“How do you know it was him who did it?”
“Well, I didn’t for a long time. I was so embarrassed that I was failing so heartily, I didn’t even mention all the issues to him for a long time. When I finally decided to come clean, I kept everything vague. But then he started to mention details I never said. Things he shouldn’t have known. I asked him if he’d been checking up on me, but he’d never been a good liar. He didn’t hold out long. He apologized, and told me he’d just been trying to help. That I’d be happier and never have any worries in the world if I stayed with him.”
“But you didn’t stay with him.”
“Some worries are worth it. So I took what little remained of my trust fund that he hadn’t blocked me off from and bought that house in Miami, and that’s what I consider the true start of my business. Nothing was holding me back this time.”
“That was really brave of you.”
“I didn’t feel brave at the time. It felt like I had been backed into a corner, and manipulated, and used.”
That one hit him hard. Those were all the words she’d used to describe how he made her feel. He squeezed her knee a little tighter, offering the only comfort he really could at the time.
“And now he’s back. And now he’s dealing with the guy who’s trying to kill me.” Shae glanced over at him, and he could see the tears forming in her eyes. “Do you think my father knows he tried to kill me? Do you think he’s in on this?”
“I think that’s a big assumption. I don’t like working on assumptions.”
“I don’t know,” she said hesitantly. “My father’s proved over and over again that he’s a bad person. I just don’t know if I can ever believe that he’s anything besides that.”
Tristan nodded and slowly removed his hand from her knee. Once again, he was comparing himself to her father. He’d also proved over and over again that he was a bad man. And she would be stupid to ever believe otherwise.
Everyone gathered in the main room, and, for the first time, Shae didn’t feel quite as much like an outcast. Obviously they hadn’t intended for her to be a main part of the team, but thanks to her unfortunate family relations, she felt for the first time as though she could help. She and Tristan had gotten back to the mansion about two hours before, and each had gone their separate ways.
She’d changed out of the suit she’d been provided. The expensive material had been more than comfortable, but the reminder of her old life had made her feel dirty. The fact that her shirt had literally been thrown on the gravel on the side of the road didn’t help that dirty feeling. Luckily when she reached her room again—or, rather, Tristan’s room—she found some more clothes Toni had provided her. This time she found some loose yoga pants and a black tank top. She felt rather like a cat burglar now, but she supposed that just meant she fit in better here.
She wished Melissa was here. Apparently she and Gage had gotten into it for some reason, and Melissa decided it would be best if she were running errands far away from the mansion. She really needed to get the truth about what was going on between those two....
Melissa was the only one who she felt like she could talk to honestly. With every other member of this odd team, she felt as if she were seeing some sort of false facade. Even with Tristan. Especially with Tristan.
A few minutes ago, Scott had stopped by her room to announce that Toni was calling a meeting. However, even though Toni was the one who called it, she wasn’t ready. Instead, she had her back to the group and was clicking through seemingly random screens on her computer. A lot of black backgrounds and bright-green coding that meant nothing to Shae.
Tristan stood across the room, and she could feel his gaze continuously touching her. She had to admit that she’d been looking in his direction a few too many times as well. Who could blame her? After that intense orgasm he’d given her on the side of the road, this was the first time she didn’t feel embarrassed for thinking about him so much. In fact, she’d be crazy not to think about him as much as she was.
Of course there were a lot of jumbled thoughts, between her repeating to herself the reasons why they never should’ve been together in the first place, along with her still shaking knees telling her exactly how right everything had been. But then when the other guys would notice them looking at each other, she’d rip her glance away. She was hardly being subtle, but that wasn’t her specialty. She wasn’t like everyone else here. She wasn’t used to hiding what she’d done, and who she’d been with. She prided herself on being an open book. Life was much simpler when you didn’t give yourself reason to lie. At least that’s what she’d always said. And now look where she found herself—getting death threats from the most powerful man in the state and hiding out with a bunch of criminals who were trying to keep her safe. Not exactly where she thought she’d be a week ago.
Apparently some of the other guys were getting impatient about the wait. “You know, I can come back later,” said Hunter.
“Hold your horses,” muttered Toni as she continued her frantic typing.
Hunter rolled his eyes.
“If any of you guys want to leave, I can just give you a brief summary later,” said Scott in a tone that obviously implied exactly how displeased he would be if anyone decided to leave early.
Hunter didn’t respond, but he didn’t leave either.
The waiting continued until finally Toni put her finger down on a key with a tad extra emphasis and spun around in her chair. “I’m sorry about the wait, guys. Damask’s phone was like a virtual treasure trove. You have no idea all the shady shit his hands have been in.”
“Does that mean we’re good?” asked Hunter. “I mean, that’s the point, right? Is it enough to take him down?”
“Patience,” said Toni. “I found things that let me know what he’s been up to. But as far as the justice system is concerned, it’s all just circumstantial. A good attorney could wiggle him out of a lot of stuff. He’s meeting with shady guys who do shady things, but there’s no proof he’s working with them. A guy that powerful has meetings with a lot of people. It doesn’t mean he’s doing illegal shit with them. We want the entirety of the FBI and IRS to swarm around Blackthorne and make sure everyone they screwed over gets back what they deserve. That requires a bit more time. And namely, paperwork.”
“What kind of paperwork?” asked Shae. “Didn’t they get the homes relatively legally? Like illegal, but they had paperwork to back it up. Or else the foreclosure process never would’ve happened. So what can we possibly do to bring him down legally?”
“Well, that’s what I’m trying to figure out. There are a lot of illegal things we could do to bring down Damask. But I’m hoping that a guy like him will act like most criminals do.”