Tucking my hands under my arms, I keep my voice low. “Were you able to look over what I sent you?”
He has a folder in one hand, and he watches my sister go through the door safely before looking back at me. “Yeah, he’sgot her in some deep fucking shit." He looks to the door to see if anyone is within earshot and back to me. “There’s already an investigation open on him and his brother; it’s large scale.”
Cupping my jaw, I stare at him in shock. “You’re fucking kidding me.”
He shakes his head. “I kid you not. She’s already on the FBI’s radar, only she fell off the face of the Earth six months ago and they’ve been looking for her. Her only option is to cooperate. I don’t know if that’s going to keep her free of charges, he’s a slippery fuck, but it might keep her out of jail.” He winces before he asks his next question. “Are you sure she’s not involved? Is it possible she’s lying to avoid charges?”
My hackles go up immediately, and I glare at him. My answer is a growl. “I’m sure.”
Seeing my anger, he holds his hands up. “Okay, I have to ask, and you know that. I’ll help however I can.”
Taking a step toward him, I lower my voice even more. “Don’t mention jail to her; I’ll fucking step in before that happens.”
He hangs his hands on his hips, the folder bending in his fingers, and tilts his head to give me side-eye. Rhys is by the book and doesn’t like to lie. He also knows my family is not against working outside of the rules to make sure those we love are safe. “I’m not even going to ask what that fucking means. And how do you propose I do that? These are federal offenses.”
“By putting yourself in my shoes, try to imagine what you would do for Kinley. Tell me you wouldn’t burn the fucking world for her.”
He takes a deep breath, his eyes locked on mine. “You love her like that?”
Do I love her like that? The realization hits me like a dodgeball to the head as we stare at each other. “There’snothingI wouldn’t do to keep her safe.”
He pauses before he nods. “Alright, I won’t mention jail.”
When we walk into the kitchen, Nora is talking to Kinley, but her eyes are nervously darting from me to Rhys. She’s scared, and that has every protective instinct in me on alert.
When she walked into the stables this morning, I wasn’t sure what to expect at first. She was twirling that ring on her finger like she does when she’s nervous, so I was half expecting her to tell me she decided she doesn’t have room for me in her life.
It goes without saying that when she rushed me, not only did my heart leap in my chest, but my dick was straining against my zipper. I’ll be doing whatever it takes to keep her safe.
Rhys walks up to the kitchen island and sets the folder on the counter while I walk around to the other side and stand next to Nora. Her hands are on the countertop, but when I stand next to her, she reaches for my hand, making my chest swell.
If she needs me, I’ll be there for her. Instead of holding her hand, I wrap my arm around her back and pull her into my side. Her soft floral perfume drifts around me like a gentle temptress, and I take a slow, deep breath of the scent that has become like home.
Rhys leans on the counter, setting his palms on each side of him, and smiles at Nora. “It’s nice to see you again, Nora. I’m Assistant Director Abbot with the FBI, but call me Rhys. I’m also Kinley’s husband.” He sets his phone on the counter and asks, “Do you mind if I record this conversation?”
She shakes her head and takes a nervous breath. “Thanks for looking into this.” Her voice is timid, and I think I detect a slight shake.
Starting the recording on his phone, he identifies the people in the room and gives a brief explanation for the conversation before he shakes his head and chuckles. “You know, I have to admit, I did not expect the information Tucker sent to go so deep. Do you know what the SEC is?”
Nora shakes her head.
“It’s the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Their entire purpose is to prohibit fraud and manipulation within the systems of investing and markets. Your ex-fiancé’s brother’s girlfriend holds an influential position in the SEC, and she is deflecting attention from them while all three trade on the market with leaked information your ex is privy to in the scope of his job. They are breaking multiple federal laws, and they are doing it in your name.”
A shiver goes up her back as she leans into me more. I squeeze her hip to let her know I’ve got her.
“Tuck said a company has been created in my name?” Rhys nods his head. “When did it originate?”
Rhys opens the folder in front of him and flips through a few pages before he finds the one he’s looking for and slides it across the counter to her. She pulls it in front of her and reads through the information.
Touching the tips of her fingers against her lips, she pulls her eyebrows together. “This was right after I graduated college, like in the same month I moved in with him.”
“How long did you know him before you graduated?” Rhys asks.
Her gaze moves to the wall across the room as she thinks. “Uhm, I met him at a coffee shop I liked to study in. It was senior year in my first semester. He started coming back almost every day.” Her eyes move back to Rhys. “I just thought he was flirting with me. We spent the holidays together, since my Grams died the summer before, I didn’t have family, and we became exclusive when I went back for my second semester. At least I thought we were exclusive.”
“What do you mean you thought you were exclusive?”
A scowl pinches her eyebrows together, and she looks down at the counter. “I caught him with another woman almost twoyears ago, but I forgave him.” She shrugs her shoulders. “But that was stupid, because the day I left him, I caught him in his office with his secretary.”
