Chapter 21 Dante
DANTE
I’d spent money on plenty of things in my life. Things that meant something. Things that meant nothing.
Spending money to have those pictures taken down was money well spent. I loomed in the open doorway of Bradley’s cramped apartment, a twisted smile so distinct and cruel that the man blanched. “Remember what we said. If those pictures ever resurface, we’ll come back for you.”
“They won’t. I swear it.” Bradley, a thin man with greasy hair and eyes too wide for his narrow face, trembled where he sat at his computer. “I’ve deleted everything. Everything.”
“Good.” I backed up a step and closed his door with a soft click.
Julian and Alexander stood in the hallway watching me.
Julian shook his head, a dark laugh matching the dank hallway where his tattoos blended in with our surroundings. “You’re one scary son of a bitch, you know that?”
“That’s the point.” I strode past him. “Let’s go. I want to get the stink of this place out of my nose.”
“Heard that.” Julian fell into step behind me.
Alexander was slower to join us, but he kept a steady pace at our backs. “When all else fails, money and intimidation still win the day.”
“Money talks when nothing else will.” And we’d offered him a king’s ransom. He’d be a fool to try and sell the pictures now. If he’d been lying about destroying all of them.
Alexander had done a sweep using one of his computer programs, and it all seemed squared away when the screen came up empty.
“Now what?” Julian rubbed his hands together. “The photos are down. No more risk of them going viral and ruining our reputation or hurting Harper.”
“Now we talk to Harper.” I dreaded the confrontation but it had to be done. She deserved to hear from us that the problem had been taken care of.
Alexander rounded the car to slide into the driver’s seat. We could have had one of our men bring us, but the fewer who knew about this adventure the less likely anyone blabbed.
Julian waited until the car doors closed and Alex pulled into traffic to speak. “Any idea how we were found out at the cabin?”
“There’s a good chance that camera was there long before we booked the cabin.” Alex checked his side mirror, then merged onto the exit that took us to the office. “I like to think it’s just a coincidence, but it’s unlikely.”
“I booked under a false name and paid in cash. No one should have known we would be there. If and that’s a big if, the camera has always been there, seems like a damned convenient coincidence.
” Julian fisted his hands in his lap and leaned into the space between the seats.
“We failed Harper. I should have done a sweep of the cabin before she arrived.”
“We were all too confident. We all knew better than to assume a place was clean just because we used an alias.” Alexander had been beating himself up about this since Harper ran away from his office.
We all had.
A yellow cab blew past us, horn blaring.
Alexander cursed but maintained his cool and guided the car into the underground garage.
“We talked Harper into giving us another chance.” I stopped as emotion threatened to overwhelm me.
She’d trusted us. Years of being so careful we barely stepped foot outside unless we were perfect, and we’d gotten cocky during the one time we needed to keep our wits about us.
“We swore we could keep it a secret. Clearly we have a leak.”
Julian leaned back with a grunt. “You think so?”
“Nothing else explains it.” I opened the door when Alexander parked and buttoned my jacket on my way to the private elevator.
Julian and Alexander fell in step on either side of me.
The powerhouse trio. That’s what we’d been called when we opened Elevate.
We’d made national headlines. Those headlines continued to grow with our wealth and fame.
I’d become callused to the thrill of it, and I’d become cold and aloof to anyone except the men beside me.
Harper broke down those walls, and I had failed to protect her. Fuck my life. None of it meant anything without her.
We stepped into the elevator at the same time and Alexander pressed the button. It scanned his thumbprint, then the doors closed and we ascended. “Who knew we would be at the cabin?” Alexander removed his jacket and draped it over his arm.
Julian began rolling his sleeves down to cover his tattoos. He stopped halfway down his forearms, frowned, and rolled them back up. “I’m done with these shit games. If people don’t want to do business with us because of a little ink, they can go fuck themselves.”
“I wondered how much longer it would take.” I smirked at him before circling back to Alexander’s question. “I never mentioned it. It wasn’t on my calendar, and other than the conversation we had in the office, we never spoke about it again.”
Julian finished rolling up his sleeves and set his hands on his hips. “I used my phone to make the reservation, but I was on a VPN and blocked all information. What I did use was fake.”
“Someone knows our alias and has been tracking it?” Alexander rocked his head side to side. “That’s possible. But it means that whoever it is has patience. They’ve been waiting a long time to dig up dirt. We haven’t used that name in over a year.”
“There were no other cameras in the house. If there were, we would have seen the photos. It’s not like the bedroom is the only place we were exposed.” Julian thrust out an arm when the doors opened, making sure the coast was clear before we exited the elevator’s safe confines.
Bethany sat at her desk, an earpiece in one ear, and her notepad next to her hand. She lifted her head and flashed a smile. “Afternoon, sirs. Is there anything I can do for you?”
Alexander paused while waving us ahead. “I’ll catch up in a minute. I need to talk to Bethany about the coffee situation downstairs.”
I arched a brow, but Julian shrugged. We turned into my office, closing the door and waiting for Alexander.
Julian paced. I stood perfectly still. The contrast in our reactions to stress often put us at odds, but I could pace with the best of them when the mood struck. Today, I needed the peace and stillness of not moving.
I itched for action, which meant I needed to be still. I needed to evaluate the situation from every side and consider all the possibilities. My mind did the pacing while my body locked in place.
“Someone was waiting for us.” Alexander picked up the last thread of our conversation when he entered the room.
“That’s the only thing that makes sense.
Someone knew about our alias, and they learned about the reservation.
Somehow, they made it into the cabin and set up a camera in the bedroom.
That suggests they knew something would be happening in there. ”
“Maybe they thought the three of us were lovers.” Julian helped himself to a glass of whiskey. He sipped it as he paced, pausing at the windows to stare at the building across from us.
“That makes more sense than anyone suspecting we’d be there with Harper.
” I’d been accused of sleeping with Julian before.
Back when we first went into business together.
For some reason, it was difficult for people to believe the three of us could be friends, run a business, and not be sexually attracted to one another.
Even stranger if they knew the truth. If we came out to the world that we preferred polyamory, the world would rather us be homosexual.
Fine by me. I didn’t give two shits about someone else’s sexuality.
I cared about mine and the person I slept with.
“That might help Harper.” Alexander sat on the edge of the couch, elbows on his knees and chin on his knuckles. “If she thinks this isn’t about her but about someone coming after us, she might be okay.”
“Those pictures destroyed her confidence in us.” I pointed out the obvious because Alexander needed me to.
“We could go to her house to try and explain.” I needed to leave it well the fuck alone, but it was Harper we were talking about.
The one woman in the world who had found her way into my heart.
I’d rather die than hurt her, and yet that was exactly what we’d done with our carelessness.
Julian tossed back the whiskey and set the glass down on my desk. “Talking to her in person is the best way to clear all this up.”
“Too pushy.” Alexander remained poised like a statue, his expression thoughtful.
“I’m good at being pushy.” I poured myself a glass of Scotch and swirled the liquid around the glass.
Alexander’s gaze slid to me then to Julian. One side of his mouth tipped up in a tiny grin. “We know. But being pushy isn’t always the right answer. If we show up and talk her into forgiving us, I’ll always wonder if we pushed her into something she didn’t want.”
“Harper knows how to tell us no.” I sipped the Scotch and told myself it was the truth.
Julian sighed. “We all know we’re capable of getting the answer we want out of her. We need to let her know the threat is over and let her process. As much as I want to storm over there and hold her, Alexander’s right.”
“I need that in writing.” Alexander held out a hand. “Signed and personalized.”
“Shut up.” Julian snorted a laugh that came out loud and obnoxious.
“Harper clearly did not want to be around us, or she would have stayed instead of running away.” I finished my drink and added my glass to Julian’s on my desk.
“I’m going to text her in the group chat.
Let her know everything is okay and ask how she’s doing.
” I did exactly that, not waiting for permission.
I didn’t need their permission.
Seconds later, I’d sent the text. Julian and Alexander read it in the chat, then added their own to the thread. We apologized, told her the pictures were gone, and asked how she was feeling.
No answer.
Julian resumed pacing.
Alexander stayed on the couch, head hanging low.
And I could not convince myself to move. My body remained frozen in place, locked up in the fear that our time with Harper was at an end.
No.
A vehement denial sent my pulse hammering. My skin slicked with sweat that prickled beneath my suit.
We were not over.
I wouldn’t allow it.
What if it was what Harper wanted?
It wasn’t. Every interaction proved she wanted us.
Yes, she ran away when she saw the pictures. She had every right.
But it was over. We’d taken care of her.
The back of my neck itched, but I refused to scratch, refused to break the rigid stance holding me together.
I needed Harper in my life.
She brought joy and laughter. I might not laugh, but that had nothing to do with her and everything to do with the fact I was an asshole who hadn’t laughed in twenty years.
Julian sent Harper another message.
Minutes passed.
Alexander sent two messages back to back.
They asked her to check in, just to let us know she was okay.
I stared at my phone screen, my vision blurring when I refused to blink.
Three dots appeared and we all inhaled. “Finally.”
A ding announced the message and Julian cursed. “Who the fuck is Lila and why is she saying Harper is in the hospital?”
“Lila is her best friend. They live together.” Alexander stood and grabbed his jacket. “Let’s go.”