“Why you?”
“She called me into her office and dropped a bombshell on me.”
“Let me guess. On Tuesday.” The day he’d strolled into her bar.
He nodded. “Yeah. When I tried to get out of it, she threatened Hope.”
“That’s cold.” Portia Tremaine was called the Ice Queen and personally, Taryn had no problem with a woman doing whatever it took to get ahead in business. No one else was going to look out for you. But, damn, threatening a coma patient... that seemed wrong.
Ash frowned. “She didn’t threaten-threaten her,” he said. “Just reminded me that they had her as leverage. Like I’ve forgotten over the last five years.” His tone was bitter.
“What exactly is she having you look into?”
He looked away again before he spoke. “She wants me to locate whoever assisted Leopold Brunswick with his plans.”
For the second time that night, he’d surprised her. “Not just the news about Dizzie, then.” It wasn’t a question.
He gave the slightest head shake.
Why the hell did all these people keep showing up at her bar? “You were responsible for the bombing?”
“No! I didn’t know anything about that.” Ash shot to his feet, his fists clenched at his sides. His chair rocked with the violence of his movement, then settled back into place. “He just asked me to find information he could use against Phillip Tremaine. He said he could help me get free from the company and I—” He shook his head and looked at his feet. “After hearing that, I didn’t ask any questions.”
Brunswick sounded like as much of an asshole as the previous Jack had been. And that was a pretty fucking high bar. “He won’t turn you in?”
Gray eyes met her gaze. “Portia says he’s dead. If she’s telling the truth, he’s not a problem.”
“Have you considered just blackmailing your way out?” Blackmail was an effective tool, though personally Taryn didn’t like to use it. It wasn’t a permanent solution to problems.
“What?”
“You admitted that you dug up Tremaine’s big secret.” Secrets, probably. “Tell Portia that you’ll keep quiet if she lets the two of you go.”
Ash dropped back into his seat and stared at her like she’d grown two heads. “If I tell Portia I’ve got her secrets, she’ll know I was the one who helped him and I’ll never see daylight again. I don’t know what she would do to Hope.” He shook his head. “No, I won’t risk it.”
Taryn studied the man in front of him. The love and care he showed for his sister got to her. What would it be like to have a champion like that? Someone who put you first?
It was a surprising and endearing trait in a man who was obviously willing to cross the line between right and wrong.
What other Tremaine secrets had he uncovered? Could she request those as payment?
Even as the thought crossed her mind, she dismissed it. She needed his skills and he obviously had them if what he was telling her was true.
Dizzie’s fairy tale romance with Killian St. John, one of the hottest men in the world, overshadowed whatever other secrets might have been revealed. No one knew exactly what had happened between them last month, but they appeared inseparable whenever the newsies showed them.
The romance portion, Taryn happened to believe. She’d seen the two of them together when they’d been in hiding. The way St. John had looked at the courier... well, Taryn would never admit it, but it made even her callous heart race.
“Any other information I should know before I make a decision? Withholding information puts me at risk and it will put Hope at risk, too.”
“No, I swear. That’s why we need to move. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to pretend to be searching for myself.”
“So back to my original question? What is this rescue worth to you?”
Chapter20
Ash stared at the Jack,processing everything she’d said. He was afraid to get his hopes up, but it sounded like she might be willing to take on Hope’s case.
“Anything you want,” he blurted. “I’ll give you anything you want if you help me free Hope.”
