38. Dane
THIRTY-EIGHT
Dane
“How did you get in here?” I demanded.
Ainsley crossed her legs, leaning back casually. Like this was her office instead of the one in my private hotel suite.
Rather than answering my question, she said, “I came because your brother has gotten himself into some trouble. It’s become a real issue. Not just for Knightly Global, but for my family as well.” Ainsley picked up several glossy photos from the desk. I hadn’t noticed them before. “Here,” she said. “Take a look at what Kip has been up to.”
“No, you showed up here. You’re going to explain yourself.”
“Just look .” She held the photos out.
I exhaled. Dammit, I was way too tired for this.
Between her and her sister, Ainsley had always been the more reasonable one. Clever, but with a sense of humor. I’d considered her a friend.
But her showing up like this, unannounced? It didn’t feel like a friendly visit. This was my turf, and yet I was on the defensive, and I didn’t like it one bit. The fact that I’d known Ainsley almost all my life was the sole reason I hadn’t thrown her out.
I knew a power move when I saw one. I just didn’t know yet what Ainsley really wanted.
“Come on, Dane. We don’t have all night.”
Glaring, I snatched the photos from her hand and looked.
They were of Kip and Nina Badowski. Talking together. Kissing. These images were strikingly similar to the deep-fake photos that Grace had received of me with Nina. But something told me these ones were the real deal.
Kip, what have you done? I thought.
“Where did you get these?”
Ainsley waved her hand. “That’s not important right now. I think we can agree Kip has shown a serious lack of discretion. He was seeing this woman, Nina Badowski. Paying for her services, to be more accurate.”
Oh, hell. So he’d been a client of Nina’s. Like Dirk Lancaster. Which explained both their names being on that list.
I tossed the photos back on the desk. “Was this before he got together with Bristol? Or after?”
“It’s cute that you think the timing matters. But for what it’s worth, it was before. He hasn’t cheated on my sister. This couldn’t have worked out better for her. In fact, to hear Bristol tell it, Kip has been very compliant.”
“ Compliant ? That doesn’t sound like Kip. Do you mean…” My mind worked fast, trying to put it together.
Then, suddenly, it clicked.
I muttered a curse. “Bristol is blackmailing Kip with these photos.”
I had suspected their marriage was a business arrangement because I hadn’t seen any kind of affection between them. But this was so much worse.
The corner of Ainsley’s mouth twitched. “You guessed it. My sister has been busy.”
Bristol had been the worst even when we were kids, but I’d never expected her to be such a snake. Then anger ignited in my chest as I thought through the full implications.
Bristol was blackmailing Kip …and using the photos to do it.
“Is your sister the one who sent those photos to Grace, but doctored to make it look like I was the one with Nina?”
Ainsley shrugged. “Bristol is awful, we all know that. I told her not to be so petty. But she’s jealous of Grace.”
“You knew ?” I dug my fingers into my hair. “Do you have any idea what it was like for Grace to see those? To think I lied to her? I could’ve lost her over that bullshit.”
I thought of the woman I loved in my bedroom right now, and all I wanted was to get Ainsley out of here. I didn’t want Grace to hear any of this crap, not tonight. I could deal with my family’s treachery tomorrow.
I pointed at the door. “I don’t have the patience for this, Ains. Either tell me what you’re really doing here, or get the hell out.”
She stood up, placing her palms on the desk. “I wouldn’t be here unless I had no other options. Kip’s actions have had some unfortunate consequences, and I need to know whether you’ll work with me on sorting all of this out and making it go away.”
My blood ran cold. “Jesus. Are you talking about Nina’s murder? Kip is responsible for that? Is that what you’re saying?”
“In a way, yes. If he’d been smarter, none of this would’ve happened.”
“Just say what you fucking mean,” I seethed. “But know this. If you think I’m going to hush up the cold-blooded murder of an innocent woman for anyone, family or not, you’re out of your mind.”
“Then you need a reminder of what’s at stake. Vincent, you can come in.”
I whirled around to face the door.
And my entire world shifted into a nightmare.
Vincent Brady stood in the doorway with Grace in front of him. He held a knife to Grace’s neck. Her amber eyes pleaded with me. Her lips shook as she tried to keep still. Immediately, I thought of the way Nina had died. Her throat had been cut, maybe with that same weapon.
My jaw clenched so hard that my teeth creaked, grinding together. “If you hurt her, I swear…”
“I don’t want to hurt Grace,” Ainsley said. “I happen to like her. But I’m a businesswoman, and I’ll use whatever leverage I have.”
I tried to project my determination through my gaze. Hold on. I’m getting us out of this .
“Leverage, huh?” I almost laughed as I finally understood, though I didn’t take my eyes from the tip of the knife brushing Grace’s neck. “You’re the one running the escort ring. Is it just you, or is the rest of the Harcourt family in on it too?”
I was facing away from Ainsley, but I heard her come around to the side of the desk. Saw in my periphery as she leaned against it.
“Bristol works with me, though I often find myself questioning that decision. My father has no idea. He’s like your dad. A dinosaur who wants to control his children by giving us bits and pieces of his legacy. I decided to break free of that. Start my own business, like you. But running escorts isn’t really about cash. It’s about information. Blackmail material that I can use to get what I really want.”
“Dane is nothing like you,” Grace said, then whimpered when the tip of Vincent’s knife drew a drop of blood against her pale skin.
I took a few steps toward them, my fists clenching.
“ Dane ,” Ainsley said.
Vincent’s mouth twisted. “Come any closer, and you won’t like the result.”
It took every ounce of willpower I could summon not to launch myself at the man. “I swear I’m going to kill you, Brady.”
Vincent laughed and scraped the knife against Grace’s skin again. She squeezed her eyes shut.
“Ainsley, if you want me to listen to your bullshit, then let Grace go. There’s no discussion so long as that piece of trash is touching her.”
Ainsley came into my field of vision, crossing her arms over her suit jacket. “You have nothing to bargain with. Zero leverage.”
Yet we both knew that wasn’t true. Otherwise, she would just make her demands instead of trying to get me on her side.
But I also had an additional bargaining chip.
“I have something you want. The information that Nina Badowski was planning to turn over to a reporter.”
Grace’s eyes flashed. “Dane, no.”
Ainsley tapped her fingers against her arm, trying to hide the interest in her expression. “Is that right?”
Grace looked pissed. If at all possible, I wasn’t going to turn over everything. But I had to get that murderer away from her.
“There are financials,” I said. “And a list of names that includes Kip and Dirk Lancaster. I’m assuming that’s a list of your clients?”
Now, I definitely had Ainsley’s attention.
“Fine.” She nodded at Vincent. “Grace will stay here, but I’ll keep an eye on her myself. Probably smarter if Vincent is guarding you, anyway. So you don’t do anything stupid.”
The knife left Grace’s throat, and I started breathing again. Vincent moved to my side, though he didn’t get too close. Didn’t want to risk me grabbing for it.
Ainsley crossed to Grace, held her by the shoulder, and made her sit in one of the chairs in front of my desk. Ainsley took the other. Grace kept her hand against the cut on her neck, eyes down on the carpet. Which bothered me. I hated seeing her so dejected. But at least Vincent wasn’t touching her anymore.
“The information Nina stole,” Ainsley said. “Where is it? I want every copy and a guarantee that you haven’t shared it with anyone else.”
“Don’t do it, Dane,” Grace countered.
Ainsley lifted her eyebrow, as if in challenge.
I sat against the edge of the desk, keeping Vincent in my peripheral vision. “You’ll get it. But I have questions first.”
Grace’s head bowed. Her hair fell past her shoulders, hiding part of her face, and her hand rested on her knee, fingers spread.
We’re getting out of this , I promised her silently. And we’ll make them pay.
“And I can answer them,” Ainsley said. “If I get your assurance that you’ll make sure our fathers sign their partnership agreement. Harcourt Hotels merging with Knightly Global’s resorts. I also want a guarantee that when you and Kip eventually get control of Knightly Global, you’ll sell all of your shares to me. For fair market value, of course.”
The picture became that much clearer. I assumed Ainsley and Bristol had originally operated the escort service out of Harcourt Hotels. Gathering blackmail material. Using powerful men’s weaknesses to their advantage.
I almost couldn’t blame them for it. Almost .
Then, Kip had gotten caught up in their net. He must’ve become a client, and Bristol and Ainsley blackmailed him into proposing to Bristol. Our families were already friends, so the engagement was believable. Neither of our fathers would object.
Maybe the Harcourt sisters had planted the idea for the hotel partnership in their father’s mind too. While Kip had done the same within Knightly Global.
But this much was clear: Ainsley was really the one in charge. And what Ainsley truly wanted was to own a business empire, using any means to make it happen. The escort business was just a means to an end.
Ainsley wanted Knightly Global for herself.
“I can live with that,” I said. “The only reason I joined the family company was for my mom anyway, and I’m just grateful she’ll never understand how far Knightly Global has fallen.”
“Then go ahead and ask your questions.”
Grace still had her eyes on the carpet.
I love you, gorgeous. Just hold on .
I crossed my arms. “Is my hotel manager working for you? Tobin?”
Ainsley shrugged. “Of course. I made sure I had him in my pocket months before your grand opening.”
Which meant Tobin had let her into my suite tonight. That rat. He was also probably behind the “glitch” that had prevented us from identifying Vincent and Nina when I first asked for the security camera footage from the night of the grand-opening masquerade.
So much for that raise I had wanted to give him. Unbelievable.
“And the break-in at Grace’s house? Who did that?”
“Tobin too. He’s been useful.”
Though I’d been speaking to Ainsley, I still had my focus on Grace. She tapped her fingers against her knee. It distracted me for a moment. Was she trying to tell me something?
Then she pulled back her thumb. Tapped again.
Five fingers, then four.
Whatever Grace was trying to tell me, I didn’t want Ainsley or Vincent to notice. “But why did Tobin take Nina’s mask?” I asked, to keep the conversation going.
“By then, we knew Nina had vanished. We also knew she had access to sensitive information about my business. She’d been talking to Grace that night before she disappeared, so I had to make sure she hadn’t turned over the stolen data. Tobin was looking for anything about Nina he could find. Guess he didn’t look thoroughly enough.”
Grace and I knew that wasn’t quite accurate. She’d returned the borrowed red clutch to Piper, so of course Tobin hadn’t found it. “But where exactly did Nina get that data in the first place?”
Ainsley laughed. “Oh, you’ll love this. Kip gave it to her. Turns out he had more backbone than I expected. He was pissed off about the blackmail, so he stole our client list and some financials. He gave that info to Nina for safe-keeping.”
“Why her?”
“Because the fool thought he was in love with her. He passed the documents to Nina and then told me and Bristol. He thought his act of rebellion would mean an insurance policy against us. But he basically signed Nina’s death warrant.”
Grace’s fingers tapped again. She pulled back another finger. Going from four to three.
Oh, shit . She was counting down to something. What was Grace planning to do?
“We knew we had to find Nina before she shared that data with anyone,” Ainsley went on, oblivious. “Vincent was tasked with locating her. He put pressure on anyone who knew Nina. You and Grace were never supposed to get involved.”
Grace finally lifted her head, eyes narrowed with fury. “So Kip used Nina just as much as the rest of you. How can any of you live with yourselves?”
“Money is security,” Ainsley said. “So I manage just fine.”
The fingers on Grace’s knee shifted to just two.
Dammit. Okay. So we were doing this. I had to be ready, and I had to make sure that Vincent and Ainsley didn’t notice what Grace was up to.
I took a step forward, making Vincent’s knife hand flinch in my direction.
“But you didn’t expect Nina to go to a reporter,” I said quickly. “Neither did Kip.”
Ainsley’s focus moved from Grace back to me. “When Nina disappeared, I expected she might be planning something along those lines. Didn’t know for sure until you told me today. Want to share the reporter’s name?”
“If you let Grace leave right now, I’ll consider it.”
Ainsley smirked. “You haven’t even proved you have the stolen information.”
“You’re the one who’s trying to add new terms to our deal. You haven’t answered all of my questions yet. Why did Bristol send those fake photos of me and Nina to Grace?”
If Grace was surprised, she didn’t react. She just tapped her fingers again. Still at two. But I was starting to sweat, wondering when she’d get to one and what would happen after.
Don’t be reckless, baby .
“Like I said, Bristol can be petty. We knew that you were looking for Vincent and Lexi, that you were getting way too close to the truth about our business. Bristol thought it would throw you off balance or something. But mostly, she’s just kind of a bitch.”
I uncrossed my arms, forcing myself to appear relaxed, though every part of my body tensed in readiness for whatever Grace was about to do. “And then you must’ve found where Nina was hiding, and you ordered Vincent to kill her.”
Grace’s fingers shifted, another finger disappearing.
One .
Fuck.
Ainsley inclined her head. “I knew you had an investigator working for you, and I figured you might be close to finding Nina. It’s a good thing we found her first. Vincent got to her just last night. When Tobin called me early this morning, letting me know you were on your way to Silver Ridge, I knew I needed to speak to you personally. So that we could get on the same page.”
Grace’s beautiful face had turned to stone. I could sense exactly what she was thinking. Ainsley had spoken so callously about ordering the death of an innocent woman.
“Then what is it that you want from me?” I asked. “Grace and I know about your business. We know you’re responsible for Nina’s murder. What did you come here tonight hoping to do?”
Ainsley spread her hands. “To call a truce between us. I won’t harm you or Grace. Or rather, I won’t have Vincent harm either one of you. You and Kip will deliver Knightly Global when it becomes time. Meanwhile, you let us run our escorts out of Knightly Global properties, including this resort. You don’t interfere. You don’t try to mess with me. And we can all be one big, happy family.”
Grace’s fingers tightened into a fist on her knee.
Zero .
With a primal scream, Grace launched herself at Ainsley. Their chairs both toppled. I heard something crash into the wall, but I had to trust that Grace could look after herself.
I grabbed Vincent’s wrist to stop him from striking out with his knife, while at the same time I smashed my fist into the man’s nose. Payback for what he’d done to Grace, and it was satisfying.
Vincent recovered fast, struggling with me for control of the knife. His leg swept out to knock me off my balance. I fell back against the desk. He tried to bring the knife down while I held his arm back, both of us shaking with the effort.
Blood dripped onto my shirt from Vincent’s nose. “You’re going to die for that.”
“Not if I kill you first.”
“I’m not the one with a knife pointed at his neck.” Vincent grunted as he used his weight to drive the tip of the knife downward.
So I decided to let him.
Instead of pushing, I pulled down on Vincent’s hands while I twisted rapidly to the side. The knife tip slammed into the wooden desktop, embedding there. Then I got my leg up between us and kicked out, shoving Vincent back.
Pain burned along the side of my neck, and wetness dribbled down to my shirt collar. That had been way too close.
I pulled the knife from the desk and levered myself upright. Ainsley was slumped on the floor over by the wall, and Grace crouched over her. Vincent looked from me to Grace, like he was trying to decide whether to grab her and make her a hostage. But that would mean turning his back on me if he wanted to reach her fast enough.
“Touch her and die,” I growled.
With a bellow, Vincent rushed me. But I was ready for him.
I buried the knife in Vincent’s chest, my other arm wrapping around his back like we were embracing. He struggled a moment, eyes going wide, before his bodyweight slumped. I stepped back, letting him go, and Vincent fell to his knees. Then he toppled to the side.
My blow had hit its mark, going straight to the man’s heart.
Grace was crouched on the ground near Ainsley. She got up on wobbly legs. “Ainsley’s out cold. Is Vincent…”
“He’s not your problem.” Vincent wasn’t anyone’s problem. Not anymore.
I crossed the room and pulled Grace into my arms. She was shaking. Then she pushed back from me and gasped. “Dane, your neck is bleeding.”
“It’s a scratch.” I brushed her hair back from her face. Her glasses were askew, so I set them right. “Your head okay?”
“I’m good. If anyone got a concussion tonight, it’s Ainsley.”
“That countdown of yours. I can’t believe you did something so reckless. But I’m glad you did.”
“I’m glad you figured it out. Just…” She cringed. “Don’t mention it to my brothers.”
Was she kidding? I was going to tell all of Silver Ridge, hell, all of New York City too, that she’d saved both of us with that stunt. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Today was a bit too much excitement for me.”
I had to laugh. “Message received. I’ll try to make our lives a little more boring in the future.”