Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 54589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 218(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 218(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
“Gavin!” I call, and when his attention turns in our direction, he looks between Dash and me, and there is trepidation in his stare.
That’s all it takes to push me over the edge. The minute he joins us, all restraint is lost. I grab him and throw him against the wall, his briefcase crashing to the ground, my hands on his shoulders. “Where is Bella?” I demand.
Chapter Fifteen
Tyler
“What the hell, Tyler?” Gavin demands.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Dash murmurs, stepping close to me. “You’re getting attention we don’t need.”
He better be playing good cop/bad cop, I think, or he’s next to hit the wall and my fist. I cast him a side-eye. “Don’t make me regret calling you, Dash. He knows where she is.”
“What the hell, Tyler?” Gavin asks. “Come on, man. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“If the police get involved,” Dash warns, “this becomes a shit show, and we risk never getting her back. Let him go, Tyler. He’s here. He’s willing to talk. That’s what matters.”
Gavin’s hands are up in surrender mode. “I really don’t know what this is, Tyler, but I’m on your side. I’ve always been on your side.”
“Tyler!” Dash snaps. “Let him go. Now. There are people watching us.”
The spike of adrenaline running through me is like hot lava, thickening in my veins. Control, I remind myself. It might be my father’s lesson, but also one he seemed to think I learned too well. He was always trying to break me. He’s still trying to break me, and I won’t let it happen.
I might want to throttle Gavin, but I force myself to let him go and take a step backward. “Now start talking, Gavin,” Dash orders, picking up his briefcase and handing it to him.
Gavin snaps it out of Dash’s hand and slides it over his shoulder, his teeth grinding. “I don’t know how many ways I can say I don’t know what the fuck is going on.”
I reject his bullshit. “Playing stupid is an easy way to end up back against the wall,” I say. “The partners called an emergency meeting and questioned me over the will and my controlling interest. The minute I shut that crap down with the validity of my relationship with Bella and returned to my desk, I got this.” I remove my phone from my pocket, pull up the message, and hold out my phone.
He stares at the message and his eyes go wide. “Oh, shit. Oh, shit.” He looks between us. “You can’t think I’m in on this.” His attention settles on me. “Tyler, I’m a pain in your ass, but with good intentions. I don’t want you to lose the company.”
“You mean you don’t want to lose your position in the company.”
“Of course, I don’t,” he admits. “And that means you retain your holding. I’m not in a better position with you gone. Why do you think I went to the courthouse today? You finally sealed the deal with Bella, but you’re still so damn certain that your father has a surprise planned, it’s making me nervous.”
“And yet, up to this point you didn’t want to talk about the Allen family,” I point out.
“It’s not that simple, Tyler,” he replies.
“No?” I challenge. “Why not?”
“Let’s go inside and talk,” Dash interjects. “We still have an audience from several directions.”
“I’m fine with that,” Gavin replies. “If Tyler is willing.”
“I’d rather you just spit it out, but yeah,” I say, “I’ll go inside, but know this: if I figure out you had something to do with this, you might not leave the building alive. You still want to go inside?”
“I do,” he says without hesitation, “because everything I did that pissed you off was done because it’s my job to do right by you, even if you’re stubborn enough to hate me for it.”
He speaks every word of that statement while looking me in the eye. Liars don’t look you in the eye. Fuck me. He might not know where she is, and where does that leave us? “Let’s go talk now and quickly.”
“Yes,” Dash agrees. “Quickly.”
I take another step backward, just far enough to allow him to rotate and start walking. “You first,” I say, my lips thinning. “I promise to be right behind you.”
There is a flicker of discomfort in his eyes that tells me nothing. If I had Dash and me breathing down my throat, I wouldn’t be half as submissive as he’s being right now. And Gavin isn’t a guy I’d call submissive. That could mean any number of things, which I’ll figure out inside. He rotates on his heel and starts walking.
I can feel Dash compelling me to look at him, but fuck that shit. I’m waiting for Gavin to start running and show me he’s a little bitch. Then it’s gloves off and screw whoever is watching. I can feel the pump of adrenaline start to flow again. I want him to run. I take a step forward. Dash catches my arm. “He’s not going to run,” he murmurs softly. “I don’t think he’s a part of this, which means we’re wasting time with him. We need to find out fast and move on.”