“What did you tell Mitchell?”
“What? Oh, yes, sorry. Anyway, we were talking and he mentioned that they were still trying to get you to confess, and I explained that you were smart enough to plan a devious plan. I mean, you were smart enough to find me, right? Mitchell pointed out that you did hunt me down for a reason, and I told him it’s because you’re insane.”
“What?”
“You’re insane, and not as smart as Mom, so there’s no way that you would have been able to pull off a plan to steal billions in crypto and kill all of us. I mean, it would mean that you were a genius.”
“You think I’m too stupid to pull off a plan like that?”
She gave him what she hoped was a patronizing smile. “You are smart, but, you know,” she leaned closer again, “not that smart.”
“You stupid little bitch,” he muttered.
She felt a shift in the air behind her, and she knew Ian was ready to fly over the table at her father. She shook her head, telling him that she had this. They had circumstantial evidence against her father, but a confession would make things so much easier. She needed to do this for her mother and Adam.
“You think your mother was so smart?” He snorted. “She never suspected a thing. I planned it all right there at the house,” he shouted, spittle flying from his mouth, falling onto the scarred table. “Pushing that button, watching the house go up, was one of the most satisfying moments of my life.”
His yell echoed in the small, dank room. Pain almost shattered her heart. Her mother and brother, along with Agent Hiller had deserved better than that. She would deal with that later, but right now, she smiled, looked up to the corner where the camera sat.
“I think that’s enough to convict, right?”
Her father followed her line of sight.
“That’s entrapment.”
She laughed. “You did see the sign right before you walked into the room, right? It says that all interactions will be recorded unless you are with your legal representative.”
His eyes bugged out and she saw the intent before he did it, but she didn’t react. She didn’t have to. As her father tried to launch himself across the table, Ian moved. He punched her father in the nose, breaking it as she had months earlier.
The guards rushed forward to pull him back away from her. She stood, looked at Ian, then smiled. “Ready?”
His blue gaze burned with emotion. It had taken a lot for him to hold back all that time. “Yes.”
“Goodbye, Father.”
“I have connections. You will never be safe.”
She chuckled. “I think you need to worry more about that than I do. Word on the street was there is one very angry oligarch who realizes you’re the one who stole his money. Have fun with that.”
When they finally stepped out of the prison fifteen minutes later, she drew in a deep breath of fresh air. Her stomach was still jittery and her head and heart hurt, but not as much.
“Are you alright, love?”
She looked at the man who had saved her, never hesitated to move heaven and earth to save her. He had been supportive of every one of her decisions, even when she decided to work for Devon Stryker instead of Dillon Security. He had grumbled, but he understood that she would still be working with Dillon, just through Devon.
“Not completely, but I’m getting there.”
He offered her a small smile as he lifted their joined hands to kiss her fingers. “Let’s go. You’ll have to be debriefed.”
She nodded and followed him to the car. He opened the door to the rental, but she stopped beside him. Lifting her hand, she cupped his face.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
How could she voice exactly what he did for her? He had saved her beyond just keeping her alive. He made her want to live, to hope for a future with him. And he had even adopted a dog, a big, goofy golden retriever mix named Teddy.
“Everything, but mainly for controlling your temper while we were in the prison interview room.”
