Chapter 6
Six
brENDAN
B rendan’s first guess after he’d observed the man tailing them in Gigi’s car had been one of two things—a stalker or a jealous ex-boyfriend. But this was worse. The casino owner slash drug lord she just described sounded like the biggest obstacle he’d ever faced. Building a multi-million-dollar startup company in ten years was nothing compared to this.
He’d been preparing himself. For over a year, Brendan had trained on skills he didn’t have. He’d hired a personal trainer at the gym with a boxing background and worked on speed of movement and martial arts. And if he never needed to help protect her, well, at least it had been more interesting than running on a treadmill and lifting weights. But though throwing a few punches might come in handy with what Gigi just described, it wasn’t enough. A friggin’ empire needed to be taken down with roots so deep one person couldn’t tackle it alone. No wonder Gigi’s eyes had glazed with fear day after day.
For months, he’d watched her look over her shoulder and jump at the slightest out-of-place noise like a ghost might flutter into the office or an alien might drop in from another planet. A hundred scenarios had flipped through his mind, almost always landing back on an unpaid debt, a criminal record, a jealous ex-boyfriend, or, most commonly, a stalker. But he never imagined her ghost was a combination of all four of those scenarios.
“We can make it about three hundred miles before I’ve got to charge. If this Roman guy is smart?—”
“He’ll have called Jed by now.” She released a reluctant sigh. “And Jed is both smart and ruthless, in case I didn’t make that clear enough.”
Brendan tightened his grip on the wheel. He would find a way to make this guy pay. He didn’t know how yet, but he’d do it. “So am I,” he ground out. “He’s met his match.”
“I think that might be true.” A hint of a smile brushed her lips.
His male ego jumped up a notch. If he had a chance with Gigi, there’s very little he wouldn’t do—other than break the law. Or would he? If it meant protecting her?
“I was concerned that I was getting you in over your head”—she paused and nibbled on her delectable lower lip—“but these past few hours have changed my mind. I think if anyone can partner up with me to take Jed on, it’s you. Still, even working together, we’re at a disadvantage here. They’ll be at least two steps ahead of us.”
“Not surprised based on this Roman guy’s determination alone. So then, Jed has considered that I need to charge. You think he’s already looked up the Supercharger stations and relayed them to Roman?”
“No.” She shook her head and then switched to nodding. “I mean, yes, but not Jed. Luke will be on top of that, and he’s got his own team. If I remember correctly, at least four or so people report directly to Luke and the people beneath those people have reports, too—several of them are moles. We’ve got multiple brains and networks working against us. ”
Brendan tensed. “Who’s Luke?”
“Jed’s right-hand man. When we were together, he referred to him as his head informant. He digs for information, watches for threats, hacks into people’s computers, tracks people, those kinds of things.”
“Fuck.” Luke sounded like a corrupt version of Quill.
A strained but sweet laugh bubbled out of Gigi. “Mr. King!”
“Brendan, please. Sorry, I just…shoot…this is a lot to take in. This guy’s network is insane.”
“I was teasing you. It’s not any kind of language I didn’t hear on a regular basis in my Reno life. But from you, well…”
“Well, what?”
“It’s cute…and hot .”
Man, he loved that word now. If she kept saying things like that to him, he’d be content for life. He was probably smiling like a fool, but he couldn’t help himself. “Glad you think so.”
They drove in silence for a few minutes while he tried to ponder their situation rather than their potential relationship.
“Mr. King?” she prompted in a soft, fervent tone he’d never heard her use before.
He entered a curve, his heart thrumming wildly. “Yeah?” Keep your cool, man.
“Just be careful if you decide to get mixed up in this to help me out. I sort of regret getting you involved”—Gigi pinched her thumb and index finger together—“a little bit.” She hesitated, biting her lip. “I might kind of like you.”
He jerked the wheel, almost missing the curve. Swallowing thickly, he rasped out, “There’s no might in it for me, Gigi.”
“Genevieve,” she whispered.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Genevieve Roxanne Hart. I had to have a false identity created to hide from Jed.”
He’d never wanted to harm another human before, but this man… Brendan locked his molars and death-gripped the steering wheel. After drawing in a few calming breaths, he repeated, “Genevieve Roxanne Hart,” letting it roll off his tongue. “Your name is beautiful. I like it. Much better than Gigi Goddess Green, though you do look like a goddess.”
She assessed him, her eyes narrowing in on his face. “Speaking of that…The Goddess in Breckenridge? That was a lie, wasn’t it?”
He let a guilty smile answer her question while her sweet laughter filled the car. “May I ask why?” she prodded.
“Your initials when you signed your documents GGG always sprung the middle name Goddess into my head from your employment file, and it just slipped. I didn’t want you to think I was obsessing over you, though truthfully, I was. Still, I really couldn’t reason out why anyone would name their child?—”
“The guy who I paid for a false ID was messing with me.”
He nodded. “Makes sense now. Perhaps I’m glad he did it. You’ll always be a goddess to me.”
She blinked at him like he’d lost his head. Had he gone too far? He didn’t want to end his chances with her before they began.
Brendan cleared his throat, adjusting his glasses. “So, back to our predicament. We’ve got to stay focused. I’d really like to live to see another day.” He punched at his touchscreen. “Call Quill.”
Genevieve flashed him a nervous glance.
“We can’t take this guy on without our own network,” Brendan mouthed to her while his ringtone filled the car.
She nodded in response, relaxing back into her seat. Her trust in him was building, and he never wanted to lose it.
“Yo, bro. What’s up?”
“Hey, Quill, I need to run some things by you.”
“Sure, hit me with ‘em. ”
“Do you still have my Tesla on your TezLab app?
“Sure do.”
“I want you to track it.”
“Why?” Quill drawled out, a concerned undertone lacing his voice. “Did someone steal your car?”
“No, I just want you to keep track of where we are.”
“We? You mean you and Gigi on the way to that conference?”
“Yes, I need to pre-plan where I’m going to charge on our route to Reno. Somewhere that isn’t highly visible. Realistically, driving at my current speed, I’m down to about two hundred and fifty miles before I’ve got to charge. I need you to look up all the Supercharger stations west of us…” Brendan braced his hands against the wheel so he wouldn’t start pounding on the leather again. “No, that’s dumb. It’s too risky. I can’t underestimate this guy’s network.”
“Wait a minute, what guy?”
“Maybe I need to ditch the Tesla and buy a gas-powered car,” Brendan whispered.
After a long pause, Quill huffed out a frustrated breath. “Brendan, come on, man. What the hell is going on? You’re spinning your wheels without me.”
He vaguely registered that Quill called him Brendan for the first time.
“Dammit, Brendan, fill me in.”
Brendan grinned, soaking in the comfort that his most trusted employee and, quite frankly, friend tossed out the last name ribs when he needed him to the most. Sighing with trepidation, he quickly rattled out a summary of the situation.
Quill scoffed through the speakers. “Don’t be an idiot. Go to the police.”
“No,” Genevieve gasped.
“Gigi…I mean, Genevieve can’t?—”
“I listened to every word you said.” After a short pause, Quill continued, “Look, I sympathize with her reasons for not wanting to, but, in my opinion, going to the police is still her best option. Brendan, this is way above us. We’re smart guys—we could probably take them on in the business world, but you’re talking about a crime ring here. If life and death weren’t involved, we’d probably have fun tackling this together, but I’m going to be frank with you—you’re the best friend I’ve ever had, and I don’t want anything to happen to you. Get your head on straight. This man will kill you, especially since you’re interested in the same woman.”
The hair on the nape of Brendan’s neck lifted. Would this man kill him? Drawing in a shallow breath, he glanced at Genevieve. Her lips turned down as if she sensed the direction of his thoughts. Was he crazy enough to put his life on the line for her? The truth was he marginally knew her. She was merely an associate who might or might not ever even be interested in dating him. Regardless, could he live with himself if he knew an innocent woman was forced into a life that she didn’t want to have?
Genevieve tugged a worried lip into her mouth, and his chest tightened in response. Okay, so maybe his decision wasn’t based solely on being her unattached savior. He wanted a chance with her. Genevieve lit him up inside and turned him into another version of himself. There was just something about her—like the minute she’d entered his life, his world tilted on its axis. If it was anyone else, he’d go to a non-corrupt police precinct and hope for the best for them. But, with her, some divine force was beaming down on him, blocking his rational thoughts and screaming that she was his other half. His gut told him he needed to trust her. So he would—for her, he’d take a stand and fight by her side.
Brendan vaguely registered Quill’s voice as his friend continued, “Man, I’m sorry—wasn’t thinking. I’m not sure you’ve told her how you feel. Didn’t mean to blurt out that you’re into her on speakerphone. My bad. Did I?—”
“I’m taking him on,” Brendan said with full confidence. “There is absolutely no obligation for you to be involved.”
“Hell yeah, there is! I’m not letting you risk your life without me. If you want to be fucking stupid and protect Gigi?—”
“Genevieve.”
“Whatever, bro. If you want to be fucking stupid and protect Genevieve , then we both will.”
Brendan had always thought of Hannah as his best friend, and she’d forever hold a special place in his heart, but she was in a different stage of her life right now—a husband and kids. She could never be involved in a mess like this with a family to protect, and for the past few years, he had to admit that Quill had been his best bro in almost every way. If their roles were reversed, he’d never let Quill take on something like this alone, either.
“Bail out if your life is at risk. Got it, Quill? I mean it. This is my battle, not yours.”
“Yeah,”—Quill’s sarcastic tone blared through the speakers—“I’ll be sure to do that.” He barbed a laugh. “So, let’s work on priority one. Superchargers are out since it will take too long to charge relative to this Roman guy getting gas. Probably thirty minutes for you and five for him, so that’s a non-starter. I agree that these guys will be on to that—checking for you at the charge stations. What’s brewing in your mind, then? You said something about buying a gas-powered car? Sounds like a solid idea to me.”
Brendan nodded. “Agreed. Search for car dealerships within two hundred and fifty miles that are west of our location en route to Reno. I’ll find hotel rooms for Genevieve and myself, ditch the Tesla somewhere it won’t be found for a few days, and then buy a new car this afternoon. That will at least give us time to sort through our options.”
“What brand of car?”
“Quill, what the hell does it?—”
“Just kidding. Man you’re touchy.” He imagined Quill winking after that statement, just like he did when they bantered in the office.
Brendan curled his lips. “Dude, I’m driving over ninety miles an hour down a curvy highway—even you’d be touchy if it were you.”
Quill chuckled and then leveled out his tone. “Don’t get killed, bro. That’s an order.”
“Oh, so you’re calling the shots now?”
More boisterous laughter boomed out. “No, my dick best friend with the death wish is. If I were, I’d order you not to drive toward Reno, but since you’re not listening, I’ll call you back in a few with a tucked-away hotel and dealership combo to shoot for.”
“Sounds good. Two other tasks. One, hire some lawyers to look into the shady property contracts that Jed Marshall made Genevieve sign. We need to clear her name and free her of those warrants. Got a pen?”
“Yep.”
“Genevieve Roxanne Hart is her real name. Two, round up a private security team. We need some muscle. We’ll stage somewhere in Reno that this Jed guy can’t access. Hire whomever you need on a private contract and charge it to me.”
“Finally found something to spend your millions on?” Quill burst out laughing again, adding, “You’re out of your mind, bro, but okay, let’s do this,” before hanging up.
Brendan quirked a grin.
“Well.” Genevieve cleared her throat. “That was interesting. ”
What the heck did that mean?
Fortunately, Genevieve continued unprompted. “There are sides to you I never imagined, and your friends…care. Must be nice.”
“You’ve been tangled in a web with the wrong kind of people. When I said most people would help you, I didn’t realize what you’ve been up against. I apologize.”
“No need.” She waved his comment away. “I’ve just had different life experiences than you. I’m glad you can trust people. I want that someday. Besides my momma, I’ve never truly trusted a soul.”
That was both happy and sad. Happy that Genevieve had such a wonderful bond with her mother, but sad that her relationships didn’t run strong beyond that. His parents adored him, and his friends’ network ran deep. He couldn’t even count on two hands the number of people he could go to for help, but he didn’t plan to contact any of them besides Quill to tackle this mess since most of them had families now. He’d rely on his best bro and contract out private businesses otherwise.
“Well, you can trust me. I understand it will likely take you time to believe that, but you can.”
Genevieve reached across the divide and squeezed his hand. “I think I’m already there.”
A sudden rush of warmth burst through him. He bit down on his tongue, capturing a husky groan in his throat, desperately trying to repress his sexual desires as he always did around her. His body ached for her, as did his heart, wanting nothing more than to hear more words of affirmation from her. She could tell him his big toe was sexy, and he’d shudder with pleasure. If he reacted this way from her grasping his hand, what the heck was he going to do if she touched him somewhere more intimate? If she kissed him? If, god forbid, she ever moaned his first name ?
“I’m going to see this through and be with you every step of the way. I wouldn’t be the kind of man I strive to be if I turned my back on someone in need of an ally.”
She gasped.
He crinkled his brow. “Did I say something wrong?”
“No, it’s just my momma”—she flicked out her wrist—“she told me to find an ally. You phrasing it the same way caught me off guard. That’s why I came into the office this morning and asked you to come with me. My mom suggested I find the right kind of person to partner up with. She’s a smart woman and so full of good advice.”
His lips lifted, and so did his confidence. “Not to sound cocky, given that your mom and I had the same thought, but I quite agree that she’s both smart and full of good advice.”
“Hmm…”
“Hmm, what?” If only he could read her mind.
“You’re sexy when you’re cocky.”
Holy god! His pulse skyrocketed. Okay, maybe he didn’t need to read her mind if she was going to be that frank with him. Did he actually have a chance with her? If he was still alive to find out anyway?
“Genevieve,”—a groan escaped his throat—“I’m going to have a hell of a time thinking straight if you keep saying things like that.”