Page 15 of My One and Only

Jo gasped. “What had they done?”

Cam’s jaw worked for a moment, then he drew a deep breath. “They’d gone to the same college and joined the same fraternity. There was a party. They got two women drunk and raped them. A friend of the women saw it happen and called the police. Then she tried to pull the guys off her friends. Got backhanded for her trouble.”

Cami sighed. “The two guys left a lot of evidence behind, and there was no question that the women were incapacitated. Both guys insisted on a trial, even though their attorneys told them to take a plea. The judge was pissed when he heard the evidence and saw that neither of the guys had any remorse. He gave them the longest sentence possible. They’ll be out in about ten years.”

“They should have to stay in prison longer than that,” Jo said, clenching her jaw. “They ruined two women’s lives.”

Cam nodded. “If someone did that to…” He clamped his mouth shut.

“If someone did that to who, Cam?”Jo asked gently.

He looked away. “A woman I cared about,” he muttered.

She thought he’d meant to say something else but didn’t push it. She wasn’t telling him all her secrets, either. Instead, she said, “I’m glad they were punished, even if it wasn’t for assaulting you.”

“Yeah,” he said with a sigh. “Karma bit them in the ass. And I was really glad to hear about it.

“I was glad Don saw what those two losers were doing and scared them away. I could have had a much worse outcome.”

Jo shivered at the possibilities -- he might have had permanent damage. Might even have died.

Their waiter walked by the table, the third time he’d done so. Jo elbowed Cam. “Looks like the waiter wants us to order. I know what I want. Do you?”

He smiled. “I always have the same thing. They have a great roasted chicken dish with roasted potatoes and an amazing sauce.”

The next time the waiter walked past, Cam gestured they were ready to order. She chose the lasagna with both pesto and red sauce, and Cam requested the chicken.

Cam looked as if he wanted to avoid any personal stuff. She was fine with that, because she didn’t want to answer personal questions, either. Catching up was great, especially since Cam had been her best friend in Ogden, but now she wanted to focus on business.

She’d had plenty of uncomfortable moments since she’d joined Blackhawk Security, and she’d dealt with all of them. Dinner with an old friend shouldn’t be a problem.

Turning toward Cam, she asked, “So tell me what you found when you looked at the rest of the houses under construction.”

Cam stiffened for a moment, then relaxed back into his chair. “You get right down to business, don’t you, Jo?”

“I like to get the unpleasant details on the table.” She smiled. “Get them out of the way.”

Which was a more polite way of saying she wasn’t about to forget why they were really here. They could reminisce about high school days after they hashed out the uncomfortable details of her mother’s house purchase.

The waiter returned with her wine and Cam’s beer and set them on the table. “I already put your order in,” he said.

When the waiter walked away, Cam took a drink of his beer then moved the glass from side to side. “I had a meeting with all my foremen two days ago. Brought them into the office and sat them down at the conference table. I told them exactly what you’d found at your mother’s house, and told them I’d seen it, as well. I never used your name or your mother’s name, so they don’t know who brought it to my attention. I didn’t want anyone to pull any shit while they’re working on your mom’s house.”

Jo watched his jaw work, as if he was barely holding back his anger. “What happened?”she asked.

“Most of my foremen were horrified. Genuinely angry that the work wasn’t up to our standards. But several of them looked guilty as hell. Wouldn’t meet my eyes. I wrote down their names and I’ll meet with each of them individually. I want to know who was behind the scheme. Who was providing the money for the bribes? Was it the chief foreman? Someone higher up in the company? I’ll fire all of them, but I want to make them think I’ll give them a chance if they come clean. I want to get as much information from them as I can.”

He leaned toward her. “Do you think you’d be able to identify the guy from the building department who took the bribe money from Simms?”

“I think so,” Jo said slowly, twirling her glass of wine by the stem. “I was in my car behind his truck, but I got a good look at him when he walked back to his truck.” She clenched her teeth for a moment. “I got another look when he drove past me. Stared at me before he sped up. Of course, he might have gotten a good look at me, too.”

Cam frowned. “You worried he might come after you?”

“I suppose it’s possible, but I’m not worried.” She took a sip of her wine, irritated when her hand shook enough to make the wine swirl in the glass. Setting it down a little too hard, she said, “I can take care of myself.”

Cam studied her for a long moment. “You always could, Jo,” he finally murmured. “But hard to defend yourself from a gun or a knife.”

“That’s why I’m always armed, even when I’m not on the job,” she said. “Company policy. You never know when you might run into someone with a grudge from a previous job.”

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