Total pages in book: 224
Estimated words: 215705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1079(@200wpm)___ 863(@250wpm)___ 719(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 215705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1079(@200wpm)___ 863(@250wpm)___ 719(@300wpm)
“The wife does yoga three nights a week,” Blake says. “My wife is going to try to connect with her at tonight’s session. She’s already there. She has a good read on people. Our hope is that she can access where her head is right now. Even a glimpse of stress, of an on-edge mood, can tell us things are rough at home.”
“I still think me talking to her gets us the furthest,” Carrie adds. “She can help. She can tell us what he’s up to and she will have a connection to me.”
“That she fucked me?” I snap. “Seriously, Carrie? Tabitha lied and fucked me to get to her husband,” I say. “What else will she do? No. The end.” I look at Blake. “I’m not playing these games. I don’t want to know what mood that bitch is in. I want to know how to ruin her. We’ll make her help us.”
“If you’re expecting pushback,” Blake says. “You won’t get it. I’m already working on her dirty little secrets.”
I think of the shooter in that store. “Let me be clear,” I say, “I’m over that talk earlier about him being insane. He’s a sick bastard. Check. Got it. All the more reason to put him down now. Those offshore accounts you found aren’t enough. Why do they exist? Who’s in on it with him?”
“Three board members with offshore accounts,” Blake says.
“I need everything you have in my inbox by the time I get done talking to Reese.” My cellphone rings and I pull it from my pocket to frown. “What is it?” Carrie asks, urgently, crossing to stand in front of me.
“Our building security,” I say, answering the line on speakerphone. “Reid Maxwell.”
“You have a guest here that insists it’s urgent.”
“Who is it?” I ask.
“Tabitha Woodson.”
At the mention of Elijah’s wife, my eyes meet Carrie’s. There’s not a chance in hell I’m going to meet her in my apartment. “Hold on,” I say, pushing mute and looking at Blake.
“Keep her in the lobby,” Blake says. “And buy time. I’ll wire you.”
I nod and unmute the call. “Tell her I’ll be right there.” I disconnect and look at Carrie. “Stay here with Gabe.”
“Not a chance in hell,” Carrie says. “And if you think that’s happening, we’ll be divorced before we get married. You aren’t meeting that woman without me. The end.”
Blake interjects. “It could be a set-up meant to look like another hookup. Take your future wife with you.”
Chapter one hundred two
Reid
Igrab Carrie’s arms and pull her to me. “No. You are not going with me.”
“You heard Blake. I need to be there. It protects you. We protect each other.”
“Carrie, damn it.”
She pushes to her toes and kisses me. “I’m not a naive fool, Reid, but you’re pissed. Do you really want to do this without a buffer?”
“Yes. I do.”
“I’ll get that wire on the way,” Blake says, turning and heading out of the door.
Gabe follows without a word and Carrie grabs my shirt. “I’m going. The end.” She turns and tries to walk away.
I grab her arm. “Carrie—”
She steps into me and flattens her hand on my chest. “I said fight back. That means step away from the past and into the moment. We’re here, right now, and we need to do this together. You know it. I know it.”
I tighten my grip on her arm, my jaw tensing. “She will taunt you. She might even try to make you think I’m fucking her now.”
“You’re too busy fucking me to have anything left for her. If you’re worried about what she’d make me believe, we need to do this, and then go fuck this out of your system so you can focus.”
My anger notches down and my lips quirk. “Is that right?”
“Yes. Very. I think we both just need to be home fucking like rabbits and hugging our kitty, but we can’t. Not yet.”
I soften my voice and stroke her hair. “Anything she says that you don’t already know is a lie.”
“Understood.”
I know she can hold her own, but I also know from my reaction to Tabitha being at our place that she and I are both going to have to face the cold, hard facts. I’m not going to have the clear head I need with her and my sister in town. I’m not going to fight the real fight. A topic for later and perhaps those real handcuffs. I lace my fingers with hers, kiss her knuckles and lead her toward the door.
We head back to the kitchen island to find Blake and Gabe waiting on us. “We have wires en route,” Blake says and then changes topics. “Here’s what I know about the wife. She recently started a cosmetic company. The doorman at her building says that she hasn’t been home in a week. She’s not checked into a hotel or taken a flight or any other form of travel. We’ll have a man at her place of work tomorrow and find out where she’s staying, but I have a good guess based on her call logs. She’s been in heavy conversation with the CEO of Prevalin Industries for six months.”