I’m eager to get back to work, and perhaps it’s because I want to ignore all the complicated feelings. That’s what I’ve always done—pushed them away until they consume me.
“Anything?” I ask Eagan, moving toward the kitchen island to where he’s hunched over his computer.
He peers at me over the top of it. “I have the backup I made from the evidence that was wiped, but there’s nothing here anymore. Everything you saved on the companies and their illegal operations is gone. Whoever wiped the evidence also got rid of a lot more.” He shakes his head, defeated. “I’m sorry, Nova. I’ll keep looking.”
“No luck on tracing who might have deleted it or sent it to Dec?” I ask the question, but from the look on his face, I already know the answer.
Ella answers for him. “No. It’s all broken threads.”
I turn to Parker and Noell next, the hope dwindling. The tension returns to my entire body, my nails digging into the skin of my palms.
“Anything?” This time it’s nothing but a whisper.
Parker shakes his head, but it’s Noell who speaks. “I found some interesting transfers of money. Inconspicuous payments spread out over years that are worth pennies in comparison to the overall financials of these companies. Most people would think nothing of it. Perhaps it’s an employeepaying for their morning coffee on the company's tab, but I found the same thing happening in all three companies. Same transactions, same amounts of money, all transferred on the same day over the last ten years.”
My eyes widen, and I step closer to Noell. “What does it mean?”
She runs a hand through her perfectly curled hair, looking more frazzled than I’ve ever seen her. “I don’t know yet. But it’s odd enough to make me think it’s connected to something bigger.”
“Can you trace the money?”
“I can help her trace it,” Eagan offers, hopping off his chair and reaching for the financial papers Noell highlighted and scribbled with notes.
“Do it,” I say, finally giving my attention to Parker. The one person I was most afraid to face.
He must notice my tears, because his brow pinches. “How is he?”
I take a deep breath, letting my shoulders sink. “About as you’d expect. Defeated. Furious with me.”
Parker stands and stops right in front of me, close enough that I have to angle my head up to peer into his sad blue eyes. “And you?”
There’s only one word that comes to mind, that I can say—the truth. “Broken.”
There’s a deafening silence that follows, as if no one knows what to say. As if they didn’t expect me to say it out loud. As if they didn’t expect me to actually admit it, even if they saw it in me.
No one gets a chance to say anything because Noah barges into the apartment, his eyes wildly searching the room until they land on me.
“We found him. Peyton Radd is at Regenerative Industries right now.”
Peyton sits across from me, feet propped on Owen’s desk, a half-smirk planted on his face.
“Tell me what you know,” I snap at him, unable to hide my irritation, knowing full well he probably could have prevented this whole situation.
“You haven’t held up your end of the bargain,” he responds with a lazy shrug.
“I don’t have the authority to do so. That person is currently in jail.”
Peyton lowers his feet to the ground and leans forward until his elbows are propped on the desk with his head held in his hands. “Come now, Miss Riley. You and I both know your boss wouldn’t have left you empty-handed.”
How the fuck does he know so much?
Still annoyed, I reach into Owen’s top drawer and pull out an employment contract I found minutes before Peyton walked through the door. I slam the contract on the desk in front of him, just out of reach.
“Now talk,” I say.
Peyton winks. “Have you found your rat, Miss Riley?” My face must give me away because he continues, shaking his head. “I pegged you for being smarter than that. Perhaps someone has been a distraction? Not that I can blame you—”
I slam my fist on the table, effectively cutting him off. “Get to the point,” I hiss.
