Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
GRAYSON
I leave Nadine at her desk.
I know she has a shit ton to do if the piles of papers that caused her to gasp are any indication.
Making my way to the surveillance room, I sink down on the rolling chair and let out a heavy sigh.
I have some work that I personally need to do, but also, I’m obsessed with Landon Tate finding his fucking way here.
I want everything, anything, whatever on this man so that I can nail his balls to the wall, well, cut them off then nail them to the wall, because fuck him for what he did to Nadine.
Then I’m going to be having a lengthy, possibly physical conversation with Brody Ashford, because how did this fucker allow Landon Tate to have complete control of his sister?
How did that shit even happen?
Deadbeat, worthless parents and all, he should have had a better hold on that situation.
There is a light knock on the surveillance room door, and I tell whoever is on the other side to come in.
I expect to see Nadine standing on the other side of the door, but it’s not her.
It’s Lucille.
Arching a brow, I tilt my head to the side as I wait for her to speak.
I’ve never known Lucille to be timid or shy in any way, so I’m a bit concerned as she stands in front of me, shifting from foot to foot.
“Lucille?”
She inhales a deep breath, holds it for a moment, then lets it out slowly.
“I have drained that man’s accounts. I have drained his offshore accounts. And I have canceled all his credit cards. Tell me why he’s still here?”
“I would tell you if I knew.”
She looks over her shoulder, then moves into the room and closes the door behind her.
She leans against it, her eyes finding mine and holding my gaze.
I’m not sure what she’s about to tell me.
She’s acting strangely, even for her.
Well, to be fair, Lucille isn’t strange.
She’s fucking crazy, but not strange.
“I might have done something bad,” she whispers.
“Lucille,” I warn.
“Just listen. I did it for a reason.”
I can’t imagine what she could have done that was bad for a reason.
But spinning to face her in the chair, I cross my arms over my chest.
“I had a chat with Nadine this morning, and it really seems like the only logical thing.”
“If you put my woman down for a hit on the dark web, I’m going to lose my fucking mind.”
Her lips twitch into a smirk.
“If you lose your mind, Theron will kill you.”
“Not before I kill you,” I snap.
Her eyes narrow, then she lifts them to the ceiling, effectively rolling them and obviously not giving a shit about what I think or say.
Which doesn’t surprise me.
Lucille does what she wants, the way she wants it, and Theron fucking loves that shit.
But that doesn’t mean I have to.
“Nadine is not on a list anywhere that I know of.”
“But?”
“Well, I didn’t put him on a list, but I did offer Vaughn some money to kill Landon Tate.”
My eyes widen at her words.
I cannot believe that she did that shit.
Blinking a couple of times, I wait for the punch line.
“He said no,” she continues.
Letting my breath out in a whoosh, I open my mouth to tell her to get to the fucking point but then close it because she’ll drag this out longer if I push her.
I’ve known her long enough to know when to speak and push her and when to shut the fuck up.
This is a shut-the-fuck-up moment.
“However,” she begins, “I was able to get into the ATF database and retrieve his employee file.”
My eyes widen because I can’t believe she did that.
I don’t bother asking her how, because she’ll just go into detail, and I don’t give a fuck, to be honest.
“What did you find out, Lucille?” I ask instead.
She tilts her head to the side, then her lips curve up into a grin.
“He’s on unpaid leave.”
I stare at her, and my heart races as she continues.
“It seems like he not only has a problem with how he treats his wife, but he also has problems with his anger in lots of different situations. It was so bad that he sent a man to the hospital. An innocent man, by the way. He also has sticky fingers, which I figured he did due to the heftiness of his offshore accounts. So basically, he’s under investigation.”
“What does this mean?” I ask.
She shrugs her shoulders.
“You and the rest of the guys can do with that information what you wish. However, I’m just saying he’s no longer technically on the payroll. They don’t like him there right now, and I would venture to guess that if you guys did some digging, you could figure out who would benefit from him no longer breathing.”
Without another word, she spins around and walks out of the surveillance room.
That leaves me alone with my thoughts.
And my mind is reeling.
I could figure out easily who wanted him dead in that department.
But none of this information tells me why the fuck he’s here right now.
Unless it’s just because he’s got a lot of time on his hands.
Which could simply be the case.
Spinning my chair back to the computer desk, I begin tapping my index finger on the wood as I blankly stare at the screens in front of me.
I’m missing something.
I’m not sure what it is that I’m missing, but it’s definitely something.
I’m not sure I will be able to put my finger on it until it’s right in front of my fucking face, but there is something.
Lucille’s new information doesn’t necessarily change things.
We can’t blackmail him with any of it.
Something catches the corner of my eye, and I shift my attention to the computer screen.
Speaking of the fucking devil.
Landon Tate flashes what appears to be an ID or badge to a woman standing at the front of Nadine’s building.
Landon appears in front of Nadine’s door a few moments later.
The camera catches him perfectly.
Turning her alarm off on my phone, I watch as he jimmies the lock and then slips inside her place.
At that moment, I turn the inside cameras all on so I can watch him.
This motherfucker thinks he’s got big balls breaking into her place, but mine are fucking massive, because I’m watching every single move he’s making.
He snoops, looking through everything, kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets, and dirty laundry.
It appears as if he’s looking for something.
Maybe this is what I’m missing.
Did Nadine take something from him?
I summon Theron with a quick text.
I need him to see all of this going on live and in person without alerting Nadine.
I’m not sure what the fuck is going on here yet, but I have a feeling that this moment is going to clarify a lot.
Too much, maybe.
NADINE
Theron stands and walks out of his office without saying a single word to me.
It isn’t shocking, but the gait of determination in which he walks causes my senses to heighten.
He doesn’t leave the office, either.
Instead, he moves straight toward the surveillance room, where I know Grayson has been holed up inside.
I watched Lucille walk in there earlier and talk to him.
Now Theron.
What the hell is going on?
Once I watch Theron slip into the room with Grayson, I take that as a perfect opportunity to listen in on what they’re talking about, since I’m certain it has to do with me.
I’ve never been nosy here at the office, although I’ve never really had to be.
Most of the work they do comes across my desk in one way or another.
And it’s pretty boring, unless I see a celebrity's name or something. It doesn’t happen all the time, but it does happen.
Pressing my ear to the closed door, I close my eyes as I try to listen in on what the hell they’re talking about.
Unfortunately, I can’t hear a damn thing, no matter how hard I strain and try. It shouldn’t surprise me that their doors aren’t thin enough to hear through, but I had hoped that somehow, I would be able to hear something—anything.
Letting out a heavy sigh, I straighten and turn around to head back to my desk, but stop when I see both Lucille and Colette standing in front of me. Their arms are crossed just beneath their chests, their eyes focused on me.
“I know whatever it is, it’s about me,” I say, my only excuse for attempting to eavesdrop.
Lucille’s lips twitch into a smirk, and she shakes her head once. “I have no doubt it is,” she states, then gives me a smile before she continues. “Let’s go to lunch. Let them handle whatever they need to handle. We’ve missed you.”
Looking over my shoulder at the closed door, I debate staying or leaving. I don’t want to go anywhere, but I don’t want to disappoint any of them, either. Shifting my attention back to Lucille, I see the concern that immediately etches her features, but she schools it quickly.
“We’ll order in,” she chirps.
Colette reaches for my hand, wraps her fingers around mine, and gently tugs me behind her, heading straight for the break room. Once we’re inside, she guides me to a chair, and then Lucille’s hands grip my shoulders as she applies pressure, forcing me to sit down.
They each pull up their own chair to face me, and it’s at this moment that it becomes clear and evident that there is going to be an inquisition. I suck in a breath, holding it because I don’t want to talk about Landon anymore. I want to pretend the asshole doesn’t exist—never existed, in fact.
“Was it the best sex you’ve ever had?” Lucille begins.
I blink.
Unsure that I heard her correctly.
“I thought you guys were already together, especially living in that safe house for as long as you were,” Colette murmurs.
My eyes flick between them, and for a brief moment, I want to tell them everything, mainly because it was indeed the best I’ve ever had in my whole life. Being with Grayson feels right when every other man who has ever touched me has felt nothing but wrong.
I don’t tell them any of that, though. It feels wrong to verbalize just how Grayson makes me feel. It feels like a violation of our intimacy. I don’t want to share that with anyone, not a single moment of us together.
I want to savor every second and selfishly keep them all for myself. I don’t want anyone to even imagine anything between us. That feels like it would be too invasive. Keeping our relationship private seems like the right choice here.
“She loves him. She’s not going to give us details. Just like you wouldn't talk about Theron,” Colette says.
Love.
Love him
I love him.
Holy shit— I love him .