Page 20 of Hunted Innocence

“If you put my woman down for a hit on the dark web, I’m going to lose my fucking mind.”

Her lips twitch into a smirk. “If you lose your mind, Theron will kill you.”

“Not before I kill you,” I snap.

Her eyes narrow, then she lifts them to the ceiling, effectively rolling them and obviously not giving a shit about what I think or say. Which doesn’t surprise me. Lucille does what she wants, the way she wants it, and Theron fucking loves that shit. But that doesn’t mean I have to.

“Nadine is not on a list anywhere that I know of.”

“But?”

“Well, I didn’t put him on a list, but I did offer Vaughn some money to kill Landon Tate.”

My eyes widen at her words. I cannot believe that she did that shit. Blinking a couple of times, I wait for the punch line. “He said no,” she continues.

Letting my breath out in a whoosh, I open my mouth to tell her to get to the fucking point but then close it because she’ll drag this out longer if I push her. I’ve known her long enough to know when to speak and push her and when to shut the fuck up.

This is a shut-the-fuck-up moment.

“However,” she begins, “I was able to get into the ATF database and retrieve his employee file.”

My eyes widen because I can’t believe she did that. I don’t bother asking her how, because she’ll just go into detail, and I don’t give a fuck, to be honest. “What did you find out, Lucille?” I ask instead.

She tilts her head to the side, then her lips curve up into a grin. “He’s on unpaid leave.”

I stare at her, and my heart races as she continues. “It seems like he not only has a problem with how he treats his wife, but he also has problems with his anger in lots of different situations. It was so bad that he sent a man to the hospital. An innocent man, by the way. He also has sticky fingers, which I figured he did due to the heftiness of his offshore accounts. So basically, he’s under investigation.”

“What does this mean?” I ask.

She shrugs her shoulders. “You and the rest of the guys can do with that information what you wish. However, I’m just saying he’s no longer technically on the payroll. They don’t like him there right now, and I would venture to guess that if you guys did some digging, you could figure out who would benefit from him no longer breathing.”

Without another word, she spins around and walks out of the surveillance room. That leaves me alone with my thoughts. And my mind is reeling. I could figure out easily who wanted him dead in that department.

But none of this information tells me why the fuck he’s here right now.

Unless it’s just because he’s got a lot of time on his hands. Which could simply be the case. Spinning my chair back to the computer desk, I begin tapping my index finger on the wood as I blankly stare at the screens in front of me.

I’m missing something.

I’m not sure what it is that I’m missing, but it’s definitely something. I’m not sure I will be able to put my finger on it until it’s right in front of my fucking face, but there is something. Lucille’s new information doesn’t necessarily change things. We can’t blackmail him with any of it.

Something catches the corner of my eye, and I shift my attention to the computer screen. Speaking of the fucking devil. Landon Tate flashes what appears to be an ID or badge to a woman standing at the front of Nadine’s building.

Landon appears in front of Nadine’s door a few moments later. The camera catches him perfectly. Turning her alarm off on my phone, I watch as he jimmies the lock and then slips inside her place.

At that moment, I turn the inside cameras all on so I can watch him. This motherfucker thinks he’s got big balls breaking into her place, but mine are fucking massive, because I’m watching every single move he’s making.

He snoops, looking through everything, kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets, and dirty laundry. It appears as if he’s looking for something. Maybe this is what I’m missing. Did Nadine take something from him?

I summon Theron with a quick text. I need him to see all of this going on live and in person without alerting Nadine. I’m not sure what the fuck is going on here yet, but I have a feeling that this moment is going to clarify a lot.

Too much, maybe.

NADINE

Theron standsand walks out of his office without saying a single word to me. It isn’t shocking, but the gait of determination in which he walks causes my senses to heighten. He doesn’t leave the office, either. Instead, he moves straight toward the surveillance room, where I know Grayson has been holed up inside.

I watched Lucille walk in there earlier and talk to him. Now Theron. What the hell is going on? Once I watch Theron slip into the room with Grayson, I take that as a perfect opportunity to listen in on what they’re talking about, since I’m certain it has to do with me.

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