He shrugged. “They’ll have files on everyone they do business with. Your boys should be able to get access to that.”
Especially Beck. Or maybe Richard would allow me access as well. We had to do it without arousing suspicion though, because as I’d thought before, the moment the board got wind of us trying to take them down…
It wouldn’t be pretty.
I stood suddenly. “I’ve got to go,” I said before I finally met Selene’s red-eyed gaze. “I’m sorry this is all happening, girl, and I might be angry with Dante, but I won’t leave him there to rot. I’m going to figure out how to fix both of these things, and ensure Catherine can never touch us again.”
She nodded, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. For the first time she looked her age, sorrow weighing her down.
“If you need our help, just ask,” Rob said, standing with me. “You’re not alone.”
A tear tracked down Selene’s cheek. “We’re family,” she whispered.
I smiled best I could before I turned to leave, brown envelope clutched in my hands.
As I expected, Beck was right outside the door, his expression dark and scary. “Let’s go,” I said softly, and his cheek twitched as he fought to get himself under control.
“I don’t handle it well when you’re out of my sight, Butterfly,” he said with a soft menace. “Not with everything that’s happening.”
I patted his shoulder. “I know, babe, but it’s going to be okay. I needed to talk to them alone.” He fell in beside me as we walked from their apartment. It wasn’t until we were in the car with Dylan that I spoke again.
“Rob said we need someone in either law enforcement, a judge or a lawyer to try and take Delta down, and we need irrefutable evidence of their corruption or wrong doings. He said so many people have tried to prove this before and all have failed.”
Beck and Dylan snorted. “It’s almost a running joke on the board now about how they’re untouchable,” Dylan said.
I nodded. “Yep, but they’ve never had people on the inside go up against them. We’re in the perfect position to take the bastards down, we just need to find the right person to help us.”
Beck eyed me closely. “You have someone in mind?”
“Remember that girl, Sami, from class. She said her father was a high-powered lawyer in the city. Maybe we should look into them … you know, see if they’ve done any business with Delta before.”
Beck nodded. “That’ll be easy to check into. I have access to all of the servers as Beckett proxy.”
“We could also look into some of the officials who tried to take Delta down recently,” Dylan suggested. “See if any name stands out.”
I nodded, and Dylan started the car so we could get out of this area. “What’s in the envelope, Riles?” Beck asked, his eyes falling to the brown package I still had clutched to my chest.
I swallowed hard. “Whatever Dante left for me. He asked his sister only to give it to me when he was dead, but apparently in jail for murder is close enough.”
Neither of them pushed me to open it, even though I could see the curiosity in their eyes. “Should we wait to be back with Evan and Jasper? I asked. “Do they even know everything that’s going on?”
“They know,” Beck said shortly. “I filled them in while you were asleep. Right now they’re running interference with the board, making sure they don’t look too closely at us.”
“They’ll meet us back at the apartment,” Dylan said softly, typing into his phone. “We should wait for them.”
I settled back, relieved that I had a few more hours before I had to face whatever was in this envelope. Something told me, it would be devastating.
7
“Riles, you don’t look so good,” Jasper said, and I hated how uncharacteristically serious he was right then. Not even a sliver of humor danced in his eyes. No teasing. No sexual innuendos. Nothing.
“I’m nervous about what might be inside,” I admitted. “Like, I already know Dante betrayed me. I know that he was working for Catherine. But part of me is still making excuses, and maybe those excuses are right—he was forced, he was a child, he didn’t want to betray me, he still fought to protect me as much as he could. Or… maybe all of that is bullshit and he’s just a lying bastard. Either way, the answers are inside.”
Jasper wrapped an arm around me, and I sank against him. “We’ve got you,” he murmured. “Whatever is inside, we’ll face it together, because that’s the only fucking thing that has kept us all alive over the years.”
Evan snorted, his expression dark. “Yeah, except for Oscar.”
Oscar!Fuck. I’d forgotten that he was another piece of our puzzle to investigate. “Guys! We forgot to follow up on his missing body.” Seriously, how the fuck did we forget that?
