Trent
I pay you to handle that shit. Why do you need me?
Me
Big potential client had her team drop by to check us out. Need you to win them over.
“Nice,” Kelsey says, reading over my shoulder before moving her eyes back to the screen to monitor the show.
Five minutes later, Trent swaggers into the office. I see Kelsey send a quick message to her team, telling them she’s out for the next five minutes.
“Where are they?” Trent asks, searching the small space like he might have missed them.
“Bad news, Trent,” Kelsey says, making a little click with her tongue. “Your accomplice gave you up.”
“Excuse me?” he asks.
“You know, your girl Bennie?”
His eyes widen at the name, and I know Kelsey caught the movement too with the way her smile turns feline.
My body isn’t so sure a smile is in order. It feels like my world just dropped out from beneath me. It goes rigid, my hands balling into fists of their own accord.
Fuck.The guy I tied my wagon to just drove us into a wall and then lit our supplies on fire.
My phone dings with an incoming text message, and, when I see it’s from Julian, I open it quickly.
The fraying piece of hope I was holding on to that Trent might actually be telling the truth snaps.
“Really?” I ask my half brother, the coldness in my tone startling everyone. “Because I just got a text from a friend of mine who says there is a money trail from you to Bennie. It looks like you wired a thousand dollars to one Bennie Jensen at the beginning of this month…”
I trail off, my eyes scanning the second message that just came through, the pieces of the puzzle coming together quickly.
“The same woman who, as it turns out, was weeks away from completing a degree in computer engineering at MIT before she dropped out and was barely ever heard from again.”
“I did the job you two couldn’t do. I found her. And she was living on the streets. I felt bad for her, so I gave her some money, that’s it,” Trent says, his face a mask of annoyance.
I shake my head. “I don’t think so. You’re not the kind of guy who would spend time searching the camps and shelters in San Francisco yourself when it’s not something we’re being paid for. And even if you were, you expect us to believe it’s a coincidence you paid her and a weeklater Kelsey’s systems were hacked in Australia?”
“Coincidence,” Trent replies.
I was mad before, but now I’m livid. He’s lying, and we both know it, but instead of confessing, he’s doubling down.
“Are you sure about that? Because guess what? My friend found something else interesting in your financials…you’re drowning in debt.”
At that final statement, Trent’s bravado breaks. He drops into a chair, cradling his head in his hands. He looks so much smaller than he actually is.
“I couldn’t lose this contract. The company would go under. I can’t mortgage anything else, and I can’t tell Julie no—she thinks I fucking walk on water because I buy her anything she wants. It’s the only reason she’s even with me.”
“Are you kidding me, Trent?” Kelsey asks, voicing my thoughts. “You took advantage of a woman who clearly needs help and put Jaxon’s life in real danger because you can’t have a real conversation with your wife about money? You know how ridiculous that is, right?”
Trent shakes his head adamantly. “What do you mean? His life was never in danger.”
“You helped hisstalkerget into his dressing room!” Kelsey rises to her feet, pacing a few steps as she talks. “How is that not dangerous?”
His eyes go wide. “I didn’t. I swear I didn’t. Is Jaxon okay? She was just supposed to mess with your equipment. Make you look bad. Make it seem like your team didn’t know what they were doing.”
“And that’s not putting his life in danger? He needs us for a reason. Bennie isn’t his only stalker. The man has fanatics around him at all times. All times,” I say, choosing to make Trent wait to find out if Jaxon was hurt or not.
