“N-no.” The man swallowed hard.
“Good. We know about the secret bank account and that you made two large transfers into one of Todd Kennedy’s. We also know he used that money to pay off most of his wife’s medical bills. You found out she was sick and saw that as your in. Didn’t you?”
When the man didn’t answer immediately, Matt moved his gun away from his face, pointed it at the floor, and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit an inch from Anderson’s foot. The man screamed and jumped like a little bitch. Then he pissed all over his expensive silk pajama pants.
“Next one takes off a few toes.”
“All right, all right! I’ll tell you.”
Matt slid a glance to the others who were ready to have his back, if needed, but were also giving him the space he needed to get the answers they’d come for.
Shoulders slumped, the coward folded like a deck of cards. “A-a man named Walker approached me a few weeks ago. Said he had a client who’d pay good money for the formula. Really good money.”
Despite already knowing the guy was guilty, hearing him admit it made Matt want to rip the fucker’s heart out with a spoon. A rusty, jagged spoon.
“So, you agreed.”
“You don’t understand.” Anderson’s desperate eyes pleaded. “The offer…it was more money than every man in this room will ever see in a lifetime. Myself included.”
Matt’s lips rolled inward as he fought the urge to shoot the son of a bitch.Don’t kill him yet. Don’t kill him yet.
Picking up on his internal battle, Gabe joined in on the questioning.
“Why get Kennedy involved? Why not just hand over the formula and cash in on your payday?”
The guy rolled his eyes. “If that were possible, don’t you think I would have?”
“Why couldn’t you? You’re the company’s owner and CEO.”
“Which is exactly why Icouldn’t.” Anderson sighed before explaining, “Companies like mine have regulations. A lot of very strict regulations. Because I have such a high stake in the company shares, I’m not allowed to have direct access to any of the projects apart from basic data and progress notes. Neither are any of the members on my board.”
“Checks and balances,” Derek summed it up for the man.
“Exactly.”
“So, you found out about Kennedy’s wife, using that as leverage to get him to do your dirty work,” Gabe recapped. “Why go after Doctor Marsh?”
“The original plan wasn’t to kill her. No one was supposed to die.”
“Except maybe the American soldiers your buyer’s people would kill. But they don’t count, right? Their lives don’t matter to you?”
A flash of recognition passed behind the guilty fucker’s eyes, quickly replaced by an enraged fury.
“My son’s life mattered to me,” the man shot back. “Brian was my only child, and that bitch took advantage of him.”
Matt leaned in, his lips curling into a feral smile. “Call Katherine a bitch one more time, and your toes are going to be the least of your concerns.”
Anderson gave Matt a closer, assessing glance. “You’re him, aren’t you? You’re the man Kat was in love with all those years ago.”
What the fuck?Matt blinked but didn’t otherwise react. “What does your son have to do with any of this?”
“Brian has everything to do with this,” the man hissed. “Katherine Marsh talked him into marrying her. Made everyone think they had a happy life together and then she destroyed him. She got the job she wanted, the money. Her father and I went into business together because I thought, what better way to bring the two families together? But Brian was so unhappy, he shot himself. In his own home. And then that bi...” Anderson stopped himself. “Then Katherine got all his money. Every dime. And you know what she did?”
“She gave it to the person Brian loved.”
Matt’s knowledge of the situation took the man by surprise. “That’s right. She gave it to a man who led a life unworthy of my son.”
“Your son was gay, Sloane. He was in love with Chad Winthrop.That’swhy Kat gave him Brian’s inheritance.”
