32. Shady Business
THIRTY-TWO
shady business
“What the hell is going on?” I practically growl as Bree and I follow Clinton into the greenroom.
Elle and Colleen startle at my voice as the group of us enter. Brianna’s entire body is shaking from shock, so I’ve got my arms around her as we walk, causing them both to rise from their seats with worry.
“Let’s all take a seat, and I can explain.” Clinton closes the door.
Bree and I sit on the couch. The air in the room seems to crackle with tension—most of it coming from me. I’m about ten seconds from losing my shit if we don’t get answers immediately.
Clinton makes his way to our side of the room. “Let me start from the beginning,” he says as he pulls a chair over and takes a seat. Before he can begin, however, the door opens, and Char charges in, eyes wide and totally out of breath.
“Okay, I’m here.” She plops herself down next to Bree, which prompts me to pull her a bit closer. I’m still not clear about what went down and who’s involved, so I’m keeping Bree next to me. Fuck everyone else.
“I think we’ve waited long enough.” I grind my teeth. It’s the only physical reaction I can make to relieve the tension I feel .
“Everything can be explained,” Char begins, “but it’s a big mess, so I don’t even know where to start.” She looks over at Clinton, who’s still in cop mode, a no-bullshit expression on his face.
He turns toward us and starts speaking. “Even before you left town with Brianna, before the break-in, I had some intel that led me to Rachel.”
I make a fist with my free hand. “You already knew? Dammit, man. Why didn’t you say anything?” My heart pounds with frustration, and I can hardly take a deep breath.
“Because the FBI had already gotten involved, and our role was just to go along with their investigation.”
What? I shake my head. “Keep talking.”
Clinton looks at Char. “This goes way back. Char needs to explain that.”
Char takes a deep breath and looks at Brianna. “I wasn’t just learning the ropes of management back when we were with Logan.” She fidgets as she leans into Brianna more closely. “When you got that first letter and Logan talked you out of going to the police, I started putting things together—things that hadn’t made sense until then. I’d been checking his client billing records, taking notes for the future, when I’d be running the show, and I saw some records had a notation about a security fee for a company I’d never heard of. I looked it up and found everything led right back to him. It looked a lot like Logan was basically stealing client money for a phony security company.”
Char pauses, a heavy message in her eyes as she looks between Bree and me.
Air whooshes from my lungs, because I think I know what her message is. What she hasn’t confirmed yet. “Are you saying ...? Did Logan send those letters himself?”
Char shakes her head with a sigh. “No. But he did have them sent.”
“So ... I don’t have a stalker?” Brianna’s voice shakes .
Char’s eyes dart to her friend. “No, babe. There was never a real threat.”
Brianna shoots to her feet, letting go of my hand, and paces the floor. “So I’ve been scared out of my mind for nothing? And no one said a damn word?” The strain in her voice prickles at my heart. She’s clearly pissed.
I get up from my seat and grab onto her, forcing her to look me in the eye. “Let’s hear what she has to say, Bree. Deep breaths.” I breathe along with her. We’re both worked up, confused, but we won’t get answers if we don’t listen.
She finally nods but doesn’t return to her seat.
The two of us stand in the middle of the room, huddled together, trying to make sense of what Char says next.
“He had to target one client at a time, over several months, to make them think they needed stronger security. Then he’d convince them the media would make it worse if word got out they needed increased protection, so he’d suggest this specialized company.”
“He never mentioned that to me,” Brianna states.
“Because you and I left before he could get to that point. And that’s why I talked you into hiring Zack. Not to protect you from a stalker, but to protect you from Logan, in case he figured out I’d gone to the FBI.”
Brianna seems to stop breathing for a second. “You went to the FBI? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Before Char can answer, I speak up, because I already know her reasoning. It’s what she told me as soon as I agreed to the job.
“The fewer people who know, the better. Right?”
Char nods. “It needed to be believable. Logan needed to think you were still scared, because he hadn’t finished with his plan yet. That’s where Rachel comes into the picture.”
“Keep talking,” Brianna says.
“As soon as I hired Rachel, Logan made contact, offering a ‘finder’s fee’ if she could help get Brianna back to his company. Rachel came straight to me and told me what he’d offered. Once I reported it back to the investigating agent, he wanted to use Rachel’s connection to our advantage, so he brought her in as well.”
Clinton was right. This is a freaking web.
“So is Rachel really a suspect or not?” The more they tell us, the crazier everything sounds.
“No,” Clinton answers. “We held her to push Logan into acting on his next step. With Rachel taking the fall for the break-in, Logan planned to use your fear to his advantage. I think he’d planned all along for Rachel to get caught and be the catalyst for you to go back to him. That way, he could say Char wasn’t able to protect you and had even hired people who weren’t safe. He’d try to convince you she didn’t know what she was doing and that you’d get hurt.”
Char takes over. “Logan’s scheme was more than just embezzlement. He’d created what he referred to as ‘invisible security,’ with a technology taskforce that could monitor clients without a major physical presence. But his scheme was really just a way to put client money into his account without detection. Also known as money laundering. A federal offence.”
“Is that the real reason I posed as a boyfriend—so Logan wouldn’t think Brianna had hired her own security?”
Char nods. “And the reason I wanted to talk Brianna into leaving you behind. I knew you’d never let Logan get within twenty feet of her, Zack. The agent had set everything up for today. The surveillance ended thirty minutes ago, when they took him down. They were just waiting for him to make his move and make his promises to Brianna about what his security could offer.”
“That’s what he was talking about? Stealth Systems?” Brianna shakes her head, clearly thinking back to whatever Logan said when he approached her by the piano.
“The second he mentioned the company by name, they had him. The entire place is crawling with agents. Basically, everyone in the building except us.”
“He’s that big of a threat?” Brianna asks with shock.
“No, he’s that big of a thief . How long has he been a manager? How many wealthy clients does he have? One by one he’s targeted all of them, and it adds up to millions of dollars. That’s how he’s able to afford his office and his car, all his trips to Europe—by stealing client money without stealing it.”
Brianna walks back to the couch, with me trailing behind. She plops down, still taking everything in. There are a few minutes of silence, but then she speaks up.
“I have one question.”
“Just one?” I laugh. “I’ve got about twenty.”
Brianna waves her hand in my face to shut me up. “If Rachel was basically a double agent, why did she hand me that last letter? Why freak me out like that?”
Char gives Clinton a look and shrugs. “You tell them. I’m staying out of this one.” She puts her hands up in the air, then she crosses them over her chest and slides back into the cushions.
Clinton sighs. “Rachel didn’t trust Zack. Thought he was working for Logan. She decided to put him to the test. She wanted to see how he’d react.”
I knew she hated me. Freaking hell. “Well, did I pass?” My voice drips with the distain I hold for that girl. I don’t care what her reasons were. That prank was just bad.
Char shrugs. “Pretty much.” Then she shakes her head. “You have no idea how challenging you made the entire thing, Zack. You questioned me at every turn. I was sure you were about to bust the whole thing wide-open.”
“Yeah, you weren’t all roses either.” I tell her. “I’m still kind of ticked you told Bree to fire me because I was going to taint her brand.”
Char has the decency to look ashamed. “Not my best moment, but dang it, you guys had me in a bind! I needed her back so we could bust Logan. It was the only thing I could think of.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered,” Bree says, wrapping her arms around my waist and pressing herself into me.
I pull her close .
“There was no way I was getting into that car to leave by myself. I couldn’t do it, no matter what Char and Clinton said.”
“What did Clinton say?” Even I can hear the shock in my voice. This is the first I’m hearing he played a role in her dramatic non-departure.
“I told her she needed to hire a pro.” This time it’s Clinton who looks sheepish. “Sorry, man.”
I take a deep breath and close my eyes. None of it really matters. Not now I’m certain Brianna is safe, and that leach Logan is most likely heading to prison.
“I hate to break up the party, but we have a tribute to prepare for.” Char breaks the silence. “The show must go on.”
With a kiss on my cheek, Brianna follows Char back to the stage.
I couldn’t have predicted any of this when I agreed to pose as Brianna Royce’s boyfriend. And now here I am, completely in love, and waiting backstage for the girl of my dreams. I never thought fake-dating this diva would be the best decision I’d ever make.
But it was.
As soon as Brianna leaves the greenroom, I chuck a pillow from the couch at Clinton’s head.
“What the heck was that for?” He laughs.
“Putting me through all that. I need a drink, man, and I don’t even drink.” The tension may be gone, but now I’m wiped out emotionally. Just done.
“You ask too many questions, Zack. It was necessary at the time to keep you out of town. And then we needed to get her back. It’s all part of the job.” Clinton smirks. “But I think I have just the cure for you, since you don’t drink and all.” He reaches over to the snack table and tosses me a candy bar. “Eat some chocolate. My ex swears by it.”
I shrug my shoulders and take a bite. At least it has nuts for some protein. Oh. My. God. “Great. I haven’t eaten this kind of shit in years. Now I’m going to become a chocoholic.”
“Don’t go looking for my secret stash next time you come home,” Elle says. “I already had to move it to keep the twins away. ”
It’s the scowl on her face that finally gets me laughing. Then, a few seconds later, everyone’s laughing.
“Come on, Z,” Elle says. She comes to stand over me and grabs me by the arm. “Let’s go get snazzy for the woman of your dreams’ big night. We don’t want the tabloids saying the pop star went slumming it.”
“Snazzy? Who says that?” I laugh some more.
“I do.” Elle’s reply is sharp, but her eyes sparkle with laughter as well.
I shake my head. “Fine. Let’s get snazzy.”