Page 59 of Salvaged Hearts

“They’re in the thick of it.”

“Good. Your name was cleared this morning, so Reggie just needs to make his statement, and you’ll be back where you belong. Do you want me to do anything else?”

Nodding with a smile fit for the genius I was about to unleash, I ordered, “Burn it down.”

The smile that overtook her face was devious, to say the least. She didn’t look scared. The allegations weren’t flustering her this time around. We had layers of defense, not the least of which was a team of attorneys and private investigators already digging into every corner of the business to search for anything Alice or I may have missed.

We’d prepared, we’d placed our decoys, we had a story that should draw their attention. She knew it as well as I did. At least judging by the spark in her eyes to accompany that smile.

“My pleasure.”

Unseen Photos from Greyson and Alessandra’s Clandestine Nuptials!

Star-Studded Surprise: Hail Mary Hero, Paxton Rhodes, and Reality TV Host Make Waves at Private Wedding!

Undercover Romance: Sneak Peek into the Billionaire CEO's Hush-Hush Wedding!

From Best-Seller To Bridesmaid: Elora Rhodes-Allen Spotted At Sister’s Secret Wedding

An avalanche of articles was posted in magazines, papers, and blogs over the next forty-eight hours, with more scheduled on a drip over the following weeks, and while I knew Alice didn’t particularly care for exploiting her siblings’ growing fame, she hadn’t forbidden a single tool in her arsenal.

I was studying one of the ‘leaked’ wedding photos we’d supplied of the three Rhodes siblings, laughing around our beach bonfire Saturday night, and couldn’t help but smile.

Her sister was laughing—an arm draped around Alice’s shoulders—and Paxton was grinning, looking at ease as he watched the fire towering over her other side. But it was my bride, in a dress Leighton called ‘Mediterranean BoHo’—whatever the hell that was—smiling down at her hands like she did when she was nervous or contemplative, that my eyes kept tracing.

Stunning.

A blind man wouldn’t even deny that. Not with the kindness in her voice or the generosity she showed, even to the cursed beast she claimed made her life miserable. She’d seen the threat to my company as unjust, and regardless of her feelings about me, she couldn’t stand by and let it threaten the people we both cared for.

“Will I see you at Paxton’s welcome party?” Oliver’s voice tugged me from the screen, and I discreetly clicked the exit window.

“Nice knock, asshole.”

“Nice open door, prick.”

Chuckling, I shook my head but waved him in. Despite the low-level buzz around the embezzlement allegations, Alice’s plan had worked—the public was focused on us, which meant the board okayed a public statement of my innocence, backed by their internal investigation. It felt damn good to be back in my office and even better as my brother sauntered inside it.

Of the two of us, Ollie had always been the wild one. Classic middle child syndrome that miraculously outlived Beaumont through years of adolescent hell-raising and college days spent chasing skirts rather than A’s. Everything he did, he did with a lightness I both envied and cherished. Envied because I never tasted it, and cherished because I’d fought so hard to preserve it. The best part about an angry drunk of a father was that it didn’t take long to know exactly what would piss him off, and like I’d waved a red flag in front of a bull, his temper zeroed in on me.

If it meant I was the one that was never enough, and my brothers went undetected, it was worth it.

That’s the thing people don’t realize. Addiction doesn’t know a class. Just because the man could function ten hours a day didn’t mean he didn’t hit the bottle when he walked in the door, freeing the demons in his head in the process.

We thought after Beaumont died, he’d sober up, but he dove deeper into the bottle. Uncle Reggie and my mother picked up the slack.

It was that hard-fought-for innocence that my brother embodied as he flopped into the chair opposite me, kicking his feet up on my desk like the heathen he was. Mattie might be ten going on thirty, but Ollie was thirty going on ten.

“So? Are you coming to the welcome party? Alice says she’ll be there.” Paxton was due to arrive within a matter of hours, so naturally, Ollie and the team would give him an Emerald Bay welcome this weekend. I glanced at the time and blinked, palming at my face. I hadn’t realized how late it had gotten. Alice headed home ages ago.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” I promised with a yawn, shutting my laptop and turning to power down the curved monitor beside it.

His scoff had me glaring up at him. “Right. Because you’re normally a party guy.”

“They’re less annoying now that women won’t be flinging themselves at me.” I stood and pulled my suit jacket off the back of the chair, throwing it on in the next motion as Ollie smirked my way.

“That’s what you’re telling yourself?” When I just arched a brow, he widened his eyes like I was an imbecile. “Dude. Something about being vetted by one of their own…women are nasty. They get way more forward once you’re married.”

“What?” I growled, almost choking on my spit.

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