Chapter 31
There’s a frenzy of people at my apartment when I return. Ella and Eagan are parked at the island counter, heads smashed together as they search through files on Eagan’s computer. Parker and Noell sit on the couch, rifling through papers that are spread haphazardly all over the coffee table.
I almost stumble when I see Evan and Jax rushing around the kitchen, chatting and cooking for everyone, along with generously filling wine glasses. Even they had come to help me?
Jax notices me first and gently places a plate of appetizers on the counter before approaching me carefully. Everyone else stops what they’re doing and watches us.
“I take it everyone knows where I was?” I ask, though I know the answer.
They all nod as Jax stops in front of me, placing a hand on each of my shoulders. His eyes pinch together.
“I won’t ask if you’re ok. I know you’re not,” he says.
I suck in a shaky breath and let my forehead fall to his chest. He pulls me into a hug.
“How much do you know?” I ask into the softness of his tight T-shirt.
“We told them everything,” Ella says, coming over to stand next to us. “They showed up and saw us all here and wouldn’t stop asking questions. They worked most of it out on their own anyway.”
“Are you mad?” Jax asks softly, pushing me away so he can look at me.
I shake my head. “I’m relieved, actually.”
Jax gives me a cautious smile. “We’ve got you, Barbie.”
I roll my eyes at the nickname, but my heart swells. If anyone can help Owen, it’s these people. Those I trust with my life. The thought of Declan not being here, though, has my mouth pulling down into a frown.
Jax grabs my chin and pulls my attention back to him. Worry lines form around his beautiful eyes.
I step back and wave my hand at him. “I’ll be fine.”
God, how I wish that were true, but mercifully, Jax lets it drop.
I’m eager to get back to work, and perhaps it’s because I want to ignore all the complicated feelings. That’s what I’ve always done—pushed them away until they consume me.
“Anything?” I ask Eagan, moving toward the kitchen island to where he’s hunched over his computer.
He peers at me over the top of it. “I have the backup I made from the evidence that was wiped, but there’s nothing here anymore.
Everything you saved on the companies and their illegal operations is gone.
Whoever wiped the evidence also got rid of a lot more.
” He shakes his head, defeated. “I’m sorry, Nova. I’ll keep looking.”
“No luck on tracing who might have deleted it or sent it to Dec?” I ask the question, but from the look on his face, I already know the answer.
Ella answers for him. “No. It’s all broken threads.”
I turn to Parker and Noell next, the hope dwindling. The tension returns to my entire body, my nails digging into the skin of my palms.
“Anything?” This time it’s nothing but a whisper.
Parker shakes his head, but it’s Noell who speaks.
“I found some interesting transfers of money. Inconspicuous payments spread out over years that are worth pennies in comparison to the overall financials of these companies. Most people would think nothing of it. Perhaps it’s an employee paying for their morning coffee on the company's tab, but I found the same thing happening in all three companies. Same transactions, same amounts of money, all transferred on the same day over the last ten years.”
My eyes widen, and I step closer to Noell. “What does it mean?”
She runs a hand through her perfectly curled hair, looking more frazzled than I’ve ever seen her. “I don’t know yet. But it’s odd enough to make me think it’s connected to something bigger.”
“Can you trace the money?”
“I can help her trace it,” Eagan offers, hopping off his chair and reaching for the financial papers Noell highlighted and scribbled with notes.
“Do it,” I say, finally giving my attention to Parker. The one person I was most afraid to face.
He must notice my tears, because his brow pinches. “How is he?”
I take a deep breath, letting my shoulders sink. “About as you’d expect. Defeated. Furious with me.”
Parker stands and stops right in front of me, close enough that I have to angle my head up to peer into his sad blue eyes. “And you?”
There’s only one word that comes to mind, that I can say—the truth. “Broken.”
There’s a deafening silence that follows, as if no one knows what to say. As if they didn’t expect me to say it out loud. As if they didn’t expect me to actually admit it, even if they saw it in me.
No one gets a chance to say anything because Noah barges into the apartment, his eyes wildly searching the room until they land on me.
“We found him. Peyton Radd is at Regenerative Industries right now.”
Peyton sits across from me, feet propped on Owen’s desk, a half-smirk planted on his face.
“Tell me what you know,” I snap at him, unable to hide my irritation, knowing full well he probably could have prevented this whole situation.
“You haven’t held up your end of the bargain,” he responds with a lazy shrug.
“I don’t have the authority to do so. That person is currently in jail.”
Peyton lowers his feet to the ground and leans forward until his elbows are propped on the desk with his head held in his hands. “Come now, Miss Riley. You and I both know your boss wouldn’t have left you empty-handed.”
How the fuck does he know so much?
Still annoyed, I reach into Owen’s top drawer and pull out an employment contract I found minutes before Peyton walked through the door. I slam the contract on the desk in front of him, just out of reach.
“Now talk,” I say.
Peyton winks. “Have you found your rat, Miss Riley?” My face must give me away because he continues, shaking his head. “I pegged you for being smarter than that. Perhaps someone has been a distraction? Not that I can blame you—”
I slam my fist on the table, effectively cutting him off. “Get to the point,” I hiss.
He holds his hands up in mock surrender. “Okay. Okay. I suppose it’s story time.” His snakelike smile returns as he leans back against the chair, putting his hands behind his head.
The way he looks at me sends chills down my spine. Every alarm bell in my head is screaming to kick the fucker out, but I know I need the information he has. He also knows I can’t do this without him, and that’s what makes the anger boil in my gut.
“Everyone assumes I’m always the bad guy, Miss Riley.”
I snort but let him continue.
“But, you see, I’m a businessman like everyone else around here.”
I want to point out that most businessmen don’t go around assassinating people, but then again, that would be awfully hypocritical of me, so I keep my mouth shut.
“I take business where I can get it. I rarely pick sides. After all, this world only cares about money.”
I can’t argue with him there.
“Recently, I found myself in an interesting predicament. Oh, how you’ve woven a tangled web, Miss Riley.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I snap before I can stop myself.
Peyton shakes his head and waves his finger at my interruption as if I’m a petulant child.
“I found myself in the company of a very interesting employer that just happens to have been involved in your precarious last assignment, but what’s even more interesting is that you found yourself in the same situation with your current case. ”
My mouth falls open as Peyton squints, thinking for a moment. “Wait, I suppose it’s no longer your current case, seeing as your target is in jail. And once again, the people you should be after are not only off the hook but richer than they were before.”
I clench my fists under the desk. The heat of my anger creeps up my neck. “Who, Peyton? I need a name.”
“Vivario.” He smirks at me, watches me, his face slowly morphing into a smug smile as the truth dawns on me.
“Vivario. Vivarium. Reptiles. Snakes. The black snake crime syndicate,” I whisper.
Peyton claps mockingly. “Very well done, Miss Riley. Now was that so hard?”
I want to punch the man in the face so badly that my hands shake with restraint.
Peyton stops clapping and leans forward. “This is where the fun part comes in.” He pauses for dramatic effect, and I nearly knock him unconscious. “I was hired by the black snake crime syndicate to assassinate Owen Mills.”
I suspected it, but the question I wanted to know most was: “Why?”
Peyton shrugs. “Why else? Money. He cut off the funds from those three companies when he acquired them by destroying the men who were bank rolling the entire crime operation. You can imagine how unhappy they were when they found out.”
Peyton's smile turns sinister. He leans closer to me as if he has a secret.
“And imagine their reaction when they found out you almost ruined their mission in Italy and then wound up protecting the one man that may have taken down the biggest crime syndicate in the world by murdering a bunch of rich creeps.”
“What were they trying to do in Italy?” I ask, though my mind is beginning to link everything together, and I’m pretty sure I already know the answer.
“Get the CIA off their trail. They did an admirable job, if I do say so myself. Not only did you fail your mission in Italy, but now it’s under investigation, halting all efforts to take them down.”
“But how did they know?”
Peyton clicks his tongue. “Come now, Miss Riley. I know you’re smarter than that.”
I squeeze my eyes closed and take a deep breath, my composure on the brink of snapping. “The rat.”
“Very good, Miss Riley.”
“My rat is someone at the CIA.” I suspected it. No one else outside the CIA, aside from Eagan, could have gotten access to my files. But that doesn’t narrow it down much.
Peyton claps enthusiastically. “Very good! See, I knew you were smarter than you look.”
“If I ever find myself alone in your presence again, Mr. Radd, you'd better watch yourself. I will not hold back on punching that smug smirk right off your face. Permanently.”
Peyton winks. “I knew I liked you.”
I ignore him. “Who’s the rat, Peyton? No bullshit this time.”
Peyton stands. “I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to that question, Miss Riley. I’ve given you everything I know. That’s something you’ll have to figure out on your own.”
I slam my fist against the desk, rattling everything on it. Peyton flinches but doesn’t seem surprised by my outburst.
“And why, Mr. Radd, are you suddenly revealing all of this to me? Why are you switching sides in this little game of yours?” I can’t help the derision that drips from my lips.
Peyton smiles so wide. A show to mask his own anger. “You see, I’m a betting man, Miss Riley. I like to place my bets where I know I’ll come out on top.”
“Yes, you’ve said that.”
Peyton narrows his gaze but continues, “And I’m betting on you and Owen Mills this time.”
“That seems like a terrible bet. If you haven’t noticed, Mr. Mills is currently sitting in jail for the murder of three people, and my trial is only two weeks away.”
Peyton chuckles. “You see, Miss Riley, I do very thorough research on all my targets and all my employees. I know your entire past. I know Mr. Mills' entire past. I know everything there is to know about the workings of the black snake crime syndicate.”
“And you still bet on us?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
There’s an odd glint in his eye as he smiles at me. “Because no one fights harder than a broken woman, Miss Riley. And you are most definitely broken.”
I stare after him, my mouth gaping, as he heads for the door.
But before my brain can sew together a single thought, he stops and looks back at me.
“And perhaps you won’t believe me, Miss Riley, but I’m also a bit of a romantic.
I’d like to see love win just once, even with all cards stacked against it. ”
With that, he’s gone.