Eighteen: The Axe Drops

Nana continues to regale Wolfe with stories of the mischievous little Mildred while his smartphone buzzes the second and third time on the round patio table. He glances at it, reading the caller's name. It's highly unusual for Micah to call three times in a row, unless if it's an emergency, and especially when she knows that he'll be spending the morning with Red.

"You gonna get that or what?" Nana asks him before sipping on her cup.

He flashes her his signature smile. "They can leave a voicemail."

The phone vibrates again.

"It's probably important. You'll never know with a man in your position. Could be a deal breaker." She nods as she says the last words.

Wolfe reaches for his phone. "Maybe I should. If you'll excuse me." He gets up to walk back into the bright apartment.

"Wolfe!" Micah answers on the first ring.

"What's going on? You know I'm with..."

"I know. I know. I want you to know that we are doing everything we can to stop it from circulating. Tiger's on to the source. It's going to be tricky because it's online and it's spreading like wildfire." Micah says in one breath.

"You do know that I haven't a clue what you're talking about?" Wolfe tugs at his ear, frustrated.

"Ah shit, right. I'm afraid it's bad. I have an idea where it came from."

"Micah, what is it?" He grits out.

"It's a..." He's distracted by the sound of a crash coming from the kitchen.

"Red?" He calls her from his spot.

She comes out looking furious. "You son of a bitch! I can't believe I trusted you!"

Wolfe knits his eyebrows together, unaware of what is going on. His phone still pressed against his ear but hears nothing from the other line.

Nana saunters into the living area, shocked at her granddaughter's angry words. "Mildred? What's happened?"

Red bypasses her and starts gathering Wolfe's jacket and helmet. She pushes them against his chest. "Get the fuck out of here!"

"Mildred! Language!" Nana chastises. "What's going on?" She asks Wolfe.

"I'm not sure. Red, what..." He tries to continue his question while Red pushes him towards the door.

"Out! Out! You slimeball! You son of a bitch! You cheating bastard!" The last words ring through his ears and make him shiver. Micah knows what's going on. Red knows what's happening. For once, he doesn't have a clue.

"Red, let's talk about this. I'm sure there's a valid explanation. Please, darling," he begs at the threshold.

Tears threaten her eyes but none comes out. "We're done. I don't ever want to see you again!" She isn't yelling, and it sounds a lot worse. Then she slams the door to his face.

The hallway is quiet for a moment. He can hear mumbles from the other side of the door--Nana is trying to figure out what has happened. A far away voice calls for him. It takes him a moment to realize that Micah is still on the phone and no doubt has heard the whole commotion.

He lifts his phone back up to his ear. "Tell me." He growls out, suppressing the anger surging through all of him.

"Wolfe, I'm sorry..."

"Bloody hell, Micah, just tell me!" He looks down to see shadows dancing under the closed door.

"There's a video of you and Caroline. It posted earlier this morning. Views have gone up to over a million. And I'm afraid there's a promise of three others to come, including one with..." He can hear Micah's tension over the phone. "... With Caroline and another woman. Did you know the videos existed?"

He can't answer her right at that moment. All he can hear is the loud swooshing of angry veins in his ears. The hand clasping his helmet tightens. He turns around and smashes the helmet against the ceramic floor, breaking the visor. Micah stays quiet on the other line. He doesn't bother getting back to her before ending the call.

A distinct shadow remains static under Nana's apartment door. He knows Red is behind it. With two fists against the white door, he presses his forehead on it. "Red, I will fix his. I will fix this." He isn't sure she can clearly hear him. He turns around, grabs his broken helmet and heads for the stairs.

When he reaches his '83 FXDG Harley, he connects with Tiger. "Where is she?"

"Ritz-Carlton on Central park," Tiger answers without hesitation.

Wolfe signs off before riding back into the city.

As soon as he gets off his Harley, Tiger walks up to him. "Park View Suite."

Wolfe lifts an eyebrow at Tiger. He would smirk if he isn't so full of rage at the moment. Caroline is used to the best things in life, including regular stays at the Plaza or St. Regis' most expensive suites. The suite she's in isn't nearly as costly as her usual playground.

The two men walk into the hotel with Tiger trying his hardest to quietly rein in Wolfe's anger. They still garner a few looks, but disregard each one of them. Wolfe's hands are fisted the entire trip up the elevator.

As soon as they reach the 22nd floor, Tiger puts a hand on Wolfe's chest, stopping him from getting off the car. Wolfe shoots him a warning glare.

"She's not alone, Wolfe," Tiger warns him.

"Do I look like I give a shit right now?" Wolfe grounds out.

Tiger glares back at him. "If it gets bad in there..."

Wolfe faces the big man, his body trembling from holding back his fury. "She may possibly have ruined the best thing that's ever happened to me, Tiger. Red found out about it before I did. Caroline has hurt the only woman I have ever loved just to get my attention. Well she got it. Stop me if you think you can, but I will destroy her."

"Then you think about her when you go in there. Think of Red." Tiger answers back.

Wolfe pulls on his ear, agitated. A muscle on his jaw jumps as his friend removes the hand that's stopping him.

The card slides in the slot at one of the doors along the hallway. Tiger opens it silently. As they both enter the room, they're hit by the pungent smell of weed and something else burning. The screams of a woman travels from the open bedroom.

Wolfe doesn't hesitate to walk in to the bedroom, knowing full well what he's about to witness. Neither Caroline or the man sees him coming in. Wolfe grabs the man by the arm and pushes him away from Caroline, making him stumble off the bed.

"What the--!" The man shouts, looking straight at Wolfe and Tiger. "Who the fuck are you?"

Wolfe doesn't glance at him at all. His eyes train on the naked woman on the bed, who doesn't even bother to cover herself up. "If you know what's good for you, you'll leave now." Wolfe barks out, pointing a finger at the man, but keeping his eyes on Caroline.

"Hey, baby." Caroline's voice is tired and husky from years of smoking. "I was wondering when you'd show up."

"The hell, Carol? Who's this schmuck?" The man moves towards Caroline. Tiger pulls him off the bed and drags him out of the room.

Wolfe sweeps his eyes around the room. The usual beauty and elegance of the bedroom contrasts with the gaunt and hollow expression on Caroline's face. Drug paraphernalia is scattered on the bedside table.

"Where are the videos?" He asks the suddenly quiet Caroline.

She purses her lips, showing off wrinkles around the smeared lipstick. "What videos?" She leans her back against the headboard, flagrantly exposing her sex.

Wolfe steps forward, trapping her between his arms, hands pressed against the headboard. "You know what I'm talking about. As far as I know, only two people knew about them--you and me..." His glare intensifies. "You told me you've given me everything. I had them destroyed. Did you make copies or are there more than what you've told me?"

Caroline's throat constricts as she senses the anger rolling off Wolfe. She knows what the man is capable of. He's never been violent towards her, but she isn't sure about it at that moment. Not with the darkening rage in his eyes.

"I made copies of three of them." She begins explaining. Fear makes her shudder. "I told you I needed your help. What else could I do?"

"Where are they now?"

Caroline's breath becomes heavy. The effect of what she has taken earlier is starting to wear off. "I... They're in the box." Her eyes flick to the side. "I had to do something, Wolfe. You didn't give me any choice." Her voice quavers, watching Wolfe walk out the room to find the safety deposit box.

It isn't even locked. He takes out a brown envelope, examines the unlabelled USB and slips them back in the package. He stands up and hands it to Tiger who's kept a close distance to him since coming back from disposing of the other man.

"Are there any more?" Wolfe turns around to see Caroline walking out of the bedroom, not bothering to cover herself up. He scans her frail body. She's lost a lot more weight since their last encounter in his office.

Her fingernails are long and dirty. Her normally shiny hair is matted. Her makeup is smeared all over her face. Whatever has been going on with her has created a whole different woman than the one Wolfe used to date. He didn't realize how broken she was, is, until the last year of their abnormal relationship.

But she isn't his concern anymore. All he has to do is make sure she won't retaliate or act up again. "Are there any more?" He repeats his previous question.

She shakes her head. Her thin fingers curling and uncurling a strand of greasy hair. "I told them I'll give them something else once I get more payment. I barely got anything for the first one." There's no sign of remorse in her voice.

"Come clean, Caroline, before I make your life a living hell." Wolfe steadies his voice, gripping at the last vestiges of sanity.

Caroline's laughter sounds menacing, echoing in the bright room. "Look around, Wolfe. I'm already in hell!"

He doesn't doubt it one bit. Wolfe walks out the door, with Tiger following him. He has more serious matters to attend to, but Caroline is a walking time bomb. For a moment, he thinks of what Red would do. The woman is full of compassion.

Wolfe takes the envelope back from Tiger as they wait for the elevator. "Make sure she doesn't do any more damage." He hears Tiger sigh. He knows very well what his friend is thinking. The old Wolfe would have done differently. "Have her clean up. Get her to a rehab or something."

"Consider it done." Tiger pats him on the back of the shoulder as the elevator doors open. "Sorry, man."

Wolfe lets his head fall, feeling defeated. "I promise Red I will fix this." He says before stepping in the car.

****

When noon comes, Red shuffles into her office overcome with exhaustion and numbness. Nana has asked her to stay at the condo with her, but she refused. She doesn't want her grandmother fussing over her, her failing self-esteem, and disbelief that love does exist. It hasn't been in the books for her since she started dating at sixteen, why would it appear now?

Daisy bursts through the door, huffing and puffing. "I thought I heard someone in here. We have a problem."

What is it now? Can't there be anything good in her life at this moment? "What is it, Daisy?"

"Peter didn't show up. I've been trying to all him all morning. I left him messages." He hasn't returned the night before too, after his unexpected proclamation to Red.

"What? Why didn't you call me? You could have reached me at Nana's!" Red yells at her shocked receptionist. Not once has she ever yelled at anybody at work. "Sorry, Daisy, it's been a horrible morning."

Red fires up her laptop, bringing up the day's schedule. It's another full day at Red Ink. "We'll have to shuffle people around. Call all of Peter's clients and let them know what's happening. If they need to reschedule..."

Daisy doesn't let her finish. "I've done all that." She hands Red a long piece of paper. "I was just waiting for you to come in so you can okay it."

Red scans what Daisy has given her. How can she doubt that the miniature pit bull who's been working for her all these years is capable of handling things? She hands it back to Daisy. "Looks good. I don't want any calls, unless if it's from Peter."

Daisy senses something's off and returns to her posting dutifully.

Rubbing her hand over her tired face, Red struggles to keep herself sane. She sits at her desk, staring at her booted up laptop. The smart thing to do is ignore the whole morning and get to work. But her delinquent mind takes over.

Opening a search engine, she types the gossip website that started it all, only to find the hot story she has seen replaced by something else. Wolfe's people work fast.

Not fast enough. Considering she still managed to see it that morning.

Her fingers type another search, and finds herself inundated with suggested links. She succeeds with the third link.

The sound of a woman's moan insults her ears, followed by a man's grunt. It's like a disaster she can't possibly look away from. The time stamp says the video was taken some time the day before. While I was at work. It's hard to tell how old or how recent the video really is. She's aware that everything can be altered. But it hurts no less.

The faces, and his body are as clear as day. He's screwing her. Not in his bedroom, not on the bed they shared last night. It looks to be a hotel room. Some posh, overpriced suite.

She can't control the red-hot hate waiting to burst, coupled by the disgust from watching and hearing Wolfe and Caroline shagging like rabbits. She closes the laptop lid, picks it up and throws it against the far wall.  It crashes on the wall and Red is afraid that with it is her fragile, broken heart.