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“Jax, is this for real?” Mariah’s voice was a mixture of astonishment and admiration.
“Sure is,” Jax said, grinning from ear to ear. “I managed to hack into Tomas’s offshore accounts where the majority of his money is kept. This is happening in real time.”
I shook my head, stunned by the man’s skills. I’d known he was good, I just hadn’t realized how good. None of his talk was bragging. He was just stating facts.
I leaned over the desk where Jax sat now, getting a better look at what was going on. There were multiple windows on his laptop screen, and the same thing was happening to each and every one of Tomas’s bank accounts. They were being totally drained. Before we knew it, Tomas would have nothing left to fund his schemes.
After Lucas and I first met Matthew, the FBI agent, I’d figured Jax was one of the best, but what was going on here was on the next level. We’d wanted to hit Tomas where it hurt, and this was going to be a total sucker punch.
“Good work, Jax,” I said, a touch of awe in my voice. I clapped him on the shoulder. “We’re going to have that bastard exactly where we want him.”
He beamed at the praise. “Thanks, man,” Jax said, his eyes flicking back to the screen. “I just hope it’s enough.”
“Every bit counts,” I replied.
Jax stood and began pacing the room, his smirk firmly in place. “This is going to send my father off the fucking rails.” He looked and sounded ecstatic about the prospect. The room practically vibrated with Jax's enthusiasm.
“All those long nights have paid off it seems,” Mariah commented, a wry look on her face.
“And you wouldn’t even know he’s been at a deficit for sleep now. Just look at the man,” I said.
His eyes were practically glowing with triumph. “Damn right it’s paid off. That man has done too much to too many innocent people. He deserves much more than this. But for now, it will do.”
“Where is all the money going?” I couldn’t imagine it’d just disappear into thin air.
“That’s the best part.” Jax bounced on his toes like he could barely contain himself. “All around the world tomorrow, hundreds of charities will wake up to large anonymous donations with no paper trail. Tomas won't have a clue what happened, and there’s no way he’ll be able to track where his millions have gone.”
“Damn.” I wrapped an arm around Mariah’s waist, pulling her to my side. My heart raced with anticipation. “This is it. There’s no way he’ll stay hidden now.”
I glanced down at Mariah, noting the hint of panic coming from her.
Jax seemed to notice too. “This is a good thing, Mariah. It means we have him right where we want him.”
She nodded. “I know. It just means that we’re one step closer to confronting him.”
“Also a good thing. Come here,” he said, returning to his desk and sliding into the chair. He clicked around on the screen. “Look at this.”
Mariah and I moved closer and stared at the screen as he clicked through a bunch of documents. “What are we looking at?”
“Check this out.” Jax pulled up another document, leaning back so we could see better.
“Wait.” I leaned in farther, squinting. “Is this what I think it is?”
“These are documentation of deals he’s made at the casino in Atlantic City,” Jax said. That was where the majority of the Hawthorne fortune had come from, and one of his most prized businesses. “Every single one of these transactions happened under the table. Every one of them illegal.”
I reached for the mouse. “Do you mind?”
“Be my guest.”
I scrolled through the document, realizing there were at least six counts of tax fraud, and that was just on the first page.
“Unbelievable,” I muttered. By the time I was halfway through the file, I’d lost count. “There’s enough here to lock him away for a very long time.”
A series of documents appeared, outlining various under-the-table deals Tomas had made at the casino.
“This is outrageous,” Mariah breathed, her fingers tightening on my shoulders where her hands rested. I could feel her anger seeping into me, fueling my own. But it was more than just anger. It was our shared need for justice. This man needed to pay for his crimes.
“Looks like Daddy Dearest was hiding even more than we thought,” Jax said, resuming his pacing. “It will definitely help lock him away, though it’s not enough to put him away forever.”
