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“I still train at a dojo once a week when I’m home. I’m kind of an introvert, so I prefer to stay in or go for dinner with friends. I’m not a big party guy. But I have two buddies, Davis and Will, also single dads, who I met through Jaxon’s school. Once a month, we do a movie night or hit a bar and chill, shoot the shit.”
“Invite them to our next performance,” I suggested. “We’re doing one local show before we take a break.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course, I want to meet them.”
Dawson looked as shocked as I felt. Meeting his son and then his friends? It was happening. Like jumping on stage in front of a live audience, there was no turning back.
Until the loud ringtone of a cell phone interrupted our moment.
“That’s mine. I left it on the island.” Dawson sighed and got up. “Be right back.”
Dawson
Would it be too much to ask for one uninterrupted day with Iain?
Then again, I should probably get used to it. With my schedule and his, making time to see each other would be a challenge.
I walked over to the island and glanced at my phone. It was Regan calling.
I picked it up and tapped accept. “Yes, boss?”
“Where are you?” Regan asked.
“I’m at Iain’s. What’s up?”
“I just got off the phone with the investigator. My contact helped him track down that floral delivery payment. It came from a credit card in the name of one Franklin Salich, a former Bandit employee. He was let go a month before the break-in.”
“Franklin Salich, I know that name.” Then it hit me. “Frankie! He was at the Nashville show on February 4. He said he was a friend of Zoe’s. Fuck, he even signed an NDA, and the security team cleared him. I double checked his ID but nothing came up. Everything looked to be in order.”
“He’s not a friend of Zoe’s but he was a coworker. He worked in IT for just over a year, same floor. I’ve got Quinn liaising with HR. His name should have been flagged in our system as soon as he was fired but it wasn’t, because HR never deactivated his clearance. That’s a serious breach that needs to be rectified ASAP.”
“Why was he fired?”
“His boss found out he was offering information on several Bandit musicians to the tabloids in exchange for money. He hadhigh level access. And what he didn’t have access to, he obtained by hacking into company records. Salich was clever but not smart enough. The last time he went searching, he unknowingly breached a firewall. It set off a series of notifications, and he was caught.”
“Fucking hell! And he was right there in front of me. But why Iain?”
“That I don’t know yet. I’m combing through his email, laptop, and work phone history as we speak. As soon as I know, you’ll know.”
“What’s next?”
“I’m having a call with our legal team. If we can find proof that Salich is behind the messages, we can request a restraining order. But the messages to Iain’s old number have stopped, so I have a bad feeling. And there’s one other thing?—”
“What?”
“A photo of you, Iain, and your son was posted online a half hour ago on a gossip site. It looks like it was taken while you guys were out at lunch yesterday. Zoe just texted me. I’m guessing that Salich either took that photo and leaked it, or he’s seen it, and that’s why he’s gone dark.”
“Shit. And where’s Salich now?”
“The PI is watching his place. Said Salich hasn’t left his condo since this morning. I’m sending a note to our entire team containing his details and what to do in the event he tries to approach anyone.”
“Good. Is there anything I can do on my end? Since I’m off duty, I’m staying at Iain’s overnight.”
“I’d say keep a close eye on him, but that’s a given.”
I chuckled at Regan’s sarcasm. “It is. Lennie’s here, and Quinn will be back to switch in the morning. The alarm is on. We’re as secure as we can be.”
