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“I’ve called my contacts, but I don’t think we can stop this.”
We couldn’t stop it.Icould.
Daniel was a powerful man in the city. His reach was far and wide in ways I didn’t really want to know the source of.
But my father was more powerful. Had more money. Played dirty to get what he wanted.
Unstoppable.
He was a force no one could contain.
No. One.
“Find anything you can on that man. Get him demoted, moved . . . anything.” The desperate quality to my voice was one I didn’t recognize.
“Already on it.” He paused. “We’re helping Pepper and Miss Adeline. I just thought you’d want to know what was going on.”
“I want to know everything.”
I ended the call, picked up the overturned chair, and turned off the stove.
“It’s ready.” I shouldered past Walsh and Rivera as I stormed out of the kitchen.
If I hadn’t seen Pepper yesterday, would my father have sent his goon to torment her? If I’d showed up for duty at Hollingsworth Properties, would that have stopped him? There was no way to know.
“Where the hell are you going? You’re on in a half hour,” Captain called as I shoved out the back door.
“Family emergency,” I grunted.
When I reached my truck, I yanked open the door and climbed inside. Instead of starting it, I sagged against the steering wheel.
Where was I going?
If I went to Grey Paws, a fresh hell would be rained down on Pepper.
My breath came in short, heavy pants. I couldn’t catch it.
How could I fix this for her? What would happen to the dogs? Who would care for them like they did?
Without thought, I dialed.
“Are you at work?” Just hearing my brother’s voice allowed me to take a deeper breath.
“He’s going to shut her down,” I croaked. “How do I stop it?”
A tense silence floated between us.
“By being smart. Whatever you’re thinking of doing, wait.”
He knew me better than anyone. Somehow I’d tamped down my urge to go to Pepper . . . but I had a few other people I wanted to pay a visit to. Starting with that inspector.
“Daniel’s helping her. But it should be me.” My voice crescendoed to a shout.
“If you get near her, it’s only going to hurt Pepper.”
I resented it but was relieved my brother had the ability to remain calm in the midst of turmoil.
“I got her into this mess. I need to get her out.”
