“Olivia,” I said, my voice gentler now. “I can help you, but I need to know what we’re dealing with.”
Her jaw clenched as she looked at the floor, at the walls, anywhere but at us. When she finally spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper.
“He drugged me and took videos of me where I’m… naked. When I tried to leave him after…” She swallowed hard. “After Paige found out, he showed me what he had and said he would send them to everyone if I didn’t stick around. If I didn’t do exactly what he said.”
He did that knowing he has a wife? A daughter?
Rage surged through me. Jack Mitchell is a dead man. He just didn’t know it yet. I was going to put him behind bars… or worse.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “We’ll get rid of them and I’ll make sure they never see the light of day.”
Olivia looked up, surprise written across her face. “Why would you help me?”
“Because what Jack did is illegal, and because no one deserves that.” I paused. “But also because you’re going to help me destroy him in court.”
She nodded slowly, relief making her shoulders relax.
“I know it doesn’t mean much now,” she said quietly. “But please tell Paige I’m sorry. What I did was terrible, and I regret it. She was always nice to me, and I—” Her voice cracked. “Sorry.”
Olivia stepped out only to stop short with a surprised gasp.
“Oh, you’re done?” A cheerful voice echoed through the space.
I followed them out to find Emma standing in an expensive garage gleaming with concrete floors and luxury vehicles. She was maybe five-foot-three, with blonde hair pulled into a messy bun and curves that her casual dress did nothing to hide. She beamed at us as if we had just finished a pleasant tea party instead of a blackmail session.
Cillian’s entire demeanor transformed. The scary guy disappeared, replaced by a man who looked at his wife like she had hung every star in the sky. He crossed to her in three strides and kissed the top of her head, his massive frame curling protectively around her smaller one.
“All done, Doll,” he murmured against her hair. “Sorry for the wait.”
“No worries!” Emma said brightly, then looked at me. “Did it go okay?”
“Thank you, Emma,” I said sincerely. “For letting me borrow your... interrogation room?”
“That’s just one of the garages,” she laughed. “We have four. Perks of being a billionaire, I guess.”
“You should thank me,” a voice called out, and I turned to see my best friend and law partner, Sean Tae, lounging on an expensive leather couch, slurping noodles from a takeout container. “I’m the one who convinced Cillian to help.”
Before I could respond, Chelsea, his girlfriend, settled herself directly on Sean’s lap, stealing a bite of noodles from his container.
She grinned at me, completely comfortable draped across Sean, who wrapped an arm around her waist like it was the most natural thing in the world. They looked adorable together with Sean feeding her noodles, Chelsea laughing at something he whispered in her ear.
“I didn’t know I was interrupting a double date,” I said dryly, ignoring the urge to smack Sean’s head for the smug look on his face. “I’ll see you around?—”
The doorbell rang, echoing through the massive space.
“Oh, perfect!” Sean said cheerfully. “That must be Paige.”
“What?”
Sean spoke slowly, like explaining to a kid. “I. Invited. Paige. Over. For. Dinner.”
I looked at Cillian, who shrugged one massive shoulder. “Doll—Emma wanted to have people over, and I can’t say no to her.”
Emma beamed up at her husband, going on her tiptoes to kiss his scarred jaw, and I watched this six-foot-four wall of muscle melt like butter. It would have been comical if I wasn’t having a minor panic attack.
Because I understood exactly how he felt and what it was like to be completely, utterly whipped by a woman who had no idea how much power she held. The lengths you would go to, the lines you would cross just to keep her safe and happy and yours.
The doorbell rang again, and my heart hammered against my ribs.
