Chapter Twenty-Five
IAN
“They called my girlfriend,” I said flatly, trying not to let my anger ramp up.
The prosecutor shrugged. “I did not give them your girlfriend's name, or phone number, or contact information. I don't even have it to give. The reality is once people start nosing around, they start making phone calls. One of the guys is willing to make a plea deal, and they must have talked to somebody. We can’t keep a lid on what others say or do.”
“Fuck,” I muttered, leaning back in the chair and drumming my fingertips on the table.
“I'm sorry,” the prosecutor said. “It's blown wide open.”
“Am I allowed to talk to her about it now?” I asked. I didn't even bother to keep the sarcasm out of my tone.
He nodded. “You are.”
“Do you need me this afternoon for anything?”
“Don’t think so. We'll keep you posted on any developments.”
“Got it.” I stood quickly and left the office.
I had my phone out of my pocket as soon as I was in the hallway. Jane didn't answer.
“Fuck,” I muttered to myself as I listened to her voicemail.
“Jane, it's me. I understand you got a call from a reporter. If I'd known this was blowing up, I would have given you a heads-up. I have no idea how they got your name or your phone number. I'm really sorry. Please call me.”
I ended that call, immediately jabbing at my screen to call Dallas next.
He answered immediately. “How’re you holding up?”
“I'm fine. A fucking reporter got Jane's name and number and called her.”
Dallas groaned. “That sucks. At least everything's out in the open now. It's all over the news already.”
“I don't give a shit about that. I mean, I do,” I corrected. “But Jane didn't answer when I tried to call her.”
“I'll ask Audrey to try to reach out to her,” Dallas offered. “She's probably working now, right?”
“Fuck, fuck,” I muttered.
“I'm sure she'll understand.”
“I hope so. I wanted to tell her, and I canceled last weekend. Now there's no way I'm going up there. If reporters are looking for her, they're gonna look for me. I’ll just end up bringing them to her doorstep. I don't want to fucking do that.”
I ran my free hand through my hair, feeling ragged with my nerves strung tight.
“It'll blow over,” my brother said, his tone calm and soothing. “There's going to be a little explosion in phone calls, but just dial down your stress and wait. All you can do is wait this out. The FBI will field most of this for you.”
“I hope so. I'll keep trying to call Jane. If Audrey is able to get ahold of her, please let me know right away.”
“You got it,” Dallas replied.
After that call, I walked briskly down the hallway and jabbed at the elevator button when I reached the bank of elevators.
After too many minutes passed, I swore and jogged to the stairs.
I was too restless to stand around waiting.
Moments later, I walked outside of the building, glancing around quickly before aiming for home.
I was tempted to go to my office, but I figured I’d be more likely to encounter reporters there.
I spent the afternoon trying to reach Jane and fielding phone calls from nosy reporters. All three of the guys involved in the scam had been arrested. All three pled not guilty this afternoon and were released on bond. Meanwhile, I just wanted to talk to Jane.
She finally answered. “Hi,” she said, her tone almost impossible to read in that one word,
“Jane, thank God.” I let out a heavy sigh. “Did you get my message?”
“I did. It's okay.”
Relief rushed through me. “I'm sorry. I have no idea how they got your name or your number.”
“It's fine. I just wish you had told me what was going on.”
“I couldn't.” A sense of unease chased through me.
“Oh no, I understand you couldn't tell me about the case. But maybe telling me something serious was going on that you couldn't tell me about for legal reasons would have been nice.”
“Jane.” I paused, leaning my head back into the couch cushions and sliding my laptop onto the coffee table. “Okay. I guess I could have said that, but I didn’t know the best way to handle it.” When she didn’t say anything, I asked, “What did the reporter want?”
“They wanted to know what I knew and if I thought you were involved in it. I just told them I didn't know because that was the truth. I didn’t even know what they were asking about.”
“I'm not involved in any of it, Jane. I stumbled across this, and I turned into a fucking whistleblower. It’s been going on for months, and it sucks.
That's why I was up in Haven's Bay in December.
I needed a break from the pressure. I wasn't allowed to talk to anyone, not even Dallas and Noah. Even though they work for the FBI, this case is not under their jurisdiction. It was on lockdown.”
“I understand, Ian. I really do,” she said quietly.
“Are you upset with me?” I asked, even though I was almost afraid to ask.
Jane was silent just long enough that dread churned in my gut.
“I'm not upset that you couldn’t talk to me about this.
I totally understand. You literally couldn't. But maybe a clue, maybe just tell me something really screwed up is going on at work.
I don't know. I think maybe I'm taking this more seriously than you are.”
Oh, fuck.
“Jane. No, you're not. I promise.”
“I don’t mean the case, but what it meant for you not to say anything, anything at all, about something.”
“Jane—”
“Let's take a couple of weekends off. I'm sure you need to stay put with everything going on with that case.”
That dread churned into panic. “Actually, I don't. They don't need anything from me right now. I'll just be playing dodgeball with reporters who are nosy about what's going on.”
“I don't really want to play dodgeball with reporters either, so it's probably best for you to handle them.”
“What do you mean you're taking us more seriously than me?” I asked, my brain finally catching up to the important part of what she said.
“What do you think I mean? I didn't plan for any of this. Okay? I didn't mean to fall for you, but I did. You’re Thea’s brother, and it’s starting to feel messy. With everything going on, let’s take a break. We’ll talk soon. Bye.”
“Jane, I really—”
The phone line had gone dead in my ear. I was about to call again, but my fingers hovered over the screen.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I muttered to my empty apartment.
I called Dallas, and he answered immediately. “What's up?”
“Jane wants a break,” I said without preamble. “Could I have talked to her about this sooner?”
“Talk to her about what?”
“The case. She said that she wished I’d mentioned something was going on at work that was really stressing me out. But could I have told her there was a legal issue? They told me I couldn't talk to anyone, not even you and Noah.”
“That’s right,” Dallas said slowly. “You talking to anyone could have created problems. It’s good you didn't. Was it against the law? No, I mean whistleblowers talk to people all the time. You're not an agent on the case. They are. They asked you not to say anything because they were worried about things blowing up. You did the right thing. In my experience, saying anything only leads to questions. You’ve been sitting on this for months. How do you feel?”
“I don’t even care about the stupid case. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to be that jerk who was all vague. Fuck, I miss her.”
“Of course, you do. Things are far enough along with her. At some point, somebody's got to make a move.”
“What do you mean, make a move?”
“Either you let it come to a natural conclusion, or you tell her how you feel.”
“I already told you my plan was to come up there. I was waiting for this case to be done so I could wrap things up here with my business so it didn't look weird.”
“I know, but did you mention that to her?” he asked, too pointedly in my opinion.
“Uh, no,” I said slowly, feeling foolish. “Should I call her and tell her that right now? Right after she said she wanted a break?”
“I don't know. I think you need to let her know how you feel. If you love her, she should know.”
I sighed. “This sucks. You could’ve told me that sooner.”
“Did you know you loved her?”
“I hadn't really thought it through. I just…” My words petered out, and I felt even more foolish.
Dallas chuckled. “All right, slick, you'll figure this out.”
“Don't fucking call me slick.” That was Dallas’s old nickname for me, although he hadn't used it in years.
Back when I was in high school, the nickname fit for the very guy Jane dismissed while I barely noticed her. “I'm not that guy anymore,” I added.
“I know you're not. But Jane is the first woman you've been serious about,” he said, his tone shifting from teasing to somber.
“I know. Maybe you should call Thea. She and Jane are friends, so she might have some advice.”
I groaned while Dallas chuckled in response. “Nice chatting,” he offered right before we ended the call.
Taking a deep breath and letting it out, I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my knees.
I idly stared down at my phone screen. Calling my sister meant I needed to be prepared.
She would have an opinion. First, I needed to eat because I was fucking starving, and I could hardly think straight at this point.