Page 28 of Playing For Keeps
He takes the ice pack and does as she directs. She spins to Jamison with determination etched in her face.
She points her finger at him. “You! Sit on the other end. We are going totalk. No more fighting unless you’re okay with losing Dori.”
Jamison holds her gaze for a moment. Then he stalks to the end of the table while cursing under his breath, and he takes the seat where I was before this meeting went to the shithouse. Melanie pulls the middle chair off the ground and sits.
She gestures to the seat across from her. “Hunter, you can take your place there. We’re the referees of this mess. If either of them moves, you know what to do.”
“Let’s just hope I don’t find a reason to go after one of them,” I say in all honesty as I stride over to my seat. I get situated and take the lead. “Aiden, are you clear enough to tell us everything now?”
He swipes his thumb over his swollen, bloody lip. “Yeah. I understand what’s at stake.”
“It’s about fucking time,” Jamison mutters.
He stares at Melanie like he can’t look at Aiden.
I want to shake my head, but I get why Jamison is out of his mind. Not knowing where Dorothy is and having all this information now is taking its toll.
“Aiden, I think it’s best if you start at the very beginning.” I dip my chin, a sign to begin.
He shrinks in his chair. “When I told my dad I wanted to be a private investigator, it spurred on some crazy idea ofhis. He told me he would give me more money than I could ever use if I became an FBI agent. He said I could start my PI business with the cash when he retired. I stupidly agreed.”
“How long did it take for him to get you to do his dirty work?” Jamison asks, still gazing at Melanie.
Aiden adjusts the ice on his jaw. “A couple of years. I had been with the agency for a while. I knew the department heads and how everything worked. He had me befriend certain people. Over time, those people became my contacts for any new inquiries about illegal shipments. All I had to do was pay them off tolosethe tip. It never sat right with me, so I started digging.”
“And that’s when you uncovered what your dad was up to?” Melanie asks.
“Yes, and then I confronted him. He insisted he knew nothing about what was going on. We got into a big fight, and I quit talking to him for a while. That’s why I called you and asked to watch out for Dori. I thought he was going to live up to his threats and hurt her.” Aiden runs his hand over his head.
Jamison’s face contorts in confusion. “But I wasn’t with Dori then, so why would he go after her just because you quit speaking to him?”
“He uses her to keep me in line. He always has, and you know that. You’ve seen it for yourself over the years. Besides, I don’t trust him. Just look at what he did to me when I cut him off for a month.” Aiden shows us the scar on his head.
Shit!
He thinks his dad attacked him, but I know that’s not the case. I’m about to break the news to him, but he continues before I have the chance.
“After my attack, I was worried he’d go after Dori, so I reached out to him. He told me my uncle was the primary contact for the traffickers and threatened my dad, forcing himto follow along or else my uncle would take our family down, starting with Dori.”
Aiden directs the next part to Jamison. “I don’t know how he planned to do that, but I wasn’t about to get her wrapped up in the mess, so I went along.”
Jamison’s shoulders square, and he glares at Aiden. “So much for that.”
Aiden releases a regretful sigh. “I didn’t know it would get to this point.”
“But it did.” Jamison’s jaw muscles tick. “Let’s get to what matters. What does Hunter’s mom want you to do?”
Aiden glances down then takes a deep breath. “She wants me to work for the French mob, doing the same type of work my wonderful father has had me doing. If I say no, she’ll hand Dori over to the men my uncle and dad work with and turn me in.”
My stomach rolls. “That’s some choice she gave you.”
Aiden peers in my direction, wiping his lip again. “She gave me an hour to decide. She’s supposed to call me to find out my response.”
I rise to my feet so I can dissipate my bubbling emotions. “Like she believes you won’t agree to her demands, but we’ve got to stall her somehow. If we don’t, she’s likely to hand Dorothy over anyway. Can you call whoever is in charge of Dorothy’s case and see where they are in their efforts to find her?”
He rests back in his chair, pulls his phone out of his pocket, hits the screen, and holds his cell phone to his ear.
“Hey, it’s Fisher. Any word?” His eyes shift around as he takes in the information for a minute. “Thanks. Keep me informed.”
