Page 99 of Forged in Peril

Cameron nodded. “And when Reilly and FBS helped to thwart that deal with the help of a low-level mule by the name of Lauren Ortega, none of you were happy.”

Lauren?

Bristol’s mind raced.

Reilly’s wife had been a drug smuggler?

She supposed it was hardly the sort of thing that would be brought up with every new employee that walked into FBS, but still, she couldn’t think of a more shocking backstory for the soft-spoken hispanic woman she’d met.

Jaclyn laughed aloud. “No, everyone was furious. I wasn’t surprised, though. Sure, our clients in both the Iron Prophets gang and the cartel are professionals, but both groups are managed on the ground level by a bunch of junkies. They should have assumed there would be screwups and been more careful, but of course they weren’t.”

“So why go after FBS?” Cameron asked. “You said it yourself, your clients messed up and got themselves caught.”

Jaclyn rolled her eyes.

“Because of money, Forge. I know it’s something you and your brothers have never had to think about, but most of us do,” she glanced at Bristol, eyebrows raised expectantly.

She nodded, not wanting to argue.

“D&P has plenty of money, I’d say,” Cameron said mildly. “Especially for the top-level people who are making the decisions to benefit financially from the activities of gangbangers and drug lords.”

Jaclyn raised both hands as though in surrender, and Bristol felt the urge to lunge toward the desk, grab the gun, and turn it on the lawyer.

The moment was gone.

“Oh, I agree with you, Cam,” Jaclyn continued, shaking her head. “Greed is all it is. I love Albert, but his appetite for fast cars and diamonds and all the rest of it will be his downfall. D&P got what it deserved when it came to that deal, if you ask me.”

“But?”

“As I said,” Jaclyn continued, sighing softly. “My interests are more personal. I don’t care how the gang screwed up, how the cartel screwed up, or how my friends in the law screwed up. I don’t care about Lauren Ortega, either, though I suppose it’s a shame for her that she has been caught up in this madness twice now, both times due to her poor choice in men.”

Bristol had so many questions, but if she ever wanted the chance to ask Reilly for answers, she’d just have to keep quiet.

“Okay. Your issue is with Reilly. Can you walk me through what happened, from your perspective?” Cameron said.

Jaclyn rested both hands against the edge of the desk and gripped it tightly.

“You know what happened. Enough with the psychobabble.”

“There’s he said, she said, and then there’s the truth,” Cam said firmly. “I’d like your side, if you’ll indulge me.”

Jaclyn peered over at Bristol. “Well, I did say you’d get answers. Fine.”

Bristol stared back, unsure how to respond.

Fortunately the moment passed, and Jaclyn continued on.

“Despite his less than fortunate background, at least on paper, Chase was still the son of two top-tier lawyers. From childhood, it was clear he had the aptitude to do great things, and it was no surprise when he became a teenager and decided he wanted to go into law.

“He graduated from both high school and undergrad early, and spent most of his time in those years preparing for the LSATs. We couldn’t help him openly, of course, and we didn’t need to. On the strength of his application, he ended up as the youngest student at the best law school in Texas.”

Jaclyn paused, as though letting the two of them bask in the glow of her son’s accomplishments.

For the first time, the lawyer looked genuinely happy.

Despite the fact that she was currently attempting to blow everyone up and threatening to shoot her personally, Bristol couldn’t help but to feel a tug of sympathy within her heart. A mother losing her child was always a tragedy.

“Chase sounds like he was an exceptional person,” Cameron said carefully.

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