Page 22 of Jonas

I gave myself a mental shake and shoved aside stupid memories that only served to piss me off and went back to shuffling through a file Anson Sutton had given me. I even blocked the mental detour my mind was attempting to take to figure out why I’d leaped from getting coffee with a friend to my crazy upbringing. Why was I still dwelling on a past that shouldn’t’ve had any bearing on my life?

Nope.

Not today, Satan.

Work.

I needed to focus on finding Kira the report Anson had given me. The report wasn’t a real report, it was more handwritten notes he’d taken when he’d met with the whistleblower—Kent Rapport who’d been told to shut up or else. Thankfully, Kent hadn’t shut up, he’d gone to an outsider who’d hooked him up with Zane. He’d also gone straight up the ladder and talked to Anson.

“Here.” I pulled out the sheet of paper and handed it across the dining table to Kira.

Cooper was to my left at the square table. Jonas to my right. Both were reading something on their tablets. Both looked up when Kira took the paper from me.

“How did Kent get to Anson?” Kira asked.

“The golf course,” I told her.

“Risky,” Cooper muttered. “Especially after he’d already met with us and we hadn’t cleared the board of directors.”

“According to Anson he was desperate. Kent told him he’d talked to someone at your company. But it was taking too long and Kent had met Anson and played golf with him at a company tournament a few years ago. He told Anson he had a gut feeling he was a good guy and would listen.”

“Like I said, risky. There’s a reason why it was taking so long to clear the board. Members of upper management are hand-picked by the board.”

Shit.

“I didn’t know that,” I said as I sat back in my chair. “Who?”

Jonas slid his tablet in front of me.

I scanned the list but homed in on two names.

Karen White and Lou Peterson.

“Kent spoke to Lou,” I said even though everyone at the table already knew that. “And Anson brought him on board.”

Double shit.

“How well do you know Anson Sutton?”

Jonas’s question triggered a chain reaction.

How did someone find me? The rent here was astronomical. A single woman working in HR at Delco could in no way afford to live in this building. I never came home the same way. I normally stopped at least twice at two different locations before I came home. I was always careful. I would’ve spotted a tail. The only person who knew where I lived was Anson. It wasn’t a coincidence that the same Mercedes was in front of Delco and again in front of my building after following me. They knew where I lived.

And every night when I got home, the first thing I did was sweep my apartment for electronic devices. Something I did not do because Jonas was with me and I was off my game.

Fuck.

What had we talked about?

Daryl Barnes. Cash and his team following him. My computers. And now Lou Peterson.

“Derrika?” Jonas called.

I shifted my gaze to Jonas and held his gaze praying he’d catch my play. “Sorry, I just um…noticed how dirty these floors are. I forgot to sweep.”

It took three beats before his eyes flared and ever so slightly he dipped his chin.

He got me.