Suits & Aces (#3)

23 // Decisions

MJ spent her day shopping. Yes, after all these years, she finally got the chance to escape her daily routine and walk from aisle to aisle in an actual store.

She wished Shannon and Liam were there, but she doubted they would approve of her recent criminal activities, especially since everything she had gotten was for her hostage.

She was preparing to leave when someone knocked at the door. She quickly hid some of the shopping bags and only left the takeaways on the kitchen counter, and then she went to get the door.

Who could it be so late? It was past 8p.m., and it was the perfect time for her to drive to Beaufort West without anyone seeing her, especially her neighbours over there.

"Well, you are starting to make a habit of showing up and leaving unannounced," she muttered and stepped aside for Cameron to entered.

He rolled his eyes but entered anyway. "Good evening to you too, MJ," he said and walked over to the couch.

She shut the door and followed him. "Should I pop some champagne before you can tell me who died?"

He glared at her, he was so grumpy. "That won't be necessary, Logan hasn't killed anyone just yet."

That caught MJ's attention. "Logan?" She asked.

Cameron sighed. "He had a falling out with Mrs Dos Santos."

"What happened?"

"Montana," he muttered. "Montana happened."

Her mood darkened at the mention of Montana Parker. "Why am I not surprised"

Cameron raised a questioning eyebrow. "Why do you say that?"

She gulped, anger filling her chest as she thought about it. "Your sister had her son infiltrate my house under the guise of a street kid."

Cameron's face changed into different emotions, from shock, confusing, to anger, and then he ran his hands down his face and shook his head. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Every time she thought about Montana and Chad, she wondered how close he got and how much he found out about her. She just had to take care of her brother first, she would deal with them later, she was going to teach Montana a lesson she would never forget.

"Cameron, there's something I need to tell you," she said, remembering her call with Brianna. "I've decided to sell my house back in London."

Cameron sat up quickly. "Say what?"

MJ sighed and shrugged, she had given it enough thought, the house held no meaning to her, it was just one of the properties she owned. "I'm not sure if you remember her, but I sent Mahalia, my new secretary, to get a few things from the house, and then hand the keys over to Brianna."

"Are you going to sell the house? With all the furniture in it?" MJ nodded. "I don't understand, what's going on?"

"I don't know," she said honestly. "Are you staying over?" She asked.

Cameron sighed, but did not complain about the sudden change of topic. "Yes please, if it's okay with you. Logan is furious, he is still not happy about what I did, so I don't want to find myself in his way."

"I'm sure you must be hungry too, there's some food in the kitchen, and you can sleep in one of the guest rooms for a change."

"Have you heard anything from the hospital yet?" He asked.

"Not much. I don't know whether Jorge is getting better or worse, but I'm only hoping for the best." MJ was not so thrilled about having Cameron over, but she also knew it would be suspicious if she tried to get rid of him.

She was supposed to be on her way to see Sasha before the woman died from starvation.

She preferred leaving at this time of the night because then nobody would see her when she went to the house, and if she could not leave tonight, she would have to postpone her visit to tomorrow evening. By then, the body would probably have decomposed or something.

"Cameron, listen, you will have to spend the night alone. I have somewhere to be." She could not delay her plans any further, this was the only shot she had, and it would be reckless of her to miss it. "You actually caught me at a bad time, I was on my way out," She admitted.

"Oh, where are you going?"

"I have recently reconnected with an old friend, and she's not doing so well. I didn't get a chance to see how she's doing today because I was getting her some groceries and clothes."

Cameron's eyes lit up in excitement. "Oh, I can accompany you if you want!"

"No!" MJ said a little harsher than she intended, and quickly gathered herself together. "She... She's not ready to face people as yet. She is very embarrassed about her situation, and I don't want to make things worse."

"Okay, I understand. Well, do you need help with anything?"

MJ tried not to show her relief. "Well, you can help me by getting those bags to my car.”

"Sure thing!" Cameron helped her to carry her shopping bags to the car without any questions. "So, when are you going to be back?"

"I'm not sure, maybe tomorrow morning."

"Okay, see you then."

"Cameron, I... I'm sorry about everything. I know I messed up a great deal, and it's going to take time to win your trust again, but believe me when I say that I'm trying to make things right."

Cameron sighed, not meeting her eyes. "MJ, let's not have this conversation right now. Can we talk about it some other time? Just do what you have to do, okay?" He said and pulled her into a hug. "I want you to know that I'll be here whenever you need me. In the meantime, try to stay out of trouble."

MJ chuckled. "Trouble is the love of my life, Cameron, you know that better than anyone."

"Right." He smiled and stepped back. "Come on, the world awaits you."

She got into the car and drove into the night, and by the time she reached her destination, she found the place spotless. She had called Jorge's helper to come and clean the house, restricting her from going to the basement.

She dropped the shopping bags in the sitting room and then went down to the basement, only to find a hostage sleeping; she looked cold and like she had lost some weight in the last few days.

MJ cringed, her mind going to the time she was kidn*pped. Why was she doing this if she knew how unbearable it was to be in this situation? She took all the keys in the cupboards and rushed into the empty pool.

"Sasha!" She called for the woman as she unlocked her chains. "Hey, Sasha!" She slapped her in the face to wake her up. "Come on, wake up. We have to go."

The woman was too weak to speak or fight her way out.

MJ pulled her up from the chair and let her out of the pool while supporting her weight on her shoulders. She led her upstairs and fed her, and within an hour, she had regained a bit of energy.

The fact that she was not asking any questions bothered MJ, but she did not pry. After eating, MJ took Sasha to one of the guest rooms and then she ran a shower for her, and MJ waited downstairs while Sasha showered.

Once she finished and changed into a new set of clothes, Sasha came back downstairs to join MJ in the sitting room.

She looked clean and healthier and yet so uncertain. "Why are you doing this?" She spoke for the first time since MJ arrived.

MJ gestured at the couch. "Have a seat." Sasha sat down on the couch opposite her. "What would you like to know first, why I held You hostage or why I'm suddenly releasing you?"

"Both."

"I was never interested in you, I would have never even for a minute dreamt of coming after you. But you came after me, and when you showed me the girl you had kidn*pped, it reminded me of the time I was kidn*pped, and I actually remembered what a little birdie told me about you. Tell me something, Miss Van der Merwe, was your stay in the basement pleasant?" Sasha swallowed hard, not satisfying MJ with a verbal answer. "Then what ever gave you the impression that I enjoyed being kidn*pped and tortured? What part did you play in my k********g and where did you get those pictures you posted on your website?" MJ asked in a calm, calculated voice.

Sasha's face paled and she looked like she was going to faint. "Miss Billings, I swear, I had nothing to do with that! I didn't know that was you, I got the pictures from Keagan. He said I was going to make millions from writing that article."

MJ raised an eyebrow. "And did you?"

Sasha shook her head. "I didn't cash in on this, I promise."

MJ snorted. "Maybe you did, maybe you didn't, but that's not what I called you here for. Things are getting out of control out there, for starters, my brother was shot, and Kyle Davids was poisoned, and now your sister has teamed up with someone who is very dangerous, and I have no doubt that things are about to get worse. So, from now on, you will be staying in this house and you will do exactly as I tell you to do. You are not allowed to leave this place and you are not allowed to make contact with anybody on the outside, especially your sister. The helper will bring you more clothes and groceries, and I will also give you a new phone and a laptop."

"If you don't want me making any contact with anyone outside, why would you get me a new phone and a laptop?"

"I said things are getting out of hand and I'm going to need some sort of a... call it a news outlet, someone to reveal some crucial information before anyone else out there gets a hold of it, as it stands, nobody knows about my brother's shooting, nobody knows the entire story behind Kyle David poisoning. At this point, you are the only person I can trust with such a task. I will provide you with all the information you need and then you can start running your website as soon as possible."

"What happens if I don't do as you say?"

MJ gave her a brittle smile. "Do you even have to ask? If you dare to defy me, I am going to expose you as an accomplice to a murder."

Sasha tensed, her eyes widening. "Whose murder?" She asked.

MJ smiled brightly, her eyes dancing with promised darkness. "Who do you think?" She got up and grabbed her handbag, staring at her companion for a moment. "Who knows? Maybe we might not need to make extra space for you in their grave after all. It's not as if anybody is going to care, your sister might be dead too by then. But you can change everything. I will tell you what to write, and you are not going to ask any questions. Maybe then I might consider saving your sister and reuniting you. But until then..." She sucked her teeth and shook her head before walking away.

She had had no intention to drive late at night, but time was a luxury and it waited for no one. She had to move faster if she wanted to conclude everything on time.