Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“Yeah, he—”
“Is he marrying a client?”
“Former client.”
“I see. And was Locryn Nick Madison’s fixer?”
“I’m sorry, I’m not at liberty to—”
“This is all very interesting.”
“Sometimes when someone comes in and fixes your life, you develop feelings for them, and if those feelings are reciprocated, things happen.”
“And do you have feelings for me?”
“Shut up,” I said, glaring at him.
“Do you love me?”
“It’s far too early to tell,” I said, tasting the lie on my lips. Because yes, of course I was crazy about him, but huge everything words like love needed to be discussed long before being blurted out.
“Is it?”
“I—”
“Come on,” he rumbled, voice all low and sexy, warm hand on my cheek as he eased me close, his lips hovering over mine. “I know it’s fast, but who cares. You’re a brave man.”
“I want you to be with me and no one else,” I whispered, meeting his gaze. “You’ll have to make do with that until our next meeting.”
“Our next meeting,” he repeated, then kissed me.
I’d never had a man so interested in me, so clearly enchanted, enthralled, or smitten. I wasn’t stupid. I knew it was a blessing. “Stay with me,” I said under my breath.
“You want me?”
“More than anything.”
He exhaled slowly, as though he’d been worried. Like he’d been holding his breath. “Okay. Staying.”
It was good to have things settled.
Much later, Ash was standing on the patio, staring out at the bay, and I was on my laptop, typing up my notes on the job-not-job. Jared Colter always wanted a thorough accounting for the record.
“Explain the part about the vault again,” Ash said, coming inside, walking over to the bed, still wrapped in the blanket he’d taken out there with him.
“The Vault—uppercase—holds secrets, items, even people that my boss’s friend, Darius Hawthorne, protects. I suspect it’s many different places, rather than one physical location. It probably functions like witness protection for people, while for items, there are actual vaults all over the world, warehouses, and for funds, banks across the globe. No one can hurt Darius because he and his people are the only ones who literally know where the bodies, as well as treasure, are buried.”
“Why couldn’t your boss have just explained it like that? I was so lost.”
I had been too, and I actually knew what he was talking about.
Earlier, my boss had ended our call because, I was guessing, having his fiancé attack him had completely wrecked his concentration. He called back an hour later and had me put him on speaker. He did not want to be on a video call.
“It’s because he’s all sweaty and covered in semen now,” Ash had whispered in my ear.
I had shaken my head at him. I did not want to have an image of my boss having sex. It was like thinking about my parents. Both images equally traumatizing.
“Hey,” Ash said, returning me to the present. “How can there be such a thing as the Vault when no one’s ever heard of it?”
“I think you have to be a criminal, or someone both rich and powerful, or be a person privy to the secrets of those I just mentioned.”
“All right, that makes sense… Which category do you think your boss’s friend Darius falls into?”
“I have no idea, but if I had to guess, I’d say the latter. But I suspect that Jared Colter has a whole mix of interesting people in his life.”
Ash nodded.
“Now in this case, Mr. Voss placed ten million dollars with the Vault because he needed to put it somewhere that neither the SEC or the FBI or anyone else could gain access to it.”
“Yeah, I got why he gave it to the Vault for safekeeping. It’s Mrs. Voss, or technically, both of them since he was waiting in the car, trying to kidnap you that I didn’t understand.”
“What I don’t get is why he didn’t come in. I mean, he’s the one who killed the writers, he’s clearly better with a gun. That doesn’t make sense to me.”
“I’m sure he thought he was the more easily recognizable of the two, and he was right. You had no idea who she was, but his face was fresh in your mind.”
That was true.
“Go on with why they were after you.”
“The way the Vault works, whatever you put in, once it’s in, it’s at the discretion of the Vault when it’s returned to you.”
“See, right there. That’s where your boss lost me.”
“There are extenuating circumstances where the Vault is concerned.”
“Like?”
“Okay, say you put the deed to your house in there for safekeeping, but a bad guy kidnaps your husband and says he’ll blow his brains out if you don’t hand it over.”
“This is a terrible example.”
I scowled at him. “Focus.”
“Fine.”
“Okay, so when you ask the Vault for the deed back, they want to know why, and they have people to check in on you and see if you’re being leveraged in some way.”