Chapter Forty-Five
I liked this room.
Mia had decorated it with an enduring elegance. Their sitting room conveyed a warmth that was inviting and homey.
“Drink your tea, Willa,” said Cameron, his voice gentle.
I wondered if my hands would ever stop shaking.
He sat beside me on the blue velvet couch, and I knew he would try to get me back into that room. I knew how this worked, because I had witnessed my brother do it so many times with his clients and friends and family…
A warm blanket had been placed over my shoulders. He had tactfully offered a medication to soothe my panic attack.
But I was fine.
Just fine.
I sipped the hot beverage, wrapping my palms around the mug, finding it soothing. The tea was soothing, too.
I tried not to think of the events of a few hours ago.
Chad’s eyes stared at me, his pupils wide, too wide for life, his breath gone.
Tea rose in the back of my throat, making it hard to swallow. I wanted to cry, but no tears came, even as I sat here trying to figure out what had happened, trying to piece the clues together, clutching the notebook I had grabbed from his pocket.
Despite panicking, despite my confusion at seeing both men dead, I had done one thing right.
Hadn’t I?
What I now gripped between tense fingers was the reason everything had gone horribly wrong for so many people.
“Willa,” said Cameron. “Let me take you to the hospital.”
“No!”
“I would very much like you to get checked out by another doctor.”
I was vaguely aware of Cameron’s fingers brushing a strand of hair out of my eyes.
“He saved my life,” I whispered.
“You were all very brave.”
Chloe’s instinct to run had been right, but she had turned on us.
A chill shuddered through me. “She called Jewel. Told her we were in Dean’s apartment.”
“Chloe?”
“I work with her.” I tried to shake off the fog that clouded my brain. “She betrayed us.”
Betrayed Chad.
All along, she had worked for Jewel. Chloe’s ambition had twisted her moral compass until it was unrecognizable.
“She didn’t know everything,” I said, trying to rationalize.
Cameron tugged at my hands. “Are you going to let me have a look?”
He was prying the book out of my grasp.
I shook my head, gripping it tighter. “It’s too dangerous to know.”
“We need to hand it over to the D.A.”
I shook my head again. “I don’t trust anyone.”
If my brother was angry, he wasn’t showing it. He had every right to be furious.
Still, he showed none of those emotions, only compassion and understanding.
“I want you to know,” he said, “that it’s unsettling what you did. But it was incredibly brave, and I am so proud of you.”
A tear tickled down my cheek. “Really?”
Emotion swept over his face. “You could have hidden away, let the world fall apart. But you stood up for what you believed was right. You pursued the truth. That is a remarkable achievement.”
“But I messed up.”
“No, Chad kind of coerced you into Dean’s home. Chloe abandoned you. From what I can tell you’re the one who honored the journalistic code.”
“Thank you, Cameron,” I said, my voice trembling.
“Stay home for a while, okay?”
We heard one knock and then the door was flung open.
Greyson appeared, his expression fraught, tension in his posture.
Cameron rose to greet him. They exchanged serious looks, then came that nod of permission from my brother, allowing Greyson to approach me.
He sat beside me, then, as though unable to hold back another moment, he reached for me, pulling me into a warm, tight embrace. His lips pressed gently against my forehead as he held me, his touch comforting.
Finally, the tears flowed, and I buried my face in his chest, breathing in Greyson’s calming scent.
It was him—it had always been him from the moment I had seen him in the foyer, here in this house. The serene man who had been grieving, heading out to try to save a woman even after she had wronged him.
Now, he was here for me.
“Did Cameron tell you?” I asked.
“He knows you went to Dean’s.” Cameron stepped forward, having given us a few minutes together. “Greyson knows what happened.”
“One minute we were having lunch in a diner,” I said. “Then, they insisted we visit Dean’s home. I don’t regret it…”
Cameron offered me a tissue and I dried my tears, even as new ones sprung from my eyes. Yet I wanted to rally—I needed to be as brave as Chad.
“He saved my life,” I said softly. “He threw himself in front of the gun.”
“Chad?” asked Greyson. “Your co-worker?”
I nodded. “He worked in the mailroom. He was Dean Hersey’s boyfriend. He got a job at Pulse360 so he could find out what happened to him.”
“Which is how he had a key to Dean’s apartment,” Greyson said, realizing.
“Chloe came with us there. She left before the gunman arrived.”
“Beverly Majestic Chloe,” Greyson said, with a look of disgust.
I looked at Cameron. “I’m wondering now if she really told Jewel we were there.” I glanced down at the notebook. “She didn’t know about this.”
“What is it?” Greyson reached for the notebook.
I let it go. “Evidence Dean had gathered.”
“What evidence?” asked Greyson.
“Jewel and Lance were tampering with foreign elections. They instigated a war. Then went in and bought land.”
Greyson flipped through the pages. “If Jewel suspects we have this…”
Both he and Cameron swapped a wary glance.
“You’re okay, though, right?” Greyson ran his hand over my hair, as though checking for injuries.
I placed my hand on the notebook. “I grabbed this out of Chad’s pocket and ran.”
“You’re fearless, Willa.” Greyson drew in a sharp breath. “I’m so proud of you.
Can’t even imagine the weight of the secret you’ve uncovered. I hope you know you don’t have to carry this alone. We’ve got you, no matter what comes next.”
Cameron sat in the armchair opposite us. “You’re off the story now.”
“What?” I shook my head, frustrated with their solution.
Cameron’s face wore an anxious expression. “Willa, if it’s ever known that you are the source of this information…”
My face flushed. “That’s what I told Chad.”
Cameron took the notebook out of Greyson’s hands. “Let’s get this off to experts who deal with this level of conspiracy.”
Greyson agreed with a nod. “He’s right, Willa.”
“But it will come out? The truth?”
“This—” Cameron raised the notebook. “Is explosive.”
“Can I talk to you for a minute, please?” asked Greyson, rising to face Cameron. “Alone.”
Cameron nodded and they left the room, leaving me sitting here, hating that the notebook was out of my hands after what Chad had sacrificed to retrieve it…his life.
Vaguely, I recalled the mention of a clean-up crew. That the crime scene would be scrubbed. My DNA, if any, would be wiped away.
Cameron and Shay had thought of everything.
Because this is what they did—they made everything right again.
The door opened and Mia entered like a fresh breeze, her white blouse billowing and her jeans hugging her hips and legs. She wore an understated belt buckle.
She swept into the room as a radiant presence, golden locks cascading over her shoulders, catching the light. Petite and delicate, she was an exquisite beauty. But it was her eyes that held me, reflecting a heart untouched by all that had happened to her before she’d married my brother, a soul laid bare in quiet honesty.
“I came as soon as I heard,” she said softly.
Sitting beside me on the couch, her effortless grace made the world seem softer. Cameron’s wife was everything good, everything unspoiled. They were matched so perfectly it was hard to grasp how two souls like this would ever chance meeting.
There was sorrow woven into her past, struggles she’d endured, yet none of it dimmed her compassion.
Mia Cole reflected pure serenity.
“Tell me all about it,” she said.
Wanting to, needing to, but knowing the less she knew the better, I merely leaned into her and let her hold me. We had always been close, but now, we really were like sisters.