Page 52 of Pressure

Lance was again overcome with the urge to throttle her. She’d had this information the entire time and not shared it with him.

At the same time, he was in awe of her skills and intelligence. Even if he couldn’t keep her in his bed, he wanted her back at his company.

Sebastian lifted an eyebrow at Lance. “She’s a smart one. So, what brings you here?”

“Why come after me now?”

The man shrugged. “You know me. I’m an opportunist. An opportunity presented itself, so I took it.”

Lance leaned forward. “I need to know how that opportunity came to be.”

“Why? So you can send someone else to prison?”

“Frankly? Yes.” Marissa stepped on his foot, stopping him from going further.

“We can’t stop this without your help. If you help us, we won’t bring your little escapades to the guards or district attorney’s attention.”

Lance clenched his fists beneath the table. She had no right to make that kind of offer and she knew it.

“I can’t tell if you’re threatening me or stroking my ego,” Sebastian said.

“Maybe a little of both. You’re kind of a legend. The guy who almost brought Lance Moss down and ruined his relationship with his fiancée? Not a simple thing to do.”

Lance might as well have stayed in the car, he thought as he watched the exchange.

“I wasn’t exactly trying to take Lance Moss down. Again, opportunist. I saw a chance at some quick cash, and I took it. Obviously, I didn’t succeed, or I wouldn’t be here.”

Marissa smiled. “So, an opportunity came along to get a little revenge. I get that. I’ve thought about revenge against Lance for a few years now.”

That eyebrow quirked up again and he looked at Lance. “This the ex-fiancée?”

Lance didn’t respond. Sebastian leaned back with his arms folded. “This is highly entertaining. Even if you wasted your time coming here. I’m grateful for the change of pace.”

“Come on, Forcythe. Just give us a clue. Who sent you after Lance, and why?”

“And why do you care, hot stuff? I thought you wanted revenge?”

Marissa grinned. “They’re paying me a lot of money to solve this little problem. You might say I'm an opportunist just like you.”

“That’s gotta sting,” he said to Lance.

Again, he didn’t respond. It was hard to tell if Marissa was playing a part or if she meant the things she was saying, and he didn’t like it.

“I’m not naming names. But let’s just say an immensely powerful man with powerful friends was my cellmate for a few months. He may or may not have helped me out with some things in exchange for my help digging into records at Solitaire. I can’t tell you any more than that though or I might not get the things I need from him.”

Immensely powerful man with powerful friends definitely sounded like Nicholas Sutton.

“Are you done with your job for this powerful man?” Lance asked.

Sebastian nodded. “Sure am. Can’t say he’s done with his job, but I’m done with my part in it.”

Lance had no idea what that meant but at least he knew his systems were safe, especially since they were being rebuilt from the ground up.

Marissa pulled out a piece of paper they had allowed her to bring in with her and set it in front of Sebastian. Lance didn’t know what it was.

He watched as Sebastian read the page.

“Did I miss anything?” Marissa asked.

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