Page 29

I spread the pictures on the table in front of Delilah.
“Do you recognize any of these men?”
She stared at the pictures for a while and pointed out Elliot Hawthorne, Founder of Hawthorne Global Holdings, who specialized in luxury real estate worldwide. He also had diplomatic ties, as his hotels around the world aided in humanitarian efforts of accommodating displaced women and children. He also funded refugee programs.
She also pointed out Neil Delaware and Henry Pike; both men had criminal records, and in the past five years, they'd been arrested but released due to lack of evidence.
I pushed the other pictures out of the way and placed the three Delilah pointed to in front of her.
“And you’re sure these are the men?”
“I’m sure.” She pointed at Hawthorne. “This is Elliot. He’s the one who told me everything about Dean and how he owed him the money. The other two are like his henchmen. He”—she pointed at Neil—“came to my office when I was working at the magazine.”
“And there are no other men you recognize?”
She shook her head.
“Okay.” I stacked the pictures into a pile, flipping them face down.
Placing my elbows on the table, I clasped my hands in front of me and leaned forward. “Now, you need to tell me how much money Dean owes so I can send it to the account.”
“He owes twelve million dollars,” Delilah responded flatly.
“Twelve million dollars?” I repeated, my voice raised in disbelief. “I thought you said it was five?”
“It was, until Dean stole drugs from Elliot, used them, and tried to sell them without Elliot knowing,” she stated flatly.
“Delilah, how the hell were you planning on paying that back without help? I’m sure the salary I’m paying you is more than what you received at the magazine. And I’m not even going to ask what those bastards paid in an attempt to claim you.”
Delilah went rigid, and I exhaled sharply, forcing myself to calm down. I placed my hand on hers and softened my tone. “Even if you used your entire salary each month, it’d take you ten years to pay off these guys. And by then, they’d have added so much interest, you’d be trapped forever in their debt.”
Delilah sighed. “I know.”
I hated seeing Delilah like this, a shell of the feisty woman I grew to adore. I was seriously going to whoop Dean’s ass for putting her through this.
“Send me the account details, ASAP, got it?”
Her blue-gray eyes swirled with a storm of emotions, searching mine for understanding. “I was serious about paying you back the money.”
“Delilah, you don’t have to.”
“I have to. Ineedto. Please let me do this,” she pleaded.
Whether I agreed to it or not, Delilah would find a way to repay me. Hell, she might ask Caite for the company’s bank account information and deposit the money herself every month. She was just as stubborn as I was. And despite the frustration I felt with her insisting that she needed to repay me, somehow, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride.
“It’ll take you ten years.”
She shrugged, the edges of her mouth curving slightly. “Hopefully, my boss will give me a raise and it’ll be less.”
“Maybe he will.” I squeezed her hand gently and I checked my watch.
“I’ve gotta go get ready for work. Your only job today is to rest. I’ll get Rex to bring you some sleeping pills. Don’t open the door for anyone but him or Tony. Got it?”
Delilah saluted. “Yes, sir.”
I chuckled and walked out of the kitchen, heading to my room to get ready for the day. The good thing was that Delilah didn’t recognize Obsidian. The bad thing was that Hawthorne housed women and children in his hotels. I’d bet a million dollars that the women and children Hawthorne claimed to be helping are victims just like Delilah.
But this time Hawthorne had messed with the wrong woman, and he was going to pay dearly for it.