The Tyrant's Trophy

(Hi guys; I am excited to post this chapter because the character being introduced was cleverly made by my good friend, Belicia. Adam Carter is owned by her, from her book 'Love in the Darkness'. She also helped me with some of the crossover chapters we've written together. Please check out her book and enjoy:)

Abijah

“Then I hope your husband has a strong back because once I share this, it’ll tarnish his reputation. People will believe me, especially when I have the evidence to prove it.” That was a lie. Truth was, I didn’t have squat on the Dr. aside from the bruises on his wife.

Unfortunately, that’s unreliable proof in the eyes of the law. Plus, it’s my word against the pair and from Maybell’s panic attack - she wasn’t going to go against her husband.

Not when she fears for her life.

So I had to persuade her to stay away from him. It’s good I didn’t turn in that report but now a few more problems are emerging. “What to do…what to do?” I opened my laptop. I took the day off to look after the woman, but Kelly still insists on emailing me.

This time, it’s not about work.

Kelly, as always, insists on gossiping about people. Her topic of choice today was that darn Ex-Marine Adama carter. God, she knows I can’t stand that man! Boredly, I opened her email.

[ Adam Carter got hitched! Can you believe it?! The frosty - steel-hearted man actually found love! Aside from you, I never imagined him marrying! Also, I heard the girl is cute; Daphne, I think her name is? Speaking of which, we need to have a bachelorette party! I know this place where it’s full of hot guys.]

I promptly deleted the email after that. I’m getting married. I’m not going to jeopardize my love for one night of pleasure. Kelly’s crazy if she actually thinks I’ll go along with her and I already know about the high and mighty Adam Carter’s wife. Daphne Carter: that’s all the media’s been buzzing about aside from me and their marriage had a lot of women mourning for years.

Some are hopeful that she’s just temporary but I doubt it. Again, it's been years, besides, Adama Carter isn’t a fickle man nor is he one to make impulsive decisions. That’s what makes him successful. He’s always one step ahead of everyone. That’s how he bested me.

I tsked.

I played with him once and got burned.

What if I can use that?

“Now that would get me what I need.” With a man like Adam, I could dig up dirt on the Dr. and keep Maybell safe. Opening a new chatbox, I decided to make an appointment with the man. He would have a long wait list but I’ll be the exception. I smirked. “I bet he’ll be dying to see me after this.”

Adam Carter’s facility never ceased to amaze me. From top to bottom, it looked like a military reserve center. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a torture chamber in its basement.” I snorted to myself as I got out of my car.

Though I had a run-in with the man in the past, I had never been inside his facility. Immediately, security approached me and looked through my purse. They even had me step through metal detectors before giving me a visitor pass and instructions to go to the front desk. The procedures shouldn’t have shocked me - this was Adam Carter, after all, and he hated me to begin with.

Which meant that I needed to be on top of my game and I brought leverage for it too.

A man dressed in a Marine Corps uniform sat at the front desk, typing on a computer. He looked up at me as I approached and smiled. “Hello, ma’am. What can I do for you today?”

“Hello, I have an appointment with Mr. Carter.”

“Okay, Your name?”

“Abijah Iogair.”

The man typed it in. “Yes, I see you have a meeting at 2:15. Mr. Carter is leading training at the moment. I’ll have someone let him know you’re here.”

“May I see the training?” I asked. I wasn’t so interested in writing about it but a big part of me was curious to see the creep lead his troops. Also, I wanted to see how many employees actually pass out from said training. Of course, I kept this to myself.

“That is no problem. Just wait here and I’ll have two guards escort you.”

“Thank you,” I replied, a little nervous about the fact men will be escorting me. I mean...that’s just a bit much, right?

'Guess I’ll have to play by the rules for now', I thought, as two Marines approached to escort me through the hallways. They said nothing and that was fine with me, gave me time to plan my moves. By the time I realized it, we were close to the training center and a voice booming orders startled me. I had to stop myself from flinching.

“Run it out!” Then came the sound of men running, which sounded like elephants going from one side of the room to the next. Then the voice ordered, “At ease, shake it out.”

‘Of course,’ I held in a sarcastic snort when I stepped into the room and saw Adam. He was just as intimidating as I recalled as he held authority over others.

“Your next exercise will be Marine Corps push-ups. Marine Corps push-ups are a four-count exercise and we will do fifty. How many?”

Said men looked beat. Some of them could barely breathe and there was one guy near the center who really needed to sit down. His face was blanched but still, they all forced out a “FIFTY SIR!”

Adam nodded approvingly. “I’ll count the cadence, you count the count. Position of attention MOVE.” After the men stood at attention, Adam ordered, “Starting position, MOVE.”

Before Adam could start the count, one of my escorts ran up to him and whispered in his ear. He must have reminded him of our meeting because the man Adam stood up and exchanged a few words with the guard. He grimaced as he walked my way.

“Logair.” He greeted, coldly.

I returned that tone with a smile of my own. “Carter.”

“If you would follow me, we can have our meeting.” He then led me to his office. It was quite...bland. Devoid of personality or even anything that can peek into his personal life. “Please, take a seat.” He pointed to two wooden chairs in front of his desk. He sat in a large leather chair, behind his desk.

“Thank you.”

Not a second later, he got to the point. “What is it you want?”

I was glad this whole ‘polite’ farce we had going on broke. Dropping my smile, I answered plainly. “I need someone to investigate Dr. Phillip Sweetheart.”

“Sweetheart?” he hummed, leaning back slightly. “Isn’t he a famous surgeon?” Though he asked that, Adam’s eyes said he already knew that answer.

“The man may be famous for saving others’ lives, but his wife’s in jeopardy. I need proof that he’s abusive toward her. Given his status and profession, people are less likely to believe her. He’s that powerful.”

Carter was clearly unimpressed by this. “Why come to me?” He asked bored.

As painful as this was to admit...I had to spit out the facts. “You’re the best of the best and clearly have the resources to pull this off. How else could you have built your own empire?”

I must have strung a cord. “I gained my success by minding my own business and staying out of everyone else’s. No pun intended.”

I anticipated his answer. “Normally, I would want to avoid you for eternity, Mr. Carter. You are cold and cruel but truly one of the best and the only person I can think of to get me this information without being caught. I need evidence as well as protection over Dr. Sweetheart’s wife.”

I knew I provoked the lion. If possible, his posture became stiffer and it was apparent that he wanted me burned. “And how exactly will you extract those things from me?”

I was so glad he asked. Luckily, I came with leverage. “Your reluctance to help wouldn’t be because Dr. Sweetheart was a resident who assisted on one of your follow-up surgeries, would it?”

His body tensed and that gave me my answer. I smiled, knowing that now the wanna-be-mafia would hear me out.

“Lucky for me, we had a run-in together. I was such a small fish in the sea, having to submit to a whale like you. I still have that research, you know. About a staff sergeant in the United States Marine Corps who was honorably discharged. You took over command when your squad leader was injured and sacrificed yourself to save your squad. For that, you were awarded a purple heart and a medal of honor. However, no one knows that because you refused to be recognized by the president. Instead, your medals were handed to you in a box and you left.”

I paused for a moment to see if Adam would say anything. “You would gain so much respect if you told your story. If people knew you’re a Marine-”

“I’m not a Marine anymore,” Adam interrupted. I felt chills rise with the lethal tone blowing my way. I forced myself to be calm. I had to be one step ahead of this man - this time, I will be the one in control.

“Is that so? Then why are all of your employees for this company retired Marines? Not one civilian works for this company. Why do you have all of your bodyguards go through military-level training? Once a Marine, always a Marine. Isn’t that part of your code of honor?”

Adam remained quiet, not knowing what to say.

“That’s not the only thing I found. It took some extra digging, but I know your father was a businessman, yet you’re not running his business. Instead, you sold it when you were eighteen and started your own empire from scratch. Why is that? Did you two not get along? Did you not want anything to do with him or his money? How about your mother? Why is she not in the picture? Did she abandon you?”

Adam took a breath in an attempt to control his temper, but I knew I was really pushing his buttons.

“The broken child becomes the king of the business world,” I taunted. “That sounds like a great story.”

That was it for him. “You’re playing with fire. I own that company you work for, remember? Which means your boss is at my disposal. I can have you fired right now and make sure you never get hired by another publisher again.” Adam threatened.

This time, I leaned back in my own seat and folded my right leg over the other. I guess the man doesn’t get out much if he’s missed such a vital point to this conversation. “You do own Knox Publishing. So, yes, you can get me fired and I may never work as a journalist again...but you don’t own the Boyds.”

Adam’s mouth snapped shut.

'Got you.'

“You may have various businesses by a string but not Boyd Inc. It’s family operated and owned and, trust me, after what I’ve been through last year, my parents will definitely come to my aid. Besides, they would love to publish a great story like yours or perhaps I will just go to any news station. This is something no business in their right mind would turn down. What will you do then, Mr. Carter? Buy them all?”

The man let out a sigh of defeat. “I want everything you have.”

I smiled. Who’s the shrimp now, Mr. Carter? “In exchange for…”

The man could have killed me with just that glare. “I’ll have guards guarding her at all times. They will be inconspicuous and nearby at all times. If push comes to shove, I’ll even arrange a safe house for her.”

“And her husband?”

“I’ll investigate him myself.” That was a pleasing answer. The man reached into his drawer and handed me one of his business cards. “If anything happens, call that number. I’ll do the same on my end when I have everything you need.”

I took it, respectfully, and thankfully. Before walking out, I had to stop. I know I said some things that crossed many lines. Plus, I still disliked the man’s guts, but...it must have been hard for the man to grow up without a loving home. I know it was for me.

“You know Mr. Carter,” I said as respectfully as I could. I wanted to tell him many things - stuff about his mother and how she didn’t want to leave him with that man.

I found her back then...got to speak to her but Carter never got to hear that part of the story. It was something I kept to myself. I will probably always keep that to myself. “You don’t know Maybell Sweetheart but I think if you talked to her, you would understand why I want to help her. I think she would remind you of someone precious.” like your mother...

Finally, I left.