Page 64 of Lethal Illusion

“Where’d you get that?”he asked.

“I took it from one of the assholes who ambushed us.”Navarre stood, ignoring the pain in his feet because he’d tied the laces too tight.“It only made sense for Sloane to be armed, in the event something happened to me.”

Wade took the gun from Austin and gave it a quick inspection.“The serial number’s still on it.We might be able to use it to track down its owner.”

“I assume the guy hasn’t turned up in any of the local hospitals?”Navarre asked.

“Not that we know of.That kind of information is shielded under privacy laws.”Wade didn’t look happy about it, but then again, that was his default expression.“Larissa’s working her magic, but it’s slow going.”

He probably didn’t want to know what her magic entailed, but if anybody could find the asshole, it was her.

Austin and Wade left the room first to ensure there were no threats outside.Once they finished a scan of the area, they gave the all clear signal.

Navarre’s gaze cut to Sloane, and his throat felt tight with all the words he wanted to say but couldn’t.This was it.This was what they’d agreed upon.What they’d shared last night had rocked his world, but now it was time for them to move on with their lives.

Digging deep, he buried the emotions beneath layers of stoicism and gestured for her to go first.Eyes wide, she opened her mouth as if to say something, but then pressed her lips firmly together.Then she stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets and walked out the door.

Chapter 20

AccordingtoanFBIdatabase, the creep’s gun had been reported stolen more than six months ago, so that was a dead end.No luck with the area hospitals either, which meant he hadn’t gone to one for treatment of his shattered knee.It was possible he’d sought help at a doctor’s office or urgent care center, but finding him among the thousands of medical facilities across the country would be next to impossible.

Sloane sat at her desk, rubbing the tension that was building in her temples, as she redirected her efforts to digging into the lives of Sierra’s known family, friends, business associates, former lovers, former friends, and anybody else who’d happened to get sucked into her orbit.The list was ridiculously long, and she put a number of the searches on autopilot while she worked on her daily tasks.

For once, the office wasn’t cold enough to make penguins shiver, most likely because Nina fiddled with the thermostat when the guys weren’t paying attention.Sloane leaned back in her chair and brushed a few strands of blonde hair away from her face, annoyed that she hadn’t found time to change it back to its usual color.But her goal was to stay as busy as possible, because it kept her from thinking too much about Navarre.

In all her life, she’d never felt that intense of a connection with a man.Sure, the sex had been electric, but the emotions had added a level of intimacy she hadn’t experienced before.Just thinking about it sent a blast of heat through her body.His taste, his touch, the way he said her name when he came were indelibly etched into her brain.She missed it, missed him…so much, it ached in her bones.

But their one-night love affair was over now, just as they’d agreed.Really, it was for the best.At least, that’s what she kept telling herself.She refused to be one of those clingy women who chased after a guy who obviously didn’t want her in return.It didn’t matter that she missed him; she needed to move on with her life.In time, things would go back to the way they were, and she’d finally stop wondering about what might have been.

A chime from the computer alerted her that one of the searches had yielded results.Curious to see what it was, she minimized the task she’d been working on and opened the search window.The information looked promising, so she dug deeper, hacked through a firewall and into a treasure trove of databases.And when she finally hit pay dirt, her jaw just about hit the floor.

Buzzing with excitement, she picked up the phone and called Nina.“I found the creep.His name is Gerald Porter, age thirty-seven.Former Navy, no wife or kids.He’s a quote-unquote security consultant for Adamantine Tactical Security Solutions out of Phoenix.”

“Great job!”Nina said.“I knew you’d track that prick down.”

“Oh, it gets even better.”Sloane brushed a piece of lint off her plain black T-shirt.It felt good to wear her own clothes again, though she’d chosen to wear backless shoes until her blisters totally healed.“One of Adamantine’s clients happens to be Chloe Aleo.”

There was a pause.“Okay, I’ll bite.Who’s Chloe Aleo?”

Sloane had forgotten how little attention Nina paid to celebrity gossip.Kind of ironic, considering her sister-in-law was a hotshot Hollywood actress.“She’s the ex-wife of Chad Aleo.Sierra allegedly had a fling with him while they were filmingAll or Nothing.According to the rumor mill, the affair broke up Chad’s marriage.”

“Okay, yeah, I remember hearing something about it.That was years ago, right?And she’s just now getting around to seeking revenge?”

Sloane shrugged, even though Nina couldn’t see her.“Who knows?Maybe she waited this long so no one would suspect her.”

“I can’t imagine holding a grudge that long, or taking it that far.I mean, seriously, it must have cost a small fortune to hire those guys.”Nina made a sound to convey her disgust.“Therapy would have been cheaper.”

After ending the call, Sloane sent a copy of her findings to the management team, and they could decide how to proceed.Those kinds of decisions were above her pay grade.The evidence was circumstantial at best, not enough to convict Chloe in a court of law.But there were other means of holding her—and the security company who’d agreed to kidnap Sierra—accountable for their actions.Knowing the Flints, those means would be swift, creative, and executed in a manner to make all parties involved deeply regret their recent life choices.

Finished, Sloane checked her phone and found a notification that her bank account had received a deposit, and she knew it could only be her bonus for acting as Sierra’s body double.

She tapped her foot against the floor as she opened the banking app.Sure, she knew how much the deposit was—she’d already calculated how much it would be after the government took its cut—but after everything she’d gone through, she wanted the satisfaction of seeing that big, fat, juicy bonus in her account.

She logged in her credentials.The screen loaded and—

“Holy crap.”Sloane’s heart stuttered.She leaned closer to the screen, as if it might make the numbers appear different.That couldn’t possibly be right.Somebody must have made a mistake—a huge one—and if that were the case, she wanted it fixed immediately.

Normally, she would have gone straight to Larissa, but one of her daughters was sick with the flu and she’d gone home early to take care of her.With that option off the table, she left her office and hurried down the hall.She found Austin sitting at the desk in his office, dressed like he had an important meeting to attend, speaking on the phone.His gaze caught hers, and he held up one finger to signal for her to wait.

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