Page 83 of Betrayal

The one word was enough.“What did he tell you, Cas?”

“Lies.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Not your sin.Childhood parties, then Marygai.”Casildo’s tone was careful.“Then Gina.What’s Nick done to Anna, Hunt?”

“It’s just a matter of joining the dots, isn’t it?”Hunter looked at his friend.“Of course he’d target Anna.”

“Anna would hate him on sight.”

“She did.”Hunter gave a half-smile.“But Anna made a mistake when she was eighteen, and Nick happened to be present.”

“You think Anna betrayed you?”Cas leaned forward, disbelief in his tense focus, and Hunter loved him even more for his faith in Anna.Cursed himself for his failure.

“I thought he coerced her or tricked her or engineered some setup, like he did with me and Marygai.Maybe, like me, she was too ashamed to talk about it.”

Hunter had betrayed Anna in that split second, he’d believed Nick.His doubt was unforgivable.And he wasn’t confessing to anyone until he tried to speak to Anna.

“You’re wrong.”Casildo’s conviction shook Hunter.“What did Anna tell you?”

“Nick sent me photos of Anna as an eighteen-year-old.Naked photos.Nick threatened to post them on social media.Even if I call the cops, he could still post, get one of his lackeys to post.Her reputation’s important to her.Her family, her new niece ...”He was babbling, trying to justify himself.

“You didn’t tell her?Show her the photos Nick sent you?”

“He’s only targeting Anna to pull me into line.”Hunter willed Casildo to understand.“Breaking it off with her keeps her safe.”

“You’re an idiot if you think Nick won’t go after her anyway.”

“I’m trying to buy time.Will you help me bring Nick down?Then I can go after Anna and see if we have anything worth salvaging.”

“What’s your plan?”

“The beginnings of a plan.Niall Quinn picked up gossip that Nick’s got money trouble.Delays in paying contractors.I’ve made a few calls.Contractors aren’t the only people waiting for money.That’s the missing link.I thought it was ego or Mum’s money or even disdain for me driving his obsession to take over my business.That’s why I couldn’t get a proper handle on how to get him off my back.”

“You mean he couldn’t have paid Dad if he’d matched your bid?”Casildo snorted his contempt.“You and your mum are still his goods and chattels.”

“Let’s pool our resources to shut this down.Nick can back off, or we encourage unhappy people to plant stories about his finances and wait for the dominoes to fall.The market will kill him with very little help from us.”

“I like it, but how about one more?Get Anna’s agreement to go to the cops.”

“I’m responsible for Nick’s sins as long as I live and breathe.”Hunter exhaled on the words and discovered he no longer carried that weight.

“I hope you know that’s not true.”Casildo raised an eyebrow.“Your turn to make the coffee.And breakfast.When are you calling Anna?”

“When—if—we get this closed down.”

“You’re wrong, Hunt.Locking her out is the worst mistake of your life.”

“I make my living weighing up whether something is a calculated risk or a gamble.”Hunter grimaced.“If Nick’s in financial death throes, he’ll be even more volatile.I don’t know enough yet to risk her well-being by including her.”Hunter met his friend’s gaze.“She’s too important for me to gamble with her privacy much less her physical safety.”

---