101. Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter one hundred one
Reid
The minute Gabe and I are in his office, I round on him. “Do not fucking make a suggestion that puts my woman at risk,” I snap. “Do you understand me?”
He shuts the door. “I’m trying to help, brother. I’m trying to end this.”
“By ending her? Because I swear to you, Gabe, I will end you.”
“We both know you don’t mean that and you’re obviously out of your fucking mind right now, so I’ll let it go. Carrie influences you. Cat influences Reese. A conversation with Elijah’s wife, a plea to her for help could end this. But that can’t come from any of us. That has to come from Carrie, who’s likable, smart, and the right person to do this.”
“That woman, his wife, tricked me, used me, and created this situation. She’s a bitch who could turn on Carrie and make this worse.”
“You need to step back, brother, and take a deep breath. Take a night. Whatever works, but we both know why. We both know you’re letting your past fuck with you.”
I go still, my eyes narrowing on him. “What past?”
“I know about the shooting. I always knew. I figure you knew I knew. You just didn’t want to talk about it.”
“Cat didn’t know.”
“She was young and protected when it happened. I wasn’t and I knew damn well that’s why you pulled back from everyone. I get it. I understand it.”
I breathe out and walk to the window in the corner, staring out of it without really seeing the brilliant view of the water and the Statue of Liberty before me. I see that night. I see the blood. Gabe steps to my side but he doesn’t speak. He gives me space. He’s good at space, the way I’m good at space. “I didn’t love her. She sacrificed herself for me and I didn’t even love her.”
“I don’t know this part of the story,” he says. “Sacrificed how?”
“Threw herself in front of the bullet. I tried to save her. I gave her mouth to mouth. I tried to stop the bleeding. Fuck, Gabe, I was going to break up with her that night.”
“Ouch, man. I had no idea or I wouldn’t have stayed silent.”
“Dad wanted me to leave immediately. He didn’t even want me there for the funeral. He was afraid I’d dirty our name. The asshole that let his girlfriend take a bullet for him.”
“He’s the one who dirties our name.” He studies me a moment. “You’re afraid if Carrie goes to the wife, it’s equivalent to her stepping in front of a bullet.”
“It pulls the attention to her. It needs to be on me.”
“I’ll go talk to her.”
“No. I don’t need you ending up worse off in this.”
“I can handle myself and talking to the wife is smart,” he argues.
“Let’s let one of Blake’s people do this.” My cellphone rings and I pull it from my pocket. “Connie,” I say, answering on speakerphone. “I’m here with Gabe.”
“He offered me a job that includes a fifty-thousand-dollar sign-on bonus. And don’t ask me if I’m going to take it. Just buy me a Chanel purse and we’re good, but I told him I’d think about it. He wants me to go to an interview. What do you want me to do?”
Gabe and I share a look and nod. “No,” I say. “As much as having you get an inside look at this would help, we’re concerned about his stability. I don’t want you to become a target.”
“Declining him could do that, too, don’t you think?” she asks.
“Take a cruise,” Gabe suggests. “Tell him you have a family thing and can’t interview until you get back.”
“I’m not leaving with all the transitions and merger going on,” she says. “Think of another plan and talk to me tomorrow. I told him I’d call him at my lunch hour tomorrow.”
We disconnect and Gabe and I stare at each when there’s a knock on the door and Carrie sticks her head in the door. “I’m here. So is Blake.” They both enter the office and Gabe and I turn to face them.
“Nothing happened,” Carrie says, “But Cat called just to see if we’d talked about the wedding location. It made me think about her safety.”
“We automatically put a team with them,” Blake says. “They don’t know but they’re safe.”
“How badly is Reese going to freak out at the risk to Cat?” Carrie asks. “Maybe bringing him here with all of us waiting to drop this bomb on him isn’t the right move.”
“He was pretty fucked in the head when Cat was threatened,” Gabe interjects. “And that wasn’t that long ago. He didn’t even know she was pregnant last time.”
“I’ll go to him.” I pull my phone from my pocket and dial Reese. “Have you left to come over here yet?”
“About to leave now. Why?”
“I’ll come to you, but I still need you one on one. I have a personal liability in this a particular legal scenario and I don’t want to upset her.”
He’s silent a beat, in which I know he’s dreading whatever I’m about to hardball at him. “The bar in the lobby of my building in thirty minutes.”
“That works,” I say, and when we disconnect, I get right to updating Carrie and Blake on the developments. “Elijah offered Connie a job and a fifty-thousand-dollar sign-on bonus. She told him she’d think about it and call him at lunch tomorrow.”
“That’s insane,” Carrie says. “He’s blatantly going after you and everyone around you.”
“I don’t want her anywhere near him.” I look at Carrie. “Like I don’t want you near the wife”
“The wife does yoga three nights a week,” Blake says. “My wife is going to try to connect with her at tonight’s session. She’s already there. She has a good read on people. Our hope is that she can access where her head is right now. Even a glimpse of stress, of an on-edge mood, can tell us things are rough at home.”
“I still think me talking to her gets us the furthest,” Carrie adds. “She can help. She can tell us what he’s up to and she will have a connection to me.”
“That she fucked me?” I snap. “Seriously, Carrie? Tabitha lied and fucked me to get to her husband,” I say. “What else will she do? No. The end.” I look at Blake. “I’m not playing these games. I don’t want to know what mood that bitch is in. I want to know how to ruin her. We’ll make her help us.”
“If you’re expecting pushback,” Blake says. “You won’t get it. I’m already working on her dirty little secrets.”
I think of the shooter in that store. “Let me be clear,” I say, “I’m over that talk earlier about him being insane. He’s a sick bastard. Check. Got it. All the more reason to put him down now. Those offshore accounts you found aren’t enough. Why do they exist? Who’s in on it with him?”
“Three board members with offshore accounts,” Blake says.
“I need everything you have in my inbox by the time I get done talking to Reese.” My cellphone rings and I pull it from my pocket to frown. “What is it?” Carrie asks, urgently, crossing to stand in front of me.
“Our building security,” I say, answering the line on speakerphone. “Reid Maxwell.”
“You have a guest here that insists it’s urgent.”
“Who is it?” I ask.
“Tabitha Woodson.”
At the mention of Elijah’s wife, my eyes meet Carrie’s. There’s not a chance in hell I’m going to meet her in my apartment. “Hold on,” I say, pushing mute and looking at Blake.
“Keep her in the lobby,” Blake says. “And buy time. I’ll wire you.”
I nod and unmute the call. “Tell her I’ll be right there.” I disconnect and look at Carrie. “Stay here with Gabe.”
“Not a chance in hell,” Carrie says. “And if you think that’s happening, we’ll be divorced before we get married. You aren’t meeting that woman without me. The end.”
Blake interjects. “It could be a set-up meant to look like another hookup. Take your future wife with you.”