24. Rory
24
RORY
I wait for a long moment before moving from the foyer, watching the closed door that Lara and my father exited. I can’t believe I let them go alone.
Who knows what my father will say to her. I know she must be terrified. But I didn’t know what else to do.
One of us had to stay behind to try and get some evidence, and it's not like my father was going to allow Lara to stay behind by herself.
But I feel wrong about letting her leave with him, something tight in my throat that I can’t make go away just by swallowing over and over.
I can no longer deny even to myself that I have feelings for Lara Burke. I’m in love with her, and that’s the long and short of it.
Given the way we met, there’s no way she feels the same way about me.
After this is over, I’ll let her go, and I’ll never tell her how I feel about her.
My heart clenches in my chest just thinking about it, and I focus on the task at hand.
I have to finish this, have to see it through, so that even when I go, Lara will be safe. Not to mention all the other women my father and his men could potentially hurt.
I head upstairs to my father’s office and find it locked. I curse under my breath, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve. I take one of my credit cards and shove it between the lock and the door, working the knob until the door pops open.
It’s not like I’m in the habit of lockpicking, but I’d picked up a few things as a teenager hanging around gangsters all the time.
I slowly walk to my father’s desk, a little apprehensive about what I may find.
I know my father is an awful person, but I’m not sure I want to be confronted with all his sins right now.
I take a deep breath and sit behind his desk, opening up every drawer.
There’s nothing incriminating inside–just some pens and paperweights, a few household bills.
There’s a locked drawer at the bottom of the desk that I manage to get into with a paperclip, but I let out a sigh of relief when it opens and there’s just a gun inside, a .45 Magnum.
Despite my relief, I’m also annoyed. “All right, old man. Where do you keep the goods?”
I look at his ancient desktop computer and bite my lip, wondering what’s on there. I’ve got to look, as worried as I am about what I’ll find.
When I shake the mouse around on the mousepad, a password prompt comes up.
“Shit.”
I try to think.
First, I try Bree’s birthday. Nothing.
Then, I try my birthday. Nope.
I only have one try left before it locks me out. I think hard, trying to figure out what my father cares about above all else.
Slowly, I type in his birthday, and the computer screen changes, opening up.
It is always all about him. It was not my first try because I thought he’d be smarter than this. I mean, who uses their birthday as password for everything?
I look through all the folders and for a while, I think I’m not going to find anything. There doesn’t seem to be anything incriminating anywhere.
There’s a folder at the bottom of the screen titled “Tax Documents” and I finally click it, my eyes widening when the files start to pull up.
There’s a police report from a car accident–around the same time that the Burke matriarch was killed. There’re also spreadsheets with shipment dates, and even though it doesn’t specify what exactly the shipment is, it could be incriminating.
Why would he have the police report about Lara’s mother’s death unless he had something to do with it? Not to mention all the dates on the shipments. Why would he keep this on his desktop?
I suppose he thinks it’s protected by his password. Thank God my father is from a generation who doesn’t quite understand technology.
I take pictures of the documents with my phone, not wanting to risk printing them out. My father is out of the house, but there’s still plenty of men here that could catch me.
As I snap the next picture, the doorknob jiggles. I quickly exit out of the folders, clicking on the main desktop to make the password screen come back up.
Thank God I locked the door behind me.
Adrenaline pumps through my veins, making my heart race.
I don’t realize I’m holding my breath until I let it out, and I slowly approach the door as I hear the key in the lock.
There’s nowhere to hide. My father’s study is a wide-open space, so I have to think on my feet.
When the door swings open, I’m surprised to see Duncan standing there.
“Rory?”
I let out a long breath through my nostrils, relieved. If it had been Paul or any of my father’s other men, I may not have been able to convince them I wasn’t up to something.
But Duncan is my friend. I still have to tread carefully, but I know how to deal with him.
“What are you doing in here with the door locked?” It’s not suspicion that edges his voice but curiosity.
“The old man left his phone,” I lie easily, standing up and forcing a smile on my face. “You know how he is, he forgets it every time. Just locked the door out of habit, I guess.” I rub a hand across the back of my neck sheepishly.
Duncan just looks at me with a blank expression. “Did you find it?”
I look down at my empty hands, cursing inwardly. “Nah. Must be in his suit pocket. He’s really unorganized for a boss.”
He snickers, nodding. “Yeah, the last run he supervised, he forgot his gun. Can you believe that?”
My knees go nearly weak as I finally relax, my heart finally slowing its galloping pace. Duncan is none the wiser.
“Was hoping that I could catch a ride to the gala,” he explains. “Wanted to catch your old man, but I guess you’ll do.”
I snort. “We better hurry. We’re going to be late.”
“Fashionably late,” he points out, chuckling as I walk out into the hallway.
My heart rate may have slowed down, but my mind is still racing.
Do I really want to do this? Do I really want to put my father behind bars? When I was living out of town, somehow it was easier. Out of sight, out of mind, I suppose.
But now that I’m living under his roof again, I can witness firsthand what awful things he does and condones. I can’t help from feeling hesitant because he’s still my father. But I need to do this because if I don’t, the world will never be a safe place for Bree and Lara.
“Are you worried your new wife will get eaten up at the gala?” Duncan asks as we get into my car, and I realize that I’ve been silent for too long.
“A little,” I admit, and it’s in no way a lie.
I’ve been worried about her being alone with my father, but he’s not the only threat at the gala by far. At least I know Scott won’t be there.
Duncan smiles. “Your pa will watch out for her.”
That’s what I'm worried about .
Chapter Twenty-Five