Page 122 of Heist

When he was shown into Victoria’s office, he found a very frazzled woman surrounded by boxes.

“What’s all this?” he asked.

“This would be the prosecution’s potential witness list and evidence.”

Patrick’s eyes went wide. “They’re trying to make sure you don’t have time to review it all?”

She nodded.

He pulled the evidence receipt from his pocket and handed it to her. “Maybe this will help. It’s a list of everything the police took from my lab on Friday.”

Victoria took it and set on top of a box. “Thank you, Mr. Sutton. How does that help me with this?”

“I’m assuming you know about the text I got?”

She nodded.

“If the photo was sent from my lab, we have to assume it was someone who had access to my lab. First of all, they didn’t find the pumpkin in their search, so someone took it out of there. I can get you a list of people who had access to the lab, it’s very small. If any of those people are in these boxes, that’s who I would focus on.”

Victoria smiled. “That does help. I still have to dig through all of this but thankfully Austin hired a couple of extra paralegals to help.”

His heart twisted at the mention of Austin.

“Is she back yet?” he asked.

Victoria looked away. “She asked me not to talk to you about her.”

Damn it.He deserved it, he knew that. He’d had panicked at the prospect of going to prison and possibly fucked everything up between them.

“OK. Let me know if you need more paralegals. I’ll pay whatever it costs.”

Victoria nodded. “I’ll let the boss know you offered.”

He stepped into the hall and looked toward the end where he knew Austin’s office would be. Was she in there hiding from him?

• • •

Austin shoved her way through the mob of press at the courthouse and avoided eye contact. She just wanted to get back to her office. She’d managed to get the case against the alleged madam dismissed, but she’d just made an ass of herself in front of a judge she respected and now she wanted to hide.

In the car, she read a text from Victoria.

Sutton is a pain in my ass and won’t stop asking where you are. I wish you two would kiss and make up already.

Tears fell as she read the text. There was little chance of that happening. Now that she was home, away from safety of Solitaire, she’d realized just how much trust had been broken between them. Not only that, they had rushed into a relationship without considering all the ramifications that would have. Now she was out a friend, a lover, and a Dom. She wasn’t sure she could ever step foot in Solitaire again despite Lance assuring her that was part of the family.

She dashed at her tears as the car pulled up to her office. Damn it. The press was there too. What did they want with her?

“Just take me home, please,” she told the driver. At least there she had a back entrance and doorman to help her navigate the crowd if the press were there too. If they kept stalking her though, she was going to have to change her number again and move. The thought of moving made her angry. She liked her apartment and apartments she liked in her price range were hard to come by.

Her heart twisted as she walked into the living room of her apartment. Memories of Patrick were everywhere, despite the fact that they had only spent a few nights together at her place.

Holly had tried to call her several times since Sunday, but she just couldn’t bring herself to answer.

Now, she was alone with her thoughts for the first time since she left Solitaire. Laying across her mattress, she let herself lose it, sobbing out days’ worth of pent up emotion. She wanted to forget the last couple months of her life and just go back to the way things were before she ever agreed to be a house submissive, but that wasn’t possible. When she was spent, her body drained from physical and emotional exhaustion, she finally drifted to sleep.

Her phone pulled her out of her slumber sometime later and she felt around in the darkened room for it.

“This is Austin,” she mumbled, sleep still shrouding most of her senses.

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