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In the next instant, Montana whistled loudly when the door to the boardroom opened. The board members walked in, each taking their seats.
I didn’t bother looking at any of them.
When the door closed, Montana quickly brought the meeting to order. “Before I hand down punishment, Shame, tell me what you found out?”
Justin ‘Shame’ Peterson was the club’s intelligence officer. Shame owned and operated Peterson’s Inc., the foremost investigative service in the United States. Need to locate someone, get all the dirty intel, find out who was fucking who, then Shame was your man. The brother was notorious for finding anything or anyone. There wasn’t a single secret on the planet Shame didn’t know or wasn’t privy to.
The man was that good.
“You were right, Prez. It was Largo at the hospital.”
I stiffened. “Don’t do this, Montana.”
“Not a fucking word!” he shouted, slamming his hand down on the table before pointing his finger in my face. “You caused an accident that could have killed Payne. I’m tired of this shit. It ends now. Largo is now a problem for the board. You may not care, but we do. Three motherfucking years, Mercy. THREE! In that time, we’ve all watched you pull away. We thought when you got Sophia back, you’d be happy, but you’re not. If you won’t fix this, then we will. Now continue, Shame.”
“Sorry about this, brother,” Shame said repentantly, looking sideways at me. “Largo Finn is a ghost, Prez. She doesn’t exist. The real Largo Finn died in 1938 at the ripe old age of eighty-three in Santa Monica, California.”
I slowly sat up.
“What the fuck are you talking about, Shame?”
“The woman you married is not the real Largo Finn.”
Turning to Montana, I growled, “You knew about this?”
“Pippen came to me a while ago with the information. Told him to keep digging.”
“Pippen did his due diligence, Mercy. The kid was on the level. Even called a friend of his that works for WITSEC. According to Pippen, his guy went silent, then never called back. When Pippen tried him again, he got some fucking pizza place in south Florida. He gave me everything he had and I took it from there.”
“That makes no sense. I’ve known Largo since before college. I met her parents. Fuck, man, I sat across from them at dinner many times.”
“Not saying you didn’t. We’ve all met Largo. Most of us were there when you married her. Was there for Sophia’s birth. Hell, man, I’m one of her godfathers. I get it, but I’m telling you, the woman you married isn’t Largo Finn.”
“Then who the hell is she?”
“My guess, her family are runners.”
“Bullshit!” I growled, shaking my head. “No fucking way. I know Largo and her family. Her dad was prior military. Navy. Stubborn son of a bitch wouldn’t run from shit. Asshole had no problem standing up for what he thought right. No. No fucking way.”
“Doesn’t matter anymore, because Capt. Daniel Finn, his wife Julianna, and Largo’s brother, Landon, were all killed in a car accident tonight. That’s why Largo was at the hospital. She was there to identify their bodies.”
Rubbing my hands down my face, I muttered, “I know. I saw her in the garden out front. She was upset. I offered to help. She kissed me. God, it felt like the last three years hadn’t happened. It was just us. The real us. And just as fast as it happened, she pulled away. Got cold on me. Told me to leave her alone. Reminded me that we are no longer married. I walked away, but something in my gut told me to follow her. Found her upstairs in the ICU, clinging to her brother. They had just turned off the machines. Largo lost it. Told me she doesn’t have anyone anymore.”
“What else, Shame?” Montana asked, ignoring me.
“Going with the runner aspect, I started digging into Capt. Finn, thinking I wouldn’t have any problems looking into his military service. I was wrong. Reached out to an old friend of mine from the neighborhood who served but he hasn’t gotten back to me yet. Preliminary report is the United States Navy has no record of a Capt. Daniel Finn. And before you say anything, Mercy,” Shame said holding up his hand. “Most of us knew Daniel Finn spent time in the Navy. We know he served.”
“That means the Navy deemed his service classified. Depending on the level of classification, you’re going to have a hard time getting that information. Even if you do, I’m betting the government redacted most of it,” Fury stated. “I canreach out to my brother Anthony. He still works at the State Department in Washington.”
“There is more,” Shame carefully said, looking at me.
Sitting up straighter, I growled, “Go on.”
“The accident was a hit. Police found skid marks from three different vehicles. One belonging to the Finns’. When their car hit the tree, it knocked them unconscious. They were wearing their seat belts and should have survived the accident.”
“But?”
“The police thought it odd that both front doors were open when they arrived on the scene. Their necks were broken.”
