The Lies I Believed

Private Jet

Asher

"If not for you letting your head rule over your heart, she wouldn't be in this mess right now."

"I told you I was sorry, Brad."

"Sorry isn't going to cut it, boy. Times have changed. People have gotten bolder. The mafia isn't something to play with these days. One wrong move and everyone turns against you."

"I know that. Don't you think I know that?"

"Seems like you've forgotten. I didn't want you marrying Lexi, because of this. I knew someone would come along and find a reason to piss you off. When they do that, it brings unwanted attention to the United States. If that happens..."

"I could be kicked out of the country."

"Exactly. I'm sure you don't want that to happen. Jackson will join you tomorrow. He's still busy with Hayden and Sha'Kera's situation. It's best you do what you need to do before the jet lands. You have about five hours."

"What do I do when I get that?"

"You go to your house and see what was left behind. If there's nothing there, check the other property. It'll be too much if we have to ask her friends, but if it comes to that..."

"I know what I need to do."

"Great. I looked into the house Lexi had wanted you to check out. It's run down."

"Yeah, I know. I wanted to renovate it into a summer home."

"God, you're so clueless as to what your wife wants. She hates spending money just as much as she hates being treated wrong."

"...Um, okay. What does the house have anything to do with me? We only went there twice before she told me to drop it."

"It's in the most remote location you can get before leaving Palm Springs. Maybe she thinks she's being held out that way. There's more buildings out there."

"Well, could you look into it? I'll head that way once I check the houses."

I'd spent the last couple of days trying to figure out what was going on. I was able to recover the video from Friday, but couldn't track where it had been sent from. Whoever took Lexi was good. He knew what he was doing, and has probably been doing this for years. It's a wonder she didn't try spelling out his name for me. Now that would have been smart.

Instead, she gave us a rough description of where she might be. I had immediately recognized the place. Against Lexi's wishes, I'd bought the property anyway. When she was ready to accept my ideas, I was going to tell her about them. Since she sort of remembers where it is, then she's been thinking about it recently.

"We've wasted nearly three days already. Don't dilly-dally once you land."

"I won't. The last thing I want to happen is her suffering through something that reminds her of her past."

"Sir, Mr. Jackson faxed a few notes from the files your brother-in-law gave to him."

"Great." I took the papers and set them down on the table. "Is there anything else you need, Brad?"

"Nope, but you should see this. I immediately copied it over to the drive before I watched it from the email. It's best I leave you alone for this." Brad stood up. "Whatever you do, don't kill anyone when you land."

"Whatever..."

I was immediately skeptical when the screen went black. Did he not upload the file correctly? Sounds like a Brad thing to do.

"Sorry, wrong video!" He seemed to tackled my computer.

Wrong video? Now I have to know what it was.

"Okay, now I'll leave you alone. Good luck. If you don't come back with her, I'll gut you like a pig."

Yeah, I'll believe it when it happens.

"Hey, come take some notes. We might find out where she might be. There was a window in the last video. I'm hoping he filmed in the same room."

"Yes, sir."

To my surprise, Lexi was sitting in the same room. The same exact spot with the same window just above her head. If it were me, I would have filed in a different place. One that didn't have any windows. Maybe that's how Lexi knew where she might be.

"Hello, Asher. I hope you received my message Friday. I haven't heard from you since then. Are you angry? I would be, but that's not why I'm leaving this message for you. Lexi has messed up and it's your job to fix the mistakes she made. You have until Friday to get me the files I want or she goes up in flames. I'm not afraid to get a little blood on my hands, but...I'm pretty ticked off."

"You're not going to get away with this."

"Lexi, be quiet or I'll blow your head off right here. I'm not afraid to start a little war. It'll be fun to watch everyone figure out who started what. Don't you think so, Asher?"

I felt so proud of her. No matter what anyone does to her, she's always cracking jokes about the situation. He could easily shoot her and everything would be over. There would be a small war, but it would end just as quickly as it started. I won't let anyone involved get away with this.

"So, what is it going to be? Am I going to get what I want before then? Or am I going to have to start shooting?"

"Honestly...you should just kill me." I smiled up at him. "I promise I won't haunt you from the afterlife."

"You know what..."

"No, I don't know what. What is it?"

"That's it. Cut the camera!"

The screen went black and I thought it was over, then I heard a loud smack. I wanted to jump through the screen and strangle the guy, but I couldn't. The urge to go on a killing spree got to me. I couldn't sit down any longer.

The screen stays black, but I could still hear everything. Lexi hadn't said anything since the slap. I wonder if she was crying. I'd never raised my hand at her before. I don't think I ever will. She's everything I got, and losing her like that is the last thing I want to happen. I promised her a good life, and hitting her isn't going to ensure that.

"Just because you think you're going crazy right now, doesn't mean you should act like it. You want to die, then I'll drag it out as long as I can. You will suffer and I'll see to it that your children personally receive the news of your death from me."

"If you can find them," Lexi snapped.

"What makes you think I already haven't?"

She didn't say anything after that. I was getting frustrated by the black screen. If only there was a way I could figure out if he was showing his face. I have no doubt that he was. He probably thought the camera had stopped recording. I'm so glad it hadn't.

"If he doesn't respond to this one, consider yourself dead."

I can't let that be an option for her. As bad as I want to stay mad at her for not telling me about this, it would devastate a lot of people if I let her die. Her blood would be on my hands. The last thing I need is to make an enemy of everyone who put their trust in her. The entire world would probably turn against me.

Don't worry, Lexi. I'll find you and I'll kill the bastard who kidnapped you.