Page 24

24

NO ONE IS KILLING ANYONE

Jack

W e’re back in Crew’s old farmhouse with Crew, Grady, and Oz, having followed Ozzy past the dining room they use as a conference room toward the back of the house. Everyone else stayed back at the birthday party but Mason.

He was quick to join and said it was for moral support, but I suspect he’s just as curious as the rest of us.

Crew Vega’s central command looks like something out of a movie.

The walls are covered with monitors, and there are more keyboards than badasses. I can see why Cade would take them up on the opportunity to come back and hang out whenever he felt the urge to dabble in illegal hacking.

“Find out where Sullivan is,” a voice growls over the recording that Ozzy turned up on the speakers. I’m not just pissed, but I’m pissed in surround sound thanks to Crew’s high-tech everything.

That voice belongs to none other than Alfred Pike, the owner of my old agency.

“I don’t know where he is. Nobody does.”

That’s Gary Acosta.

I thought that fucker was too lazy to extend this much effort into anything. He’s skated by with talented clients for far too long. New athletes on the block see him as old school and want nothing to do with him.

They want agents who actually give a shit about them.

Like yours truly.

Fred doesn’t stop talking . “There’s a warrant for his arrest—fucking finally. It took long enough. If Sullivan goes down, so will Hale. He’s been making too much headway. Sullivan getting MVP was the last straw. I’m ready to bury him for good. No one will sign with him if he can’t even keep his golden boy out of trouble.”

“I’m not in the business of finding missing persons,” Acosta complains. “How do you expect me to find Sullivan when the cops can’t even find him?”

“I don’t know, but if you want to make partner, you’ll fucking figure it out.”

Nothing has changed. Fred is just as much of an asshole as he used to be.

Hell, he’s worse.

Gary makes more excuses. “I’ve got my guy looking, but he’s spooked. Took him over a day to return my call, and he gave me nothing. I have a feeling he’ll go silent on me if I push too hard.”

“I don’t give a shit if you have to put up a bat signal. Get him the message that we know where his family is. Hell, we know his little sister’s dorm room number. That’ll push him over the edge. I don’t want to hear from you again until there’s breaking news that Sullivan has been read his fucking rights. If that scene goes viral, Hale will be shut down. Do you understand? You’re not just going to lose your chance at partner, you’ll find yourself without a job. The agency needs this and so does your client. Get it fucking done.”

The recording ends, and Ozzy taps at the keyboard. “That took me less than a day. Now we know.”

“He’s not even after Brett,” Emma says from where she stands at my side. “He’s after you.”

I shouldn’t be surprised even though I am. It’s not like I stole their clients—at least not right away. Once my non-compete died a happy death, the writing was on the wall. It took that long for my old clients to realize Alfred Pike and company weren’t getting them the best contracts, were charging them higher rates, and adding on fees for everything in the book.

I drag a hand through my hair and grip the tense muscles at the back of my neck. “Yeah, I’m going to kill him.”

“Hold up.” Crew steps in. “No one is killing anyone. We’re not in the desert or the jungle, and this isn’t the wild, wild west. We don’t do that shit in the States.”

Mason’s eyes saucer, and he pales a shade.

Emma sighs.

I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to that as I stare at the leader of the badasses. “I was being rhetorical. I don’t do that either … anywhere.”

Grady steps in. “Let’s move forward. He’s using Sullivan to fuck you over. Let’s focus on the fact we have the evidence and motive. We need to decide how to use it.”

“Not to burst anyone’s bubble, but how do you use it?” Mason asks. “I’m not a cop or an attorney, but that recording wasn’t obtained on the up and up.”

“You’re not wrong,” I agree. “I can’t exactly go to the police with what we have. I need proof, and I need to get it the legal way.”

“If we have proof of anything, it’s that I was right,” Emma says. “We can trust Rylan. He’s definitely not cooperating with your old boss. Let me contact him.”

I shut her down. “No way. Especially not now that we know who we’re dealing with. This shit started because Pike is after me. I regret dragging you into this more than ever.”

Emma rolls her eyes. “Let me remind you, I was the one who chased Brett down for an interview. You hardly dragged me into this.”

“Ah, guys? Jessica sent me this.” Mason holds his cell up and winces. “This isn’t good.”

A gasp escapes from Emma’s lips as she reaches for the phone, but I get to it first. “What the fuck?”

Emma pulls at my arm to see the screen. “Holy shit. What have they done?”

“I can’t believe it’s from your own network,” Mason says. “And it’s gone viral. Not the kind of viral that you experienced when you raced onto the field, but my chickens would be thrilled with those kinds of views.”

It’s Emma and Brett all right, but not after his winning touchdown. It’s the interview in my family room that should be old news by now.

“That bitch!” Emma exclaims. “Molly Minders is doing a bit about Brett and me!”

“Huh.” Mason crosses his arms and contemplates the situation with not nearly enough gravity as it deserves. “I guess you would call this news about the news?”

“I can’t believe her.” Emma wipes the cell from my hand and cranks up the volume.

Molly Minders sits at the news desk, front and center, even though it’s normally her job on weekends. She looks more smug than she should when reporting lies about one of her own associates. “In an effort to be one hundred percent transparent with our viewers, there is a shocking turn of events surrounding Founders quarterback, Brett Sullivan. We are coming to you with reports that Emma Hollingsworth, a WDCN field sports correspondent, has been found to be personally involved with Sullivan. The network has chosen to bring you this news first as opposed to covering it up.”

Grady rocks back on his heels and crosses his arms with a smirk plastered on his face. “Well, I’d say that’s a shocking turn of events considering you two are trying to keep the fact you’re doing the dirty from Levi.”

I glare at Grady. “Not the time for middle-aged badass sarcasm.”

That wipes the smirk off his face.

Emma ignores everyone and focuses on Molly. “I hate her. I hate her more than I hated her yesterday.”

Molly continues to spew lies about the woman I’ve had in multiple beds at this point and switches to the video of Brett spinning Emma in a circle after the game. “A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Brett Sullivan in Las Vegas, as he continues to evade authorities. Emma Hollingsworth, an employee of WDCN, has been put on temporary leave from the network until further notice. We will continue to follow this story as it develops.”

Emma shoves the phone at Mason before she does a one-eighty and drags her hands through her hair. “I cannot believe this. I find out they put me on leave through a social media post? This is so messed up. And where did this fictional story come from?”

Mason looks to Ozzy and tips his head. “I think you’ve got more illegal wiretapping to add to your to-do list.”

I turn Emma to me and look into her dark eyes. “We’ll take care of this. I swear. They can’t spew shit about you that isn’t true. If anyone can prove that you’re personally involved with Brett is a lie, it’s me. This might not be my forte, but I’ll slap them with a defamation lawsuit. When I’m done with them, you won’t have to work for a decade.”

Emma’s expression switches from pissed to panicked in a heartbeat. “How are you going to do that? Tell the world I’m sleeping with you but not him?”

“That’s enough.” Crew puts a stop to all conversation about who’s sleeping with whom. He looks nauseated. “I’ve known you your entire life, and I’ve got two daughters. I don’t care how old you are, I cannot sit here while everyone talks about … that.”

“Crew is right. This is skating the edge of weird—even for me,” Grady agrees.

Crew pulls in a deep breath. “Mason is right. We need to tap more phones.”

Ozzy does not look nauseated or irritated. “Get me the bitch’s phone number. I’m all over it.”

Mason is the only one in the room wearing a smile, like he somehow solved all our problems when nothing is fucking solved.

Nothing.

Someone keeps pouring gasoline on the dumpster fire that is my life and somehow dragged Emma into the blaze.

“Texting you her number now,” Emma grumbles before her eyes flare. “Shit. My producer is calling. I need to take this.”

Emma moves to the hallway to take the call as I mentally add her producer to my shit list.

I turn back to the guys. “I need to update Brett on what’s going on. It pisses me off more than ever to know he went down because of me.”

Crew crosses his arms and glances at his associates. “What do you want us to do?”

“Since you made it clear that killing anyone is off the table,” I give Crew the side eye, “I can handle it from here.”

Grady frowns. “Are you sure?”

“I can handle Fred Pike and will get the proof I need that he’s behind this, but if you could continue to monitor him, I’d appreciate it. I can stay one step ahead. The fact that Emma is getting fucked over at work because of this pisses me off.”

Ozzy is already tapping away at the keyboard. “I’ve got it covered.”

Grady cracks his knuckles. “If you need us to bring Pike to the barn for a talk, we’re more than happy to. Nothing we haven’t done before.”

“A talk,” I echo.

Mason gulps and turns his wide eyes to me. “You should be happy they didn’t catch you kissing Emma at Levi’s party all those years ago. They would’ve dragged you to the barn for a … talk .”

“Asa might’ve,” Crew says before turning to me. “You’re sure you don’t need our help?”

“I’m good, thanks.”

“I’ve got his back.” Mason slaps me on the shoulder. “As opposed to the last time we fought crime together, I have my driver’s license. You’ve got a getaway driver at your disposal.”

“The only person who’s going to need a getaway anything is fucking Freddy.”

Mason’s eyes widen. “Maybe I don’t want in on this. What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to walk into his house like a grown fucking adult and have a conversation about how he’s so bad at what he does that he feels he needs to cut me off at the knees to get clients. Then I’m going to put my fist in his face, but not for what he’s done to me or Brett—but for what he’s putting Emma through.”

Everyone in the room glances around at each other at the sound of my plan.

“Okay, that’s a pipe dream. What I’m really going to do is swallow my pride, reach out to him for help with my delinquent client, and trick him into saying something. But first I need to buy a recording device, so I’ll have record of everything he says. But once he admits it, then I’m going to punch him in the face for Emma.”

“That sounds like a better idea. If you need moral support, I’ll call Jessica to let her know I’ll be late.”

“I can help with that plan,” Ozzy offers. “You can borrow a wire. I’ll monitor it from here.”

“Cool. Hook me up.”

“Please don’t tell me I need to be worried about you hooking up with someone else. I don’t have the energy.”

We all turn to find Emma leaning against the door jam.

I hold my arm out for her. “Baby, come here. If you break my heart into a million little pieces, even then I won’t want to hook up with anyone but you. You’ve ruined hookups for me for the rest of my life.”

“That’s good. One less thing for me to worry about.” Emma fits her front to mine and tucks her face into my neck. “It’s official, I’m on unpaid leave. August said it came from the network executives. He tried to fight it, but they were having none of it. I have a meeting tomorrow morning with Mr. Folmer, the executive who made the final decision and human resources. They said it can’t wait until next week. I guess it was good while it lasted. I had three amazing weeks at work before it all came crashing down on me. Well, at least two average ones and one amazing one.”

I put my fingers to her chin. “I’ll make sure they retract that publicly.”

A shadow of a smile hits her lips. I want nothing more than to kiss her.

“Are you done?” she asks. “We need to talk to Brett, and I’d like to get back to the party before it’s over.”

“Here.” Ozzy hands me a small box. “It works the best if you clip it to the inside of your breast pocket. Make sure you click it on and let me know when you’re ready to rock and roll. I’ll let you know if they get chatty again.”

“I appreciate it.” I slide the box into my pocket and take Emma’s hand in mine. “Let’s get back to the party.”

I shake hands with Crew and his team, and Emma and I are out the door of the small farmhouse with Mason in tow. When we get to my car, I open the passenger door for Emma, but she doesn’t get in.

She also doesn’t look tired or pissed any longer.

She’s biting back a smile and looks between me and Mason. “We’re not going back to the party, and we can check on Brett later. We have something more important to do.”

“I might’ve been up for egging Molly Minders’ house ten years ago, but even I’m mature enough to realize no one gets away with that shit anymore. Those guys in there aren’t the only ones with cameras, Em.”

Mason laments one of his many first-world problems. “I have to agree, which is too bad, because we have more eggs at home than we know what to do with.”

Emma ignores both of us as excitement lights up her dark eyes. “I cut my conversation with August short when I got another call. It was Deep Throat, AKA Rylan Crawford! He saw the bullshit news bit about me being put on leave. You guys, guess what?”

I lean into the car and drag a hand down my face. “You didn’t.”

“You told him you know who he is?” Mason asks my exact thoughts.

Emma’s smile swells. “I did. He was obviously surprised, but I convinced him this is for the best. We need each other at this point. He agreed to meet with us to discuss everything.”

Mason’s expression matches Emma’s. “I’m so here for this.”

“No. I don’t like this. He dragged you into a dark alley at the parade. Your dad has an entire team who does way shadier shit than I thought they did thirty minutes ago. Let them deal with Rylan.”

“If we send my dad and the guys in for him, he’ll freak, and we’ll never see him again. You can come with me or not, but I’m going,” she argues.

“I’m curious,” Mason states. “I’ll go with Emma.”

I glare at him. “Whose friend are you, anyway? It’s taken me ten years to get her right where I want her, and I’d really like for her not to be kidnapped or worse.”

Emma’s hand hits my abs and slides up my chest. The next thing I know, she’s pulling my face to hers, and our lips are molded as one.

I can’t take it.

I dip my hand into her hair and plant my other firmly on her ass. What started as her kiss is officially mine. I don’t give a shit that Mason is front and center for the show.

Hell, at this point, I wouldn’t care if Levi saw us.

Maybe this would be the best way to break the news. It’s not like anything is going to change.

Despite my life being turned on its head, I’ve fallen hard. Hell, maybe my world going up in flames made me fall harder.

Who the hell knows? Not me. The only lessons I’ve had when it comes to successful relationships is my mom making me watch the Hallmark Channel back in the day.

Those men never ended up divorced or ran out on their family. When times got tough, they ate a cupcake from their plucky little bakery and forged ahead like a real man.

Mason clears his throat. “In the name of love, I’m sorry this took ten years to happen. You two are perfect together. When you guys get married, I’m going to name some chickens after you.”

I break the kiss and tip my forehead to hers and pull in a deep breath. “If anything happens to you, I’ll hate myself forever.”

Emma gives her head a little shake but doesn’t pull away from me. “I trust him and have a good feeling about this. It took ten years for you and me to happen. I wouldn’t risk this for anything.”

I kiss her one more time. “Okay. We’ll meet Rylan tonight and I’ll talk to Pike tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you.” Her smile is back, and she pulls away from me to fold into the passenger seat.

Mason reaches for the back door. “This is either going to be epic or the worst idea ever. I have a feeling there will be no in between.”

I stand next to my car and tip my head up to look at the setting sun through the barren trees of the forest.

I agree with Mason.

I just hope it’s the former, and not the latter.