Page 15 of His to Claim

Montenegro Corporation, Denver.

Full discovery.

The Wolfen.

I’d never discussed my findings with my mother, honoring her ridiculous request. I’d merely taken photographs of the various items, using both private and professional time to search every internet site, newspaper article, and police file I’d been able to get my hands on.

It was if Lucas had never existed. There were no birth, employment, or DMV records I’d been able to locate. While my mother had insisted he’d been a horrible criminal, the very reason we’d left Denver, I’d also found nothing to indicate he remained incarcerated in any state or federal prison.

Her resistance to talking about my father had ultimately driven us apart, not that she’d lost any sleep over it. My intense need to find the truth regarding my past had turned a fascination into an obsession. And here I was. Had I asked myself if I had lost my mind more than once? Absolutely. I was well educated, had a good head on my shoulders, and had been on my way to a promotion when I’d made the decision to chuck it all, a leave of absence turning into a resignation.

I shivered, my mind racing at the darkness filtering like a festering pool. I was teetering on the brink of disaster and at this point, I had no other choice. There was something hidden in the very bowels of the Montenegro Corporation that could at least provide some answers. I would bet any amount of money on it. Sadly, my instincts told me Chris Montenegro was onto me, my acting abilities less than par. I felt so close to uncovering the mystery. I didn’t want to leave Denver, not again for any reason, but I’d already realized there was a possibility that I might have no other choice.

If I wanted to live.

The text I’d received from the man himself had shocked me, a command to meet with Mr. Montenegro in his office. Sighing, I glanced at my watch. I was almost out of time.

I tapped my fingers on the table, waiting as my laptop pulled the information off the jump drive.

I hissed, willing the latest contract to appear on my screen. My red flags had been raised, yanking me out of my comfort zone when I hadn’t been asked to polish up the details before the contract was sent out. That was more than just unusual. I did everything involving contracts for the man.

Chris had been edgy as fuck lately, keeping the majority of records under lock and key. I’d read about his latest troubles with the law, an indictment for the very type of thing I’d found in his records. Did I honestly believe he was going to end up behind bars? Not a chance in hell.

I could swear I’d been followed leaving the office more than once. Along with the unknown callers, I was absolutely spooked.

I’d already spent a significant amount of time learning about Chris’ past and his connections to vicious crimes. While he’d been arrested on at least four occasions, the man able to hide behind what appeared to be a steel curtain, that only dragged my tenacity closer to the surface. If he had anything to do with my father’s disappearance, I would find a way to take him down.

At any costs.

I’d certainly keep the jump drive with all the juicy details of high priced extortion by my side just in case.

There was no doubt my friend at the FBI would salivate over such a high profile case, although what I was doing to obtain information was bordering on criminal activity. Jack Barlow had already given me some assistance, searching certain secure records that I’d had no access to, finding absolutely nothing on the same Lucas Tremaine who could be my father. Another dead end.

While he’d known better than to ask any questions, I’d confided in him. Maybe I’d just wanted someone to know where I was. What a crock. I had no real friends and had never considered a serious relationship. I was pathetic.

Jack had suggested strongly that I let the whole thing go, that perhaps my mother’s story had been just that, an embellished account of who my father really was in order to keep me from searching. Maybe she had her reasons, or so he said. My gut told me that more than one person had gone to significant lengths to cover up what had happened to my father.

I’d decided to follow my gut. I’d made a promise to myself to find out everything and I intended on keeping it.

And that directly involved the Montenegro family.

While I’d smuggled the single jump drive from the office, my sixth sense told me that Mr. Montenegro had suspicions of files being viewed that weren’t within my scope of employment. I’d applied for and been hired as an office manager. Of course, I’d known from the day I’d accepted the job that much more had been expected of me.

Evidently, my background in law had been the main attractor, something Mr. Montenegro leaned on every day. I knew I couldn’t lie to the man. He had enough connections that my ruse would be uncovered quickly. I told him I’d had a particularly horrible case and that had tainted my view of practicing law. Besides, my birth certificate had my mother’s maiden name.

He’d bought my story, especially since I’d been able to bring a tear or two to my eyes. Maybe I could act after all.

Now, I prepared contracts, negotiated others, often the terms heavily riding in the gray areas. For the money I was making, I’d pretended that certain aspects of the negotiations weren’t unscrupulous at minimum.

I gripped the edge of the table, scanning the latest addition. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary that I could find, but I’d have to compare it to the others I’d helped prepare. I was weary from looking. When my phone rang, I groaned. How had an additional fifteen minutes passed so damn fast?

“Ms. Bridges. Mr. Montenegro is waiting for you. He doesn’t like tardy employees and he certainly doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

I hated the grating voice of his personal secretary just as much as she hated everything about me. “I’m on my way.” I ended the call without hearing another lecture about following the rules.

Rules.

My thoughts shifted immediately to Stone. His commanding ways. His dominating attitude. The draw to the man was irresistible. As I took a deep breath, I could swear his scent remained covering my skin. I rolled my eyes, preparing myself for whatever Montenegro was going to say. I doubted he had the balls to kill me in the middle of his office.

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