Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Fou r
Freya
H azen holds my hand as we descend the staircase together. He looks breathtaking in his dark-blue three-piece suit that matches my dress perfectly. The way he, Lucas, and Gage have been there for me these past few days has been everything. I haven’t been alone since finding Alec, and part of me doesn’t want to be because it hurts so damn much. With them around, it hurts a little less.
Lucas and Gage are at the bottom of the staircase, wearing the same suit as Hazen. My heart almost breaks through my chest. Gage leans in, pressing a kiss against my forehead and then Lucas swoops in, claiming my mouth in a passionate, knee-wobbling kiss. A loud gasp reaches us, and I pull away.
Amirah breaks us apart, pulling me into a hug. She whispers in my ear, “Whatever is going on between you and them”—she looks behind her at the guys—“I approve.”
I cock my head to the side, the words stuck on my tongue.
“Yes, even my brother,” she answer s for me.
“I should have asked before, but are you okay?” She grimaces, then shakes her head. “Stupid fucking question. Sorry.”
Her arms draw me in, and I respond with a warm hug. Words clog at the back of my throat. I have no idea what to say. I’m not okay and nothing will make it okay until I find out who did this. I need to know who took my best friend, and the only person in my family who cared about me.
The foyer echoes with voices that reach all the way to the backyard. Amirah releases me and I find myself falling into Hazen’s arms, his embrace wrapping around my waist as I lean into him. Pulling strength from his body. He eventually shifts and tucks me into his side, and Amirah joins me on my free side as Gage and Lucas hang back a bit.
Leaving the foyer behind, we venture into the backyard. It’s a sea of people in expensive suits and fancy dresses. They sip champagne from crystal glasses and talk in hushed tones. Pushing past the crowd, Amirah heads straight for the bar.
“Lucas, darling.” Lucas’s mother, Nadine, moves toward us with confidence. The bright pink, skin-tight dress she’s wearing showcases her hourglass figure and makes her white blonde hair radiate. She’s beautiful. She brushes past me, wrapping her arms around Lucas, and presses a kiss against his cheek. Amirah comes back, passing me a glass of bubbles, and I take it, downing it in one gulp.
Nadine chuckles. “If I didn’t know you were from the other side of the tracks, I do now.”
I press my lips together in a smile and fight the urge to roll my eyes.
“Nadine, you need to fix your lipstick. It’s smudged,” Amirah says with a smir k.
I try to hide my laugh with my glass, and Nadine glares at Amirah before she plasters on a fake smile.
“Sorry to hear about your brother, Freya. Such a shame.” She clicks her tongue before leaning in closer, her perfume hitting the back of my throat. “Do you have any idea who did it?”
“I have my suspicions,” I reply, and she stares at me with a little sparkle in her eye.
“And I have mine.” Her gaze travels over my shoulder, and I follow, leading me straight to Dominic.
I whirl back around, cocking my head to the side. What does she know? If she thinks so, too, surely my suspicions are right.
Nadine reaches into her cleavage, then glances around before she discreetly brushes her fingers with mine, handing me a key. “You seem to mean something to my son. I’m risking everything—but I’ll distract him. You go in. Find some kind of proof to bring him down for good.”
Just as I’m about to inquire further, she moves into the bustling crowd, making a beeline for Dominic. I squeeze the key between my fingers—this is our one and only shot.
I watch as Nadine takes Dominic’s hand, leading him over to the seat by the fountain, out of view. The guys follow my gaze and I pass Hazen the key.
“Nadine?” he asks, and I nod.
Lucas frowns but doesn’t say anything.
“We have to break into his office. Now,” I say, placing my empty glass on a passing tray.
“You what?” Amirah asks, glancing between the four of us before she shakes her head. “I have no idea what’s going on, but I’ll be the lookout.”
I smile. “And that’s why you’re my best friend.”
We make our way back through the foyer and toward his of fice. Hazen uses the key to open the door, flooding the room with light as Gage and Lucas enter, then me, while Amirah remains by the door.
She closes the door behind me, and I take a deep breath. Hazen is already searching through Dominic’s drawers, while Lucas lights up one of his cigars.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Hazen growls, snatching the cigar from between his lips.
“Hey, I need that,” Lucas whines, and I roll my eyes.
Hazen slowly opens the window before chucking it outside. “We’re supposed to be discreet, not leave evidence, you idiot.”
Lucas shrugs while Gage sifts through the papers on Dominic’s desk.
We spend the next ten or so minutes going through everything with a fine-tooth comb. With every passing second, my heart races uncontrollably, and I’m anxious that Dominic might walk in through the door. We have found nothing.
After slamming a drawer shut, I cringe at the loud noise and hastily pick up a fallen pile of paper, handing it to Hazen from under the desk. Moving the last piece of paper, I do a double take. There’s a phone underneath it. I pick it up, showing it to Hazen.
“Is this his?” I ask, handing it over to him.
He studies it, then presses the on button. It comes to life, and Hazen grins. “Yep.”
He tries to open it, but it’s password-protected. Hazen curses. He tries multiple combinations, but nothing works. It won’t be long until it locks him out, then we are fucked. This is all for nothing. We haven’t found a single fucking useful thing .
He tries one last code and then bam —the phone lights up.
“Unbelievable,” Hazen whispers.
I raise my eyebrows at him. “What was it?”
“My birthday.”
Hazen shakes his head, and I snatch it out of his hands and start going through Dominic’s messages. Nothing catches my eye, just business shit, but then one name stands out. Mia. What the fuck? My finger hovers over her name for a second before I click on it, then a bunch of messages load, and my breath catches. I lower the phone to the desk. Nude photos of Mia stare back at me.
“What the fuck?” Hazen snaps from beside me, and Lucas leans over my shoulder.
“Holy shit, isn’t that Alec’s girlfriend?” Lucas asks, stating the fucking obvious.
What the fuck? How long was this going on? Did my brother know? Is that why he’s dead? A million questions filter through my head. Then it all clicks. That’s why she was so cozy in Dominic’s office, and why she seemed so comfortable waltzing into his house. I’ve been so na?ve and distracted that I didn’t put it all together before.
Picking the phone back up, I read every single text message dating back months ago. My thumb freezes on Alec’s name. We need to get rid of Alec . My stomach twists, and I think I’m going to be sick. The phone drops from my hands, landing on the desk with a thud.
“Um, Freya, isn’t this yours?” Gage asks, pulling something from between the couch cushions. The silver catches my eye, and I move toward him. There in his hand is a necklace identical to mine. My fingers instinctively clutch at mine around my nec k.
“That belongs to Alec,” I whisper. Tears well up in my eyes and my chest constricts, making it hard to breathe.
Gage approaches me, his fingers lightly touching my neck as he fastens the necklace, allowing it to rest against mine. When my legs give out, Gage catches me, and I hold onto him tightly for support. Like he’ll take all this pain away.
With the necklace in Dominic’s office and the affair with Alec’s girlfriend, Mia, there’s no denying he killed my brother. He took him away from me.
A subtle knock echoes through the office, and I freeze in Gage’s arms. Fuck. We have to get out of here. Gage lets me go, and I take several deep breaths.
My phone buzzes against my hip. Lifting up my dress, I pull it out. There’s a text from Amirah.
Dominic is on his way over here. Get out now. I’ll try to distract him.
Part of me wants to just stay here and confront Dominic, but the other part of me values my life. He will deny it all, and then I’ll have a target on my back. I need to play this smart and figure out what to do with the information I have.
Moving back to the desk, I pull out my phone and take photos of the text messages, then my hands start to shake uncontrollably. My breathing comes in and out at a rapid rate. I place the phone back where we found it, under the papers.
“We need to get out of here. Now,” I say, and Hazen takes the lead. I follow behind him with Lucas and Gage trailing behind me.
When Hazen opens the door, Amirah is no longer there, and we come face to face with an enraged Dominic, who is accompanied by four intimidating security guards .
Dominic smirks, and I picture him holding a gun right in Alec’s face, then pulling the trigger and taking him away from me.
Anger roils inside me, and I finally snap. Taking two steps forward, I cock my arm back, ready to deliver a punch to Dominic’s face. Fuck the consequences.