Page 10 of James (Big Northwest #6)

CHAPTER TEN

PHILLIP

H E’D EXPECTED TO recognize at least a few of the names on James’s list. Her location and occupation narrowed down the pool of possibilities. A willingness and ability to send a team to hunt her down thinned the herd further. The number of men with that kind of power and temperament was low.

However, finding not just one but two of his current clients on that piece of paper had come as somewhat of a shock.

And it put him in a bit of a bad position.

He’d never had to investigate his own clients. Not like this. Did his team look into anyone who wanted to hire them? Sure. But it was mostly to substantiate the validity of their claims and confirm they had the funds to pay their bill.

Beyond that, they didn’t go snooping. Everyone had skeletons if you opened the right closet. If he went around breaking down every door he came across, finding clients would be nearly impossible and he’d be left standing on a hill of bones.

“You want us to dig into Enzo and Leonard?” Nathan’s voice didn’t hide his shock as it carried through the line. “How do you think that’s going to go over?”

“Fine as long as they don’t know what we’re doing.” He followed James’s path as she wove through the racks of clothes, running her hand over a pretty floral sundress. “If they’re not who’s coming after her, then no harm no foul.”

“And if they are?” Nathan voiced the concern Phillip had been carrying since seeing the two names in James’s neat handwriting.

“Then we cross that bridge when we come to it.” Phillip kept his voice low, tracking James as she abandoned the dress he swore she was going to pick and went for a selection of more basic items—leggings, T-shirts, shorts. “Just be careful, discrete, and there shouldn’t be any problems.”

“I’m not the one we should be worried about here.” Nathan blew out a breath. “This could get real fucking ugly, real fucking fast. And you’re who they’ll blame.”

“Good.” He moved along, staying far enough away James wouldn’t be able to hear him as she went to the area of the store labeled ‘intimates’. “I’d rather they focus on me than any of you.”

His team was not only exceptional at what they did, they were also exceptional humans. Keeping the target off them was as important as removing the one on James.

“Send me everything we have on Enzo and Leonard and the preliminaries on everyone else as you get them together.” He swallowed hard as James slowed, her blue eyes lingering on a lace bra in a nearly identical color. “I want whoever’s behind this found.”

“And then what?” Nathan scoffed. “It’s not like we can do anything to stop them.”

“We can’t, but I might know someone who can.” His mind started to wander, drifting away from the conversation and to the items James perused. “Just call me as soon as you find something.”

He disconnected the call, sliding the phone into his pocket before moving closer to where James shopped, trying to appear uninterested as her delicate fingers stroked over the lace lingerie. “Finding everything you need?”

She sighed, stepping away from the prettier options and going to the more utilitarian selections. “I’m almost done.” Grabbing a plastic sleeve of cotton panties, she tossed them into the red plastic cart before adding a few athletic-style bras. Turning to face him, she offered a smile. “Ready.”

He looked over the items she’d gathered. All the basics were there. Tops. Bottoms. Bras, panties, and socks. A couple sets of pajamas. A toothbrush, deodorant, a hairbrush, and elastics. Even a pair of simple sandals.

But there was no sign of the dress or the blue bra that perfectly matched her eyes.

“You sure?” He didn’t want her to feel like she had to hold back because he was footing the bill. “Might as well get everything you want. I get to write it all off so you’ll be doing me a favor.” Plus, he wanted her to have at least a little of what she’d left behind. A little of what she lost.

“I’m sure.” James pushed the cart toward the checkouts. “It’ll be nice to wear my own underwear for a change.”

He watched her give the dress a longing look as they passed. Without really thinking it through, he stopped as she continued on, flipping through the sizes for the one that looked closest to fitting her form. After dropping it into the cart she was pushing, he fell back into step beside her.

James peeked his way, chewing her lip as they moved to the front of the store. “So some of the guys on my list are your clients?”

He was expecting her to say something about the dress. Instead she dropped a bomb he was hoping would never detonate.

James gave him a small smile, her expression hesitant. “I, um…” She took a deep breath. “I have really good hearing.”

Of course she fucking did.

Wiping one hand over his face, he kicked himself for not taking his call to Nathan outside. He just hadn’t liked the thought of letting her out of his sight. Not now that he knew just who could be after her.

“Yeah. Leonard Silva and Enzo Rossi have both hired my company in the past.”

She stopped, turning to face him. “I won’t blame you if you want to walk away from all this.” She stood tall, unflinching as she gave him an out. “You can’t risk your livelihood for this. It’s not worth it.” Her sincerity was clear. Both in her words and the earnest look in her eyes. She genuinely believed he should leave her behind for the sake of fucking money. “You got me out of Vegas, and I appreciate it. You did way more than you had to.”

He stepped close, meeting her gaze. “If I was going to walk away from you, I would have done it already.”

When her eyes started to drop, he lifted one hand, tipping her chin up with the press of a finger so they would stay on his. So she would see his sincerity the way he saw hers. “I’m getting you back to your sisters, James. Nothing’s going to stop me from putting you where you belong.”

She needed to be somewhere safe. Somewhere she was protected. Somewhere she was understood and appreciated.

He was the only one capable of getting her there, and part of him was glad.

His life had become almost stagnant since leaving behind the excitement of his old job to start a business of his own. Yes, now he was in control, but it turned out he was one hell of a boring boss to have. The choices he made were safe. Unexciting.

It was by design, but still.

James was anything but safe and unexciting. However, while she wasn’t nearly as dangerous as he first thought, her situation was.

“Come on.” Phillip dropped his hand to the small of her back, urging her forward so they could get out of the store and back into the car. Even though they were now more than four hours outside of Vegas, he didn’t like her being out in the open like this. Not until he knew who was going to regret coming after her.

They checked out, collected the bags, and loaded them into the SUV. Once they were back on the road, James turned to him. She opened her mouth, but then the line of her brows pinched. “Why are you smiling?”

“Because you make a certain sort of face when you’re about to ask me a million questions.” He eased them to a stop, moving his attention from the light in front of them to the woman beside him. “Go on. Start asking.”

James pressed her lips together like she could stop herself. Like she possessed the power to control her curiosity any more than she possessed the power to control her rage. Both were unleashable and baked into her personality. There was no escaping them and no reining them in.

She hesitated a second longer, but then blurted out, “What did Silva hire you for?” She lowered her voice even though they were alone in the SUV. “Was it to investigate that guy he wanted to go into business with?” She pressed the tips of her fingers to her lips, like she was still trying to keep the questions in and failing miserably. “Or was it to find out who his wife was having an affair with?”

His jaw went slack, mouth hanging open at how much personal information she’d collected on Leonard. “Neither.”

James nodded slowly. “It was about the boat, wasn’t it?”

Phillip chuckled, turning back to the road as the light turned green. “Maybe I should hire you. Sounds like you managed to get a lot out of him.”

James grinned, rolling her eyes. “You would be shocked at the shit I’ve heard. We call it club confessions. They just walk in and start spilling their business everywhere.” She wrinkled her nose. “And sometimes other bodily fluids.”

He gripped the steering wheel, fighting the surge of anger that bubbled up over the thought of another man getting any of his fucking fluids near James. “That didn’t bother you?”

James winced. “It might be the reason a few of those names ended up on the list.”

“Understandable.”

He took a slow breath, forcing himself to calm down. Forcing that piece of who he was back where it belonged. Anger was an emotion that had always come easily to him. It was a tendency he’d inherited from his dumbass father.

Just like his dick’s preference for wild women.

“I’m probably not cut out to be a stripper, but I loved taking men’s money.” James’s expression hardened. “Using them instead of allowing them to use me.”

He knew about James’s past. At this point, everyone capable of a Google search could read all about the way her father formed a cult. Built it up with a plan to take over the world. If you took it at face value, it would be easy to assume he was delusional. No way could he ever accomplish that goal. It simply wasn’t possible.

For a normal man.

“Can I ask you a question?”

James reached into the backseat, retrieving one of the bags. “I guess I owe you a few answers.” She dug through the contents, pulling out one of the sports bras.

“What was different about your father?”

James went still, the clear plastic hanger clenched tight in her hands. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, what made him so special he thought he could take over the world?” Phillip glanced her way. “I can do a lot, but I’m not stupid enough to think I’m capable of world domination.”

James went back to her bra, slowly working the straps free of the forks holding it to the hanger. “Maybe he was just stupid.”

Phillip shook his head. “You might be able to convince someone else of that, but not me.” He’d seen more than enough to know there was much more to the Karlson family than meets the eye. “Unless your mother was the special one.”

James’s expression shifted, the sadness she carried so close creeping into her eyes. “I never knew my mother. She died right after I was born. Literally.” Her gaze dropped to the bra in her lap as she fiddled with the tags. “Bled out on the floor of a shitty camper while my sisters tried to save her.”

“It’s not your fault she died.” He reached across, sliding his hand around hers, thinking she needed comfort.

But when James’s eyes came his way they were glowing. As if lit from within.

“I know it’s not my fault.” The venom in her voice was unmistakable. “It was Mehir’s. He’s the one who killed her by making her have baby after baby with no fucking medical care.” The air in the car seemed to change. Almost like it was charged with electricity. “I wish he wasn’t dead so I could be the one to watch the life drain from his eyes.”

Fuck. Seeing her like this, hearing the truth in her claim—knowing she was completely capable of following through—should have him counting the minutes until he was done with her. Until he could go back to his boring life and put this whole ordeal behind him.

It didn’t. Not even close.

“If I could bring him back to life so you could do it, I would.” It wasn’t a lie. It was the God’s honest truth. If he could find where Mehir Karlson was and knew a fucking necromancer, he’d give her what she wanted without batting an eye.

Because deep down, he was probably just as fucked up as she was. It was a perfect storm. One that would end badly—possibly in a stabbing—but might be exactly what they needed to get James safe and home to her sisters.

Her eyes moved over his face, head tilting thoughtfully as she looked him over. “You really mean that, don’t you?”

He nodded, admitting the truth he did his best to hide. “I do.”

A smile worked across her lips. “I guess that explains why you didn’t totally lose your shit when I hit that guy with your rental.” She beamed at him, brightening the whole car with her happiness. “You’re just as vicious as I am.” She motioned to his face. “Only without the eyes to warn everyone.”

“They only work as a warning if you know what’s coming.” He took her in the same way she had him. “And you look way less capable of violence than I do.”

James’s smile dropped as she scoffed. “No fucking way, Mr. Suit and Tie.” She shoved at his shoulder. “You look like the kind of guy who litigates people to death.”

“Good.” He’d put lots of work into creating the persona he offered the world. “Then maybe we’ll get out of this mess.”

James groaned, slumping down in her seat. “I don’t freaking know how.” She collected the de-tagged bra and pulled it over her head, working it under the neckline of the white T-shirt he’d given her the night before. “I’m sure your team is very good at what they do, but figuring out whose wife is cheating and which business partners are scammers is one thing.” She pulled her arms into the shirt, squirming around. “Digging into actual dirt is another. And I’m pretty sure the guys on that paper work hard to keep their dirt hidden.”

“I’m sure they do too. That’s why I’m reaching out to an old friend of mine for help.” Phillip lifted his brows as her arms poked back out the holes. “Did you just Houdini that thing on without taking off your shirt?”

James shot him an amused look. “It says a lot about your dating history that you’re impressed by that.”

He tried to follow her line of thinking but couldn’t connect the dots. “My dating history?”

“Every woman can put on or take off a bra under just about any circumstance.” She stuffed the tags and hanger into the bag and tossed it into the back. “The only reason you wouldn’t know that is because you’ve either never paid attention to the women you’ve been with”—her eyes fixed on his face—“or you’ve never been with a woman long-term.”

“I’ve dated women long-term.” It sounded more defensive than he intended. “I just work a lot.” Also true. “So most of the time we spent together was…”

“Not Houdini off a bra time?” James shook her head. “Did they know you weren’t that into them?”

“It wasn’t that I wasn’t into them.” It sounded like a lie, even to his own ears. “They just weren’t…”

“What you were into. Same thing,” James finished for him, sounding a little irked by his explanation. Like she thought he was an ass who treated the women in his life badly. Didn’t give them the attention they deserved. Led them on.

That wasn’t why he handled relationships the way he did. Not even close.

And wanting James to understand had a confession sliding through his lips.

“I just didn’t want to get stabbed again.”