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He looked at me then, his eyes dark with a hint of something I couldn’t decipher. “We’ll discuss this after they leave.”
“But…”
He held up his hand and shook his head. “I don’t want them to hear you screaming after I bend you over my lap and punish you for all your little lies.” It wasn’t a threat. It was a promise.
I gasped, and if I had been wearing pearls, I would have clutched them at that moment. Before I could respond, not that I even knewhowto respond to that, Delove and Dobbs walked back in.
“Sorry about that.” Delove offered a small smile and I relaxed for a moment. Maybe they had talked to the DA and explained, and this could all be over with. I could go back home, and Juliet and I could figure out how we were going to rebuild. “We spoke with the DA and we’re all in agreement that this new development works out in your favor. Ryzen still needs to close the deal with Covington, so he needs you. Voledetti won’t let something like that go easily. And what better way for you to rekindle your love with Ryzen than reuniting after being kidnapped? You’re traumatized. You’ll seek comfort in the arms of the man you were going to marry. It will stroke his ego and, believe me, he’ll slip up.” Delove looked so pleased with himself, I contemplated grabbing the pen on the desk and stabbing it in his hand.
Cian slammed his fist on the table, and I jumped. “There is no way in hell this is happening, Delove. This isn’t why we called you.” His voice was lethal, and Delove craned his neck, loosening his tie.
“Cian,” Delove warned. “This is her only way out of this.”
Great, not only were they all experts in my messy fake love life, but I was also apparently invisible. The three of them argued back and forth for a moment, and I rolled my eyes at their pissing contest.
“Hey!” I clapped my hands together, getting their attention. “Can I talk now?” I looked between the three of them. “It’s a stupid plan, OK? I won’t do it.” I scoffed.
Delove placed a series of photos in front of me. One picture was of Ryzen and a man handing him a duffel bag. Delove nodded at the picture. “That’s a union official paying Ryzen off.” He slid across another photo. “That’s you entering the bank and depositing a portion of the money.”
My eyes widened as I stared at the photo. I remembered that day. Ryzen had asked me to deposit money at the bank for the wedding fund. There had been no reason at the time to question him. He had said he was busy and that I would be helping him out, which was what I told Delove and Dobbs.
Delove shook his head, his lips in a flat line. “That’s conspiracy, Nova. We traced the bills back to the union official. This is dirty money, and you are as clear as day depositing it into a bank account with Ryzen’s name on it.”
The room suddenly felt fifty degrees hotter, and I rubbed my temples.
“And that’s not all.” Dobbs pulled out his phone and held it up so that Cian and I could see his screen. A video started to play. It was security footage from the warehouse. Juliet pulled up to the back of the building in our employee Owen’s car and I jumped out of the passenger seat with a large box. I knew what this was—it was the night before the wedding, and we’d been running late for the rehearsal dinner. I had forgotten my phone at the warehouse, so we’d stopped so I could grab it and also drop off the box of inventory binders for Owen to go through while I was on my honeymoon. I was gone for no more than forty-five seconds on the screen before you saw me running back to the car. The video cut off after we drove away.
“Care to explain why you’re seen running into your warehouse with a box, then running out empty-handed, and less than twenty-four hours later it’s been blown to pieces?” Dobbs snickered.
I explained exactly what happened, and Dobbs shook his head and grunted.
“Nova.” Delove’s voice was stern. “You and Miss James are the only two people seen at that warehouse before it exploded. We searched through the footage. No other people can be seen on camera.”
“Well, where’s the rest of the video?” I sputtered. “Obviously some of it is missing. Look at the time stamp. It skips.” My voice was rising to a high pitch as my heart started to beat dangerously fast.
“That’s all that we were able to find.” Delove glanced down at his hands on the table. “Look, Nova”—he leaned forward—“the DA is not messing around. She wants heads to roll, and if you won’t help us get Voledetti, she’ll take yours.”
I opened my mouth and then closed it. No words would come out.
“Fuck!” Cian stood and clenched his fists. “That son of a bitch.” His knuckles were turning white, and nausea washed over me.
I knew right then and there that I was screwed. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, then bam, world turned upside down. Again. I tugged on the collar of my shirt; it was like it was suffocating me to death. This could only mean one thing. Ryzen had set me up to take the fall for this. Not only me, but Juliet, which was what I told Delove and Dobbs.
“Based on what we know, I would be inclined to agree with you. But with this video, and no other evidence, you and your business partner will be the DA’s number one targets.” Delove reached across the table and grabbed my hand. “That video is all she needs to indict you and Miss James. She will bury you, do you understand? She is tired of getting dicked around by Voledetti and she’s out for blood, at whatever cost. She doesn’t wantyou, but she’ll take you if you don’t help us.”
I was fucking screwed. They had me, and we all knew it.
“Help us, and this all goes away. Don’t, and we can’t guarantee what will happen to you or your business partner.”
I yanked my hand out of his grasp and glared at them. So that was it then? I could tell by the look on Delove’s face that he knew I hadn’t done anything wrong. He frickin’ knew, yet wasn’t going to do anything to help me because they were desperate. Here I was again, another pawn in a bullshit game I’d never signed up to play.
“It’s too fucking dangerous,” Cian muttered, his back to us.
That was exactly what I was thinking. What, I was just supposed to show up at Ryzen’s wearing a wire and magically get him to confess to every illegal thing he had done? Oh, sure, that’d work. I was sure he’d willingly tell me, “Yeah, I blew up your warehouse, and?”—charming dimples and all.
“We have an informant embedded within Ryzen’s organization. They have been providing us with intel for some time, but not enough. They can’t get what you could get. They will ensure your safety. You get Ryzen comfortable enough to slip up, get your hands on any evidence you can find and bring it to us, and we guarantee this whole situation goes away and you can go back to living your life.” Delove and Dobbs both leaned forward, watching my face closely.
They were talking to me as if I had a choice, and we all knew I didn’t. If it was just me, I might take my chances and fight the DA. Grams would help—she would never let me sit in prison. The thought alone was enough to make me shudder. But Juliet? There would be no way she could handle that. She was too sweet and innocent-looking. They would take one look at her and eat her alive. I couldn’t be the one responsible for that.
