Page 84 of Ruthless

“Eve, your family was almost totally annihilated yesterday. Someone wants to destroy all of you. To get as far as they’ve gotten, they have some major funding and at least one person, if not more, inside the king’s inner circle. You do not know who to trust.”

The look she gave him told him all he needed to know before she responded quietly, “And I’ve added you to that growing list.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Gideon went into the small room he’d cleared out earlier. Eve had gone back to the bedroom and locked her door. He would give her a few more minutes to come to terms with all that had happened, and then he would show her exactly what he had told her. They could work from here. Every bit of intel she’d put together was here on these walls, just as they had been back at her apartment. Changing locales would make no difference to their investigation, other than she would be safe while they figured this thing out.

He was still reeling from some of the verbal bullets she’d blasted at him. Barely had one registered before she’d shot another one into the very same wound. Yes, he knew he was being an asshole about this. Yes, he knew she had every right to be pissed. And yes, he knew that their relationship would never be the same. But if she would see the situation without the fury fueling her, she would see this was the only way.

Hearing a sound behind him, he turned to see Eve standing at the door, taking in the walls. He had to admit the room was a mess. It had been a cozy sitting room, but every wall and flat surface was now covered with intel and evidence. He hadn’t arrived with anything other than their clothes and this intel. He’d had the good sense to have some fresh and frozen food ready for them, but everything else he’d had to improvise. When they left here, he’d have to pay for a paint job and new furniture, as he’d written on every wall and taped items to some of the furniture.

“You brought everything?” Eve asked.

“Yes.”

She was silent as she walked around the room, absorbing once again all that they had. She stopped at the wall where he’d listed the suspects she’d come up with. Dirk Bennett Jr. had been added, and he knew her mind was going places he wanted her to avoid, one of those being that she had twice been abducted by men she had trusted.

Gideon had nothing in common with that bastard, but Eve might not see it that way.

“Any news on Bennett? How he got out of prison? What he’s up to?”

“Ash may have something. I spoke with him earlier and told him about Bennett. He should be calling with something soon.”

As if Ash had been waiting for that signal, the satphone buzzed. Grabbing it, Gideon answered with, “You’ve got Eve and me on speaker, Ash.”

“Good. Serena is here with me. First of all, how are you, Eve? Gideon told us about the attacks on you and your family.”

“I’m fine,” Eve answered. “Nothing I haven’t been through before. My family…” She swallowed the lump in her throat, unable to articulate the pain.

“Is there any news?” Serena asked.

“No,” Gideon said. “Nothing more than I told you earlier.”

“We’re here for you Eve,” Ash said. “If you—”

“Did you know?” Eve asked.

“Did I know what?”

“Did you know Gideon planned to drug me and abduct me?”

Serena’s audible gasp and Ash’s silence were likely enough for her, but Ash answered anyway, his voice cautious. “No. I did not know that.”

His gaze locked with hers, Gideon said evenly, “I told you, Eve, this is all on me. No one else.”

Ignoring him, she said to Ash, “Do you have any news?”

“Yes. When we contacted the prison, they assured us that Dirk Bennett is still incarcerated. Since we know that’s not the case, Xavier and Jazz went to the prison to see why they believe that to be true.”

“And?”

“They met with a man who bore a strong resemblance to Bennett, but neither Jazz nor Xavier believe it was him. Unfortunately, he was attacked on the way back to his cell from that meeting.”

Grimacing at the news, Gideon said, “He’s dead?”

“Yes. They managed to get a DNA sample during their meeting, so we’re running that to be sure, but we won’t have the results until tomorrow. We were in the process of asking for him to be transferred to protective custody, but we were too late.”

“It’s insane how quickly they got to him,” Eve said.