She leaned back in her chair and sighed. “I didn’t want you to see me as naive or worse, as a victim.”
Finn leaned over and took her hand. “Lainey, I don’t believe either of those. We’re … I’m here to help. This is bigger than we thought.”
Lainey gave him a sad smile. “You think I don’t know that or want help? But the last time I trusted someone, it almost cost me everything. My partner, former partner Richard, didn’t just betray me. He used me.”
Finn’s hand tightened into a fist. He’d kill the bastard, given the choice.
Lainey stared straight ahead. “And like an idiot, I convinced myself he loved me. He was older, sophisticated, and said all the right things. He made it easy to believe. He was good with Luke and spent a lot of time with him. Luke really liked him.”
Her voice cracked. “But it was for show. Every bit of it.”
Lainey swiped the tears slipping down her cheek. “So, yeah, I’m thrilled to have security here. But do I trust it to keep me safe? Keep my family safe? Not really. I don’t trust the cops or lawyers.”
She pointed at herself. “I trust me. Because I’ve already lived through what happens when someone else holds the reins. Bryce Keller is a blowhard, just another man trying to intimidate me with empty threats. I’m not taking it seriously.”
Finn held her gaze for a moment. “Wanting to see the best in someone doesn’t make you naive. It makes you a good person. The fact is you were lied to. Betrayed.” He looked at her and saw the pain underneath. “And I know you don’t want to relyon anyone, but just because someone’s knocking on your door doesn’t mean you have to open it alone.”
CHAPTER 24
The sun had dipped lowby the time Finn rolled into the Brotherhood’s parking lot.
It was quiet. Staff had already gone home. Dex’s truck was out front, and Chase mentioned he’d stop by in a little while.
Finn headed inside, his boots echoing faintly down the hall. He found Dex in the war room, hunched over the computer.
Dex looked up. “Chase said you needed some information.”
Finn dropped into the chair next to him. “Hartwell Redevelopment Group. A Bryce Keller showed up in Lainey’s office. Slick as hell.”
“She tell you?”
Crap. He didn’t want to get into this with Dex. “Caught it on the feed.”
“Shit,” Dex muttered.
“I’m sure this isn’t small-time intimidation. It’s something bigger,” Finn said. “She’s scared but won’t say it or ask for help.”
“Good thing she doesn’t have to.” Dex’s fingers flew across the screen. “Okay. Hartwell’s not a new company. They’ve been involved in several redevelopment projects.”
He scanned the screen, then frowned. “Looks clean, legit. But the filings all have different LLCs, all tied to the same legalgroup. There’s no transparency. No ownership trails. You don’t do that unless you’re hiding something.”
Dex searched for a few minutes, then shook his head. “I can’t dig any deeper. This is a project for Tex.”
He hated to bother Tex. He was up in Pennsylvania with his wife and two daughters, enjoying life. But not only was Lainey’s project on the line, now she was being threatened by some slick douchebag.
He pulled out his phone and dialed.
“’Sup, Scorpion?”
Finn snorted. Scorpion! He hadn’t heard that nickname since he left the teams.
The Brotherhood wasn’t much on keeping nicknames, especially since so many of them had women who had no idea what the significance was.
“Hey. How are Melody and the girls?”
Tex paused. “You gonna ask me about the weather next?”
“Fuck you,” Finn said, grinning. Typical Tex. He wasted no time getting down to business. “I have our IT guy, Dex, looking into Hartwell Redevelopment Group,” Finn continued. “But they’re dug in deep. I need more information on them.”
