Page 122 of Stolen Kisses

Knox grimaced. "No."

I buried my face in my hands, breathing in through my nose. "Oh, Chase, Chase, Chase. Why would he do this?"

Duncan cleared his throat. “I know he didn't go about it well, but he did it from a place of concern and affection."

"Look, this is how Chase operates," Knox said. "He sees a problem and finds a solution."

"But he lied to me!" I exclaimed.

"We cannot argue with that," Finn agreed.

I ran a hand through my hair. I didn’t know what to think right then. "I can't stay here anymore. I need to go out and clear my head."

"That's understandable," Duncan said. "Want me to drive you somewhere?"

"No."

"Listen, everyone is on their way. I texted them about what we found out so far. So if you want to talk to Chase—"

I shook my head. "I wouldn't even know what to say to him right now. I just.... Oh my God."

"We should really keep you here," Finn declared.

"Otherwise, he might kill us," Knox added.

"You two stop it," Duncan cut in. "This is not funny."

"Well, no," Knox agreed. "But sometimes it helps to add humor to a situation."

"It's not helping right now," I said. "But thanks for trying."

"You're not mad at us?" Knox asked.

"I don't know," I told them honestly.

"We can take one for the team," Finn commented. "As long as you don't take it out on Chase."

"I'm not going to take it out on anyone. I just need to process this. Umm... do you need anything more from me?" I asked.

"No," Duncan said in a soft tone. "Thank you for everything you did tonight. Are you up for driving?"

I nodded. "I'm good." Then I darted out of the office. I needed to get out of this building; I felt like I couldn't breathe in here.

And I knew exactly where I needed to go.

***

Chase

"Duncan, what the hell is going on?" I asked, stepping into his office. His message had been beyond cryptic:We found some details about the transactions. You need to know. Come to my office.

I was shocked to find Knox and Finn inside.

"You’re fast," Finn exclaimed.

"Let's just wait for the others to come, too, before I start walking you through it," Duncan said.

The door opened just then, and Griffin stepped in. Wyatt was right behind him.

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