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“You knew back then about me? Investigated me?” Mark shifted forward on his seat, his eyes widening.
“Yes, to be blunt, and again when you met my wife. I protect Gemma carefully. She deserves to be protected. You don’t need to know why,” said Jason, running his fingers through the loose strands of my hair. My scalp tingled.
I snuggled against his legs at those words.
Mark clenched his fists, and his expression hardened. “I did nothing wrong,” he snapped. “You would know that. It didn’t matter. In the end, Jackson was destroyed without my help.”
Now my ears were burning and the penny dropped. A company in Manchester Jason bought and dismantled with glee three years ago. He’d relished that acquisition. The major shareholder, Devlin Jackson, had been the managing director: a slimy man whom I’d dismissed from my thoughts for a long time. I shivered. The groping, lewd bastard had wanted sex with me in return for a contract with my previous company. Jason had come to the rescue, and, with zealous passion, destroyed Jackson and his company.
“My wife is curious, Mark. Tell her what you found out while you were working for Jackson.”
Mark settled back in his seat. “I was young, fresh face
d. I’d been there a couple of years with several clients who stayed on my books for the duration. Devlin took a personal interest in one in particular. Practically managed that one himself. Every time I saw their accounts or did an audit, I wasn’t happy. I’d told Devlin, and he shrugged, trying to drag me off the bad scent. I began to suspect he was up to no good. To cut a long story short, I accumulated sufficient evidence to prove he had been money laundering for the local drug gangs. Devlin isn’t a good accountant. He’d left a trail and I, being the neat and tidy type, spotted the errors. The little things he hadn’t bothered to erase.”
“You were going to report it?” I asked.
“Well, I thought about it, but, to be frank, me up against him alone wasn’t appealing. Plus the criminal activities went beyond Jackson. The gangs have guns, and I didn’t want to risk exposing my activities. Also, Jackson became increasingly threatening, which made me wonder if he knew what I was up to. Thankfully, Mr Lucas came and took the whole company apart. Jackson’s little operation was lost in the mash up. During the company’s dying days, he dismantled the links and covered his tracks. Did you find any evidence?”
“Nothing before I took over,” said Jason. “However, it was a hostile takeover. Later, when I sold the accountancy business on—I had no interest in their portfolio—the auditors expressed reservations, so I had forensic accountants tear the figures apart, dissect the money trails, but everything had gone cold. As you say, he emptied the coffers and made sure he didn’t fall foul of his special clients.” Jason flicked his fingers in the air like speech marks.
Mark smiled. “There was no point in me farting in the wind, so to speak. I found a different job in Manchester then the move to Cardiff. Why the curiosity? It’s been years since I worked there.”
“Devlin Jackson hasn’t forgotten what I did, unfortunately.”
I stared at Jason, glared almost, as he took a sip from his whisky. Secrets! He’d said he wouldn’t keep secrets from me.
Jason leaned down, resting his hands on my shoulders. “It’s recent, babe. There was a fire in one of my hotels. No one hurt, but it badly damaged two rooms. Arson. A guest had left a pile of cigarettes lit in the room and legged it. The CCTV picked up the man leaving. Thinner, older, but I recognised Jackson. The idiot wanted his revenge. Pathetic.”
“Why now?” I turned, ignoring Mark, who’d shuffled forward to perch on his seat, his hands clutching his knees.
“Because he set up a new accountancy business, and this time he was caught. He’d picked up where he’d left off with more laundering and foolishly he didn’t know the Serious Fraud Office had kept a watching brief on him. They pounced and found plenty of evidence this time. He attempted to burn the hotel down on bail. He’s in custody now, breach of bail conditions. So don’t worry.”
“The gangs—”
“Will find a new launderer. He’s on his own. They washed their hands of him, so to speak.” Jason and Mark chuckled.
“He won’t be in prison forever,” I countered.
“No. However, you know that is not for you to think about. So, don’t.” He jabbed the back of my head—a mild threat to keep my nose out of his business.
Mark stared into his empty tumbler, fingering the rim uneasily. “He never found out about me, did he?”
“There is no reason to believe he did. When I saw my security report on you—that you had worked at Jackson’s company—I had to make sure you weren’t in on the act.”
“I take it you’re satisfied I was not.” Mark’s eyebrows rose.
“You wouldn’t be here, in my house, if I wasn’t convinced. Now, enough talk of criminals. My wife is all on edge again. She needs some attention. Don’t you, babe? Proper attention.”
I felt as if tentacles crawled all over my skin, triggering a wave of goose bumps. Little signs of my sudden arousal.
“I should go, then.” Mark went to stand up.
Jason waved him back down. “No, stay. She will enjoy the extra player. In fact, she would love to gratify you. Wouldn’t you, Gemma?” Jason pinched my chin upwards.
Something unexpected whirred inside my mind. I responded to the proposal with an almost mechanical click of compliance, followed by a little spike of adrenaline then a sledgehammer of arousal struck my libido. I stoppered my gasp of surprise and tried to frame a rational reason for my reaction.
I should despise Jason for foisting my submission on my accountant. He’d never invited somebody to join us who didn’t have a connection with his Nightshade Club. At least, he should have witnessed Mark in a scene. Earlier, I’d been bolshie and rude, shown little courtesy to our guest. Perhaps this was my chance to make amends.
