Retribution Boxed Set (Books One and Two)

RETRIBUTION
BOXED SET

Books
One and Two

By
Cindy Stark

AMAZON
KDP EDITION

PUBLISHED
BY

C.
Nielsen

www.cindystark.com

Retribution
Boxed Set – Books One and Two

©
2014 C. Nielsen

All
rights reserved

Amazon
KDP Edition License Notes

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This e-book is a work of fiction. The names,
characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or
have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any
resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations
is entirely coincidental.

ALSO BY
CINDY STARK

Surrender
(Aspen Series #5)

Come Back
To Me (Aspen Series #4)

Cowboys
and Angels (Aspen Series #3)

Lawless
(Aspen Series #2)

Relentless
(Aspen Series #1)

Moonlight
and Margaritas

Sweet
Vengeance

A
Retribution Novel

By
Cindy Stark

Nicole Camden wound her way through the eerily
quiet and mostly empty cubicles on the fifth floor of the First Freedom
Financial Company building in downtown Portland, Oregon, wondering if she’d
missed an early morning meeting. As she made her way closer to the opposite
side of the floor, the hairs on her arms stiffened.

Her co-workers had congregated in the vicinity of
her
cubicle. Her first thought was poor, old Mr. Hadley who sat opposite
her must have suffered another heart attack, but as she drew nearer, a hush
fell over the crowd as all eyes turned toward her.

She slowed her steps, some basic instinct telling
her she should turn and run.

Two gentlemen wearing coats with “police” in
bright yellow letters on their backs sat in her space, both wearing latex
gloves. The dark-haired one was busy emptying her drawers, and the bald one
placed her keyboard into a large plastic sack.

“What’s going on here?” she asked, a silent
foreboding seeping into each cell of her body. Julie and Mary from IT wouldn’t
meet her gaze. Even Susannah from the first floor had found her way upstairs to
watch the commotion.

The dark-haired officer looked at her and stood,
his lanky frame towering over her by several inches. “Nicole Camden?”

She glanced at her fellow co-workers for a clue
as to what was going on. She turned back to the man. “Yes?”

He stepped toward her, his height and demeanor
imposing. “You’re wanted for questioning. It’s serious, and believe me, it will
be easier if you come with us now…rather than later.”

“
What
? She wanted to think this was some
kind of practical joke, but she could tell from his expression he was dead
serious. “There must be a mistake.”

“I’m afraid not, ma’am. We’d like you to come to
the station for questioning. You can go willingly or force us to get an arrest
warrant.”

She gripped the edge of her cubicle for support
as she searched for someone, anyone who might save her from this madness. Her
gaze landed on Riley, the only person on her floor who’d been more friend than
co-worker since she’d begun her employment there.

“What did you do? He widened his light blue eyes.

“Nothing. I…I don’t know.” Fear tightened her
vocal cords, raising the octave of her words.

“Shall we? The detective took her arm and tugged
her toward the elevator.

“Don’t say anything. I’ll call my lawyer,” Riley
called as she stumbled her way back through the maze of workstations.

She nodded over her shoulder, panic stealing her
rationality as the dark-haired man led her away. She’d never been anything but
upstanding and honest. “I don’t understand any of this.” Someone had made a serious
mistake.

“It’s a good thing you’re coming with us to get
it sorted out, then,” the officer replied as they entered the elevator.

“Can you tell me what I’m being questioned
about?”

“The embezzlement of ten million dollars from
your employer.”

Her brain couldn’t comprehend the idea of it. She
glanced at the officer, surveying his uniform. It looked real. “Is this an
office joke or something?”

He returned her searching gaze. “I’m afraid not,
ma’am.”

Events during the next half hour blurred together.
Warm October sunshine contrasted with her being deposited in the backseat of a
police car. The cop who’d escorted her down to the lobby left her in the
custody of another officer who drove her to the precinct.

Just being in the police station frightened her. Everyone
eyed her as though she was guilty even though she’d done nothing wrong.

Worse still, it dredged up memories of her
childhood. Memories of a loud blast and a bright flash of light ripping her
from her sleep. Of armed men busting into her home. Of yelling and scuffling
that she didn’t understand. She’d hidden from them under her bed and watched as
they’d roughed up her father and taken him in the middle of the night.

When the commotion had settled and the men had
gathered in the front room, she’d slipped from her window and down the fire
escape to hide across the street. Hours had passed before they’d left and she
could sneak back inside.

It was years later that she’d realized it had
been the police conducting a raid. At the tender age of nine, she’d spent five
days alone, waiting and wondering if her father would return. When he did, he’d
been so proud that she’d evaded the police. Told her she was just like him.

He’d been wrong. So wrong. She’d never been
anything like him, never would be.
He’d
been guilty. Guilty of too many
physical and emotional crimes.

But that was the past. Her future concerned her
now. If the police learned who her father was, would they consider her guilty,
too? Was that why she was there? And good Lord, ten million dollars? The thought
made her sick.

The officer guided her to a small, nondescript
room with a marred wooden table and four chairs. He left her there with nothing
but the furniture and an intimidating one-way mirror. She glanced at the
reflective glass, wondering if anyone was behind it watching her. The thought
freaked her out, and she quickly looked away.

A few minutes later, a man not much older than
her wearing a buttoned-down shirt, loosened tie and dark blond hair entered the
room. A friendly smile settled on his face as he sat opposite her, but she
could tell his intense brown eyes studied and assessed everything about her. “Ms.
Camden, I’m Detective Sam Holden. I have a few questions I’d like to ask.”

She twisted her fingers in front of her. “Okay.” If
he wasn’t questioning her integrity, she might have thought him attractive.

He glanced at his yellow notepad. “I show that
you’ve been an employee at First Freedom Financial Company for the past six
months. Is that correct?”

“Yes.” Or it was. If her bosses seriously thought
she’d stolen money from them, she doubted she’d still have a job even if she
was innocent.

“And you have access to their financial computer
system?”

Instinct put her on alert. She might be innocent,
but she was also smart enough to not say anything without representation. “Shouldn’t
we wait for my attorney? She hadn’t been formally charged or read her rights,
but she didn’t think he could deny her.

His smile disappeared. “I wasn’t aware you’d
called a lawyer.”

She swallowed a healthy dose of nerves. She
really didn’t want to piss off this man, but she had to protect herself. “A
friend at my office called for me.”

“I see.” He stood and picked up his notepad. “We’ll
wait for your lawyer then.” The sound of the door closing echoed through the
isolated room.

Embezzlement of millions of dollars? That was
grand larceny. The irony of it mocked her. Grand larceny was the one indictment
that had finally stuck and landed her father in prison. Interesting and
unnerving that the amount was the same as his last heist. Not the crime he’d
been convicted for, but the authorities had been certain he’d been behind the
theft.

A massive shudder rippled through her. Now, she
had the same accusation hovering over
her
head. She didn’t need anyone
to tell her she’d somehow become entangled in a serious mess.

She laid her head on the cool table and closed
her eyes, trying to force herself to breathe in a normal pattern.

Another hour passed before an older gentleman
entered the room. She’d guess him to be about her father’s age, if her father
had still been alive. There was enough gray in his hair that he could no longer
call it black, but the close-cropped cut gave him a suave, smart appearance.

He approached the table and held out his hand. “Cecil
Barton. Riley called me.”

She stood and shook his hand, appreciating the
warmth and strength she found there. “Nicole Camden.” She resumed her seat, and
he followed suit before pulling a legal pad and pen from a leather case.

“Ms. Camden, or may I call you, Nicole?”

She released a breath, feeling a tad less
vulnerable. “Please, call me Nicole.”

“Well, Nicole, these are some pretty serious
charges they want to question you about. What can you tell me?”

“Honestly, not much.” At his raised brows, she
continued. “I don’t know why they think I would steal ten million dollars, but
they have to be lying or mistaken or something. I would never do that.
Ever
.”
She didn’t know what else she could say to convince him.

Mr. Barton went through a few hasty preliminaries
with her, but he seemed to realize quickly that she truly had no further
information she could possibly provide. The whole thing had been such a
whirlwind, and she was basically as clueless as he was.

The door opened, and Detective Holden walked in,
an air of confidence surrounding him. “It appears your counsel has arrived, Ms.
Camden.” He exchanged polite greetings with Mr. Barton.

“Let’s get down to business, shall we? Detective
Holden took a seat and glanced at his notepad before targeting Nicole again
with his gaze.

Her attorney cleared his throat. “I’d like the
specifics on why you’ve brought my client in for questioning.”

The detective shifted his eyes toward Mr. Barton.
“Of course. Late last night, we were contacted by the CFO of First Freedom
Financial Company. He reported that he’d received notification of a ten million
dollar transaction that took place a few hours earlier in the evening. Normally,
he is made aware of large transfers beforehand, and he was suspicious because
protocol hadn’t been followed in this case. He did some research, found it to
be an unauthorized transaction and immediately called us. We reviewed the
surveillance video which places Ms. Camden at the scene of the crime during the
suspected time period.”

She stared at him, disbelief thrumming through
her veins. “I work there. Of course I was at the scene of the crime.” Her
anxiety shot back to acute.

“After hours.” Detective Holden tapped his pen on
the yellow pad in front of him.

Nicole started to shake her head in denial and
then stopped. “I went back last night after I’d left, but that was only to
retrieve my TriMet pass. I’d shown it to a co-worker earlier in the day when
she’d asked about using mass transportation. I’d forgotten to put it back in my
purse, and I can’t get home without it. I was in the office maybe one minute.”

“Four minutes and fifty seconds to be exact.”

“That would be counting the time it took me to
get to my desk and back outside.”

“If enough planning were put into place
beforehand, that amount of time is sufficient to complete a transaction.”

“Are you saying I’m under suspicion just because
I went back into the office? In a building that large, I can’t imagine I was
the only one there at that time.” Although she hadn’t seen anyone else while
she’d been there. “The cameras must have seen someone else go in then, too.”

“You were the only one caught on video.” Detective
Holden pinned her with a questioning look.

“This does have the appearance of a witch hunt,
detective,” her attorney interjected.

The younger man regarded her lawyer for a brief
second before turning back to her. “The transaction moving the funds into an
offshore account was made from your computer at the time you were in the
building. There is only one set of prints on your keyboard which we are
assuming is yours. We will need to take your prints before you go. You can give
them willingly, or we can arrest you.”

A dark chill slithered across her skin. Cold
hands of fear gripped her neck, robbing her of her ability to breathe properly.
Her gaze darted toward the closed door. Freedom lay not far beyond it. Freedom
she wanted. Freedom she deserved. “This whole thing is ridiculous. I shouldn’t
even be here.” She stood, no longer agreeing to be a pawn in this sick game.

The detective stood as well. “Leaving is not an
option at this point.”

She walked toward the door, but her attorney met
her before she could reach for the handle, taking her by the forearm.

“Ms. Camden. Nicole. They’re not going to let you
walk out of here without answering a few questions first.”

She shook off his hand, her fears liquefying,
flooding the corners of her eyes. “I didn’t do anything wrong,” she said, her
voice quivering.

“I understand. This can be an intimidating
process.” He put a warm arm around her shoulders and led her back to the table.
“But it is a process. You haven’t been charged yet, but they can legally detain
you for a period of time. The best thing we can do is go forward.”

“I’m innocent.” How could she make everyone
understand that?

“It doesn’t matter at this point.” He waited for
her to sit before resuming his seat.

“How can it not matter? I didn’t do it. I don’t
know how to steal money by using a computer. I’m lucky if I get my word program
to work like it should.” If her panic would take a backseat for a moment, she
might be able to figure a way out of this mess.

Detective Holden cleared his throat. “Ms. Camden,
do you have access to the company’s financial records?”

She dropped her head in her hands. “Of course I
do. I work in their finance division. But it’s not like I can go anywhere in that
system and do whatever I want. My logon only allows me to go into certain
areas.”

“And you’ve never been given access to any other
parts of it?”

Her insides crumbled. She tried to speak, but it
took her a minute to get her voice to cooperate. “My boss did give me her
password once about…four months ago. She was headed out of town and needed me
to finalize a client’s transaction. She had everything ready to go. I just had
to login and hit send after the client gave his verbal agreement over the phone.
That’s all I did. I assumed she would have changed her password after that.”