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The sound of her father’s voice released a cry of relief. She’d never been so happy to hear her dad. He’d come for her, and Isaac would go behind bars where he belonged.
Crying, she ran toward the front of the house. “Dad! I’m here! I’m right here!”
Frowning, Jenson stepped inside and slammed the door closed. He spared her one, hard look before glancing at Isaac. “You really screwed shit up this time, son. Time to clean your mess.”
Cade’s headthreatened to explode as he paced back and forth across the room. Discarded papers and files shuffled at his feet.Each step brought a new burst of anger, a gut-wrenching sense of betrayal.
Jude and Wade stayed silent and lingered by the doorway. Worry was bright in Jude’s eyes, and she bit into her thumbnail, the movement making her look so much like Laura it stole his breath.
Brooke sat behind the desk, her mouth fixed in a small O as if trying to sort out all the information.
Matthew stared at the statement now clutched in his fist. “I don’t get what you’re so upset about. It’s the paperwork I got from the bank when I opened the account.”
Cade stopped and glared at his partner. “Are you kidding me? You can stop with the innocent act. I know what you and your father have been up to, and the fact that his name is on this account cements everything. What I can’t wrap my head around is if one of you staged a break-in to get that stupid flash drive out of the reception desk, how could you hurt Laura? Throw her to the ground and risk harming the baby?”
The memory of Laura huddled, crying on the floor and cradling the child inside her crashed against him, finally pushing him past his breaking point. He marched across the room. He’d make Matthew pay for playing a part in hurting her—of having knowledge he hid that put a target on her back.
Jude rushed forward and put herself between him and her brother. “Wait a minute. Hold on and let’s talk about this.”
“Talk about what? How Matthew had a hand in Laura being tossed around like a rag doll? You could have killed her. Could have killed the baby.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Matthew screamed, pushing against the firm hand Jude had placed on his chest. “I would never hurt her. Never hurt a child.” His voice cracked and tears sprang to his eyes. “Never a baby. All I want in this life is to have one of my own.”
The raw pain in his voice stomped down Cade’s anger. He shoved a hand through his hair. Yelling and hurling accusations wouldn’t get them anywhere, and time was ticking. “I need you to explain everything to me. Starting with why your dad’s name is on a bank account for our business—a bank account I knew nothing about—and ending with what the hell’s been your problem the last couple days. As soon as shit started going down, you’ve been impossible to get ahold of. Acting cagey and erratic. I need answers and I need them now.”
Matthew sniffed back tears, his face turning a pasty white. He shoved past Cade and ambled toward a vacant chair. He lowered himself in it and hung his head in his hands. “Dad helped me set things up. He talked to the bank, and I just signed whatever he put in front of me. I don’t understand what that has to do with Laura going missing. But the break-in…Laura’s attack…. I had nothing to do with that.”
Suddenly exhausted, Cade shifted to lean against the wall. “Then where were you? You didn’t tell me, Laura, or Jude.”
Jude put a hand on Matthew’s shoulder. “Let us in. We love you and want to help.”
Matthew sighed and covered Jude’s hand with his. “The day I left, Brandon and I got a call that the woman who was carrying our baby was going into labor. We needed to drop everything and get there right away.”
Jude gasped and threw her arms around her brother. “Matthew! Why didn’t you tell us? Congratulations.”
“The baby didn’t make it,” he said, despair cracking his voice. “We’ve tried for years, wanted this for years. We’ve had adoptions fall through and waited for so long. So we got a surrogate and we didn’t tell a soul. We didn’t want to jinx it, but it didn’t matter. The worst still happened.”
It all made sense. Matthew leaving so abruptly. Not answering calls or being available. Acting distant and cold.Cade’s heart shattered watching sobs shake his best friend shoulders. “Oh man. I’m so sorry.” He wanted to say more. To give him something that would take away the pain, but nothing he said would make things better.
And he didn’t want to be an insensitive dick, but they didn’t have time to waste.
Matthew turned large, sad eyes his way. “I swear. I didn’t even realize my dad’s name was on the bank account. I opened that account so long ago, and he just walked me into the manager’s office and told me where to sign. I didn’t question him, didn’t read through everything the way I should have.”
“Did you know this account is under a different name than the one you and Cade give your clients?” Brooke asked quietly.
Matthew pulled away from Jude and frowned. “What do you mean?”
Crouching, Cade shuffled through the dumped files and found what he was looking for, handing it over to Matthew. “Look at the account name. This is the one where we deposit the checks we receive from clients. The other one your dad appears to be using to clean money he’s stealing from the Community Outreach Foundation.”
Matthew snatched the paper and compared it to the first one. “I don’t understand. He’s an asshole, but that community fund supports so many local projects. Does so much good for the town.”
“And what better way to steal than through a foundation no one would question?” Cade asked. “It’s all based on donations, and I’m sure no one at city hall is questioning your father’s intentions with the funds. All he needed was a way to clean the money.”
“I’m such an idiot. It all makes sense now.” Matthew’s voice sounded hollow, his face crumpled in the same way it had when he was a kid—filled with disappointment and anger.
Jude frowned. “What makes sense?”
“He was so eager to help,” Matthew said with a small snort. “Wanted to show me the ropes and help get the business off the ground. Dad’s never shown interest in me or my life. As much as I’ve always hated him, I’ve also wanted his approval. Seeing him fuss over what we were creating and having him beside me, guiding me…” he lifted his hands then let them fall. “I was right back to that excited boy who was finally getting his dad to say he’s proud. And the whole time, he was just using me.”
