AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“He’s the bodyguard I saw with the guy who Stu met at the lake,” I tell Ash around a mouthful of sandwich.
“We know,” he says, leaning against the countertop with his arms folded across his chest.
Before I can ask how he knows, Luke walks in. “He gave a false name and used cash, so there’s no way to trace him.”
“I’ve got someone looking into him. We should have an answer in the next few hours,” Ash states, pushing away from the counter and coming to stand in front of me. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. Just took me by surprise that’s all. I knew he saw me that day at the lake. Do you think whoever he was with knows too?” It’s a dumb question and I already know the answer, but you can always hope, right?
Ash nods, then takes his phone from his pocket, opens it, finds what he was looking for then turns it round to face me.
It’s a photo of a man and a woman. Taking the phone, I zoom in on them.
“That’s Aria but who’s the man? He seems familiar.” I ask, looking back up Ash.
“You don’t know him?” I shake my head, and Ash frowns. “What about the other guy?”
I look at the man standing off to the side and immediately recognize the bodyguard. “That’s the man who was here, isn’t it?”
“Yes. And the man with Aria is Calvin Carmichael,” Ash confirms.
I gasp at his words and look at the picture again, trying to see if he’s the man that met Stu at the lake.
“But if that’s the same man Stu met, and it could be, why would he be meeting him?”
My mind scrambles to understand why Stu would be meeting with the interior designer at Titan… Unless he’s not just the interior designer.
Obviously seeing where my thoughts have gone, Ash says, “There are rumors that Calvin Carmichael is more than just a designer. That he is in fact the owner of Titan Industries.”
“It’s possible that he set up the company using an LLC (Limited Liability Company) that allows him to remain anonymous,” Luke says taking over.
“Okay, but there would still be records. Tax and shit, right?”
“It depends on where the LLC is set up. Some states allow complete anonymity, such as Delaware,” Luke says.
Ash and I share a look. “That’s it. Calvin Carmichael is from Delaware, and it’s also where Preston Thomas just so happens to be the senator.” I look back down at the phone still in my hand. “Now we just need to prove it.”
* * *
A groanbeside me has me peeling my eyelids open just a slither. It’s enough to see Ash reaching for his phone, and as he answers it with something akin to a hello, I roll over and attempt to get back to my dream. It was nothing special but much better than what’s awaiting me in the real world today.
I just about make out the words ‘Delaware’ and ‘Carmichael’ as Ash ambles down the stairs. I’m just getting sleepy, or at least I’m trying to convince myself I am, hoping if I ignore everything it will go away, when Ash calls up to me.
“Kenzie, you need to get up. You need to be at Morning Kick in an hour.”
“Oh, for the love of God,” I grumble, using my legs to drag the rest of me to the edge of the bed before finally sitting up. I can’t believe how tired I am. Luke let me finish at midnight, even though he wasn’t happy when I told him that I needed to take some time off to help out my mom. Just before we left, he stopped me to tell me that my job would be waiting for me. We got home around half past twelve, but Ash kept me awake most of the night. Not that I’m complaining because damn does that man know how to give a girl an orgasm or three, but now my lack of sleep is making what I have to do today doubly hard.
I finally make it downstairs and wander aimlessly to the bathroom, ignoring Ash’s sniggers, for a quick shower.
Emerging ten minutes later fully clothed and in need of coffee, which Ash hands to me as I sit down, I feel somewhat human.
“You—”
“Don’t ask me if I’m okay ‘cause that’s a highly explosive question. Instead, tell me who was on the phone.”
“Mornings never were your thing.” Ash chuckles, and I send him a mocking smile. “It was Tripp with the name of the guy from last night. One Luca Santos, aged thirty from Delaware, currently working as a personal bodyguard for Calvin Carmichael and drives a black saloon that was recently repaired at a local garage.”
“Guess we found the guy who ran me off the road then.”
