His declaration just about rendered me unable to continue speaking, but I pushed through the thickness in my throat and told him the truth. "Not much at all. I was never allowed in the room when they discussed business, and outside of the property portfolio our parents left us, I have no idea what he's ventured into. But Blake is as dodgy as they come. If he's been working for your company, then you cannot trust what he's done. He's been lining his own pockets somehow."
Dylan pursed his lips, his anger just barely contained. "From what I've gathered in my last few minutes of research, we've been using your brother's trucking company to transport our goods from the docks, nothing that would give him access to the inner workings of Delta."
Blake had figured it out somehow. "The entire reason he probably went for that transport contract was so he'd have an in."
Dylan was about to snap something else, his eyebrows already drawn together as he let out an annoyed huff, but he was interrupted by the door slamming open. Ben strolled in, tray in hand, santa hat perched on his blond hair, and a smile on his face.
"Brooklyn!" he exclaimed, sauntering across to me. "Heard you were in need of some sustenance."
The tray was dropped before me, and it was literally groaning under the weight of all the food.
"Wow," I said with a laugh. "Did you grab one of everything."
He booped me on the nose, ignoring the scowl of death that had spread across Dylan's face. "Anything for you, sweetheart."
A gun appeared on the other side of the desk, and as Dylan spun it around his finger, the butt settled into his hand. Ben's joking smile died off, and he hauled ass out of the room without another word.
I blinked at the weapon. "What are you doing? You can't just pretend you're going to shoot someone for flirting with me."
He slammed his gun onto the desk. "Who said anything about pretending?”
I growled right back at him, getting to my feet and almost knocking the tray off the table. "You need to calm the fuck down, Delta. I’ve legit had enough of angry men in my life, and considering I'm about to be interrogated by the woman you're in love with, you should really give me a goddamn break."
The gun was forgotten as he got to his feet as well and leaned across the table until we were nearly face to face. "I amnotin love with Riley. Not anymore. But I do care about her and respect the fuck out of her. She is fair and will give us all the information I currently don't possess. This is the best course of action."
I scoffed before sinking into the chair again, suddenly exhausted to the point of wanting to close my eyes and lie my head on the roast beef sub in front of me. Were these random bouts of exhaustion a normal pregnancy—no,virus—a normalvirusthing?
"Just eat, Brooklyn," Dylan said, sounding weary himself, before he retook his seat.
I eyed the absolute ton of food in front of me and reached for a ham and cheese sandwich. That seemed like something my churning stomach might keep down. The first bite tasted like dust, but it didn't immediately projectile-vomit out of me, so I just kept going, chewing each piece like it was the most important work I had to do today.
Anything was better than trying to break this awkward-as-fuck silence simmering in the air between Dylan and me. He went back to working, but there was still plenty of time for him to keep an eye on me, his brows drawing together every time I wasn't actively eating.
In the end, I managed to finish an entire sandwich, a few pieces of apple, and a couple of chocolate chip cookies. When he was satisfied I’d had enough, Dylan wolfed down the rest of the food, and it didn't escape my notice that he hadn't touched one thing on the tray until I was completely done.
There was an honorable man inside of him, even if it was hidden under layers of scary alpha. Whoever finally claimed the full heart of this man was going to be one lucky lady. I hoped she would know that and never take it for granted. Pun intended.
The noise of a throaty engine broke the silence some time later, and Dylan's gaze shot to the door. "Riley’s here."
He knew the sound of her car—totally normal for someone you'renot in love with.
This was going to be one fucked up afternoon, I already knew it.
17
We sat in silence as two doors slammed, and the sound of arguing reaching us before the people did.
"Beck, seriously. If you don't get off my fucking ass, I'm going to shoot you. In the dick."
There was a low, deep chuckle, the sound so deliciously masculine. I felt a jolt of excitement that I was going to meet Sebastian Beckett as well today. I mean, from what I'd seen on television and read in the news, he was even scarier than Dylan, and almost as handsome, but mostly I was curious to observe the dynamic between the three of them.
"Come on, Butterfly," Beck replied when they were close to the door. "You love my dick too fucking much to shoot it."
She let out a strangled laugh. "Yes, that is mostly true, and I also happen to love your stupid ass, but you really didn't need to cancel everything and follow me up here today."
There was a pause, and I could have sworn that Riley let out a little huff of air. Dylan sighed as he got to his feet. "Ready for this hot mess?" he not that quietly asked me.
"We fucking heard that, asshole," Beck snapped from the other side of the door before he went back to whatever he was doing to Riley that made her sound so breathless.
