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“I wish it were that simple. Valen Ward is one of the richest men in the country, and money helps people forget they saw him or encourage them to say they did.”
So he’s going to drag my name through the mud, hoping that it turns Rue away from me? With the way he’s looking at her, I doubt it has much to do with his job and more to do with his attraction to her.
She might be oblivious to what he’s doing, but I can see him checking her out. I get it. Rue is fucking beautiful. But if he keeps staring at her like that, cop or not, I’ll remove his eyeballs.
“His company makes this Sono-d drug, but you must have more than that to make him a suspect.”
“Let’s just say at the moment, he’s more a person of interest. With men like Valen Ward, you need an airtight case because his lawyers will pick apart any holes until the whole case falls apart. I can’t tell you any more than what I’ve already told you. Not while it’s an active investigation.”
She huffs and folds her arms.
“This isn’t just an investigation, Nathan. This is my life. You’re telling me that the only person in the world who seems to know me might be the very person trying to kill me, and yet you won’t tell me anything more than the fact that his company manufactures Sono-d.”
I smirk at her words. If Hask thought he’d win her over that quickly, he’s an idiot.
Stepping away from the window, I continue around the house to the back door. I try the handle and find it locked, which isn’t a surprise. I look at the potted plants on either side of the door and bend down to tip one up. When I don’t find anything, I try another. I’m on the third one when I hit pay dirt and find a key.
Slipping my gloves on from inside my pocket, I pick up the key and slide it into the lock and open the door. I blow out a relieved breath when the door opens smoothly and without a sound. I close it behind me and make my way through the house.
Now that I’m inside, it’s easier to hear what they say.
“I just want you to be careful, Rue. You’ve already been through something traumatic. As much as you don’t want to be reminded of the fact, you are the Lullaby Killer’s only living victim. I don’t know if that will make him cut his losses or try to finish what he started, but what you don’t do is make it easy for him.”
I hear sniffing and fist my hands. Did this motherfucker make her cry?
“I get it. I’ll be more careful,” she replies with a quiet voice.
Seeing the cop’s jacket hanging on a hook near the door, I force myself to keep moving while they are distracted.
I rifle through his pockets and grin when I find his wallet. I pull it out and go through it, not finding anything particularly interesting. I check out his license and memorize his home address before taking one of his four credit cards. I shake my head. The man needs to learn how to budget his money better. I slip it into my pocket and put the wallet back before retracing my steps.
When I get back outside, I close the door and relock it before putting the key in my pocket. This time, I don’t stop at the window. I head back to my car and climb in before driving away. Squeezing the steering wheel, I try not to think about them alonein the house together, not when I can still fucking taste her. The steering wheel creaks as I squeeze it harder, but I force myself to keep going and not turn back.
I make my way to my office, the drive a blur, and park in the underground garage before taking the elevator up to the top floor. Going in the back entrance means nobody sees me until I reach my floor. When I step off, Fauna, my secretary, looks up and offers me a polite smile.
Fauna has been with me since I took over, and her no-bullshit attitude is why I keep her around. It also helps that she has a husband at home that she adores, so has zero interest in me. That’s more than can be said for most of my female employees. I guarantee none of them are interested in me, the man. They want the billionaire and the pretty face. They have no clue what lurks beneath the surface. If they did, they’d run for the fucking hills.
“Good morning, Mr. Ward. I wasn’t expecting to see you here today,” Fauna greets.
I wasn’t expecting to be here either since, most of the time, I work remotely. The view of the ocean is far more enticing than the concrete jungle here, but sometimes, I just don’t have a choice.
“I had a few things to take care of in the city, so it made sense.”
“Alright, well, since you’re here, I have some things for you to sign that I was going to have couriered over to you. I’ll grab you a coffee and bring them in.”
“Thank you, Fauna.”
She nods as I head into my office and take a seat in my ridiculously overpriced chair. I glance out the window and see that it’s started to rain. The previously blue skies are now gray and dreary.
Pulling out the cop’s credit card, I place it on my desk and fire up my computer. My security is good at home, but it’s better here. With the precautions and firewalls we have in place, GhostWard is virtually impenetrable. I have no problem hacking into Nathan’s accounts. I look through his financial history, and like I thought, he’s spending above his means, using one credit card to pay off another. It seems he burned through the inheritances left for him but never bothered to curb his spending habits. Now he’s found himself on a slippery slope. I make a note to monitor him. A cop’s wage isn’t going to sustain his lifestyle of fancy clothes and expensive dinners for long if he doesn’t get his shit sorted out soon. That’s when he’ll start fucking up. And when he does, I’ll be ready.
Nothing interesting jumps out at me, and I went back to when he was a teenager. Judging by his transaction history, he’s somewhat of a shopaholic but boring as fuck. I’d expect someone in debt to at least have something fun to show for it. If Rue went out on a date with this guy, she’d be asleep in minutes.
I move some of the money around just to fuck with him. Not enough to raise red flags, just enough to make him worry about how forgetful he’s been lately. Knowing my IP address can’t be traced, I make a couple of interesting purchases—because I can—and do some more digging into the man.
I’ve looked into Hask before, so I know almost all there is to know about him, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t shit there to find, and with him being alone with Rue, I need to know more.
There isn’t anything new except the coverage he’s getting over Rue’s case. He’s the lead detective, but let’s be honest, with the killer’s spree taking them over state lines, it’s become the fed’s jurisdiction. He might pretend he’s in charge, but he’s not. That doesn’t mean he won’t be playing up the hero angle, though.
