Page 38 of Personal Foul (The San Diego Storm #3)

Colin

A fter eighteen hours, I walked out of the airport in Sydney to find my best friend waiting for me. “You look like shit, mate.”

Owen’s familiar smirk as he waited by the car was a welcome sight.

“Yeah, well,” I said, walking into his open arms. “You’d look like this too if you hadn’t really slept in forty-eight hours.”

He slapped me on the back and held me out by my shoulders to assess me. I was tired as fuck, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to be alone.

“Where’s Allister?”

I smiled. “Carson kept him. No need to drag him back and forth across the Pacific.”

He nodded. “I suppose so. Do ya want to go to get something to eat, or do ya wanna crash?”

I ran a hand over my face. “I ate on the plane, but if you’re hungry, we can go.”

Owen looked at me like I’d grown a second head. “Who the fuck are you and what have ya done with my friend?”

I smiled for the first time in a while. “Yeah, that would be Carson’s influence.”

Owen watched in amusement as I got into the car. “What are ya doing? You think it’s a good idea to drive with no sleep?”

Looking down, I was trying to get in on the wrong side again. Except it was the right side here. “Sorry. It’s the opposite at home.”

He looked at me like I’d lost my marbles as I got in on the left side. “You are home, mate.”

The words hurt when I realized what I’d said. Somewhere over the last two days, I’d come to understand what Carson meant. The further I got from him, the more I believed that’s where I was supposed to be.

“No, mate. Home is with him. On the beach by our ocean.”

Owen stared at me until the horn behind us honked. A soft, knowing smile crept across his face as he eased into traffic. It reminded me of how Carson looked at me when he thought he knew something I didn’t.

I looked down at my phone, wondering if I should text him or wait until I got to the apartment.

“Carrie and I stocked your fridge and had a cleaner tidy up the place. We thought you might be too tired to worry about it.”

I smiled. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

It reminded me of Carson doing the same when I arrived six months ago. My heart hurt, and I wasn’t sure I could eat, even to spend time with my friend.

“Would ya mind if I just went to the apartment? I need to sleep.”

“That’s where we’re headed, mate. I’ve got a lot to tell ya when you’re up to it.”

I nodded as I looked out the window. Everything looked exactly the same, but completely different. Maybe it was the way I viewed it now.

Owen left me to my thoughts until he pulled up outside my building. “Do ya have your key, mate?”

“Yeah. I do. But I should probably have the locks changed.”

He nodded. “Call me when you’ve had some sleep. We’ll get a pint at the pub.”

Nodding, the exhaustion was beginning to set in. “I will. Thanks, mate. For everything.”

“You’re welcome. Glad you’re back.”

I wish I could say the same.

Climbing from the car, I picked up my bag and went into my building. The doorman met me and opened the door.

“Welcome home, Mr. Kearney. Glad to have you back.”

“Thank you, Oscar. It’s good to see you. How’s your family?”

I’d obviously taken him off guard. “Uh, fine, sir. Thank you for asking.”

I managed a part of a smile. “By the way, no visitors until further notice.”

“Yes, sir. I understand.”

With a single nod, I headed for the elevator.

After a ride to the top, I pulled out my keys.

When the lock disengaged, I pushed the door open to the place I’d once loved.

The view of the water was the first thing I saw, and it was still breathtaking, but it didn’t have the same effect.

Looking at it from here, I imagined Carson standing on the beach across our ocean.

Even though thousands of miles separated us, it still connected us.

Locking the door behind me, I took my bag and headed to my bedroom. Placing the bag in the chair, I pulled out the last T-shirt Carson had worn and brought it to my nose. His scent was like a lifeline for me.

Stripping off my clothes, I showered quickly and dried off. I could never sleep without showering now.

Slipping a bed pillow inside his shirt, I got into bed and wrapped myself around it. I picked up my phone and pressed his number.

He answered after two rings. “Hey, baby. Are you just getting home?”

I smiled into the camera. “Yeah. I’m getting ready to crash. Just wanted to see your face before I slept.”

Carson’s hazel eyes were glassy. “I’m glad you called.”

“Me too. I’ll call you when I wake up.” I looked at him closely. “And you should get some rest, too.”

He nodded. “I will, now that I know you’re safe.”

“I love you,” I said. “We’ll talk soon.”

“I love you. I’ll be waiting.”

I ended the call before he watched me fall apart at the sweetness.

The incessant ringing of my phone woke me from my exhausted sleep. I patted around on my bed until I found it.

The screen lit up with George’s name, so I swiped to answer quickly.

“George?”

His familiar, friendly tone filled my ear. “Hello, Colin. So sorry to wake you, but I’ve waited as long as I could.”

I sat up. “No, it’s okay, George. What time is it?”

“Almost six a.m. your time. Nine p.m. here in London.”

I yawned and scrubbed a hand over my face. “I’m sorry. The jet lag is really getting to me.”

“I know, son, I can imagine. Carson said you got in about five yesterday, so I wanted to give you a chance to sleep before I gave you the news.”

I sat up straighter. “What news? What’s happened? Is Carson okay?”

I switched to speakerphone to see if I’d missed any messages.

“Yes, he’s fine. I’m calling because you’re going to need to go see my friend, Richard Withers, as soon as you can. He’s the forensic accountant I hired on your behalf. When he emailed me yesterday, I told him you were going to be there.”

I scrubbed my hands over my face. “Okay. Why am I going to see him?”

“He’s figured out where your money went, Colin. And he wants to see you before he alerts the police.”

My heart rate picked up. “It’s that much?”

He sighed. “Yes. He’ll explain it all. If you can be at his office at eight, I’ll still be up should you need me.”

“Have you told Carson?” I asked, whipping back the covers.

“No. I called you first. It’s up to you to tell him.”

“Yeah,” I said, running my hand over my head. “What time is it at home? God, I hate math.”

George laughed. “It’s one p.m. in San Diego. I’m sure you can get him on the line.”

“Okay. Yes. I’ll call him.”

“Good luck, and let me know how it goes. If you need me, call.”

“I will. And thank you again, George.”

“My pleasure. Talk soon.”

We ended the call, and I sat back against the headboard and pressed the video call. When he answered, my heart ached for him.

“Hey, you. Are you still in bed? Did you sleep?”

I nodded, taking in his smile and hazel eyes. “Yeah, but your dad just called. The forensic accountant has found something. I have to go meet with him. Where are you?”

He turned the camera around to show me the pool deck.

“Sitting out here for a while with Bella. What time is your appointment?”

“Eight. He’s found enough that he’s going to alert the police.”

Carson frowned. “Make sure you’re safe, okay?”

I nodded. “I will. I almost wish they hadn’t found anything. I just want this to be over. And I have a feeling it’s not going to be any time soon, especially where Leland is concerned.”

“I fucking hate that guy.”

I couldn’t help but smile at his possessive side. “I know you do. So what have you got planned for today?”

We talked until I had to shower and get ready. With a promise to talk tonight, his time, I said goodbye to the love of my life and went to meet with the accountant.

I sat across from Mr. Withers in his downtown office as he laid everything out for me.

“Mr. Kearney, my job as a forensic accountant is to know everything about your finances from the moment you opened your first checking account until you moved your money to an American bank a month ago. After George told me about Mr. Phillips, I went back to your initial signing with the Swarm six years ago, and looked specifically from that time until you froze the accounts in late August.”

My head was spinning with all the details when he announced Detective Jones from the financial fraud unit had arrived and was ready to join our meeting.

Nodding, he went to the door and brought in the detective.

“Mr. Kearney, nice to meet you,” he said, extending his hand to shake. “Thank you for allowing me to join. Richard and I felt, since you’re a celebrity, it would be better to handle this here, rather than at the station.”

“Thank you. I want to wrap this up as neatly as possible so as to get back to America.”

He smiled and took a seat at the table. I got up and followed them over.

“Yes, I understand. I have some questions regarding that as well.”

My heart beat erratically at the idea he knew about my contract with the Storm, but then I remembered George had facilitated this meeting to begin with.

“Shall we begin?” Richard asked.

We both agreed as he went back to detail everything once again. When it came down to it, Leland had been misappropriating my money for a long time.

“Over the last four years, Mr. Phillips had diverted over half a million dollars from your accounts to invest in businesses around Australia. Those businesses never existed in the first place. The funds were moved to Mr. Phillips’ account, then moved to a shell corporation for disbursement.”

“So, where is my money?” I asked.

“That’s what I’m going to find out,” Detective Jones added. “My guess is it’s been used for personal gain. If you hadn’t frozen your accounts, there is no telling how much he would have taken.”

I began to sweat, feeling like an idiot. “I trusted him.”

“I know,” Richard said, “But you are not the first athlete to be taken advantage of by their agents or financial advisors. His own greed was his downfall.”

“What happens now?” I asked.

“I’ll take this back and get a warrant issued for his arrest.“

I hardened my jaw. “I want to be rid of him and go back to my life in San Diego.”

“About that,” Jones said. “Are you aware that he’s accused you of stalking him and his wife?”

My eyes flew open. “What? No. What the hell?”

He pulled out a complaint and handed it to me. I read over it, but I was missing something. “When was this filed?”

“This past November.”

I huffed out an irritated breath. “I haven’t been here since the end of July. But he sure as hell showed up in San Diego and tried to get me to give him a cut of my new contract.”

Please god don’t make me have to reveal the nature of our relationship to them.

“That would explain the trespassing charges filed by the Carlisle Corporation,” Detective Jones added.

“Yes, that’s the team owner. They are sponsoring my new visa to the United States. But it’s been held up, and I had to come back here.”

“My advice would be to schedule an appointment with the Department of Home Affairs to see if they can check on it. This charge may have snagged the process on our end.”

I was confused, and my heart was trying to beat out of my chest. “Was it filed? Am I going to be arrested?”

“No, but the report was filed, but marked incomplete. It didn’t quite make sense with you out of the country, or at all, really. When Richard contacted me, it fell together.”

I ran my hands through my hair. “I can’t believe all this. He has fucked up my life more than once.”

“I understand,” Detective Jones added. “But it will sort itself out. It may take a couple of months, but it will be resolved in the end. Once I have the charges filed, we’ll start with a court date. That usually takes a month or so.”

My head flew up. “A couple of months? ”

“I’m sorry,” Detective Jones added. “The hands of justice move slow.”

Scrubbing my hands over my face, all I could think about was how I would explain this to Carson.