Treacherous (16 page)

Charli

I came back
downstairs an hour later to find Frankie on the phone again. He
sounded even angrier than last time. The door to the kitchen was
ajar, so I stood on the outside and was able to just peek through.
I was beginning to think eavesdropping was one of my best
talents.

“
What do you mean
‘they know’? Ah shit, Courtney.”

Courtney? Who was Courtney? Frankie was
pacing in the middle of the kitchen, hands waving about as he
spoke.

“
What? How can they be
gone? I thought you said he was in a coma?” I could hear a frantic
female voice on the other end relaying information to
him.

“
Well you had better
create a diversion,” he growled and threw the phone on the kitchen
counter. Then like a wolf, he seemed to sense me hiding behind the
door. His head turned in my direction.

“
Eavesdropping again,
are we? One day, that’s going to get you killed,” he snickered. I
tensed as he walked towards me and pulled open the sliding door,
revealing my hiding place.

“
I don’t know
anything,” I said, playing the dumb naïve bitch role he had given
me. I pushed past him, but he seemed to see through my façade. He
grabbed my arm and pulled me back hard against his body. He fed his
fingers through my hair and then using it as leverage, he yanked my
head back.

“
Be careful what you
say. You have no idea who you’re playing with.”

“
You’re right, I
don’t
know. You
haven’t told me who you are. I know nothing about you.” I had to
distract him somehow.

He sighed. He was
taking the bait. “Fine. You want to know who I am? I‘ll tell you
who I am.” I waited. This was it. “My name isn’t Frankie James
Scott. My real name is Levi Jack Chandon, I’m twenty-two, and my
sole purpose now that I’m free is to avenge my father’s
murder.”

I gasped. So
he
was
lying to me. He wasn’t finished speaking though.
He adjusted his grip on me and continued.

“
You know, meeting you
wasn’t chance. It was no coincidence. I planned it. You know why?
I’ll give you a moment to remember. I know you do.” His breath was
hot against my ear, sending shivers down my spine, and not in a
good way.

“
I’ll give you a hint.
Think back to high school, senior year. Think of a case your father
might have had at the time.”

I was back on the dance floor at my
school formal standing by the refreshments table.

“
Yeah, you know, Levi
Chandon,” my friends were saying, “he’s free.”

Levi Chandon.

No wonder the name had sounded
familiar. My eyes widened.

Nathan

“
Are you sure this is
the way?” It was dark now, and I couldn’t see anything save for
what was in front of the car.

“
Positive.” As we
followed the winding road up to the house, it was so dark we failed
to see the car that was hiding off to the side of the
road.

“
Shit. Mark, watch
out!” The car pulled out at the last minute in front of us. Mark
swerved to try to miss it but it was too late. It hit us from the
driver’s side. We began spinning as Mark tried desperately to
correct us, but it was no use. Finally, our car wheels came to rest
on the edge, dangling over the side of the cliff. I began to black
out, but I was aware enough to see the precarious position we were
in.

“
Mark!” I looked over
towards Mark to see if he was okay. He was unconscious and had
blood coming from a wound on his head. Glass fragments littered his
body. “Shit. Mark!” I started shaking him, but the shaking made the
car shake, as well. I heard a moaning sound and realised it was the
car. We were moving forward.

“
Mark! Wake up!” I
glanced around the car and tested my limbs. I could still feel my
legs, which was a good sign. I knew I had to get out of the car,
but I couldn’t leave Mark inside. I tried feeling for a pulse, but
there was none.

“
Mark.” There was no
time for tears. I had to move. I climbed out of my seat belt and
stood up in the seat. The car creaked and moaned again, rocking
slowly. If I didn’t get out now I would fall to a fiery death over
the side of the cliff. The last thing I wanted was to leave my
partner behind, but I knew the last thing he would want was for me
to die trying to save him. We had been trained not to look back, to
get ourselves out of danger, and then go back later, if and when
the situation was deemed safe. Before pushing myself between the
seats, I slid my fingers over Mark’s eyelids, shutting them, giving
him the last sign of respect before I left him behind.

“
I’m sorry.” I climbed
through the car to the back, using the butt of my gun to smash the
back windscreen. I made it onto the bonnet before the car started
plummeting over the cliff face. I jumped as the tears
fell.

Chapter
Thirty

Charli

“
No!” I tried backing
away from him. “It’s you. You’re the guy my father was
representing. You killed your girlfriend.”

“
One of many
girlfriends.” He said it so carelessly, flicking a hand in the air.
He didn’t seem to care. He had no remorse. I pulled myself free and
began to run. I made it half way through the kitchen door before he
had me again.

“
You’re a murderer!” I
screamed

“
I had to do it. I
needed my revenge. She got what was coming to her, just like your
father.” I barely had time to register his words before he had me
back against him.

“
And if you don’t do
what I tell you, you’ll be next.” I tried to hold back the tears. I
couldn’t believe I had been so stupid. How could I not see who he
really was? Damn, I really was naive.

“
What do you want me
to do?” I said shakily. I had to stay alive.

“
Call home.” When I
hesitated, he screamed in my ear, making me flinch. “Do it!” I
fumbled for my phone in my jeans pocket, almost dropping it once,
and dialled my home number. My mother answered on the second
ring.

“
Nathan? Is that
you?”

“
No, Mum. It’s me.”
Nathan? Why would she be asking for Nathan?

“
Oh, Charlotte.
Charli.” Mum began weeping uncontrollably.

“
Mum? What’s wrong?
And why did you think it was Nathan? Do you mean my friend,
Nathan?”

“
Yes. Listen, Charli.”
I was scared. My mum never called me by my preferred name. It was
always Charlotte. “Charli, you have to find Nathan. He’s in
trouble.”

“
What?
Why?”

“
It’s a long story.
I... I should’ve told you a long time ago but, your
father…”

“
My father, what? Mum,
what’s going on?”

“
Charli, he’s
dead.”

“
What? Who’s dead?” I
tried getting through to her but she was crying too hard.
“Mum?”

“
Charli, find
Nathan.”

“
Okay. I’ll find him,
but is Dad okay? Mum? Please tell me!” Frankie snatched the phone
off me just as my mother began saying something and through it
across the room.

“
No! What did you do?”
I screamed.

“
What I had to do.”
Frankie finally told me. That was the last straw. I began hitting
and punching and kicking him but I wasn’t strong enough. He had me
pinned.

Nathan

As I sat on the edge of the driveway
near the cliff, wondering what had just happened, I heard a noise
behind me. The gravel crunched. I turned to see someone I wasn’t
expecting.

“
Mia?”

“
Hello
Constable
Nathan.
Have a nice trip?” This girl was not the girl I remembered from
campus, Charli’s friend. No, the girl standing behind me looked
like a sadistic knife-wielding serial killer. Her face held a
malicious smirk, and the full moon above glinted off the blade of
the knife she held in her right hand.

“
Mia. Put down the
knife, and no one is going to get hurt. This doesn’t have to end
badly.” I put my hands up in front of me.

She only laughed at me. “It has already
ended badly, for Charli’s father, and for those three helpless and
pathetic skanks who thought they could get in my way.”

“
What? Three?” I stood
but almost fell again, something was wrong with my leg. I couldn’t
check it yet until I dealt with the threat at hand. “Did you hurt
Charli’s father, Mia?”

“
First off, my name is not
Mia
. It’s Courtney.
Second, yes, I did. He was a liability. He knew too much. And so do
you.”

Shit. She was right. This was turning
real bad, real fast. I had to find Charli, but first I had to call
for backup. Lucky I still had my phone in my pocket. I slipped my
hand into my pocket, distracting the girl by talking.

“
So, let me get this
straight, you’ve been working with Levi this whole
time?”

“
Yep. We’re the
ultimate power couple. I guess you could call us Bonnie and
Clyde.”

“
Right, the ultimate
criminal couple. And you also posed as a college student to
befriend Charli?”

“
So did you.” The
distraction was working. My thumb slid over the unlock button and
pressed down on the speed dial button.

“
No, I was working
undercover to protect Charli.”

“
Well, you’re doing a
wack job of that.”

I bowed my head, feigning shame. “I
know. I failed.”

I thought I had her distracted.

I was wrong.

I not only failed in my job, which was
the truth, I had also failed to see the signs I was trained to see
in a suspect before they strike.

Courtney smirked, her
hand flinched, and then she lunged at me. I was quick, but not
quick enough. I pulled my gun out one second too late. Her blade
pierced my side.

I fell to my knees,
and as she began to run, I fired. The bullet caught her in the
ankle, then her back. Another went straight through her arm. I had
to fire three rounds before she went down.

As the pain took hold
of my body, I heard sirens approaching in the distance and knew it
would soon be over. But I couldn’t give up now. I had one more task
to do.

I had to find Charli.

I pulled myself up. Pressing a hand
over my wound, I made my way to the house.

Chapter
Thirty-One

Charli

I had to find Nathan.

I didn’t understand
what my mother had meant by ‘find Nathan,’ but I knew deep down
something was not right. It was peculiar, the way I felt for him. I
know it may sound cliché, but it’s as if he and I are soul mates.
It’s as if our souls are linked. But I had one slight problem.
Frankie… I mean, Levi, or whatever he had said his name was… had me
pinned against the kitchen bench and was beginning to take off my
clothes. I knew I had to surrender to him to save myself, but I
also had the most overwhelming urge to run outside. But I stayed
pinned and surrendered myself because I knew help was nearby. I
knew this would soon be over. Frankie/Levi began by stripping me of
my t-shirt, then my bra, lingering on the mounds of my breasts. He
kissed his way over and around them and trailed kisses down my
abdomen to the most sensitive part of my stomach, making me flinch.
When he began undoing my jeans and pulling them down, I locked my
emotions away and became a soulless being. My soul was now hovering
on the ceiling above my body watching the whole scene play out. But
something caught my attention. Someone was coming through the front
door. Luckily, Frankie/Levi hadn’t heard them yet. He continued
fondling me, and when he had my knickers down, he didn’t hesitate.
He entered me fast making me cry out in pain.

Nathan

I tread carefully up
the drive and front steps to minimise sound, but when I was at the
front door, which was wide open, I heard sounds. It sounded
animalistic. It sounded like an animal was dying—or someone was
making love. As I walked further into the house, checking around
each corner, gun at the ready, I knew they were in the
kitchen.

Charli

Someone was coming. I
knew they would find me soon, but I had to distract Frankie. I
pulled his body closer to me.

“
Oh,
Frankie…”

“
Oh, baby. You’re so
tight.”

“
I’m ready. I can’t
hold on any longer.” I dug my nails into his back as my fake climax
came and went. I screamed out to make it more real.

He wasn’t faking though.

“
Oh,
Charli.”

“
Frankie. Don’t stop,
I want more.”

“
Oh, baby. You’re
relentless.”

As I let him lift me
up onto the bench, I turned my head to look at the door of the
kitchen. What I saw on the other side shattered my heart even
more...

Nathan