pointing her revolver at him.

“You both promised you wouldn’t hurt Cassie and my family,” he hissed. “Make that promise again right now.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Vera said. “Yes. We’re not stupid, you know. After you’ve
committed suicide, it will be hard to explain why your loved ones’ dead bodies keep piling up. But Cassie telling everybody what a bastard you are would help taint your reputation. Why do you think I wanted the two of you to get back together? I needed you to hurt her so badly that it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch for her to believe that you were living a double life—not only as a cheater but
also as a criminal.”

He trembled with rage.

“So did he write everything you dictated?” Bronwyn asked Vera.

“Of course,” Vera said with a superior smile. “He confessed to all of his crimes—every single one of the robberies and murders we did—and said that he couldn’t live with people finding out what he’d done.”

“Cassie was lucky, Carter,” Bronwyn mused. “If she hadn’t hated you like she did,
we would have had to get rid of her straight away. Now we won’t have to worry that she’d look for you tonight. It’s unfortunate for you, but fortunate for her, that she was so quick to believe your fake story.”

“I’m a great actor,” he said derisively, the ache in his chest intensifying.
Cassie
...

Damn it. He wasn’t ready to die yet. He had to see her again.

“So why don’t you kill me now?” he
asked sarcastically. “Then you’ll never find the evidence that connected Bronwyn to this case. As I’ve said before, I haven’t had the chance to add it to the police files so Vera hasn’t seen it to tamper with it or get rid of it.”

“Vera...” Bronwyn said nervously.

“He’s lying,” Vera said, bored.

“Am I? So how did I learn that Bronwyn and Al Jackson—that stooge you killed—were lovers?”

Bronwyn
gasped, the shock on her face evident.

“Maybe Vera will kill you next, Bronwyn,” he said, cocking his head. “But then again, I don’t think she can afford to. All the laundering happened in
your
gallery and if you’re not around to keep covering it up, police will manage to find the link between the two of you.”

“You’re right,” Bronwyn said with a relieved sigh.

“Oh, as if I’d off you, Bronwyn,”
Vera said with an eye roll. “And you, Carter Garrett. You think you have a handle on this, don’t you? Well, let me tell you, you don’t. Everything is unfolding according to my plans. Now tell me. Where exactly is this evidence?”

He snorted. “Why should I tell you?”

The two bitches pointed their guns at him.

He sighed. “Where would I keep a piece of evidence if it’s not at the station?”

“Just
as I guessed,” Vera said with a smirk. “It’s in your house.”

“And I have security cameras that will capture your ugly faces when you try to steal it.”

Vera laughed. “Why, Carter. There’s always a way. Lucky for us Cassie hates you now.”

His heart jumped. “You promised you wouldn’t hurt her.”

“And we won’t. If she does one job for us.”

“What job?” he asked, fear gripping him.

“She has keys
to your place, I believe. So it will be her face on your security cameras.”

“Why don’t you just kill me now and leave her alone!” he growled, jumping to his feet.

He felt a heavy thud in his head, and his eyesight dimmed fast...

*****

C
arter felt a dull ache emanating from the top of his head. He forced himself to open his eyes and found Vera sitting casually on the couch in front of him.
He tried to move, and found himself shackled to a chair.

“Hello, Carter. Welcome back. How’s that lump on your head?”

He glared at the woman.

Vera smirked. “You’re lucky Bronwyn only hit you with her gun, not shot you with it. You really shouldn’t make any unexpected moves around her. She’s kinda reactive.”

“Where is she?”

“On the way to Cassie’s place. She’s gonna get your girlfriend to
get that evidence for us.”

No. Oh, God, no. They’d kill her anyway, regardless of what they’d promised him.

He thrashed around on the chair, trying to break his restraints.

“Aw, Carter. You really are head over heels in love with that woman, aren’t you? So where did you keep the evidence?”

He shook his head, trying to clear it so he could think straight.

“Never mind,” Vera said. “We figured
out a way to get it. We’re going to get Cassie to bag all of the paperwork she sees in your house. And if it’s under lock and key, Bronwyn knows how to jimmy locks. She can talk Cassie through it without entering your house. Then we’ll burn them all.”

Arggh!

He shut his eyes, calling on the presence of mind he’d been trained to conjure at will.

“Okay, hear me out,” he said to Vera in a defeated
voice.

Vera frowned.

He took a deep breath, praying Vera would accept his plan. “The evidence is in my three-drawer filing cabinet. It’s locked. But the key is somewhere in my house. I stuck the evidence in a very thick file filled with miscellaneous paperwork. I usually do that for important documents for extra safety.”

Vera’s lips tugged up.

Fucking she-devil.

“If you agree to my plan,”
he continued, “it will save you the hassle of having to cover up another crime. Killing Cassie will create more mess for you.”

“I’m listening,” Vera said.

“
I
will call Cassie and threaten her loved ones. In other words, I’ll make her believe that I’m the mastermind of your crimes—which is what you want people to believe anyway. We’ll pretend that I’m threatening Bronwyn too, that she’s following
my instructions under duress. As for you, she thinks we’re together, but you’re just the girlfriend who knew nothing about my misdeeds, just like David, who’s supposed to be my partner, knows nothing. Besides, that suicide-note confession that you made me write will clear you and Bronwyn completely.”

Vera nodded, her eyes wide with interest.

“So here’s the deal. I’ll threaten Cassie and make
her go to my house to get that thick file where the evidence is. Then I’ll tell her to give that file to Bronwyn. After that, you and Bronwyn will let Cassie go. She goes home right after she hands the file to Bronwyn.”

“I want her to just grab the evidence, not the whole file,” Vera said.

“It will take too long, Vera. The document is one sheet of paper among hundreds of newspaper clippings,
brochures, electricity bills and other scraps. I want her in and out of the house quickly. Besides, you wouldn’t want my neighbours finding Bronwyn sitting in her car in the dead of the night. A couple of them are friends of mine who know I’m a detective, so they will get suspicious.”

Vera stared at him, silently considering his proposition.

“It will be cleaner this way for you and Bronwyn,
Vera. Then you’ll be getting rid of me—”

“You’ll be committing suicide,” Vera corrected.

He nodded. “Then I’ll be committing suicide and Cassie will be around to confirm that I’m this criminal because of this experience. Isn’t that better than having Cassie rob my place and then killing her? Much, much simpler and less complicated for you.”

“So you will really do this?”

“I love her, Vera.
You won’t let me get out of here alive anyway. I might as well save her.”

“Aw, how sweet. Okay, I’ll call Bronwyn with the plan.”

Carter slumped in his seat, a feeling of relief overpowering him.

Cassie would be safe.

His family flashed in his mind—his mum, his dad, Tash. His heart constricted. They’d be devastated when they heard the news. They’d never believe he’d done all those crimes,
though. And he knew they wouldn’t rest until they restored dignity to his memory.

Gavin and David wouldn’t believe the news either. They’d do everything they could to clear his name, even if it took them forever.

And Cassie... What would she believe?

C
assie sat quietly in the front passenger seat of Bronwyn’s car, feeling numb. How could it be true? She must be in the middle of a nightmare because this couldn’t be real. When would she wake up?

She glanced at the gun sitting in between Bronwyn’s legs. She’d heard Carter’s voice come clearly through Bronwyn’s phone, which had been put on hands-free, instructing Bronwyn to point
it at her if she tried to do something stupid.

Carter...

Tears streamed down her face. Carter couldn’t have committed all those crimes. And he wouldn’t hurt her family and friends. No matter how convincing he’d sounded—and, oh, he’d been so convincing—she just refused to believe what he’d said.

But she had to pretend otherwise. Because she had no doubts that this evil woman beside her was responsible
for Carter’s false confessions.

“We’re in front of your house now, Carter,” Bronwyn said.

“Good,” Carter said. “Now, ladies, we’ll do a conference call so I can walk Cassie through what she has to do inside. You’ll still be able to hear me, Bronwyn. Okay?”

“Okay,” Bronwyn answered.

Cassie heard her phone ring. She didn’t move. She couldn’t.

“Pick up your phone, Cassie,” Carter said.

“Yes,
pick it up,” Bronwyn echoed, pointing the gun at her.

She stared at the weapon for a second before reaching for her phone and tapping at the screen.