Chapter Thirty-Four #2
Everything Aaron Stone had set up in the paper trail pointed at Floyd.
At the same time, the vast amount of currency pointed fingers at him.
Which had the feds scratching their heads.
Either Aaron had intentions of putting the money in Floyd’s possession and died before he could do it, or Aaron believed the feds would never find the hidden safes.
Or—and this was what Hawk believed had taken place—Aaron needed cash to bribe those that Bakshai told him to bribe.
No one leaves a paper trail when illegal actions are involved, if they can avoid it.
Aaron Stone had enough money to keep wire transfers and bank accounts away from that activity.
At any time, if Aaron believed he was going down in a fall, he’d make sure that money wasn’t anywhere near him when the authorities were brought in.
Two days into their investigation, a bank account in Abu Dhabi was located under Floyd Gatlin’s name.
To Hawk, finding that account was all the evidence he needed to understand Aaron Stone’s motives.
There was enough physical evidence pointing at Floyd for a “reasonable doubt” verdict to set Aaron free, should it have come to that.
Aaron Stone might have been an asshole, but he wasn’t stupid.
Hawk and Alex were currently packing Alex’s belongings in her apartment. Surrounded by cardboard boxes and Bubble Wrap, they decompressed from the first week of the investigation.
“It appears that your father had everything figured out. The only factor he didn’t consider ... was dying.” Hawk stacked a wrapped plate into the box with the kitchen items.
“I can’t imagine he’d have cared what happened to Stone Enterprises after his death. It wasn’t as if he cared what his legacy would go down as.”
“I couldn’t disagree more. He had Floyd set up to take the entire fall if this crashed around him while he was alive.
And yet he kept incriminating evidence pointing at himself if things were discovered after his death.
Maybe he actually considered what would happen to Stone Enterprises, and you and Chase, if there wasn’t a finger pointing back at him. ”
Alex stood there, staring across the room ... frozen. “Aaron only cared about himself.”
Hawk took the wrapped plate from her hand and placed it in the box.
“Then why did he mandate you find your half brother before selling anything off? Why tell you about Max at all?”
“To ... I don’t know, protect the estate from Max learning about him and coming after the estate at a later date?”
Hawk smiled. “That would still suggest he cared.”
She blinked away her doubts. “I can’t see it.”
“And what if the reason he didn’t bring you and Chase into the business was because of the blackmail from Ashraf?”
That was where Alex could argue against her father doing anything for unselfish reasons. “That only accounts for the last five to six years of his life.”
“Still, if he wanted to make amends, it would have come at a price for both of you.”
Alex stifled a yawn. “If you knew the man, you’d understand how off you are.”
“And yet he still left you and your brothers everything.”
She reached for another plate. “Including a full-blown corporate fraud investigation to navigate. A case that could easily freeze up every part of that inheritance.”
Hawk took the plate from her. “Which brings us full circle as to why he held on to the evidence to incriminate himself.”
Alex offered a placating smile. “I appreciate you trying to find anything to suggest our father was actually trying to do right by Chase, Max, and me. But the sad truth is, the man was a horrible father. I spent my whole life trying to prove myself to him. To earn his love and respect. Even in his death, I’ve worked myself sick to do more, be better, stronger, and for what?
Running his company better than he did will never be noticed by him.
It has taken all of this time for me to realize it’s over.
I’m never going to find a hidden letter from him saying how much he loved me and wanted the best for me .
.. us. It’s over. He’s gone. I don’t have to prove myself to him, the staff at Stone Enterprises, the board.
I have a family that loves me. He simply wasn’t a part of it. ”
Hawk took one of her hands in his and squeezed. “You’re something ... you know that?”
“The only good thing about any of this is meeting you,” she said.
A spa day out with Nick wouldn’t have been the same with Hawk playing bodyguard.
And until the feds could get a solid lead on whoever dropped off the package, and use that person to determine who hired them, Alex still needed protection.
Therefore, the spa day was brought to them.
The bedroom in the pool guest house was transformed into a spa, including massage tables and room for pedicures and manicures.
“How are you holding up, really? Don’t lie to me,” Nick said. “You know I’ll call bullshit.”
Alex had her hair saturated with something silky and yummy that needed to marinate for a good half hour. Meanwhile, the technician was taking care of the mess she called feet.
Nick was face down on a table with a masseuse working out the kinks.
“I’m exhausted. I look at my computer and can’t focus. I’m not eating like I should. If I had a cough or fever, I’d think I was sick.”
“You sure that’s not Hawk keeping you up late?”
“He keeps me up, but not late. Two sentences into pillow talk, and I’m out.”
“That sounds like my dates,” Nick said.
“Men aren’t the only ones that pass out after sex.”
His muffled chuckle made her smile.
“You’ve been complaining about this tired thing for a while. Have you considered seeing a doctor?”
“Our company is being investigated for fraud. My fatigue is justified.”
Nick turned his head and looked at her. “Not that I like to think about these things, but ... when was the last time you had a period?”
Alex closed her eyes and leaned her head back. “Two years ago.”
“What?”
“IUD, remember? I haven’t had anything for two years.”
“What if it failed?”
Alex opened one eye and stared at her bestie. “I’m not pregnant, Nick.”
“Are you having sex?”
She closed her eyes, thought of Hawk’s weight on her as his lips said magical things in her ear. “The best ever,” she replied.
Nick put his face back into the donut hole of the massage table. “If you start throwing up, take a test. I don’t want to be plying you with alcohol only to learn I’m polluting my niece or nephew.”
“You would be such a bad influence.” She reached for the stem of her mimosa.
“I’m the best kind of bad influence, and you know it.”
Yes, yes, he was.
Alex sipped her champagne with a splash of orange juice and felt a slight recoil in her stomach.
Come to think of it, she hadn’t enjoyed the taste of wine in the past few weeks.
After she’d returned from Colorado.
She shook her head.
Nick’s power of suggestion was screwing with her.
The next morning, Alex and Piper stood in the bathroom waiting for the ten minutes that the pregnancy test said you needed to wait.
“Thanks for picking this up,” Alex said for the fifth time.
She’d gone from not being able to stay awake to being up all night worrying.
Alex had cornered Piper and told her what she needed.
“I don’t know if I should be excited for you or worried?”
Alex shook her head and rubbed her hands together. “I haven’t felt like myself in weeks.”
Piper gave a lopsided grin. “That lasted for six months for me.”
She wasn’t ready for a child.
And how would she break it to Hawk? She’d guaranteed him that this couldn’t happen.
“This isn’t the right time.”
Piper placed a hand on her shoulder. “You’ll be okay, regardless.”
The timer on Piper’s phone went off.
Alex reached for her sister-in-law’s hand and picked up the test from the package it sat on.
A long sigh escaped her lips.
“Negative,” Piper said.
A strange ache settled in Alex’s chest. “Good. Yeah, see. I knew I wasn’t.”
Piper furrowed her brow.
Alex let Piper’s hand go and tossed the test into the trash. Then turned on the water to wash her hands.
“You okay?” Piper asked.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” Alex didn’t give her time to answer. “I’ll call my doctor tomorrow.”
“It’s all right if you’re disappointed.”
“No. No. I’m not. It isn’t the right time.”
“It is the right man, though.”
Alex turned off the faucet, reached for a towel. For the first time in her life, Alex truly considered if Hawk was the right man.
The man you did plan to have children with.
The Viking to always be there and watch over you.
To love and grow old with.
“It’s hard to let my mind go there,” Alex finally said. “I’m afraid that if I say the things I feel, the bubble will burst, and he’ll be gone.”
“That isn’t going to happen. Hawk isn’t your father. He isn’t going to abandon you.”
Alex screwed up her face with the thought. Was that really her fear?
“Just because you convinced yourself that you’d never meet the right man, that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen,” Sarah continued. “The only real question you need to ask yourself is ... do you love him?”
Alex swallowed the lump in her throat and stared at her hands on the sink. “I’m afraid to.”
Piper leaned against the counter and ducked her head to get into Alex’s line of sight. “But do you?”
Alex nodded . . . slowly.
Piper took Alex’s hands in hers and squeezed. “Then enjoy. Let yourself love him. And see where that leads. There is no rush for anything.”
Alex glanced at the garbage can. “That’s a good thing.”
Piper squeezed her fingers before letting go. “Your hands are warm. Are you sure you don’t have a fever?”
Fanning herself with those warm hands, Alex said, “It’s stress.”