“Did anyone have access to your code?” Cruz asked.
“No,” my dad said, but then hesitated. “Blake… Blake did.”
I knew who he was talking about almost instantly. Blake Dierenger had been my dad’s assistant at one point. He’d become a junior Investment Associate after my dad had retired. But someone at that level had no reason to be accessing an account like the White one. And certainly not with my dad’s credentials.
“Why would he—” My father’s voice dropped off and he frowned.
I turned my attention to Declan. “You said you found Mr. Whiteand his men dead?” I asked. “How did you even know to look for them?”
Declan’s eyes dropped to the ground, which was answer enough. But Cruz confirmed it a moment later when he said, “I sent him a picture of your notepad from last night.”
My knees felt weak and I had to sit down in a nearby armchair. God, I’d been such a complete fool.
“When I got the information from Cruz, I began investigating and discovered that Edward White was really a man named Edward Turnvall. He had an extensive arrest record including extortion, racketeering, assault, and money laundering. There was an outstanding warrant on him, so I took some officers to the address he used for his account with you. We found his body, along with those of two men fitting the descriptions you gave me, in the garage of his townhouse. It looked like they were ambushed as they were getting out of their car. They probably never saw it coming.”
Declan’s gaze shifted to my dad. “I’d like to put you and your family in protective custody until we figure out what happened. There’s a possibility that the deaths had nothing to do with the missing money, but it’s not worth taking a chance.”
I saw my dad nod. “Yes, alright.” I knew how hard it must have been for him to accept the offer, but he had bigger priorities than his hatred of Declan Barretti.
“Good, I’ll—”
That was as far as Declan got before a computerized voice interrupted with a simple, “Daddy.” Before my dad could go check on my brother, Ryan’s wheelchair rounded the corner from the hallway leading to his room.
But my little brother wasn’t alone.
No, standing right behind him with a gun pointed at the little boy’s head was Blake Dierenger, my father’s former assistant.
Chapter 8
Cruz
The entire roomwent completely silent at the sight of the man holding the gun to Ryan’s head. The boy was clearly confused and agitated. He kept pushing the lever on his wheelchair to make it go forward, but I suspected the man had switched it to manual so Ryan couldn’t control the chair.
“Blake, what are you doing?” Sam croaked. He was standing next to me. I grabbed his arm as soon as he started heading for his son. Blake ignored Sam and pointed his gun at Declan, who’d been discreetly trying to go for his own weapon.
“No guns!” Blake shouted, his voice high and shaky. “Drop it!”
If I’d been armed, I could have taken him out then and there, but I hadn’t wanted to risk Elliot discovering a weapon on me, so I wasn’t carrying one. I hadn’t really needed it, since I’d had Matias to back me up.
The thought of my brother had me desperate to reach my phone. I hadn’t seen him out on the street when Declan had arrived, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t been watching. If I could activate my phone and speed dial him, he’d be able to hear the conversation that was happening. But my plan went up in smoke when Blake said, “Phones, too! Everyone drop their phones.”
One by one, we tossed our phones toward the center of the room where Declan had dropped his gun. I suspected he had one at his ankle too, but it would be harder to get to, and since Blake was so shaky, chances were his own gun would go off if he was even remotely startled.
“Ryan, Daddy and the grown-ups need to talk. Can you be real quiet for a little while and then we’ll go through your candy?”
Ryan’s uncoordinated hand reached out to press the touchscreen of his computer. “Yes, Daddy.”
“Blake, what are you doing here?” Sam asked as calmly as he could. He had his hands up.
The sound of Sam’s voice talking to him did something strange to Blake. It actually seemed to relax him and he smiled at the older man. “Sam, I’m sorry it had to be like this, but I didn’t have a choice. I… I wanted to give you more time, but things fell apart and I’ve done something and we have to go now.”
Sam’s eyes shifted briefly to Declan, then Elliot. “What are you talking about, Blake? Can you put the gun away? It’s scaring Ryan and I know you don’t want that.”
The comment actually seemed to register for Blake because he nodded and dropped his hand to Ryan’s shoulder. “I’d never hurt your boy, Sam. You know that.”
His statement was in direct contrast to the fact that he still had the gun pointed at Ryan’s head. I just couldn’t tell if it was intentional or not. It didn’t really matter, since one slip of his finger and the thing would go off.
“I packed his things, Sam. But we need to go.”
