Page 13 of Treasured
Mary would be leaving soon, and she wasn’t part of Wanda’s web of lies. Mary had made my muscles tingle, which was quite an accomplishment for such a small woman. My heart swelled just thinking about her. “Mary runs a women’s shelter. She’s very sweet and very much a do-gooder.”
“Not what her ex said.” Her phone beeped, and she said, “Work emergency.” She then let out a small sigh and said, “I have to go, but we’ll talk soon.”
Mary’s ex had beaten her and a baby. I pressed the gas and continued home. “One moment.”
“What?” she asked quickly.
No one was on the road or in the way. I ignored how tense I was. “The offer on the table has a time limit. If you want a buyout and not jail time, think fast.”
“So sad,” she said. “Devon has said you were the best brother. He’d be rolling over in his grave.”
I steeled my spine then said, “Or he’d have seen the truth about you, if he’d lived.”
“Look at the time.”
I pressed my hand on my heart, approaching the beach where I lived. “You can’t run from me for long.”
“Bye.”
Good. I hung up the phone, parked the car, and stepped out. The smell of the salt in the air and the crash of waves in the distance was soothing as I let myself into my house.
Working with Cole Securities was awesome. Remembering the past all the time was exhausting but necessary. They were interested in permanently ending the arms dealing, so together, we had both gotten what we wanted.
I let myself in and immediately charged my phone. I grabbed my computer to read more paperwork for my lawyers to handle, and I planned to speak to Mark at Cole Securities.
Soon, I finished up the papers, took a shower, made myself coffee, exercised, and did more filing, and the sun was high in the sky when my phone rang. Mark hadn’t even said hello when I told him, “I spoke to Wanda.”
“And?” Mark asked.
I would have forced my way in, and they had their opportunity to investigate her on the inside. So I closed the laptop and said, “I’ll be flying to Pittsburgh for the tour.”
“You should have our team with you.”
I thought so, too, but I kept that thought to myself and said, “I was a Navy SEAL, too, and it will be smoother if I handle this myself.”
“We can bug the place faster if you get your head out of your ass, Thunder Thighs.”
Alone time with Mary meant I didn’t need an audience. I ignored how my gut twisted. At the end of the day, the company would fall under my control. I would stop all illegal activities the same day I took the reins. I stood up and said, “I’ll plant the bug. You get me the hard evidence of the deals for both the authorities to shut her down and my takeover bid.”
“I owe it to your brother to keep your ass alive and in line.”
Devon. His spirit was alive in every conversation with Mark. I glanced out the window and at the seagulls that sat on the fence separating my house from the white sands and ocean beyond. Until now, I’d always been landbound anyhow. “That bullshit on protecting me never worked in the SEALs, and if his death gets in your way of seeing I’m capable of watching my own damn back, then we’ll renegotiate the contract.”
“Thunder Thighs, you have balls, but don’t be fucking stupid.”
Laughter exploded from me. “Remember, we’re on the same team, but we have different goals.”
“Mine include not letting you get hurt, but I’ll send over some donuts to you if you fuck this up.”
“Later, Mark,” I said and hung up the phone.
However, I sat back down to finish work then exercised again. To cool off, I ran on the beach, and by the time I returned home, the stars were coming out. My phone was charged, so I grabbed it and dialed the woman I wished was here with me.
Two rings later, I heard her calming voice, which was like the ocean outside to my ears. “Did you make it home?” I asked.
She let out a small chuckle. “You called. I hadn’t believed you would.”
I imagined she patted her hair the way she had at the party. It was like I could still see her though we were miles apart. “Turns out I have business in Pittsburgh, so I wanted to check in and see if I can take you out when I get there.”
