My posture didn’t falter, my face stayed impassive, and if it wasn’t for the heavy beating of my heart, I don’t think he would have noticed how his speech affected me. He was right. We were the same. The only difference was, I was not a murderer.
“Jasper, bring Miss Knox and I a bottle of cognac. We have some business to negotiate.”
I was relaxed, with my heels kicked off and my feet propped in another of the dining room chairs. Charlie sat across from me, the cuffs of his white shirt rolled up to his elbows. A cigar dangled in one hand while he held an unfinished glass of cognac in the other. A half empty bottle of Courvoisier L’Esprit sat on the table between us. We had spent the past few hours going over my life’s events; from the time my mother was murdered, up until now. I told him everything about me, my likes and dislikes, my passions and desires and my love for Luke. For a little while, I escaped from reality and just pretended I was talking to a great uncle, or an old friend. Despite Charlie’s ability to kill with no remorse, or capture and hold people against their will, he was very easy to talk to. He listened intently to me. He was patient when I struggled with detail and offered an encouraging smile when I spoke of my parents and Logan. The cognac helped to dull the pain when I spoke of Luke and how I had fallen in love with him. He understood my trust issues and even defended Luke when I told him about how he had snapped on me that day at the hospital, telling me that Luke was under a lot of pressure and it was hard to trust people, especially women you were in love with. He talked about how difficult it was for a man in Luke’s position to make clear decisions when his heart pulled him one way, yet his instincts pulled him another. I was surprised at how much he seemed to respect Luke, but he used words like ‘people like him’ and ‘his kind’ reminding me that regardless of his praise, he still thought Luke was beneath him. When I was finished sharing my life story, I waited nervously for his proposal. I had no idea what he had to offer and I took a sip of my drink to help calm my anticipation.
“Frankie has never had all of his eggs in one basket.” It was strange for Charlie to use any type of metaphor to describe someone. He usually just got straight to the point. For some reason, this relaxed me a little and let me know that our conversation had become a more personal one.
“He committed a great transgression when he stole from me. I have been chasing after him for quite some time, but he has never been worthy enough for me to call in the necessary reinforcements to capture him. He surrounded himself with people to protect him, and every attempt I made to bring him here, failed. I decided it was time to use some leverage against him, so I chose the only thing that he loved.”
“Maddie,” I confirmed, still not quite understanding where this was going.
“Yes, Maddie. I told him that if he came willingly, I would leave her alone. If he didn’t, I would take her and he would never see her again,” he paused, letting his words sink in. His plan was to take Maddie all along. “He agreed and at the same time Luke called asking for my help. I knew Luke must be pretty desperate to call on me. He knows I don’t do favors without something in return. He would owe me ten times more than the information I was going to give him. I made some calls and found out about your kidnapping, although I didn’t know all of the details. Frankie didn’t take my threat seriously and tried to run. He thought that I wouldn’t mess with Maddie. As you already know, Dallas, I do not bluff. My guys caught up with him, and then went to Luke’s to retrieve Maddie. I told Luke that I would give him Frankie in exchange for you.” I froze at his words. Luke had been set up.
“I was going to kill Frankie anyway. His life was owed to me, but I wanted to see where Luke’s loyalties lie. I wanted to see if he was willing to give up everything he had worked so hard for, for a woman that he claimed to love,” Charlie took a moment to light his cigar and I thought he looked a little perturbed.
“Why would you do that?” I asked, my voice was not accusatory, only curious.
“Luke and I have history. When we parted, it was not on the best of terms. I let him live, because I knew that one day he would need me. I underestimated him. I thought he would call me much sooner than he did. I wasn’t aware of the history he had with you, or the connection between you and Maddie. Frankie was going to die at my hands and his daughter would forever pay for his sins.”
Maddie. Even if I never would have met Frankie, this still would have happened. If Luke had not called on Charlie, it would have been her sitting here and not me. “Of course, I would have offered her the same life I have offered you, but she would have spent her life knowing that her father betrayed her and she was responsible for his shortcomings. After hearing all of this, you can imagine my surprise when Luke chose Maddie over you. I knew then that Luke was not aware of the problems between Frankie and I, but I now understand why he did it. You made him promise to choose her, because you felt indebted to her.” He had hit the nail on the head. Maddie had suffered enough. I would not let her miss out on the life she deserved.