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“I imagine I know about as much as you do from the investigation,” Boone grumbled, not realizing how much that bugged him until now.
“Is that your choice or hers?” Rhett asked.
Boone gave Rhett a side eye. “Meaning?”
“Hey, listen…” Rhett raised his hands in surrender, giving an easy shrug. “I’m just saying that a woman tends not to share much if you don’t share much with her.”
Boone looked away. Peyton knew more than most, but the last thing he wanted to do was talk about the sore spot in his life that took him a year to overcome. Especially since he wondered how Peyton would see him if she knew everything about his past. He turned his head and stared out her front window, spying the leaves dancing in the wind, going back into his mind to the day where his old life ended.
In the cold, dark gray interrogation room, Boone sat at the metal table and the Fed leaned in a little closer. “The evidence we’ve got on your brother-in-law shows that the stock he bought up was SKF2/5, a class of drugs.”
Boone knew of it. The drug had been recently approved to treat cancers. Results had been amazing. The drug had shown to halt the growth of tumors, and in some cases, shrink them altogether.
Leaning across the table, the Fed said tightly, “We have a problem, don’t we, Knight?”
Boone examined his brother-in-law’s account, seeing the finances right before his eyes. “Yeah, sir, we’ve got a problem.”
The Fed leaned in close, his coffee breath brushing across Boone’s face. “Care to explain how your wife’s brother knew that the drug was about to be FDA approved?”
Boone knew that inside information because he’d arrested the CEO of Reds Pharma on a DUI charge two nights before. The CEO told Boone he’d been celebrating because his drug was getting FDA approval.
The realization was on him. There was no way out of this, and no way he could save the people he thought loved him, and that he loved back. No one considered what this would do to him. He held nothing back. “I am involved, sir, but not in the way you think.” Boone ran his hands over his face, suddenly so damn tired, feeling like all his hopes and dreams were gone in a second. “My grandfather died of prostate cancer. I told my wife, Chelsea, in confidence, about the doctor I had arrested and also talked to her about the drug. I had explained that I wished the drug had come earlier to save my grandfather’s life. The conversation was between a husband and a wife, and the wishes of what a grandchild would have wanted for his grandfather.” Boone recalled the conversation they’d had in bed that night. He even told Chelsea about the FDA approval coming in. She’d been in his arms that night, hugged him tight when his heart spilled out. The next day she must have called her brother to tip him off.
Boone knew why. His brother-in-law was scrambling to keep his job as a stockbroker on Wall Street and was falling into a depression. He had no doubt Chelsea wanted to help her brother, but he never could have anticipated she’d burn him to do so.
The Fed studied Boone a moment and then moved to his chair on the other side of the table. “Your wife sold you out?”
Betrayal burned his chest. He and Chelsea had been together for twelve years. He thought they were happy. He thought she loved him. “Apparently,” Boone replied.
“Boone?” Asher said.
He blinked away the dark memory. Thankfully, it didn’t burn like it used to, but it still stung. Boone knew he changed after that, unable to trust his instincts when it came to love. He nodded at Asher. “I’ll talk with Peyton and see what comes up.”
“I think that’s a good start.” Asher rose and stared at Boone intently. “I’m with you on this one. That girl of yours is in some kind of trouble.”
“Not this girl, right?”
Shit.
Boone glanced over his shoulder, then wished he hadn’t. Peyton stood in the doorway, her damp hair around her face, her skin still a shade paler than normal. She wore jogging pants and a sweater, and she still looked cold. He was up on his feet in an instant and wrapped his arms around her. “This isn’t something you need to worry about.”
She melted into his arms and then leaned away, confusion heavy in her expression. “You can’t possibly think this has to do with me?”
He hesitated, not sure how to answer. He didn’t want to scare her, but she needed to know what she faced now. “I don’t believe in coincidences, Peyton. With this accident, along with everything else you’ve been through, it’s hard not to believe something more is going on here.”
Her eyes widened, tears forming there. “But…why?” Her voice hitched.
Rhett’s phone beeped then. All eyes went to him as he glanced down at his screen. He finally looked up at Boone, his expression revealing nothing. “They’ve found the SUV a mile away. Abandoned. The vehicle was reported stolen this morning.”
“What does that mean?” Peyton asked Boone with big scared eyes.
Damn. His guts twisted. He locked his arms around her, wishing he could snap his fingers and take her away to someplace where nothing could hurt her. “I know you want answers, and we’ll get them, I promise you that.”
She blinked, her chin quivering. “Answers for what, though? I mean, maybe it’s totally random. Maybe the person stole the SUV and was trying get away and caused the accident—” Her breath hitched, more tears welling in her eyes, so close to spilling free.
Boone gestured the guys out with a flick of his chin, wrapping his arms around her even tighter. Rhett and Asher moved to the front door, and before he shut it, Rhett mouthed, “Call me.” Boone nodded and then focused on Peyton, whose mouth was wide open, like she was trying to get words out but couldn’t.
That he understood. Once he’d experienced a moment in time where his entire world suddenly looked different. “I know this is shocking. I know it’s hard to understand. But did the accident seem random to you?”
