Page 67 of Flirting With Forever
Stopping at Dawson’s was probably a bad idea on top of her bad idea, but she needed a backup plan to her fail-safe plan, and if she’d learned nothing else about the Blackwell brothers in the last few weeks, it was that Dawson was the financial shark-attorney in the family.
She’d done some research, and Dawson had worked with some heavy hitters. He’d know what to do with what she had. Know how to handle things.
But if Dawson didn’t do as she asked, things could go from bad to…dead—if Dawson warned Gage and he followed her and tried to interfere.
Still, she didn’t know who else to trust with the information she had and knew Dawson would have his brother’s best interests and safety at heart if nothing else. Dawson would protect Gage. Because that’s what family was supposed to do. Be.
She just prayed her plan worked and turning over the evidence wouldn’t have to happen because it would take Noah and Jarrett down with her father. And if Dawson had to send that packet?
It meant she really wasn’t coming back.
Sloane got out and walked quietly up the steps only to gasp at the top because Dawson stood inside the open door. “You’re up.”
His gaze narrowed on her as he ran a hand over his sleep-mussed hair. “As are you. I was about to go for a run. What’s your excuse?”
She watched his gaze sweep over her and was easily able to imagine he saw tension-pinched features, fear, and the bubble mailer in her hand. “I was… I mean, I wanted to talk to you…”
“At four a.m.?”
Dawson stepped back as though to let her come inside, but she shook her head and glanced over her shoulder. She had to do this quickly. Not only before she changed her mind but also before Noah appeared like the ghost from her past that he was and kept it from happening. “I need a favor. A big one. And you’re an attorney?” She posed it as a question even though she already knew the answer.
But that really got his attention.
“I am. You need me to represent you?”
“Yes. It would mean attorney-client privilege and all that?”
“It would—and I agree. Now what’s going on? Come inside, and we’ll?—”
“No. I mean, thank you, but I can’t. I just— I need you to do something for me. Please. For—for Gage.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, and she realized for a guy who sat behind a desk all day, he was very fit. Muscles bulged beneath the thin, long-sleeved shirt he wore. “What do you need? And what does Gage have to do with it?”
“I’m going back to Chicago—just for a visit. But I need you to keep something safe. And…if I’m not back in town before Christmas, I want you to—to call the phone number on the outside of this envelope and tell the agent you have something to give them. Don’t open it. Just—call the number.”
“Not unless you tell me what’s going on.”
She saw the concern in his gaze and felt herself falter. This was a man she barely knew, but his reputation, his relationships with his brother and his peers, said she could trust him. She hoped she could. “I can’t. It’s for your own good. For Sophia’s own good,” she said to stress her point.
He lowered his chin, and his gaze narrowed on her even more. “And Gage’s?”
She nodded. “He can’t follow me. Okay? He has to stay here.”
“Because it’s dangerous.”
“Please, Dawson, just keep him here.”
“You’re in trouble. Real trouble. How do you expect me to just let you walk into it?”
She struggled to hold his gaze. “Because I have to handle this myself. No one else can. So, please, just do this for me?”
“Sloane, I need an explanation at least. Does Gage know you’re here? What you’re doing?”
She took a step back from the door. “No. He can’t know, or he’ll try to stop me and— Please don’t ask questions. I know I don’t have the right to ask this of you since we barely know each other, but I’m asking. For Gage. And because I’m doing what’s best. I promise you. But if I’m not back by Christmas, call the number and handle it like an attorney.”
“Sloane, for the love of?—”
“And if I don’t come back,” she said, interrupting him, “tell Gage— tell him I said I still don’t do casual. Okay? Tell him.”
