“Go on.” His gut reaction had been right all along. Kendall just didn’t possess the selfish killer instinct necessary to steal a million bucks from under his nose with the sole intention of keeping it all for herself.
“I–I—”
“You stole the money for another reason, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
He lovingly wrapped his arms around her waist, letting her know that he wasn’t angry with her.
“I–I stole it because I had to.”
“Had to? Why?”
“To save the life of my best friend.”
“Ah, I see.” The pieces of the puzzle were starting to fit together. “And would this friend of yours be called Ashley by any chance?”
“Yes. We’ve been inseparable since kindergarten. She’d do anything for me, and I’d do anything for her, too. I love her.” She coughed self-consciously. “Only as a friend obviously.”
“Kendall, stealing a million bucks from your boss is just plain wrong, but stealing it in the belief, however misguided, that it’s the only way left open to you is another matter completely. Whoever this Ashley lady is, she’s one lucky girl to have a friend like you, because believe me, after what you’ve sacrificed for her, you’re a friend in a million.”
Using the back of her hand, she wiped away the tears. “Thanks, Mac, that makes me feel so much better.”
The anger he’d felt toward Kendall, when he’d first thought she’d stolen his money for her own personal gain, disappeared in a puff of smoke. He now realized she was a strong, courageous woman—a woman who would do anything to save the life of someone she cared deeply for. How many people in this selfish me first world would go the extra mile, taking the risks that Kendall had? Not many. In fact, in his opinion the number was vanishingly small.
As she sat on his lap, he felt her body tremble, vibrating against his own, but despite these obvious anxiety signals, he figured she was desperate to be rid of the unpleasant secret she’d been hiding since she’d stolen his money. Kendall needed the monkey off her back. It weighed her down, sapping the life force from her. “Okay, baby, we’re getting to the truth now. Just a little further to go. How is this Karl involved? I’m guessing he’s the bad guy in all of this.”
He felt her flinch. “Bad guy? That’s an understatement if ever there was one. Karl Graves is pure evil.”
“That bad, huh? Evil enough to blackmail you?”
“Yes.” He watched her nervously tear an unruly snag from her fingernail with her teeth. “Karl was Ashley’s boyfriend, if you could call the animal that. He beat her so bad and so often that she ended up in hospital more times than I can remember. I begged her to finish with him, but the hold he had over her was too strong. Her fear of the aggressive controlling bastard was total and overwhelming. Anyway, to cut a long story short, after one particularly abusive episode, during which he savagely broke Ashley’s forearm in two places, I contacted the police and had him arrested. It was then that Ashley finally realized that enough was enough, and she suddenly came to her senses. We later testified against him in court, and I was so proud of the courage she showed that day. The judge was clearly shocked by the physical and emotional abuse that she’d suffered over the years at the hands of Karl Graves, and she sent him to prison for twelve years.”
“Good. Sounds like the piece of crap deserved everything he got.”
“No, not good, Mac. Bad.” Her chin dropped, and she shook her head. “He was released early, and within days he’d found Ashley again, despite her moving out of state to get away from him.”
“Oh, shit, honey.” Mac saw where this was leading.
Clearly emotional, Kendall bravely composed herself before continuing, “The sicko blamed us both for the time he spent behind bars. Can you believe that? I suppose it just goes to show how detached from the real world he’d become. Anyway, the first thing he did when he found Ashley again was beat her black and blue just like in the old days. He then forced her to give him my telephone number, and also forced her to tell him that I had a new career as chief financial controller for Buchanan Enterprises. The sick animal is a nutjob all right. There’s no doubt about that, but he’s intelligent, too, and when he realized I had total control over millions of dollars, his deranged brain decided it was payback time.”
“Ah, Kendall.” He gently kissed her forehead. “The final piece of the jigsaw puzzle has just slotted into place. So he had complete control of Ashley again, and I’ve no doubt he threatened to hurt or even kill her if you didn’t play ball by stealing a million bucks from the company accounts.”