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He nodded firmly. “It is. I can’t remember the last time I talked to anyone like this, if ever. I don’t think about my past so often, let alone show it to others. It’s a strange one, considering where I wound up in life. Yours is quite believable — you were shown the value of hard work, dedication, and love through your whole life, and it helped to shape you into the person you are today. Not so, with me. I’ve gone through phases, and I suppose this is the one the spinning wheel landed on. Vagrant, pilot, politician, billionaire, musician. It’s only now that I’m starting to realize why I was blessed with the good fortune I’ve had all this time. Maybe it was for this moment. You’ve made a difference in my life, more than you know.”
Amara looked up at him. “I’m glad, and you’ve made a difference in mine, as well.”
From behind them, a rustling sound could be heard within the shaded grove. Quint stood quickly, pulling Amara up with him. They turned and faced the direction the sound came from.
Quint clutched the bag he carried, more than ready to defend it against whatever was coming out from among the trees.
Frederik’s voice preceded his appearance. “This talk is beginning to bore me. As entertaining as your budding love is, I must interrupt.”
Frederik stepped out into the pale moonlight mixed with yellow streetlights, clad in a trim, black suit and matching undershirt, doubtless to keep his presence hidden in the darkness.
He crooned, “The moon is high in the sky, the festival winds down, and we come to the end of the road to settle up.”
Chapter Thirty Two
QUINT STRAIGHTENED UP AND BACKED away, holding Amara’s hand as they retreated in response to Frederik’s approach.
“How long have you been there?” Quint asked.
“Long enough to know how pitifully pedestrian your life — no, lives — are. I wonder if you can understand the meaning of family, even as you try to form one. You,” he said as he pointed toward Quint, “are insolent, ungrateful, flighty. Amara told me about you, you know. I should have connected the dots much sooner than I did. But this will be spoken on later. For now, you and I have some business to attend to, do we not? It is why we’re here, no?”
Frederik squared up with Amara and Quint, the city spread out behind him, sporadic fireworks haloing him in unnatural hues, shadowing his smirking face. His appearance was less disheveled than the last time Amara had seen him at the university, but there was something about his eyes, the way they twitched and darted about … it was unnerving.
With a wide gesture around the area and back toward the unpaved mountain road, he grinned. “Do you like my venue choice? Not many come here anyway, but with the festivities in the city, there’s no chance we’ll be interrupted.”
“It’s as good as any. Let’s move this along,” Quint said.
“Fine. The bag.” Frederik pointed to the messenger bag tucked under Quint’s arm. “Toss it over. Slowly. You would do well not to provoke me.” He opened his jacket, revealing the unmistakable shape and shine of a silvery pistol tucked in his belt.
Quint tightened at the sight of the gun. He urged Amara to step back. “Everything is in here — documents, accounts, contracts — everything you asked for. The money was deposited after you sent the message. Without these, I can’t do anything with the account. It’s all yours. I’m sure you have the means to make sure of that, don’t you?”
Frederik’s brow, dark as a raven’s wing, rose slowly. “You wound me, Mister Forbes. To presume I would come so unprepared as to have no method of verification … I’m not stupid. Stop stalling, and toss the bag to me. Now.”
After sliding the strap over his head and taking it in a fist trembling with equal amounts of anger and frustration, Quint tossed it at Frederik’s feet some ten paces away.
Frederik knelt, keeping his eyes on Quint and Amara as he opened the bag and reached inside, his position revealing the weapon again. Seeing Quint’s eyes trained on the gun, he grinned widely. “Do guns make you nervous, Forbes? It’s a coward that trembles at the sight of such a thing. I always carry this. Never know when it might be needed. For example, if you’ve made any attempt to deceive me, or try to attack me, you’ll find a bullet in your gut and another in her head. It should leave just enough time for you to watch her die before you bleed out. A dramatic end to your uninspiring peasant romance. Keep your hands where I can see them and stand still.”
Quint gave a simple, short nod. His fist tightened further, and it became more and more clear that it was anger and tension that had him wound up and trembling, not fear. “No need for threats, Orlando. Check the contents and let’s get this over with. We all have something to gain here. Don’t be rash.”
Frederik reached into the other side of his suit jacket and pulled out a small flashlight, his other hand opening the clasp of the messenger bag and easing out the thick envelope. He pulled the metal tabs and opened it dexterously, and soon had the bundle of documents in hand. Each was briefly checked as he nodded, his eyes darting between the papers and the couple. Once he reached the account statement, he dropped the papers on the bag itself and pulled his phone out to check the credentials and amounts.
After several long minutes, he slipped the documents back into the enve
lope, and the envelope into the bag before he stood, leaving it at his feet. “Good. Everything is in order. I must admit, I’d almost hoped for some deception. I’ve had a burning need for vengeance, in case you haven’t noticed. Isn’t that strange? All I’ve been able to think about for the last few days is making your lives a living torment. How have I done so far?”
He paused for a response, and when none came, he rushed on. “Have you been sufficiently terrified? Have you suffered in the vacuum of information I created for you, hmm? Answer me!”
Amara took a quick step forward to stand at Quint’s side, anger plain on her face. “Yes. Is that what you want to hear? How miserable you’ve made me, how much you’ve made me worry? I’ve hardly slept thinking about the welfare of my son and can’t stand the thought of him being with a monster like you. You’ve made my life hell, Frederik. Enjoy your revenge.”
He seemed as if he were going to reach for the weapon before he crossed his arms, tilted his head up and back, and regarded her coldly. “Good, good. I’m glad. You know exactly what you did to me, and why you so richly deserve the comeuppance you’ve received, don’t you?”
Her jaw tensed, and she trembled. Every part of her wanted to lash out at him, to slap him as she should have when he taunted her on campus. “I know what I did.”
Frederik chuckled, shaking his head. “No, I don’t think that you do. How could you? You were not there as I suffered the judgment of people who were my peers, my colleagues, my sponsors, my superiors and even my underlings. You cannot understand the stigma that was attached to me after your manipulations and lies.”
“My heart breaks for you,” Amara said snidely, unable to resist.
Quint reached around her and pulled her in close to his side, giving her a look of warning.
